-
Asked by martinamorro to Adam, Chris, Eleanor, Jessamyn, Sinead on 15 Nov 2013.
-
Adam Murphy answered on 15 Nov 2013:
Hey Martina,
This is a really interesting question!
Currently, we know of three different ways people can get diabetes!
Diabetes is caused when your body can’t process sugar. There’s a chemical in your body called insulin, which helps you absorb sugar. If you don’t have enough insulin, you can’t absorb sugar and this is diabetes. There are three types of diabetes.
Type 1 you have since birth. It’s a mutation (Like the X-Men but not good) that causes your immune system to attack and destroy insulin, which gives you diabetes.
Type 2 is one you can get. This is caused by insulin resistance, you still make insulin, but your body starts to need more and more to absorb sugar. No one’s entirely sure why this happens, but being overweight is one of the biggest causes.
There’s also Gestational Diabetes which pregnant women can get. Their pregnancy can change their hormones and give them diabetes.
Loads of kinds of diabetes exist, but living healthy can stop you getting them!
-
-
Sinead Cullen answered on 16 Nov 2013:
Hi Martina,
There a few different types of Diabetes, Type 1, Type 2, and Gestantional Diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce a hormone called Insulin. Insulin is needed to convert sugar into energy needed for daily life. So if your body can’t break down the sugar you will have high blood sugars and this can be dangerous. So people with Type 1 Diabetes inject themselves everyday with Insulin to help break down the sugars. They get used to injecting themselves with Insulin and it does not really hurt. They also have to test their blood everyday to check there blood sugar levels. All this test needs is a finger prick of blood and this is not very sore at all. But with proper monitoring and a healthy life style people with the Type 1 diabetes can lead a normal, happy, healthy long life.
Then you Type 2 Diabetes, this is the most common type of Diabetes. This is where you body becomes used to producing too much Insulin and then can’t keep with producing the same high amount all the time. So this causes high blood sugar levels as there is too much sugar and not enough Insulin to break it down. You would then need to try control your blood sugar levels by injecting yourself with Insulin and doing the test to see what your blood sugar levels are like. There are sign and symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes. You can have symptoms such as passing a lot of urine, drinking excessive amounts of water, mooed swings and tiredness. People with these symptoms should go to the doctor. The doctor can do a blood test and the results may say that you nearly have diabetes but you can reverse this by cutting down on the amount of sugary snacks and drinks you have and increasing the amount of exercise you do. So leading a healthier life style can reduce the risk of this type of Diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes is a type of Diabetes that can affect nearly 20% of pregnant women. The women may never have had Diabetes before and after giving birth they may not have Diabetes. It isn’t known exactly what causes this by it is guessed that when a woman is pregnant some of the hormones from the placenta (which helps the baby grow) blocks the hormones that produce Insulin, therefore the mother can not break down the sugar to convert to energy which her body needs and will then have high blood sugar levels. Doctors and nurses have worked out special meal plans and exercise plans to keep both mother and baby safe.
Hope this helps 🙂
Comments