When the food we eat is digested it provides us with energy and growth but the condition called diabetes does not allow this process to work as it should. Almost all the food we eat, once digested, is converted into glucose. Diabetes stops this energy supply and forces it to remain in the blood creating further problems. The health risks are the direct result of a build up of glucose in the blood instead of it being carried around the body for the cells to have energy.

Information in this article is regarding the two major types of the condition. Mainly affecting children and young adults, type 1 or juvenile onset diabetes occurs when insulin production stops completely; this results in the diabetic requiring an insulin injection every day to stay healthy and alive. Insulin is used by the body to regulate the amount of glucose the blood contains. Adult onset diabetes affects older people as the name suggests but differs from type one; this can be controlled by diet but is caused by problems with the insulin production or its function.

Our body needs energy which it obtains from food that it converts into sugar like bread, potatoes, rice and pasta etc. Some serious conditions can result from excess levels of glucose in the blood including blindness, heart and kidney disease and even the removal of limbs. Specialists in diabetes will tell you that provided you do exactly what your care and management program tells you to do, your condition will start to improve; some of these conditions can be slowed down whilst others can even be stopped. Care of your condition relies on you maintaining certain aspects and any prescribed medication must be taken routinely; this includes watching your blood sugar levels, blood fat and cholesterol in addition to quitting smoking.

Apart from this, your blood pressure and weight should not go above the limits your doctor advised. The bad news about this is diabetes a life long condition; the USA is particularly badly hit with over 5.5 million sufferers. Studies suggest that it is not the whole story as experts believe there are as many people again that have the disease that have not yet been diagnosed; each year there are over six hundred thousand new cases. The number of Americans who have diabetes and die each year is approximately 320,000 but only 34,000 die as a direct result of having the condition.