Type 1? Type 2? An Introduction to Diabetes

This month, The Good Health Blog Spot is focusing on diabetes. To kick that off, let's start at the beginning: So what exactly is diabetes?

The National Library of Medicine defines diabetes as "a lifelong (chronic) disease in which there is a high level of sugar in the blood." The definition goes on to explain that diabetes is related to insulin, a hormone created in the pancreas to control blood sugar by breaking down glucose in food; diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, a resistance to insulin, or a combination of both. "People with diabetes have high blood sugar because their body cannot move sugar into fat, liver, and muscle cells to be stored for energy."

There are three main types of diabetes:

• Type 1
• Type 2
• Gestational

Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, and is generally diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults. Those with Type 1 diabetes have immune systems that attack and destroy cells in the pancreas, blocking the creation of insulin. For this reason, those with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day in order to survive. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, scientists don't yet know what causes Type 1 diabetes, though it may have something to do with autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors.

The JDRF is an excellent source of information on Type 1 diabetes, especially this list of symptoms and warning signs and this page devoted to common myths and misconceptions about Type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, occurring when your body does not produce enough insulin to convert glucose into energy. While this type of diabetes occasionally occurs in younger people, it is most often diagnosed in middle-aged and older adults; it is also the type most commonly associated with obesity and inactivity.

There are several excellent online resources for those who have, or are at risk for, Type 2 diabetes, including the American Diabetes Association (which has a large section of its website dedicated to Type 2 diabetes) and the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC), a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Gestational diabetes is the third, and least common, form of the condition. This form of diabetes occurs only in women who have elevated levels of blood glucose while pregnant, even though they did not have diabetes or high glucose levels before becoming pregnant. The NDIC is a good introductory resource for information on gestational diabetes.

For more information on diabetes, join the St. Louis Public Library and our partners for "Diabetes: What's New, What Works, and How Can I Prevent It?" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 22 in Central Library's Carnegie Room. And keep checking the blog during July!