Diabetes, also known as Diabetes Mellitus, means to pass through. It is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose or sugar that is the body’s main source of fuel is too high. But before exploring the root cause of diabetes, we need to learn about a body organ responsible for maintaining balance in blood sugar level in the body. This organ is called the Pancreas. The Pancreas is located right behind your stomach. It plays an essential role in converting the food we eat into fuel for the body cells and helps in the digestion process with the help of hormones called insulin and glucagon.

When you eat a heavy meal, the food is converted into glucose, and enters your blood, to be transported to your cells all over the body. The special cells in your pancreas sense this and release the insulin to help decrease blood sugar levels. It does this by activating a system that transports excess glucose from your blood into your cells, where it is used as energy fuel, or saved for later use. On the other hand, if the level of blood sugar is low, the pancreas then release another hormone called glucagon, which tells the cells and liver to release the stored sugar back into the blood.

But in some cases, the pancreas doesn’t work effectively and fails to produce adequate insulin, leading to the condition called diabetes. Due to the lack of insulin, glucose stays in the blood and builds up, resulting in the hardening of blood vessels that can lead to life threatening issues like strokes, heart attack, or kidney failure. Diabetes comes in different forms, namely; Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes.

In Type 1, the body does not create insulin and the immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas, this produces Type 1 diabetes. In Type 2, the pancreas cannot produce insulin as well, or the body cannot use it effectively. Gestational diabetes develops in some women during pregnancy. Apart from Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes, two other less common types include; Monogenic diabetes: which is an inherited form of diabetes, and Cystic Fibrosis-related diabetes.