Like many conditions, type 2 diabetes can be the result of more than one factor. Here you'll learn the Facts behind causes of Type 2 Diabetes. In the case of type 2 diabetes, genetic propensity and lifestyle are those factors. Those people who come from families with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes are far more likely to develop the condition than those people who come from families free from type 2 diabetes. Similarly, people who come from families that suffer from obesity are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Though genetics play an important role in the probability of the development of diabetes in any person, lifestyle is arguably more important. Eating a diet high in large quantities of calorie-dense foods increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lack of exercise is also a risk factor in the development of diabetes. While either genetic propensity or a high-caloric, low-exercise lifestyle is a serious risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, the two in combination are exponentially more likely to lead to diabetes than simply one or the other alone. The basic effect of a person having genetics that predispose them to developing type 2 diabetes is that their bodies are less able to deal with poor lifestyle choices in the areas of diet and exercise.
Mechanisms of Type 2 Diabetes
Learn the Facts behind Type 2 Diabetes mechanisms: When a healthy person eats food, their body absorbs the carbohydrates from their meal into their blood stream in the form of blood sugar. At this point, insulin excreted by the pancreas carries the sugar (or glucose) from the blood stream to the cells of the body, where the sugar provides fuel and gives the person energy. Naturally, when a person eats more food, or richer, more carbohydrate-dense food, their blood sugar will go up more, which will result in the production and release of more insulin to carry the load of sugar from the bloodstream to the cells.
As long as an individual eats a healthy diet and lives a healthy lifestyle for their genetic type (and isn't otherwise ill), this system works well. When a person begins to eat larger, richer quantities of food consistently, their body becomes used to the higher levels of insulin that it produces. An immunity develops to the presence of the insulin, and eventually, instead of the sugar being carried to the cells, it is trapped in the bloodstream. The answer to this is, of course, the production of more insulin, to the level that the body is again forced to take notice and allows the insulin to carry sugar to the cells. Eventually, if this process continues, the body is no longer able to produce enough insulin naturally for the process to work. The blood sugar continues to go up, and the cells are starved.
Effects of Type 2 Diabetes
The skyrocketing bloodsugar, overproduction of insulin, and starvation of the cells causes a number of harmful reactions in the body, some of which are short term, some of which worsen over years.
Symptoms:
Insatiable hunger:While a person with type 2 diabetes may eat a lot, the energy in the food never makes it to their cells. This causes the body to feel as though it is starving.
Extreme thirst:The higher concentration of glucose in the bloodstream causes a person to feel thirsty, which is a mechanism of the body trying to balance out the fluid/sugar levels.
Exhaustion:Exhaustion is the result of a lack of sugar (fuel) making it to the cells. While the sugar is trapped in the bloodstream, it isn't reaching the cells, causing the body to become fatigued.
Slower healing time:Diabetes reduces the body's ability to heal itself efficiently.
Increase in frequency of infection:Slower healing time and lower immune system response also causes a greater chance of infections.
Acanthosis nigricans:Soft, dark areas can develop on the skin of people with type 2 diabetes.
Vision Problems:When blood glucose levels are exceptionally high, the body may pull fluid from the eyes in an attempt to balance it out. This causes vision problems.
