What Causes Diabetes

What causes diabetes? We explain it clearly and simply here for everyone to understand. The easiest answer is there is too much sugar in your bloodstream.

The answer also involves:

• Your pancreas
• Your insulin levels
• Your blood glucose levels

Your Pancreas

Your pancreas is located behind your stomach on the left side of your body. It is near your waist.
Your pancreas has beta cells that produce a chemical, insulin. Insulin is a hormone.

Normally when you eat, the pancreas produces insulin that mixes with digested food. The food has turned to glucose, known as blood sugar. The insulin allows the cells of your body to use glucose. The glucose is fuel for the body - fuel to maintain a body temperature of 98.6°F; and, fuel to repair cells and grow new ones.

What causes diabetes? Type 2 diabetes happens when one of the following occurs:

• Your pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin.
• Your pancreas produces very little insulin.
• Your body doesn’t recognize the insulin and cannot use it.

When this happens, the sugar (glucose) stays in your bloodstream. It does not get into your cells. It spills out into your urine and leaves the body. Your cells are starving for fuel.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your fasting blood sugar level is above 125 mg/dL. Fasting blood sugar is the level after a night’s sleep with nothing to eat or drink.

The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. About 95% of all cases of diabetes are type 2. About 80% of them are overweight. What is type 2 diabetes? It is associated with:

• Older adults
• Obesity
• Family history
• Physical inactivity
• Certain ethnicities

If you are African-American, or Hispanic or Native Indian, you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The first signs of diabetes are:

• Wounds that heal very slowly
• Nausea
• Frequent yeast infections
• Increased thirst
• Increased urination
• Fatigue/feeling tired
• Weight loss
• Blurred vision

Too much glucose (sugar) in your blood can lead to severe complications. Some of them are:

• Heart attacks
• Strokes
• Blindness
• Kidney failure
• Nerve damage
• Amputation of fingers and toes

Prediabetes

Borderline diabetes is pre-diabetes. Doctors call it impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). It is a condition where your blood sugar level is high. But, it is not high enough to warrant medication.

There are risk factors for this disorder. They are:

• Being overweight
• Leading an inactive lifestyle
• Being age 45 or older
• Having high blood pressure
• Having high lipid levels (cholesterol and triglycerides)

Borderline diabetes is a significant risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has an old name – adult-onset diabetes. That is no longer true. Many children and adolescents have type 2 diabetes. It is because they are overweight and inactive.

If you have a family member with type 2 diabetes, chances are good that you will develop it also. Environmental factors that may increase your risk are a high-fat diet and lack of exercise.

There are several other disorders that can affect the level of insulin from your pancreas. They are hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid). It can be measured with a simple blood test. Another disorder is polycystic ovary syndrome. Your gynecologist would diagnose this.

What causes diabetes? The answer has many layers. Hopefully you gained some knowledge. Let us know if you have any questions.

Margaret Stenerson
February 21, 2010