Type 1 Diabetes

Within the pancreas, the Islets of Langerhans produce insulin in response to blood glucose. These islets are tiny insulin factories that sense the level of glucose in the blood stream, and produce insulin in precise proportion to that level. Therefore, following a meal, blood sugar levels will rise significantly, and the islets will release a large amount of insulin. This insulin will cause body cells to take up the sugar, causing blood sugar to quickly return to its normal range. Once blood sugar is in the normal range, the islets will reduce the output of insulin to an idling state. In this way, the islets adjust their production of insulin on a minute-by-minute basis, always producing just enough insulin to deal with the amount of blood sugar presently in the blood stream.
In insulin-dependent diabetes, the islets are destroyed by the person's own immune system, which mistakenly identifies these essential cells as foreign invaders. This self-destructive mechanism is the basis of many so-called autoimmune diseases. Once the islets are killed, the ability to produce insulin is lost, and the overt symptoms and consequences of diabetes begin.

Type 2 Diabetes

The most common causes of type 2 diabetes are poor diet and/or lack of exercise, both of which can result in insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition where the cells in our bodies aren't sensitive enough to react to the insulin produced by our pancreas. Because the cells need sugar for fuel, the pancreas works overtime to make more insulin . . . enough to overcome the insulin resistance and carry sugar into the cells.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by a series of chain reactions:

1. The ingestion of too many carbohydrates leads to a spike in blood sugar levels.
2. This is followed by a corresponding rise in insulin.
3. This in turn causes blood sugar to drop.
4. Eventually, this drastic up-and-down activity begins to take its toll on the body's ability to metabolize sugar.
5. Over time, the pancreas "wears out" and can no longer pump out enough insulin to overcome the insulin resistance.
6. This results in a decreased insulin production and/or increased insulin resistance which propagates the cycle and leads to the onset of diabetes.

No one knows if obesity causes insulin resistance; or if insulin resistance causes obesity; or if they develop independently. We do know that insulin resistance is aggravated by obesity . . . particularly the type where your weight collects around your middle (like an apple). Physical inactivity also aggravates insulin resistance. Eating too much dietary carbohydrate plays a large role in causing insulin resistance.

Most researchers are in basic agreement that the theory of oxidative stress is central to the understanding of insulin dysfunction and blood sugar conditions. According to the theory, free radicals run rampant through the body and use up our antioxidants - glutathione, SOD (superoxide dismutase), beta carotene, vitamin E, vitamin C, CoQ10, melatonin, lipoic acid, and others. . . contributing to the problem. This is why it is so important to lower the oxidative stress with better diet and exercise; and to take all the antioxidant supplements known to neutralize the excess free radicals. The high rates of alcohol and nicotine use add to oxidative stress. Surprisingly, while coffee worsens oxidative stress and has very serious health effects, it doesn't seem to worsen blood sugar metabolism.

Though the root cause of insulin resistance is not completely understood, what is known, is that our bodies may begin to malfunction five to seven years before we are ever diagnosed with diabetes. That is why researchers believe that nearly 30-50% of the people who have diabetes don't even know it.

How Is Diabetes Diagnosed?

Diabetes is diagnosed by evaluating symptoms and lab test results. Screening is done routinely, and diabetes without symptoms may be diagnosed based on lab tests alone.

There are two common lab tests:

1. fasting blood glucose level: A diagnosis is made when a fasting blood glucose level of greater than 125 mg/dL is measured on two occasions.
2. oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT): An OGTT may be helpful in diagnosing type 2 Diabetes in patients whose fasting glucose is between 115 and 125 mg/dL (people with "impaired" glucose tolerance) and in those with a clinical condition that might be related to undiagnosed diabetes (eg, polyneuropathy, retinopathy).

Diabetics must fight two enemies.

The first enemy that diabetics must fight is the disease itself and the other enemy is the prescription drugs designed to temporarily control the effects of diabetes. Traditional medical treatment is to prescribe drugs that increase insulin levels. According to medical research, within 7 years, the body builds a resistance to these drugs, in many cases making them less effective or ineffective. This results in changing medication or increasing dosage. The toxicity in the bloodstream can stress the kidneys and liver. Therefore, the very drugs a person takes to control glucose levels, over time can contribute to the kidney and liver damage frequently experienced by diabteics. A classic case of addressing the symptoms and not the cause.