Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. The hormone insulin moves sugar from the blood into your cells to be stored or used for energy. With diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it makes. Untreated high blood sugar from diabetes can damage your nerves, eyes, kidneys, and other organs.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease that prevents your body from properly using the energy from the food you eat. Diabetes occurs in one of the following situations:
The pancreas (an organ behind your stomach) produces little insulin or no insulin at all. Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone, produced by the beta cells of the pancreas, which helps the body use sugar for energy.
juvenile diabetes this type occurs when the body fails to produce insulin. People with type I diabetes are insulin-dependent, which means they must take artificial insulin daily to stay alive.
Type 2 diabetes affects the way the body uses insulin. While the body still makes insulin, unlike in type I, the cells in the body do not respond to it as effectively as they once did. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, this is the most common type of diabetes and it has strong links with obesity.
Occurs when blood sugar is higher than the normal level, but it’s not high enough for type 2 diabetes.
This type occurs in women during pregnancy when the body can become less sensitive to insulin. Gestational diabetes does not occur in all women and usually resolves after giving birth.
The general symptoms of diabetes include:
The important aim of treating Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is to have control over blood sugar levels in the normal range.