6/17/2013

The cause of diabetes is actually a very broad subject and truthfully, no one knows what causes a person to develop diabetes. This is what we do know. Diabetes is an auto immune disease which means that the body attacks itself; however, we don't know why the body does this or even what triggers the body to do this. If you want to get technical, the cause of diabetes is the body's inability to either produce enough insulin or not to produce any insulin at all or the body's resistance to insulin. When the body does one of these things, diabetes is diagnosed; however, what causes the body to do this? Who knows?



The pancreas contains the cells, the Islet cells, which are required to produce insulin. In Type 1 diabetes, these Islet cells are destroyed, which in turn, causes the body not to produce any insulin on its own. This means that the diabetic patient will have to take insulin injections to compensate for the body's lost ability to produce its own insulin.



The American Diabetes Association is dedicated to funding research to help find the cause and the cure, among other things, associated with diabetes. As with any other serious disease, there are things that are associated with the disease but it is not a definite known in the end.



Risk Factors - There are some risk factors that are associated with diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes. By controlling these factors you can reduce your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, they do not help to reduce the chance of developing Type 1 diabetes even though once diagnosed with Type 1, you can maintain steady blood glucose levels and ensure a lower side effect rate by controlling these risk factors.



You want to maintain a healthy diet and eating habits. This will ensure that you maintain a healthy weight and reduce your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes which is usually associated with being overweight. You want to develop an exercise routine that will increase you level of physical activity so you can also help to manage your weight.



If you were diagnosed with gestational diabetes, there is a chance that you will develop Type 2 diabetes later in life as well. Other risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include: over 45 years of age, heart disease, high blood cholesterol levels, etc.



Other factors - Diabetes is associated with inheritance from family members. If diabetes "runs" in the family, then there is a greater chance for that person to develop diabetes as well, especially Type 2. In Type 1 diabetes, if you have a child who has been diagnosed as a diabetic there is a very small chance that any of your other children will be diagnosed with diabetes and even a smaller chance if a set of twins is involved, which in the end is great news.



With continued research, maybe one of these days we will find the cause and the cure to eliminate this serious disease.
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