DIABETES

Diabetes is a condition where people don't produce enough insulin to
meet their body's needs and/or their cells don't respond properly to
insulin.Insulin is important because it moves glucose, a simple sugar,
into the body's cells from the blood. It also has a number of other
effects on metabolism.
The food that people eat provides the body with glucose, which is used
by the cells as a source of energy. If insulin isn't available or
doesn't work correctly to move glucose from the blood into cells,
glucose will stay in the blood. High blood glucose levels are toxic,
and cells that don't get glucose are lacking the fuel they need.
There are two main kinds of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2
diabetes.More than 90% of all people with diabetes have type 2.
Overall, about 30 million people in North America have diabetes. Only
about two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes are aware of it and
are receiving treatment because, for many people, early symptoms are
not noticeable without testing.
Type 1 diabetesoccurs when the pancreas cannot make insulin. Everyone
with type 1 diabetes requires insulin injections.
Type 2 diabetesoccurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin
or the body does not use insulin properly. It usually occurs in
adults, although in some cases children may be affected. People with
type 2 diabetes usually have a family history of this condition and
are most often overweight. People with type 2 diabetes may eventually
need insulin injections. This condition occurs most commonly in people
of First Nations descent, Hispanics, and North Americans of African
descent.
Another less common form isgestational diabetes, a temporary condition
that occurs during pregnancy. According to the Canadian Diabetes
Association (CDA), depending on risk factors, between 3% to 20% of
Canadian women will develop gestational diabetes. The problem usually
clears up after delivery, but women who have had gestational diabetes
have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.