Diabetes Info

Causes of Diabetes

November 5th, 2007 | by admin |

The functioning of the human body depends heavily on the production of a hormone called insulin by the pancreas. If enough insulin isn’t produced, or when the insulin produced isn’t effective enough, the level of glucose in the body does not get regulated. This, at a very basic level, is the medical condition known as diabetes mellitus, or just diabetes.Type 1 diabetes

In Type 1 diabetes the insulin producing cells in the pancreas damaged or destroyed, resulting in lack of insulin. Ordinarily, it is the result of the body’s immune system attacking its own cells in the pancreas - known as an autoimmune reaction.

There are several theories on why and how this happens:

• Infection with a specific virus or bacteria;
• Exposure to food-borne chemical toxins; and
• Exposure as a very young infant to cow’s milk, where an as yet unidentified component of this triggers the autoimmune reaction in the body.

Of course, these are only hypotheses and are not proven causes.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2, is a different form of diabetes. It is believed to occur when:

• The receptors on cells in the body that normally respond to the action of insulin fail to be stimulated by it - this is known as insulin resistance. In response to this more insulin may be produced, and this over-production exhausts the insulin-manufacturing cells in the pancreas;
• There isn’t sufficient insulin produced
• The insulin that is produced may be abnormal and doesn’t work properly.

Apart from these, certain other factors also increase the risks of Type 2 diabetes:

• Age;
• Obesity; and
• Prolonged and regular physical inactivity.

Rarer causes of diabetes include:

• Certain medicines;
• Pregnancy (gestational diabetes); and
• Any disease or ailment of the pancreas e.g. pancreatitis.