Diabetes

In chapter 12 we touched a little upon diabetes when we discussed glucose regarding the physiology of hunger. As many of you know my sister was diagnosed with diabetes when she was in fifth grade. It was very hard for our family at first but now it just seems 'normal' in a way. It's always hard watching my sister give herself shots and pricks multiple times a day, but to her it is just routine. I always had an idea of what Diabetes is but I have recently wanted to research more. My mom and I are running in the NYC Half Marathon next month and we are running with team JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, in honor of my sister.

Diabetes is a metabolism disorder. Metabolism refers to the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth. Most of what we eat is broken down into glucose. Glucose, the principal source of fuel for our bodies, is a form of sugar in the blood.
When our food is digested the glucose makes its way into our bloodstream. Our cells use the glucose for energy and growth. However, glucose cannot enter our cells without insulin being present because insulin makes it possible for our cells to take in the glucose.

Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. After eating, the pancreas automatically releases an adequate amount of insulin to move the glucose in our blood into the cells, and lowers the blood sugar level.

A person with diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too high. This is because the body either does not produce enough insulin (Type 2 Diabetes), produces no insulin (Type 1 Diabetes), or has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin the pancreas produces. This results in too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body in urine. So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements. I hope now you more aware of what diabetes is!!