Diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate metabolism. It has little to do with fat or cholesterol metabolism. It is a disease in which blood sugar levels are chronically above normal. People develop diabetes when the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body does not properly use insulin.
When the person eat carbohydrates, such as a bowl of pasta or some vegetables, the digestive system breaks the carbohydrates down into simple sugars such as glucose, which travel into and through the bloodstream to nourish and energize cell.
Insulin is released by beta cells (located in the islet of Langerhans) in response to the rise in blood sugar levels after food eaten. By directing sugar into liver and muscle cells, insulin promotes the storage of nutrients and prevents blood sugar levels, from rising excessively.
The higher blood sugar levels, the greater the chance to develop diabetes.
High blood sugar or diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not properly use insulin; as a consequence, blood glucose levels are elevated.
In type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar happens when certain cells in the body are not able to use or ‘burn’ the sugar fast enough.
Excess insulin results in low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. Too much glucose enters cells, lowering blood glucose levels too far.
When blood glucose levels drop too much, nervousness, irritability, hunger, headache, shakiness, rapid heartbeat and weakness can develop.
Sugar in diabetic patient
