By: Terry Cod,

Current Not yet Rated There are in fact two main types of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2, and they are completely different in cause and treatment regime. There is also a strain of diabetes called gestational diabetes that only affects pregnant women.

To understand diabetes, we must first understand the part that insulin plays in our body. When we eat or drink fructose, glucose or carbohydrates, our system converts them into glucose within the blood stream. For us to be able to use the glucose to produce energy, the pancreas produces insulin which 'unlocks' receptors in our cells and permits the glucose to enter the cells and be converted into energy.

Type 1 diabetes is characterised by the failure of the body to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels correctly. It is often referred to as juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes, and it usually occurs in people under the age of 30.

The condition comes on quite quickly and is recognised by excessive thirst brought on by an excess of glucose in the blood stream. This also results in excessive urination, another symptom. It is a chronic condition – that is, it is a lifelong condition. It appears that the pancreatic cells that create the insulin could have been destroyed or damaged by the body's own immune system.

Those suffering from Type 1 diabetes make up about 5-10% of those with diabetes and it is controlled by introducing insulin either by drip feed or more normally by regular injection. A missed dose of insulin for a Type 1 diabetic can cause serious problems including loss of consciousness and they are also at risk for serious complications.

There is new technology that has surfaced in recent years where a transplant of islet cells is done, and even though the patient needs to take drugs to stop the body rejecting the cells, the newly introduced cells are capable of producing insulin and patients involved in the trial have reported significantly reduced need for insulin injection. The hope is that the injections may eventually be completely eliminated through the use of islet cell transplants.

Type 1 diabetics are prone over time to suffer from micro-vascular disorders, sight problems, vascular disorders and kidney problems due largely to long term damage to their blood vessels.

Type 2 diabetes applies to the vast majority of diabetes cases. Sufferers from type 2 diabetes are able to produce insulin, but their cell receptors have become resistant to the chemical. Thus, their body has to produce greater amounts of insulin in order to 'unlock' the cells so that they are able to extract the glucose from the blood stream. Eventually, these patients reach the point where they are unable to produce enough insulin to lower the sugar levels in their blood stream.

Type 2 diabetes affects 15-20% of those over the age of 60. A substantial number of adults remain undiagnosed as diabetes sufferers. It is normally discovered during a physical check-up following complaints of problems such as chest, urinary of skin infections.

Type 2 diabetes can be managed through weight reduction and diet control or through tablets. Although there is a definite genetic link to the disease in 80% of cases, it is brought about by being overweight, a lack of exercise and eating too much food full of high glycaemic index carbohydrates (white rice, sugar, white bread and fruit).Exercise, weight management and an eating regime low in fructose, sugars and processed carbohydrates are acknowledged to be important as avoidance techniques.

Many members of the medical profession are expressing alarm at the recent trend of children being found suffering from Type 2 diabetes. This is almost certainly due to the high incidence of childhood obesity, together with the lack of exercise that overweight children take and the foods they eat that are high in sugar and carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index.

Around 4% of pregnant women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Most women recover from this form of diabetes once the baby has been born, but it does appear to indicate an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in their lives.

The most well known symptom of diabetes is constant thirst and subsequent regular urination. Other symptoms include unexplained weight loss, itching, dizziness, constant fatigue and leg pains walking.

If diabetes just involved taking insulin for the remainder of your life, it wouldn't be such a worrying illness. Sadly, people suffering from diabetes have a number of elevated risks including:

- twice the rate of heart disease compared to non-sufferers

- five times more likely to have a stroke

- the most frequent cause of amputation of limbs outside of accidents

- blindness; of the new cases of blindness in people aged between 24 and 74, diabetes is the most likely cause

- the leading cause of end-stage renal disease and over one third of new kidney diseases.

Consistent and accurate management of blood sugar levels reduces the chances of any of the above occurring.