Diabetes is a disease in which our bodies do not produce enough "Insulin" or effective insulin. Most of the components of your meal contain sugar. When you eat food, it is broken down into simple sugar called glucose. This glucose is taken by blood and it travels there freely till it is used by the cells to produce energy. Your cells use glucose to produce energy to do work such as our daily activities of walking, sitting, running and so on. Apart from this, your body needs glucose for the proper functioning all the organs such as brain, heart, muscles, kidneys, lungs and so on. However, insulin is required for the uptake of glucose by the cells. Without insulin our bodies are not able to use glucose effectively and our blood sugar levels increases.
Pre- Diabetes: Pre- Diabetes is a condition when your blood sugar levels are high but not that high to classify you as a diabetic. It is a stage between normal and diabetes stage. It is also called Borderline Diabetes, Chemical Diabetes, Touch of Diabetes, Honeymoon Period of diabetes. ADA defines it as a stage before the development of diabetes, with normal glucose tolerance, but with an increased risk of developing diabetes in near future.
Type I Diabetes: Popularly known as Juvenile- Onset Diabetes, it is a condition in which the body fails to produce insulin. It occurs most often in childhood or in the teens. Individuals with this type of diabetes need daily injections of insulin. They must balance their daily intake of food and activities carefully with their insulin shots to keep sugar levels under control. Juvenile - diabetes is an autoimmune disorder which can be due to environmental trigger or virus, which hampers the function of beta cell. Once the beta cells are destroyed the body is unable to produce insulin. A child with diabetic siblings is more prone to develop juvenile diabetes than the child from a totally unaffected family. It is considered to be a more hereditary problem than excess eating or being obese. Almost 5 percent of the population suffers from juvenile diabetes.
Type II Diabetes: Type 2 Diabetes is also called non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. This occurs around 35 to 40 years. The more common of the two types, it accounts for about 90 per cent of the diabetics. It is characterized by the inability of body to use insulin. Here, though the pancreas produce adequate insulin, body cells show reduced sensitivity towards it. Type 2 diabetes is usually triggered by obesity. The best way to fight it is by weight loss, exercise and dietary control. The treatment can be either through oral medication or through insulin injections.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM): This type of diabetes occurs in pregnant females usually during late pregnancy. It is due to the fact that the hormones produced during pregnancy reduce woman’s receptivity to insulin. It is often a temporary phase which goes away as soon as the pregnancy ends. However, these females are always at a higher risk of developing diabetes during the later years of life. Gestational diabetes, affects approximately 4% of all the pregnant females.