The medical name for sugar is diabetes mellitus. The word sugar in Greek means excessive urination, and mellitus is Latin for honey. The food we eat contains carbohydrates, starches, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Starch is digested and converted into sugar or glucose and is absorbed into our blood. When our blood carries food and oxygen to every cell of the body, this sugar also goes to every cell.
It is needless to say here that sugar needs something to enter the cells of the body, which we call insulin. To explain it to you, I will say that insulin is a key that opens the door of the cell, and sugar enters. If there is no insulin, this door does not open, and sugar cannot enter the cell, and as a result, it continues to circulate in the blood, so its amount in the blood increases. When the amount of sugar in the blood increases, we say that it has become sugar.
What is insulin? And where does it come from? We will tell you this in detail later. When this sugar increases in the blood, it also appears in the urine and due to this increase in sugar, our veins also get damaged. If sugar is not kept under control, the kidneys can fail, and countless other diseases and countless other conditions can arise. Urination occurs frequently. There may be sores in the feet and blurred vision. The blood vessels of the brain are also damaged, and the person feels weak. In fact, sugar is the root of numerous diseases. Therefore, it can also be called the mother of diseases.
Why does diabetes occur?
As I mentioned earlier, sugar needs insulin to enter every cell in the body. Insulin is the name of a hormone. There are many types of hormones produced in our bodies, and they have different functions. Nature has created such a system that when needed, our pancreas makes as much insulin as it needs, and the sugar level in a healthy person’s body remains under control. Even if someone eats too many sweet things, the sugar level does not increase. If this pancreas stops making insulin, then sugar cannot enter the cells and increases in the blood. Someone’s pancreas does not make insulin by birth or it gets damaged in childhood and does not make insulin. Someone’s pancreas starts making less insulin with age or starts making poor quality insulin, while a person’s pancreas cannot meet the demand for insulin due to being overweight or due to increased demand for insulin during pregnancy, so in such cases too, sugar occurs. Some people’s cells start to resist the insulin that their pancreas is making, so they also get diabetes.
Types of diabetes.
Diabetes is divided into three types. Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes. The tests for all three types of diabetes are the same, but the causes of diabetes are different. Usually, people under the age of 20 have type 1 diabetes, while people over the age of 30 have type 2 diabetes. However, it has been seen that some children have type 2 diabetes.
- If someone is overweight (fat) or very overweight (obese), then he is more likely to have type 2 diabetes.
- If a young person suddenly starts having frequent urination or suddenly starts feeling hungry and thirsty, or suddenly starts losing weight, especially after an illness, then there is a risk that he has type 1 diabetes.
- If someone is not overweight (fatness) or obese and ketones are found in their urine, there is a risk that they have type 1 diabetes.
- If someone is over 50 years of age and is not feeling well, they should get a sugar test done immediately. There is a risk that they have type 2 diabetes.
- In case of pregnancy, sugar can occur during the twenty-four to twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy. Such sugar is called gestational diabetes. Such sugar usually disappears after the birth of the child. However, 5 to 10 percent of such women develop type 2 diabetes after giving birth to the child, while 40 percent of such women develop type 2 diabetes in the next 5 to 10 years.
Ratio of different types of diabetes patients.
Of the patients with diabetes, 5 to 10 percent have type 1 diabetes. 1 percent have type 1 diabetes, while 90 to 95 percent of patients have type 2 diabetes. One-third of patients with type 2 diabetes do not even know that they have diabetes.
Causes of Diabetes.
About 18% of the total population has type 2 diabetes at some point in their life. However, some people have more problems, some have fewer, and some do not know at all and go about their lives. The causes of the three types of diabetes are different from each other, so we will explain them separately.
Causes of type 1 diabetes.
Beta cells in the pancreas produce insulin. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the immune system mistakenly destroys these beta cells. The immune system mistakenly thinks that these cells have come from somewhere outside and attacked the body. In medical terms, this is called an autoimmune response. Scientists are still not sure why this happens. According to the research that scientists have done so far, due to the destruction of beta cells, insulin production stops and as a result, type 1 diabetes occurs. The following things can be blamed.
- Genetics. Scientists believe that there are some genes that cause people to develop type 1 diabetes, so if there is type 1 diabetes in someone’s family, that person may be at risk. It has also been observed that in families where this disease occurs, some people get it, and in families where this disease does not occur, it is very rare.
