American Diabetes Association ADA - Your Type 2 Diabetes Action Plan: Tips, Techniques, and Practical Advice for Living Well with Diabetes

Chapter 1
About Diabetes

Here, well dig into the basics of diabetes, including the roles of insulin and glucose. Youll find out about different types of diabetes and different people who have diabetes. In this chapter, youll also learn about diagnostic tests and risk factors for you and your family. Most importantly, discover how a diabetes care plan can help you take charge of your diabetes.

Whats Inside:

Youve heard the word diabetes. Probably you or someone in your family or a friend has diabetes. But what does it really mean?

There are different types of diabetes, with type 1 and type 2 diabetes being the most common forms. Diabetes shares a common thread: the bodys inability to make insulin or use insulin properly or a combination of both. OK, so insulin is a key player in diabetes, but what exactly is insulin?

Insulin is a hormone that our body produces in the pancreas. We use insulin to do lots of amazing things in our bodies, but one of its main jobs is to help us convert the food that we eat into forms of energy that are stored. Our body can use this stored energy later, when we might need it.

Insulin does not work alone. In fact, insulin works closely with a sugar called glucose to make our bodies run smoothly. After we eat, our body turns that cinnamon raisin bagel or fish taco into smaller building blocks of nutrients. One of those building blocks is called glucose.

Glucose travels into our bloodstream to different cells. Heres the catch: our body needs insulin to help glucose get into some of the necessary cells. Without insulin, glucose cant do its job of saving energy for our bodies. Insulin and glucose work together to create stored energy, which is so essential for our bodies.

In diabetes, our body cant make or use insulin properly and things go awry. Stored energy may be broken down into too much fuel at a time when we dont need it.

There are several different types of diabetes, but the two most common types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. Scientists distinguish the different types of diabetes by what tends to happen inside our bodies in terms of insulin and glucose.

In type 1 diabetes, your body destroys the cells in your pancreas (beta cells) that make insulin. Sometimes this destruction can happen quite quickly. This is why you may have heard about a child or adult rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Other times, the destruction occurs more slowly, such as in adults with latent autoimmune diabetes, called LADA. In general, people with type 1 diabetes cannot make enough insulin.

In type 2 diabetes, your body may have problems with the beta cells that make insulin or problems with the cells that receive insulin to do their jobsor both. In other words, your body doesnt make enough insulin and your body isnt as sensitive to insulin, or a combination. The good news is that many people with type 2 diabetes are able to boost their production or sensitivity to insulin by making healthy lifestyle changes or taking medications. Therefore, you can do something about your diabetes!

Some women get diabetes when they become pregnant, which is called gestational diabetes. It usually goes away after pregnancy, but you are more likely to have it with future pregnancies. Also, women with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later. If you have gestational diabetes, youll work with your health care provider to manage your diabetes during your pregnancy to keep you and your baby healthy.

Diabetes Worldwide

Around the world, 382 million people had diabetes in 2013.

Type 2 diabetes appears to be increasing in every country.

Source: International Diabetes Federation

Prediabetes

Some people have higher than normal blood glucose that is not high enough to be considered diabetes. It is called prediabetes. Half of Americans 65 and older have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with prediabetes may not have any symptoms. Yet, its important to diagnose people with prediabetes because these people are at high risk for someday developing diabetes. And studies show that making changes to diet and exercise and even taking medication can delay diabetes in these patients.

The vast majority of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. About 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2, while 5 to 10 percent of people with diabetes have type 1.