Diabetes Info

The Causes of Diabetes

January 3rd, 2008 | by admin |

Diabetes is a mystery disease. There are many hypotheses regarding its causes, but none of these hypotheses have been proven so far. The most recent studies point to a hormone secreted by the skull, not the pancreas.  

The aggressive nature of certain cells in the body destroys the beta cells of the pancreas, leading to an acute shortage of insulin. The condition is called Type 1 Diabetes. It has been proposed, though not yet proved, that this condition may be due to viral or bacterial infection. It could also be due to an exposure to certain food-borne chemical toxins. Cow’s milk is said to contain an unidentified element that leads to this condition. Therefore, persons who are given cow’s milk at a very young age are more liable to develop Type 1 Diabetes. However, these are as yet unproven facts. 

In Type 2 Diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or it does not produce insulin at all. In some cases, the insulin produced does not function effectively, and this raises the level of glucose in the blood. A series of factors, such as heredity, poor diet, obesity, hypertension, and sedentary life style could lead to diabetes. People, who have diabetic parents or siblings, are 25 percent more prone to get diabetes. 

In addition to this, there are some rarer causes of diabetes. Sometimes, the condition can be induced by drugs, such as Clozapine, Olanzapine, Risperidone, Quetiapine, and Ziparsidone. It can also be caused by pregnancy. The culprit could also be a disease, such as pancreatitis, that damages the pancreas and affects its ability to produce insulin. 

It is important to know what does not cause diabetes. Food, in itself, is not a culprit. However, overeating and lack of exercise leads to obesity, and this in turn, increases the risk of diabetes.

Diabetes is not caused by stress alone, although stress might lead to other unhealthy conditions that might lead to diabetes.

Diabetes is definitely not contagious. A proper study of the factors that raise the risk of diabetes will go a long way in helping a person prevent or delay its onset.