How Diabetes Works

For my first official diabetes related post, I decided to explain what causes diabetes. Although the exact cause behind diabetes is still unknown, it is known that Type One Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. This means that the immune system gets confused and thinks that the beta cells, the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, are a harmful invader and destroys them. Although we known that diabetes results from the immune system becoming confused, we still don't know what triggers the body to attack itself like this. We do, however, know that there are genetic and environmental triggers. I'll do my best to explain these triggers, but science isn't my strong suit, so I apologize if this is super confusing and unhelpful. While  Type One Diabetes isn't as genetic as Type Two Diabetes, it is still genetic to an extent. There are many different genes associated with diabetes, the strongest being  IDDM1, which is located in  MHC Class II region on chromosome 6. The chances of a child developing Type One Diabetes is about 10% if the father has it, about 10% if a sibling has it, about 4% if the mother has type 1 diabetes and was aged 25 or younger when the child was born, and about 1% if the mother was over 25 years old when the child was born.
Along with genetic factors, environmental factors also play a part in the development of Type One Diabetes. In studies, when one identical twin had Type One Diabetes, only about 30-50% of the time did the other twin develop the disease. Despite sharing the same genetic makeup, only one twin developed diabetes the majority of the time, which led to the discovery that the environment can trigger the body to develop Type One Diabetes. Although scientists know that the environment plays a part in the development of Type One Diabetes, they have yet to pinpoint how exactly the environment triggers the disease, so sorry that I can't explain that.
Once the immune system has attacked and destroyed the insulin making beta cells in the pancreas, the body no longer produces insulin, which leads to hyperglycemia, or elevated blood sugar. Without insulin, the body cannot break down the food you eat to use for energy, which is why excessive hunger is often one of the early signs of Type One Diabetes. The body cannot use the food you've already given it, so it tells you you're still hungry, probably thinking that more food will help solve the problem. Other signs and symptoms of Type One Diabetes include excessive thirst, excessive urinating, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, fatigue, and weight loss.
If you or someone you love are showing these signs and think that Type One Diabetes may be the cause, please ask your doctor about it and get checked for diabetes. The early you catch diabetes, the less chance you have of finding out after it's caused adverse side affects. Knowing the symptoms and causes of Type One Diabetes can help you watch out for it and catch it if you ever should develop it, so educate yourself, because education is the key to a healthy life.