Diabetes

Saturday, May 29th 2004
10:40:37
My Research Paper! Have fun reading it!
* Mood: guess

Diabetes

There are many diseases throughout society that can affect our everyday lives, which are preventable and curable whereas some are not. Among these diseases is one that affects so many people that 210,000 die every year in the United States alone because of it. This disease is known as diabetes. The man who uncovered this disease was Thomas Willis in 1672. The English physician also named this disease and further studied its’ affects on humans.

The main affect diabetes has on your body is that it causes your body to produce and use glucose incorrectly. When your glucose level is too high, insulin is required for your body to break down glucose and convert it into energy necessary for your body to function properly. Insulin is produced by the pancreas, which is found in the upper abdomen. It is located behind the stomach and near the liver. If your sugar level is above 126, then you may have diabetes. People should consider seeing their doctor because if untreated, diabetes can result in death.

There are many things that contribute to diabetes, one being genetics. It has been proven that if someone in your family has diabetes, you are more likely to develop the disease. Other factors are related to the daily life of the individual. A lack of exercise and a poor diet, which results in an overweight individual, are common causes of diabetes. The majority of people who come down with diabetes are older than forty and under the age of seventy-five. Even though it is known for newborns to develop diabetes, it is not as common. In addition, pregnant women that give birth to an over-sized baby are capable of developing diabetes.

Since this is such an elaborate disease, more than one type can affect you. Diabetes type 1 is the least common type and occurs in young children and teenagers. Because of this, it is usually referred to as Juvenile-Onset Diabetes. People with this type rely on a regular injection of insulin that is obtained from either pork or another human. They are required to inject insulin with a needle because their bodies' pancreas fails to produce beta cells, which in turn fail to produce insulin.

The other type of diabetes is type 2, more commonly known as Adult-Onset Diabetes or Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. This type affects the more elderly and middle aged, although some cases have been discovered in younger children. About ninety percent of all diabetes cases occur in adults. Even though this is true, the number of children with this type of diabetes has been increasing. With this type of diabetes, there is no need for injecting insulin. The body produces insulin, but it does not know how to use it properly or there is not enough. Changes to the liver, fat cells, and muscle cells cause the body to reject the insulin. Adult-Onset Diabetes has a slow onset and many people have no idea they have it until later in their life.

There are many ways to tell whether or not an individual has diabetes. The two types of diabetes have similar symptoms and type 2 has other additional symptoms that can distinguish what type you have. With both types, the lack of insulin in the body often results in irritability and unusual thirst. Because your body is lacking glucose to build a healthy body, you could possibly see rapid weight loss. Also, since glucose provides your body with energy, you experience excessive fatigue and hunger. Some people that have diabetes also suffer heart disease, strokes, and kidney disease. People with diabetes type 2 can also experience frequent infections. It can also throw off your vision and affect how quickly you heal from cuts and bruises. Tingling and numbness in the hands or feet are also possible symptoms. Unbelievably, people with type 2 diabetes may have no symptoms at all, which makes it hard to recognize you have the disease.

Even though a person with diabetes suffers from these symptoms, does not mean they can’t grow up to live healthy and happy lives. There is no known cure for diabetes but there are many plans to help you to keep it under control. As you already know, insulin is injected to help control Juvenile-Onset Diabetes and you can take pills for Adult-Onset Diabetes. You can plan a healthy diet that will help with keeping your glucose level down. It is said that even eating cinnamon can help diabetes type 2. Exercise is a very important part to controlling your blood sugar level because motion helps your mussels get rid of excess sugar.

Diabetes affects many people, but with a little exercise and a good diet, they can live normal lives. If you do not control your diabetes, many other diseases and complications can develop. Hopefully, in the future, scientist will create a cure for diabetes. Until then, individuals must do what they can to fight the sixth leading cause of death by diseases.