- Different ethnic groups. This disease is more common in some races, while it is less common in others. For example, this disease is very rare in Chinese people, while it is relatively common in European people.
- Auto antibodies. Sometimes different types of antibodies are produced automatically, which start destroying beta cells or insulin, which causes type 1 diabetes.
- Viruses. Some scientists believe that viruses also cause type 1 diabetes. There are different types of viruses. Such as Mumps or polio, etc. These viruses can damage beta cells, while some scientists believe that there is another slow-acting virus that causes type 1 diabetes. No such virus has been discovered yet.
Causes of Type 2 Diabetes.
The causes of type 2 diabetes are different from those of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes patients do not produce insulin in their bodies, while type 2 diabetes patients do produce insulin, but either the amount of insulin is less than required, or its quality is poor, or the body does not accept this insulin and creates a barrier. As a result, sugar cannot enter the body’s cells, and the amount of sugar in the blood increases. All cells in the body have a special type of protein called Receptor and insulin attaches itself to them. You can think of this protein as a lock and insulin as a key, and it fits into the desired lock and opens it and then sugar enters the cell. In type 2 diabetes, either this lock is damaged or the key and as a result, the key cannot open the lock, and sugar cannot enter the cell. In many people, the quality of insulin deteriorates, and it does not work properly. In the beginning, the pancreas tries its best to fulfill the body’s need for insulin and overcomes all kinds of obstacles, but then the time comes when it cannot do this job and either produces less insulin or its quality deteriorates. In such a case, the amount of sugar in the blood increases, and the person becomes a diabetic. Scientists are still not sure why this happens, but some scientists say that the pancreas becomes damaged after working for a long time and is unable to produce insulin as needed or its quality deteriorates. According to scientists, the following reasons can cause type 2 diabetes.
- Genetics. As mentioned in type 1 diabetes, some families have genes that cause diabetes. Similarly, some families have genes that cause type 2 diabetes.
- Age. Type 2 diabetes usually occurs between the ages of 30 and 40. More than 50 percent of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are over 55 years old. Generally, people gain weight in old age and become obese and due to obesity, they may get type 2 diabetes.
- Obesity.We use the word “obesity”, but in English, if the weight is too much, it is called obesity, and if it is more than that, it is called obesity. There is one thing, namely Body Mass Index (height and weight chart) – BMI is a weight chart according to the height and structure of a person. If someone’s BMI is twenty-four or less, then his weight is fine. If someone’s BMI is twenty-five to twenty-nine, then he is obese. And if someone’s BMI is thirty to forty-nine, then it is called obesity. Similarly, if someone’s BMI is more than forty-nine, then it is called Extreme Obesity. If someone is obese, he may have type 2 diabetes because his body becomes so large that their pancreas cannot meet his insulin demand.
Causes of Diabetes During Pregnancy.
During pregnancy, when the baby is being nurtured by the placenta, the placenta produces various types of hormones in large quantities. These hormones are necessary for the baby’s growth. These hormones interfere with the function of insulin to some extent and the cells do not accept insulin. All pregnant women have this problem, but some have less and some have more. Those who have very few problems do not know, but those who have a lot of problem, their sugar is known. The problem usually starts between the twenty-fourth and twenty-eighth week of pregnancy.
Genetics.
As mentioned in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, genes also play a role in gestational diabetes and this role is closer to that of type 2 diabetes than type 1.
Obesity.
As mentioned in type 2 diabetes, if a woman is obese before pregnancy, there is a higher chance that she will develop gestational diabetes. Such women can develop diabetes even before the 24th week of pregnancy.
Pre-diabetes.
If a woman’s blood sugar is between 100 and 125 mg/dL before pregnancy, there is a higher chance that her blood sugar will exceed 126 mg/dL during pregnancy. Therefore, if a woman is obese, she should get her blood sugar checked immediately after pregnancy to see if she has pre-diabetes and consult her doctor.
NOTE.
Women who have gestational diabetes should continue to have their sugar levels checked after giving birth, keep their weight under control, adopt a healthier lifestyle, eat a balanced diet, and have their blood sugar levels checked at regular intervals, as such women are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.