Understand diabetes. Learn about the causes of the different types of diabetes.

Diabetes Causes

Causes of Diabetes - Adult onset, insulin dependent, juvenile diabetes, Type 1, Type 2?sounds confusing and rightly so. However, to help sort things out some simplification in terminology is in order. Type 1 Diabetics, once called juvenile diabetes, are insulin dependent. People with Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult onset diabetes, are insulin resistant. Each type of Diabetes is caused by an assortment of factors; but may share some commonalities. It is important to understand what are not causes of diabetes. These factors include exposure to a diabetic, getting diabetes from food, or stress. Sometimes, when one is under stress or has an illness, Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes may be discovered, but the illness was not cause of the diabetes?those situations merely brought the problem to the surface.

American Diabetics - There are 18.2 million people with diabetes in the United States. That means that 6.3 percent of all Americans are diabetic. Even more shocking is the fact some 5.2 million people (nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.

Diabetes and Insulin - People with diabetes suffer from a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, the hormone used to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. People with diabetes do not naturally produce enough insulin in their pancreas. This results in high blood glucose, which, over time, can result in serious health problems.

Blood Glucose - Your cells cannot use blood glucose without the help of insulin. Unfortunately, people with diabetes do not naturally produce enough insulin in their pancreas or do not use the insulin they produce effectively.