Diabetes Basics
What Are The Causes Of Diabetes?
To understand the causes of diabetes, you
first need to know about the mechanism of insulin. This insulin breaks
down the complex carbohydrates, fatty acids and proteins into more
manageable glucose molecules which are mono-sugars and help the body
digest and absorb the food. When the body is not able to produce enough
insulin due to genetic and environmental factors it causes the glucose
to remain in the bloodstream causing harm to most organs and ends up
making you a diabetic.
There are numerous
factors which cause diabetes but some of the major ones are:
A) Heredity/ Genetic causes: Though it hasn't been proved beyond doubt,
our genes have a major role to play in most diseases, diabetes being
one of them. A person has a 20 % chance of inheriting diabetes if both
of his parents have it and only 2 to 4 % if only one has it.
B) Infections: Some viral infections alter the insulin producing Beta
cells which make it impossible for the human body to recognize and
destroy them.
C) Food: It's not a crime to eat or drink foods containing a huge amount
of sugar as long as your body is producing the requisite amount of
insulin. It is only when there is scarcity of insulin in the body that
it leads to diabetes.
D) Weight/ Age: Being overweight and being above 40 are some of the
important causes for type II diabetes.
Some of the other factors are:
1) Lack of exercise
2) Pregnancy
3) Fatigue
4) Blurry vision
5) Thirst
6) High blood pressure
7) High cholesterol levels
Scientists surmise that these are some of the factors which in
combination with one another can cause diabetes.