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Diabetes and Diet

There are four basic common types of diabetes, each affecting different groups of people and each responding to different treatments and diet plans. The American Diabetes Association is primarily concerned with three of these: Type I, Type II and Gestational Diabetes, and also recognizes a fourth condition referred to as pre-diabetes. The fourth type of diabetes differs significantly from the others in that it does not affect blood glucose or insulin levels -- that is Diabetes Insipidus, which is characterized by frequent heavy urination due to hypothalamus or kidney damage. This report only discusses the types of diabetes that affect blood glucose and insulin levels.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder, characterized by abnormally high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). The high blood sugar levels may be due to insufficient insulin, or insulin resistance -- in other words, either the body produces insufficient levels of the insulin hormone to properly regulate blood glucose use by the body's cells, or else the cells become resistant to the effects of insulin, and do not react to it properly.

There are three main types of Diabetes Mellitus: Type I, Type II and Gestational.

Type I Diabetes

Type I diabetes is usually caused by an autoimmune reaction that destroys the beta cells of the pancreas which produce insulin. Often called juvenile diabetes because it frequently begins in youth, it may also strike adults. Insulin is a hormone that helps signal the body's cells to use blood glucose (sugar), rather than break down fats for energy. There is no known prevention or cure for Type I diabetes, but effective treatment exists in the form of insulin replacement therapy. Type I diabetes does not respond to changes in diet or exercise, and is almost always fatal if it goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Though total prevention of Type I diabetes is not yet possible (it is the subject of much research, however) -- there have been some suggestive studies that show interesting correlations. For example, infants who were breast fed for at least three months at birth were half as likely to develop Type I diabetes as infants who were fed formula based on cows milk. And in an arctic study in Finland, where weak sunlight often causes Vitamin D deficiencies, supplementation of that vitamin during the first year of life reduced the risk of later developing Type I diabetes by 80%.

In the U.S., about 5 to 10% of all cases of diabetes are Type I. If diagnosed and treated, the life expectancy of people with this disease is only slightly below average, and that average is probably skewed toward the lower average by the small minority of people who fail to follow their treatment plan.

Type II Diabetes

Type II diabetes typically begins with 'insulin insensitivity' (also called insulin resistance) -- that is, the cells in a person's body begin to ignore the insulin circulating in the bloodstream. This leads to an excess of insulin in the blood, because it is not being used up. The body reacts by producing less insulin. For some people, the body can no longer produce enough insulin (usually after years of having the disease), and it is necessary to resort to insulin replacement therapy, as in Type I diabetes. For people who are still able to produce enough insulin, but who have developed insulin insensitivity, treatment usually begins with increased exercise and reduced carbohydrates to lose weight. This is often enough to restore sensitivity, if not oral medications are prescribed to improve insulin production and/or reduce the effects of insulin resistance.

Some studies suggest that intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity, and so may help prevent the development of Type II diabetes in people at-risk. Just as diet and weight-loss may restore lost insulin sensitivity, it may be that an intermittent fasting regime may have a similar effect.

If left untreated, the long term effects of Type II diabetes can be devastating, including renal failure, vascular disease (which may lead to heart attack or stroke), vision loss and liver damage.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes occurs in 2% to 5% of pregnant women, and resembles Type II diabetes, usually involving insulin resistance and lowered insulin production. Often the condition disappears after the birth of the child, but women who have developed gestational diabetes are at a high risk (20% to 50%) for developing Type II diabetes later in life. There are also dangers to both the mother and developing fetus from the condition, but most of them can be reduced or eliminated with prompt treatment.

Pre-Diabetes

A pre-diabetic condition is defined as having elevated blood glucose levels, but not so high as to indicate diabetes. It is a common condition prior to developing Type II diabetes, or may be viewed as the very early stages of the disease. Dietary and weight loss activities have the greatest effect at this early stage, and can completely prevent the development of Type II diabetes in many cases.