Diabetes is a very serious problem in the modern age with nearly 300 million people worldwide suffering from it. But what causes diabetes? This article will explain the causes of diabetes and also go through the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Causes Of Diabetes Type 1
Type 1 diabetes originates from the pancreas, and more specifically, the cells there. You see, these cells there are in charge of creating the insulin that helps to regulate the blood sugar levels. Now when someone suffers from type 1 diabetes, it means these cells are damaged and cannot make enough insulin to normalize the blood. There can be different reasons for the damaged cells, but it is normally a problem with the immune system where the body starts attacking its own cells. We don’t know exactly what causes diabetes sufferer’s immune systems to act this way but there are several theories.
Generally, it is widely believed that the cause of diabetes type 1 is due to genetics, and in fact, this type of diabetes can often run in the family.
In addition, type 1 diabetes can be caused by a range of different things that damage the cells, which can include injury or tumors.
Causes Of Diabetes Type 2
So what causes diabetes type 2? Instead of the cells producing the insulin being damaged, it is the cells that are supposed to be regulated by the insulin not responding to it’s effects. For this type, the main cause of diabetes is definitely due to genetics, and there is roughly a third chance that you would be diabetic if your parents are. It is also the more common of the two types of diabetes, affecting about 9/10 of diabetes sufferers.
There can be a lot of more other reasons for type 2 diabetes other than genetics, and often it’s a mixture of different things that cause this problem. Being overweight or obese puts you at a much greater risk of developing diabetes type 2. And generally, people living healthy lifestyles are at a 90 percent lower risk than people that don’t. Age can also be a big cause of diabetes type 2, and generally the older you are, the more at risk you are of being diabetic.
Common Misconceptions Of What Causes Diabetes
Many people think stress can be the sole cause of diabetes, but this is not entirely correct. For diabetes to develop, there needs to be other underlying problems like obesity, and it is these factors that are what causes diabetes. Saying that, stress can be a trigger of it all, and due to other problems it causes, it is best to avoid it anyway.
Despite what many people think, having a diet with too much sugar in it doesn’t actually directly cause diabetes. People get this idea because generally, people that intake a lot of sugar generally are overweight and possibly live an unhealthy lifestyle and therefore are more likely to be diabetic.