What Is Type 1 Diabetes?

In type 1 diabetes a person's pancreas is not able to make enough insulin for the body to  function properly.  Type 1 diabetes is considered an autoimmune disease – the body's  cells attack the cells in the pancreas that produces insulin either destroying them entirely  or enough of them that there isn't enough insulin.

People who are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are often surprised because it is not linked  to lifestyle or a healthy body weight.  As of now, there still is no exact reason that  researchers have found that causes a person to develop type 2 diabetes.  Although there  are risk factors that can increase the chances of someone being diagnosed.

Another name for type 1 diabetes is juvenile diabetes.  The reason for this is because the  majority of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are under the age of 25.  There have  been reported cases of patients being diagnosed with the disease much older but those are  exceptions.  There may be a genetic link that causes people to become insulin dependant  but the exact link has yet to be discovered.

Diabetics with type 1 will have to take insulin for the rest of their lives.  The amount of  insulin they take may vary with their diet and weight through the years.  Type 1 diabetics  need to carefully monitor their urine for ketones every morning as they are more likely to  be diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis – a serious condition.  This is your body's way of  telling you it is not getting enough fuel and is using fat cells as energy instead of the food  that is being consumed.

The number of people with type 1 diabetes is relatively small compared to the number of  people who are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  The numbers for type 2 diabetes  continue to grow with the obesity rates.