There are different types of diabetes, type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes, to give some examples. Here I will explain each one in more detail.
Type 1 Diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and happens when your immune system attacks the pancreas and destroys the only insulin producing cells in the body.
Since the pancreas does not produce or it produces very little insulin, type 1 diabetics need to inject insulin in order to be able to process foods and get energy from them. Without insulin the body can not process the foods (glucose) and glucose levels will go high since they are not absorbed by the cells in the blood.
Type 1 diabetics are insulin dependent.
Type 2 Diabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is not an autoimmune disease. It starts when your body can not use the insulin that is producing and develops insulin resistance. The pancreas still produces insulin, but the body just doesn’t know how to use it, the cells ignore this insulin.
Again, if the body can not use its own insulin, sugars stay floating around in your blood and this is what causes high blood sugar levels.
Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed in later years, adults mostly who probably didn’t have a very balanced diet and gained weight. This weight gain creates body fat which results in insulin resistance. In simple terms obesity, lack of physical activity, or having too much body fat increases the risk of developing diabetes type 2.
Gestational Diabetes:
Occurs during pregnancy in women. Pregnancy hormones cause the body to become insulin resistant and this will lead to higher blood sugars. This insulin resistance could be related to the weight gain during pregnancy and it can be managed with a specific meal plan and exercise.
This condition might go away after having the baby but women who developed gestational diabetes are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
LADA Diabetes (Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults):
A type of diabetes that is often misdiagnosed as type 2 diabetes. It is actually a form of type 1 diabetes, but referred to as “type 1.5” because it develops gradually.
LADA is also produced by your immune system attacking the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. But this attack occurs at a slower pace so the insulin production declines more “slowly” compared to type 1 but much faster compared to type 2. Let’s say it’s somewhere “in the middle”.
MODY Diabetes (Maturity onset diabetes of the young):
It is a rare type of diabetes that runs in families. This type is not as common as type 1 and type 2 diabetes and it accounts for only about 1 – 2 % of all diabetes cases.
MODY diabetes has characteristics of both type 1 and type 2 and it could be misdiagnosed as one of those more common types (1 and 2).
So here you have a very brief, simple definition of each. I tried to explain these in simple, easy to understand terms. When I was diagnosed with type 1, I really didn’t know where to start so the purpose of this blog is to provide easy to understand, easy to digest, no bullshit information. I’m not a doctor so I will not get into the very details of each since it’s not the purpose of this site.
I will be talking mostly to type 1 and type 2 diabetics who need to learn about developing a healthy relationship with food and need exercise, especially resistance training, in order to have a well managed diabetes.
The last thing I want to mention is that being diagnosed with any type of diabetes needs to be done by a certified doctor/physician and my recommendation is to get a different opinion or evaluation from different doctors. This includes lab tests.
A lot of the frustration, denial, acceptance, or problems with newly diagnosed people is not knowing exactly the correct diagnosis so it is hard to establish the best treatment plan for this condition.
@dieabeast
I will enjoy this workout…
