Biology 4/5
11 May, 2012
Diabetes
Diabetes is classified as a metabolism disorder, and a metabolism is the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth. The majority of what we eat is broken down into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar and it is the main provider of fuel for our bodies. When our food is broken down into glucose, it travels into our bloodstream. Then our cells use the glucose for energy and growth. But, glucose can’t enter our cells without insulin. Insulin is a hormone, and it is produced by our pancreas. After consuming food, our pancreas will automatically begin to release the appropriate amount of insulin in order to move the glucose present in our blood into the cells, which in turn will lower our blood sugar level. There are 3 types of diabetes:
Diabetes Type 1 - You produce no insulin at all.
Diabetes Type 2 - You don't produce enough insulin, or your insulin is not working properly.
Gestational Diabetes - You develop diabetes just during your pregnancy.
A person who lives with diabetes, has a disorder where the glucose in their blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia). This happens because the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, it doesn’t produce any insulin, or it has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin the pancreas produces. And as a result they have too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose will exit the body in urine sooner or later. So, although the blood has an excess of glucose, the