DIABETES CARE

Because it so often manifests in children, Type I diabetes is often referred to as juvenile diabetes. It involves the gland known as the pancreas, which is located near the stomach and responsible for making and secreting the hormone insulin. Insulin is an essential part of the food digestion and energy production cycle. In Type I diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, which causes insulin production to drop below normal levels or cease altogether. Without insulin, the body cannot use food energy properly, and the body cannot function. 

When we eat, carbohydrate foods are broken down into glucose, a type of simple sugar. Glucose is the form of food energy that our body best utilizes. Glucose gets into the bloodstream, circulates and is pushed into the cells by the hormone insulin. The cells then use glucose as fuel.

For a Type I diabetic, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, so the cells cannot absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Therefore it stays in the bloodstream until the kidneys secrete it into the urine; this is why a diabetic will have high glucose levels in their urine. Having the glucose remain in the blood instead of being pushed into the cells not only robs your body of the energy it needs to function but also causes your organs and blood vessels to become damaged. Prolonged high-level blood glucose is what makes diabetes so dangerous. If you can control your blood glucose levels, your body will not be damaged. That fact is what makes daily management and control of diabetes so critically important.

A person with Type I diabetes must provide their body with insulin via shots or an insulin pump. Currently, medical science does not know exactly what causes the body’s immune system to attack and destroy pancreatic beta cells. It is believed that genetic and environmental factors, or possibly viruses, are responsible. Research continues.