D
iabetes Mellitusis a disease in which the level of blood glucose or blood sugar are too high. It is of two types; type 1 is where the body doesn’t make enough insulin, type 2 diabetes is more common. It’s when the body doesn’t use insulin well or develops a resistance for it. In both these cases, without enough insulin or insulin which is not well utilized the glucose stays in the blood and affects many body organs. Type 2 DM is a lifestyle disorder. Certain risk factors which predispose to developing diabetes like obesity or having an inactive lifestyle, high blood pressure, smoking, having a history of heart disease or stroke
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HE & SHE
and having high levels of triglycerides (bad cholesterol) in your blood. In women, who have had diabetes during pregnancy or PCOS (polycystic ovarian disease syndrome) are also predisposed to developing type 2 DM. You can also have prediabetes. This means that your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. Having prediabetes puts you at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes. Lastly, having family history of diabetes also predisposes one to have type 2 DM. Glucose comes from food and insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into the body’s cells to give