What is Type 2 Diabetes

More than likely you have heard about type 2 diabetes, but you may be wondering what is type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes is also known as the non-insulin dependent type of diabetes and most of the people suffering from diabetes have type 2. Here is a closer look at type 2 diabetes, what it is, the symptoms, possible causes, and more.

Type 2 diabetes is much different than type 1. Those who have type 2 diabetes actually produce the insulin but they either can't use the insulin correctly that is produced or the pancreas does make enough of the insulin for the body. When people don't have enough of the insulin or their body can't use it correctly, the sugar isn't able to be used by the cells of the body. Instead it stays in the blood stream, building up and causing a high level of sugar within the blood. This means that the cells of the body can't function the way that they need to.

When the sugar builds up in the blood, it can cause a variety of problems. First of all, it can cause dehydration to occur. The kidneys work to lose all the glucose by causing you to urinate more frequently. This means you lose a lot of water and then this can lead to dehydration. This is why you may feel thirsty all the time. In some cases you can become so dehydrated that you can't drink enough to make up for all the fluid that you lose, which can cause you to go into a diabetic coma.

Over time all the high levels or sugar within the blood stream can do other damage to the body as well. The small blood vessels that are in your eyes may be damaged causing eye problems. Nerve damage can occur. Even the damage to blood vessels in the heart and kidneys can cause problems. This can put you at a higher risk for strokes and heart attacks as well.

Today anyone can actually get type 2 diabetes. In fact, there are actually more children and teens developing this disease than ever before. Of course the people who are at the highest risk for developing this disease are those who have family members that have the disease, those who are overweight, those with metabolic syndrome, older people, and women who dealt with gestational diabetes. Those who are inactive, eat bad diets, and those who smoke are more likely to develop this disease as well.

Many people not only wonder what is type 2 diabetes, but they wonder what the causes of this dangerous disease are. Usually it is not just caused by one problem. Most of the time this disease has multiple factors that end up causing it to occur. Often it seems to run in families but no one is quite sure how people seem to inherit this problem.