Type 2 Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease in which people have problems regulating their blood sugar. People with diabetes have high blood sugar because their bodies:

Type 2 diabetes is extremely common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that over 29 million children and adults in the United States have some form of diabetes. That is about 9 percent of the population. The vast majority of these people have type 2 diabetes.

When you eat food, the body digests the carbohydrates in into a type of sugar called glucose. Glucose is the main source of energy for cells. Cells rely on the hormone insulin to absorb and use glucose as a form of energy. Insulin is produced by the pancreas.

People usually develop type 2 diabetes because their cells have become resistant to insulin. Then, over time, their body may stop making sufficient insulin as well. These problems lead to blood sugar, or glucose, building up in the blood

There are several different types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes used to be known as juvenile onset diabetes because it is usually first diagnosed in childhood, though it can be diagnosed later in life as well.. People with type 1 diabetes cannot make insulin and are insulin dependent. They must use insulin injections to control their blood sugar.

According to the CDC, only about five percent of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes (CDC).

There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, and was once known as adult onset diabetes. However, in recent years, the rate of type 2 diagnoses in children has been growing.

Type 2 diabetes usually starts as insulin resistance. Cells stop responding properly to insulin and sugar is unable to get from the blood into the cells. Over time, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin to keep blood sugars in the normal range and the body becomes progressively less able to regulate blood sugar.

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Type 2 Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know