The Diabetes Lifestyle - Maintaining the Quality of Life
Diabetes Type 1 results from the body producing no or insufficient insulin causing elevated blood sugar levels.
Type 1 diabetes is a disease which involves excessively high blood sugar (glucose) levels. Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile, childhood or insulin-dependent diabetes because it mainly affects young people. It arises when the body either completely stops producing any insulin or produces insufficient insulin, a hormone that enables the body to burn glucose found in foods for energy.
All types of diabetes are very serious and if left untreated carry severe consequences ranging from blindness to early death.
Frequent high blood sugar levels associated with type 1 diabetes cause damage to the eyes, liver, kidneys and heart. They also cause damage to nerves and restrict the blood circulation (vascular disease).
The most accepted current view on causation is that the disease is an auto-immune reaction resulting from viral exposure. The anti-bodies produced attack the insulin producing cells in the pancreas destroying them. Whilst there is no medically accepted cure there is research being carried out into producing drugs that will counter the anti-bodies thought to be causing the problem.
People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to survive. There are other experimental ways of administering insulin being tested including an inhalation method which will avoid the dangers inherent with injection.
Type 1 diabetes is much more difficult to manage than type 2 because the food quantities have to be matched as near as possible to the insulin quantities. Excessive insulin is just as bad as excessive blood sugar levels and will cause similar complications.
Type 1 diabetes is a relatively small number measuring only 5-10% of the population with diabetes.
In order to keep control type 1 needs strictness in diet as well as the regular injections.