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Diabetes

Diabetes is a group of diseases in which insulin is not produced or the body does not react to it appropriately (American, All About, 2004; NIH, 2002). Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which enables the cells of the body to take up glucose, the end product of carbohydrate metabolism, and use it as an energy source. Without insulin, or in the case of insulin resistance, glucose builds up in the bloodstream while the cells starve for it. The classical symptoms of diabetes are the three 'psÆ - polydypsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (excessive urination), and polyphagia (excessive eating). Because the sugar builds up in the bloodstream, the only way to get rid of it is through the kidneys, which means drinking a lot of fluid and literally flushing it out of the body, which causes the excessive thirst and excessive urination. Because the glucose builds up in the bloodstream, and is eventually flushed out of the body by urination, there is little available to the cells because they need insulin help them to take up the glucose from the bloodstream. Therefore, the cells are starved and calling out for more food, and this produces the excessive appetite. Other symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision and irritability (American, Symptoms, 2004). Loss of consciousness is possible if the blood sugar level gets too high.

There are several different forms of diabetes, and while the exact cause is not known, there appears to be a genetic component in some forms, and there are also environmental factors, particularly obesity and lack of exercise (American, 2004). There are roughly 18.2 million diabetics in the United States and unfortunately, only 13 million of them have been diagnosed with the disease. This means that there are 5.2 million people walking around with undiagnosed diabetes. Roughly one third of diabetes cases among African Americans are undiagnosed, and the percentage of cases of diabetes dia...

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Diabetes. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 12:35, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702148.html