Blood Sugar
The amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by insulin. When food is digested and enters the bloodstream, insulin helps to move glucose, or blood sugar, out of the blood and into cells where it is broken down to produce energy. Diabetics either do not have enough insulin or there is a poor response to insulin and the body is unable to fully use the glucose. The blood sugar becomes too high and prevents the body from properly converting foods into energy needed for everyday activities. If the body does not make enough insulin or if the insulin doesn't work well, glucose cannot get into the cells. The amount of glucose increases in the blood and the cells are starved of energy. The high level of blood sugar causes diabetes, explains the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.
Conditions
Type 2 diabetes is the most common in adults. It happens when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin so the body cannot use glucose for energy. Simply eating a healthy diet and monitoring blood sugar levels may control type 2 diabetes. However, it is also a progressive condition and may lead to taking insulin medication as the years go on. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. Only about 5 to 10 percent of people with diabetes have this type of the disease. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin needed to convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy. People with this disease need the help of insulin therapy and other treatments to manage their condition, but they can live long, healthy lives.
Pregnancy
Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women who may have never had diabetes but have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. This disorder affects about 4 percent of all pregnant women in the U.S. Doctors are not sure what causes gestational diabetes, but they believe hormones from the placenta may be involved, explains the American Diabetes Association. The hormones help a baby's development, but the same hormones also block the action of the mother's insulin in her body. This insulin resistance makes it hard for the mother's body to use insulin at a time when she may need up to three times as much insulin. The glucose cannot leave the blood and help produce energy. It builds up in the blood, causing high blood sugar levels, or hyperglycemia.
