How does diabetes occur?
Diabetes is one of the more common long term illnesses people suffer with in the UK. Nearly 2.8 million suffer from diabetes and there are many more out there with diabetes that are not yet diagnosed. It is estimated that approximately 1 million people in the UK have the condition but are unaware of it. Normally, a hormone called insulin produced by the pancreas, a gland located behind the stomach is needed to move any glucose (type of sugar) out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy. This occurs when we eat and food is digested and enters the bloodstream. In people with diabetes, the body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there is either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or because the insulin that is there does not work properly.
There are two types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes which occurs when the body does not produce any insulin at all.
Type 2 diabetes which occurs when not enough insulin is produced by the body for it to function properly, or when the body’s cells do not react to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is far more common with around 90% of all adults in the UK suffering from this form of diabetes.
