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Issue Date: January 25, 2009
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Diabetes -- What's in a name?
Understanding the disease could help you prevent it.
It seems that every medical journal I open has news of another consequence of diabetes. In fact, the American Diabetes Association estimates that more than 23 million Americans suffer from the disease, and 57 million more are at risk.
Diabetes occurs when the body either quits producing insulin or can no longer use it efficiently. Insulin is the hormone responsible for allowing sugar (our main source of energy) to pass from the blood stream into the body's cells to be converted to energy. If insulin levels are too low, sugar can't pass from the blood stream into the cells.
Blood sugar levels that are too high or too low affect the body in debilitating ways. For example, a high blood sugar level acts as a diuretic, increasing the amount of urine the kidneys produce. It's what leads to the excessive urination a person with uncontrolled diabetes experiences.
What distinguishes the various types of diabetes is the reason behind the insulin problem. In all four major types of diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or the cells themselves stop accepting the insulin "key" and can no longer absorb sugar from the bloodstream. But treatment of each type may vary.
Lifestyle changes are key for all diabetics. But for those with type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and pre-diabetes, blood sugar levels can be stabilized by improving the diet, exercising and achieving a healthy weight.
If you've been told that your blood sugar is elevated or if you have a family history of diabetes, learning more about the disease may give you the tools you need to help yourself.
Contributing Editor Tedd Mitchell, M.D., is the co-author of Move Yourself: The Cooper Clinic Medical Director's Guide to All the Healing Benefits of Exercise (Even a Little!).
4 major types of diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (formerly juvenile-onset diabetes). The pancreas produces too little insulin to enable cells to absorb blood sugar. Treatment for these folks is insulin. Only 5% to 10% of diabetics fall into this category.
Type 2 diabetes (formerly adult-onset diabetes). In this most common form of the illness, the insulin "key" in cells quits working well, making absorption of sugar into the cells more difficult. These folks may have some decrease in insulin production, but for many, the pancreas actually increases insulin production in an attempt to drive sugar into cells.
Gestational diabetes. About 4% of women develop elevated blood sugar during and just after pregnancy. It may subside, but it leaves them at higher than average risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Pre-diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Although not technically diabetes, abnormally high -- and rising -- blood sugar levels occur in as many as 57 million Americans.
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