Diabetes is a chronic disease that results from higher than normal levels of sugar in the blood. This occurs as the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin and fat, liver and muscle cells fail to respond properly to insulin that is produced.
Types
There are three different types of diabetes. Gestational is the type that occurs during pregnancy. Type 1 usually occurs during childhood, although it can appear when older. Type 2 diabetes is the common form that usually begins in adulthood due to the pancreas not producing enough insulin for blood glucose levels to stay within normal limits. Because more people are overweight or obese and many people do not exercise enough, type 2 cases are significantly increasing. With statistics showing that more than 40 million Americans have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and an additional 20 million people having diabetes, preventive medicine can play a major role in reducing these numbers as well as managing cases of existing diabetes to prevent serious complications.