Diabetes is what it is commonly known to the mass populous but its proper medical name is Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes comes from the Greek word meaning “to siphon” and Mellitus is a Latin word for “sweet” or “honey”, thus referring to sugar in the urine. It is described as a group of disorders that have a collection of symptoms that are part of the same dysfunction. To start from the root of what Diabetes Mellitus is and its different disorders, we must take a closer look into how each and every cell in the human body needs energy to function properly no matter what system is at hand. The system that deals with disorders of Diabetes Mellitus lie within the digestive system and the primary source of energy in this system is a monosaccharide or simple sugar called glucose. Glucose results out of the digestion process of foods consumed that contain carbohydrates which are starches and sugars. When Glucose is formed from the digested food it circulates in the blood stream becoming a ready energy source for cells that need it. The pancreas, which is an organ within the digestive system, creates a hormone produced by beta cells called insulin. What the main job of insulin to do in the system is to move the glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, liver, and fat cells, thus creating energy. When there is a lack in production of insulin or none at all from the pancreas, the glucose gets blocked and is not allowed to be properly absorbed as well as hindering the sugar into the needy cells. This hindrance is the major reason why people have high levels of blood glucose, poor protein synthesis and other metabolic deterrents. The dysfunction of the pancreas, its insulin output among a few other reasoning’s is why people obtain the disease Diabetes Mellitus. Also due to everyone’s different genetic makeup there are different levels of this irrevocable lifelong chronic disease.
Types of Diabetes Mellitus and Causes
There are several types of Diabetes Mellitus that exist. The three most common are Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes. Each have different as well as similar causes to them all.
Type 1 DM-Which is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and formally referred to as juvenile diabetes because it was the main case for children at an early age to obtain the disease, but it can also occur at age. It results from the body failing to produce insulin due to the loss of beta cells within the pancreas that help produce the necessary hormone. This is called insulin deficiency and people who have this type of DM must be treated with insulin injections on a daily basis or wear an insulin pump to help the body regulate what it does not have. The cause of this type of DM is still unclear, but theories point to it being inherited from generations past, factors of the environment, or triggered by a low auto immune system that is affected by certain infections or viruses. IDDM comes on very rapidly and must be treated immediately.
Type 2 DM-Which is known as non-insulin-dependent mellitus (NIDDM) and once formally called mature-onset diabetes most often occurs during adulthood, but as Type 1 DM it too now can come at any age. With this type of diabetes the pancreas still produces insulin, so hence beta cells are there and working, but not enough that so the body has a reduced insulin secretion. This is called insulin deficiency. It is not rapidly onset as Type 1 DM and those who have it usually don’t realize it at first unless there is proper testing yearly. It is the most common type of DM and like Type 1 it can be due to heredity, but lack of poor nutrition, diet, and exercise contribute immensely. This is a main factor that not only adults are diagnosed with this disease these days, because the youth struggle too with bad eating habits and lack of exercise. What is put into the system, or don’t has a major effect on how cholesterol builds up as well as fat