
The Differences Between Type One And Type Two Diabetes
Diabetes is an epidemic in 21st century Australia, with 280 Australians developing the disease every day. In 2017, approximately 1.7 million Australians are living with diabetes and around 500,000 of these people are undiagnosed.
Diabetes, in both its forms, is a complex disease that affects the entire body and can cause secondary conditions such as heart and kidney disease. Diabetes in Australia has risen significantly in the past few decades and there are some fundamental differences between the two types that are important to understand. Here is what you need to know.
What is diabetes?
When a person has diabetes, their body is unable to properly manage the levels of glucose -- or sugar -- in the blood. Insulin is the hormone that helps manage blood sugar and it is produced by the pancreas.
For the body to function efficiently, it needs to be able to convert glucose -- a form of sugar -- into energy. Glucose is the main source of energy for the body.
Type one diabetes is a condition where the immune system destroys the cells in the immune system that produce insulin. So essentially, type one diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce insulin.
Type two diabetes is a condition where the body becomes resistant to insulin or eventually stops being able to produce enough insulin for the pancreas to function properly. This can be influenced by lifestyle and genetic factors (but we'll get to that later).
Diabetes in Australia has gone up enormously over the last few decades and and it is likely to continue to go up.
How is diabetes developed?
While the inability to manag
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