Diabetes is one of those health conditions that many of us hear about but may not fully understand what it is and how it affects the body. There are two main types of diabetes – these are known as type 1 and type 2. The main difference is that people with type 1 do not produce any insulin at all, and people with type 2 can not respond to insulin in the correct way.
Insulin is an essential ingredient in a healthy body – it is the substance that carries glucose into the cells in the body, which fuels them and keeps the body fit and healthy.
Many people live with diabetes for a long time before realising that they have it. Some of the tell-tale signs can seem mild at first, so it is believed that people can go years before being diagnosed. But getting a diagnosis is important as both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are conditions that need to be managed with the help of doctors.
A lot of research is still being done into diabetes – many companies such as https://www.trials4us.co.uk run paid clinical trials to try to find ways of better treating and understanding the illness.
One of the ways that the illness is managed is by checking blood sugar levels – when the levels become too low this is known as a hypo, and too high it is known as a hyper – both can be dangerous, so it is important to know the signs of these as well as keeping an eye on blood sugar levels. People who have type 1 diabetes also have to inject themselves with insulin.
