Diabetes and the body | Diabetes UK

In this film we are going to explain how your

body

processes the food you consume to provide all the cells in the

body

with the energy they need, and also what happens when you have

diabetes

and this system does not work correctly. When you eat foods that contain carbohydrates, they are broken down in the stomach and digestive system into glucose, which is a type of sugar. sugar. We need glucose from food because that is what gives us energy. Foods that contain carbohydrates are things like starchy foods, sugary foods, milk and some dairy products, and fruits. This glucose then passes into the bloodstream and the body detects that the blood glucose level is increasing.

In response to that, the pancreas, which is a small gland located just below the stomach, begins to release a hormone called insulin and it is insulin that helps our body get energy from the food we eat. The bloodstream then carries glucose and insulin to every cell in our body that needs it. To make this easier to understand, let's look at muscle cells. In muscle cells, it is insulin that allows glucose to enter the cells, where it can be used for energy. It's a bit like insulin is a key that opens the door to your cells so glucose can enter.

That way, blood glucose levels begin to go down, but the blood glucose level can rise at any time when the liver releases additional glucose that it has stored. Blood glucose rises again and again, the pancreas produces more insulin to move that glucose through the bloodstream to the muscle cells, open the doors and let the glucose in. The body functions best with blood glucose at an optimal level. You don't like your blood glucose level to get too high. Normally there is a cycle within the body that balances the level of glucose and insulin and this is achieved by the food you eat, the pancreas and the liver.

However, in some people the system does not work properly and they develop

diabetes

. There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin at all. This is due to an autoimmune response whereby the body has destroyed the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. We don't fully know why that happens in some people and not in others. Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 10 percent of all cases. It occurs most frequently in people under 40 years of age and is, by far, the most common type of diabetes in childhood. In type 1 diabetes, foods containing carbohydrates are converted into glucose normally.

That glucose then passes into the bloodstream. Normally, the body would produce insulin to allow glucose to enter the cells, but in type 1 diabetes no insulin is produced, so glucose cannot enter the body's cells at all, so the glucose level In it the blood rises and rises. The body tries to reduce the glucose level, it tries to get rid of glucose through the kidneys. This is why people who have undiagnosed type 1 diabetes tend to go to the bathroom a lot to urinate. As the kidneys filter glucose from the blood, they also absorb a lot of water, so the person with diabetes will be very thirsty.

Urine contains a lot of glucose and that creates an environment where it is quite easy for bacteria to thrive, which is why it is also quite common to suffer from thrush or genital itching. In the same way, the blood also contains a high level of glucose, so more bacteria than usual will tend to reproduce in superficial wounds and their healing may be slow. Glucose can also build up in the lens at the front of the eye, causing the lens fluid to become cloudy. That may mean that some people with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes may have blurred vision.

Because glucose cannot reach the cells to be used for energy, someone who has undiagnosed type 1 diabetes will begin to feel very tired, lethargic, and unable to carry out their normal daily routine. But the body still needs an energy source to function properly, so what it does is it starts to break down fats and that can lead to weight loss. Thus, the main symptoms of type 1 diabetes are going to the bathroom a lot, thirst, thrush or genital itching, slow wound healing, blurred vision, tiredness and weight loss. These symptoms usually occur fairly quickly, often within a few weeks, and can be reversed once the diabetes is treated with insulin.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 percent of all cases in the population. It is more common in the 40+ age group in the white population and in the 25+ age group in the South Asian population. Type 2 diabetes is a little more complex because there are a little more processes at play. Either the body does not produce enough insulin or the insulin it does produce does not work properly. This can be due to being overweight because fat accumulation can prevent insulin from doing its job properly, but it can also occur in people of a healthy weight. So, in type 2 diabetes, foods containing carbohydrates are broken down into glucose in the stomach and digestive system normally.

That glucose then passes into the bloodstream. The pancreas begins to produce insulin which moves with glucose through the bloodstream to all the cells in the body that need glucose for energy. However, glucose cannot always enter the cells because the locks on the cell doors are filled with fatty deposits. That means insulin can't open cell doors properly. Then the blood glucose level continues to rise. In response to this, the pancreas produces even more insulin, so blood glucose levels continue to rise and insulin levels continue to rise. This situation is further complicated because cells are desperate for energy and send emergency signals to the liver to release stored glucose.

The blood glucose level rises higher and higher and the pancreas produces more and more insulin until it can't take it anymore and eventually wears out. As with type 1 diabetes, the symptoms of type 2 diabetes are going to the bathroom a lot, thirst, thrush or genital itching, slow wound healing, blurred vision, tiredness and weight loss in some people. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes appear very slowly and some people have no symptoms at all. For that reason, people can live with type 2 diabetes for up to 10 years before realizing they have it. Type 2 diabetes can be treated in different ways.

Initially, it may be enough to make changes in the foods you eat and engage in additional physical activity or lose weight as appropriate. But type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition and most people will need some type of medication to treat it.