Health Corner: Diabetes

I've decided to post a small blurb about diabetes and how to manage it. This disease is becoming huge in our society. We need to deal with it.

First of all there are three types of diabetes.

Type 1: patient's pancreas no longer produces insulin-producing beta cells. these cells were attacked and destroyed by the patient's immune system; they thought they were foreign invaders. hence the term, "auto-immune disease". can essentially strike at any age, although most likely to appear between 1 and 20 years old.
this it the type i have. i do not create my own insulin and thus i inject insulin. i have to balance the amount of insulin i take, with the food i eat, with the exercise i do.

Type 2: patient's body no longer uses their insulin as effectively. brought on as a result of obesity, years of smoking, lack of exercise. sort of like when you don't change the oil in your car for more than a year. parts just don't work as well. can be treated with exercise, a healthy complex-carb diet, and drinking lots of water. pills and/or injections are also prescribed to enhance body's insulin potency.

Type 3 (gestational diabetes): essentially Type 2 diabetes, although occurs in pregnant women. brought on as a result of extra weight gain and inability of system to convert the extra carbohydrates being ingested (as pregnant mothers are eating for two). can be treated with pills, exercise, healthy, balanced diet.