What is Diabetes, or . . . “The Sugar?”

• Diabetes, a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, is a group of diseases that won’t allow our bodies to properly convert food into energy.

• This conversion process, that our bodies won’t allow, is known as metabolism.

• One sugar energy source, blood glucose, is produced during metabolism.

• The level of blood glucose (sugar) in our blood is regulated by Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas.

Diabetes is distinguished by high levels of blood glucose (sugar) in our system, resulting from our body’s defective insulin production, action, or both.

Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 Diabetes; formerly Juvenile Onset Diabetes, accounts for 5-10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes and results when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys its insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

• Type 2 Diabetes; formerly Adult-Onset Diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes and occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or cannot effectively use the insulin it makes.

In the not-too-distant past, Type 2 Diabetes was normally discovered in adults over 40 years of age. Lately it has become prevalent in younger generations, including adolescents.

• Gestational Diabetes; occurs in women only during pregnancy

The cause of each type of diabetes is different, but the common thread is high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood.

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See Segment #1: Diabetes in the African American Community

See Segment #3: Some Symptoms of Diabetes

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CK Dillon,

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