Exploring The Causes Of Diabetes

Diabetes can be one of the worst chronic diseases, robbing you of your health and ultimately our life. While doctors disagree about the causes of the disease, there are several factors believed to heighten your risk of contracting diabetes. In order to reduce risk factors, you should pay attention to your general health, especially your diet, and learn everything scientists already know about this disease. It has already been proven that genetics play a role in the risk of contracting diabetes. Family history bears this out, even going back a century or more to before the disease was well-known. Those with an immediate family member who has diabetes are up to 33% more likely to eventually end up getting the disease than those whose family histories do not contain it. Let us take a look at the causes of diabetes…

There are also special risk factors for children, especially those whose mothers already have diabetes. A mother who has contracted diabetes prior to conception or suffers from gestational diabetes while pregnant seems more likely to bear children who suffer from juvenile diabetes than a mother who is free of the disease. Children whose fathers have diabetes are also at risk for contracting it in childhood, but the risk is far less.

This is especially true for juvenile diabetes. The children most at risk for diabetes have one or more parents who already has the disease, especially if the diabetic parent is the child’s mother. An additional risk factor is the onset of gestational diabetes in the mother while pregnant with the child. If the mother was diabetic prior to conception, the risk increases still further.

While none of these factors is an absolute cause of diabetes, it is especially important to monitor the mother during pregnancy. If the mother’s blood sugar is kept at proper levels throughout the pregnancy, she is far less likely to pass diabetes on to her unborn child.

Scientists around the world are working on isolating the genes that cause diabetes. No single cause has been determined yet, nor has a cure been found. However, studies show that diabetes can be effectively controlled so that it does not significantly affect your life or the lives of your loved ones.

In addition to studying genetics, scientists are currently examining the effect of diabetes medication on those at risk for the disease, especially immediate family members of those who already have diabetes. Equally important as genetics is the type of food a person eats. Diabetes is known to be the “disease of prosperity” because studies have shown a link between chronic overeating and the onset of the disease. Over the course of a lifetime, excessive amounts of sugar, fat, and protein appear to cause the body to become diabetic.

Excessive eating overworks the pancreas, the organ responsible for secreting insulin to keep blood sugar at tolerable levels. When the pancreas is overtaxed for years, it becomes paralyzed and ceases to produce insulin.. Interestingly, people in poor countries where overeating is very uncommon rarely contract diabetes.

Genetics and diet are the primary known causes of diabetes. You can’t do much about your genes, but if you follow a proper diet and exercise regularly you can lessen your risk of diabetes.

Outlook: Some diabetes statistics