Even though people talk about having diabetes, the term actually describes a group of diseases. These conditions all relate to the body’s ability to produce or use insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps you remove glucose, or sugar, from your blood, and convert it into energy. When this process is disrupted, your blood sugar levels can rise. Glucose, the form of sugar found in your blood, is one of your main energy sources. A lack of insulin or a resistance to insulin causes sugar to build up in your blood. This can lead to health problems. The three main types of diabetes are:
- Pre-Diabetes
If your glucose numbers are higher than normal, you may be diagnosed with prediabetes. This means that your body is becoming resistant to insulin, and is growing less efficient at removing sugar from the blood and converting it into energy. If left untreated, prediabetes can develop into type 2 diabetes. The good news is that prediabetes can be reversed with treatment and lifestyle changes.
- Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is also called juvenile diabetes and is an autoimmune disorder, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the pancreas. When enough of these cells are destroyed, the body can no longer produce insulin, and glucose starts building up in the blood. Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes can progress very rapidly. Symptoms can come on suddenly and become very severe within weeks or months.
- Type 2 Diabetes
The most common form of diabetes is type 2. With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas keeps making insulin, but the body becomes resistant to it. That means the insulin gradually stops working, and glucose starts to accumulate in your bloodstream over time. With type 2 diabetes, symptoms develop slowly, often over years, so you might not start to notice a problem until the disease is quite advanced.
- Gestational Diabetes
Up to 10% of pregnant women may develop gestational diabetes, a condition that causes glucose levels to rise during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed through routine screening. In some cases it can be managed through diet and exercise, while other women will need to take insulin or other medications.
While gestational diabetes usually goes away after you give birth, it can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
(Disclaimer: Brand Desk Content)
