People who suffer from diabetes, and even those who don’t, often wonder and ask: How do you get diabetes? What is the cause of diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder wherein the body is unable to regulate its blood sugar level. The hormone insulin which is secreted by the pancreas plays an important role in controlling glucose levels in the blood. If the production of insulin is hampered or if the body becomes resistant to insulin, diabetes symptoms may appear.
Types of Diabetes
To answer the question “How do you get diabetes?”, it helps if you know what the main types of diabetes are. Type 1 diabetes occurs when cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin, called beta cells, are destroyed and can no longer produce insulin. Medical professionals believe that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder.
How Do You Get Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, affecting 90-95% of diabetes sufferers. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas continues to produce insulin but the body develops insulin resistance and the insulin becomes less effective.
Gestational diabetes occurs in some women during pregnancy. This condition usually self-corrects after childbirth.
Causes of Type 1 Diabetes
How do you get type 1 diabetes?
Medical experts generally believe that Type 1 diabetes is caused by a combination of genetics and environmental factors. The exact cause is not known but experts think that some people inherit genes that tell the body to destroy beta cells. An unhealthy diet and negative environmental factors can trigger the onset of the disease.
Causes of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes and is characterized by insulin resistance. It usually develops later in life, although these days diabetic sufferers are getting younger and younger.
Genetics also plays a role in Type 2 diabetes. If you have a family member with the condition, you may also develop diabetes. Age may also be a factor – people who are over 40 years old are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Other probable causes of type 2 diabetes include obesity, an unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise.
Causes of Gestational Diabetes
There is no clear answer to the question: How do you get gestational diabetes? This conditional can happen to some women during pregnancy. It is believed that hereditary genes as well as hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause gestational diabetes.
How Do You Prevent Diabetes?
Diabetes may be difficult to avoid and prevent if you are genetically predisposed to the condition, but studies show that a healthy diet, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight can greatly reduce the chances of developing the disease.
