Many Americans die from it every day, but people still scratch their heads when asked about it. What exactly is diabetes, how serious is it, what are its effects and symptoms, but most importantly how do we control it.Diabetes if the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the United States. Diabetes mellitus prevents the body’s cells from using food properly. Humans are equipped with the ability to change what they eat into sugar. The more common name for that sugar is glucose. Glucose gives us energy and growth. Instead of using this essential sugar, a person with diabetes passes it out of the body in their urine. The words, diabetes mellitus, have roots from other languages. The word diabetes comes from the Greek word meaning “to cross over or pass through.” Mellitus comes from the Latin word meaning “honey”. There are two kinds of diabetes mellitus: Type Type II and I. Type I diabetes is also called insulin - dependent diabetes. It usually occurs in children or young adults. Type I is the form of diabetes caused by the insufficient production of insulin. In the past, this malformation was known as juvenile diabetes or juvenile-onset diabetes. Most people with Type I aren’t diagnosed when they are children or young adults. Diabetes can occur at any and all ages, so, the term juvenile diabetes isn’t really correct. Type II diabetes occurs for more frequently than Type I. It generally affects people who are 40 and older. Another name is adult-onset diabetes. Unlike Type I patients, most people with Type II don’t have to take insulin injections daily to control the disease. However, a majority of Type 2 diabetics do have to take medication such as Glucophage to control their insulin from going to low or too high. What Type II people suffer from is an inability to use insulin effectively. What is insulin? Insulin is a hormone. Hormones are chemicals that bring messa...
