What Is Diabetes?

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Term Paper Title	What Is Diabetes?
# of Words	1402
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.61

What is Diabetes?

     Diabetes is a condition that affects the way the body uses food. During the normal digestion process, the body converts food into glucose (sugar) to be used by the bodys cells as a source of energy. In order for glucose to get into the bodys cells, the body needs insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas gland. In people with diabetes, insulin is either absent or lacking, or  the body doesnt respond to the insulin that is produced. As a result, the body cannot use glucose for energy and it begins to builds up in the blood, creating high sugar levels in the body.

     Approximately 14 million Americans have some form of diabetes. The two major types of diabetes are Type I, a.k.a. insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and Type II, a.k.a. non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. A third type, called gestational diabetes, occurs
during pregnancy and usually disappears after pregnancy.

Diabetes Type I

     Diabetes Type I, a.k.a. insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disease that affects the way your body uses food. In type I diabetes your body destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, usually leading to a total failure to produce insulin. It typically starts in children or young adults who are slim, but can start at any age.

     Without insulin, your body cannot control blood levels of sugar. And without insulin, you would die. So people with type I diabetes give themselves at least one shot of insulin every day.  More than 700,000 Americans have this type of diabetes. This is about 10 percent of all Americans diagnosed with diabetes. You must inject insulin under the skin, in the fat, for it to work. You cannot take insulin in a pill. The juices in your stomach would destroy the insulin before it could work. Scientists are looking for new ways to give insulin. But today, shots are the only method.

Type I diabetes often appears suddenly. Signs and symptoms are:

   1.High levels of sugar in the blood.
   2.High levels of sugar in the urine.
   3.Frequent urination, and/or bed wetting in children.
   4.Extreme hunger.
   5.Extreme thirst.
   6.Extreme weight loss.
   7.Weakness and tiredness.
   8.Feeling edgy and having mood changes.
   9.Feeling sick to your stomach and vomiting.

     We do not know exactly what causes diabetes. We do know that people inherit a tendency to get diabetes. But not all people who have this tendency will get the disease. Other things such as illnesses must also come into play for diabetes to beg...

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