Diabetes Type 2 Causes
Susannah,
Hi Emilia. Can you tell me what are diabetes type 2 causes?
Emilia:
Hi Susannah. Believe it or not, I was getting ready to send you a note on the subject. Two factors contribute to diabetes type 2 or diabetes mellitus: unlucky genetics and environmental factors.
Unlucky genetics
As you know by now, insulin is produced by the beta cells located in the pancreas. One of the main functions of insulin is to introduce glucose in the cells so our body can have energy.
When our genetic predisposition for diabetes is high, the production of insulin starts decreasing very early in life such as in the case of Diabetes Type 1.
If, on the other hand, the genetic defect is small, the pancreas can produce enough insulin to maintain equilibrium in our body functions, but as time goes by, the production of insulin slows down until finally diabetes appears.
External and environmental factors
But an unlucky gene by itself is not sufficient for diabetes type 2 to appear; other factors need to be present as well. Those factors are:
Obesity
Obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, is the main responsible factor for adult diabetes. More than 80 per cent of diabetes type 2 appears in persons who are overweight or obese. Overweight people have fewer glucose receptors on their muscle, fat and liver cells – five thousand versus about twenty thousand in a healthy person.
Thus, even if the pancreas produces enough insulin, the glucose cannot be escorted into the cells because there are not enough doors to get in. This means more glucose in the blood piles up which in turn stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin. And the vicious circle goes on and on. Many times, losing weight corrects this defect.
Lack of physical activity
In the past few years, lack of physical activity seems to be part of our lifestyle, along with stress and rushing from one place to another doesn’t leave us too much time available to practice regular physical activity. Remember that when we exercise, not only you burn calories but you help insulin work much better.
Other factors
Diabetes type 2 has also been linked to stress, abdominal traumas, a virus disease, etc, although these factors are not as relevant as the previous ones.
I hope this answers your question about diabetes type 2 causes. As you can see, if we get a diabetic genetic predisposition at birth, there is not too much we can do about it –changing parents is not an option by that time- but we sure have options when it comes to what we eat and to our level of physical activity.
Have a great day.
Your Diabetes Coach
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
www.MediterraneanDietForTheHeart.com
Related Posts
-
Foods High in Fiber Prevent Obesity
Posted on Nov 19, 2010
-
Moving Toward Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
Posted on Oct 28, 2010
-
Mantras Are Immune Boosters
Posted on Oct 26, 2010
-
For a Weight Loss Eating Plan, Have Fruits and Vegetables
Posted on Oct 21, 2010
Tags
Share This
