Causes of Diabetes

What are the Causes of Diabetes?

The immediate cause of diabetes and its symptoms is the buildup of glucose in the blood.^[8] Your body makes glucose when you digest food. It is a necessary source of energy for all the cells of your body. Insulin is necessary for glucose to enter the cells. In diabetes, insulin doesn't work properly and glucose can't get into the cells. In type 1 diabetes, cells in the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans are damaged and stop making insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas makes insulin, but the cells of the body don't respond to it. In both cases, glucose builds up in your blood.

In the case of type 1 diabetes, it is believed the body's immune system attacks and kills the islets of Langerhans and they make little or no insulin. It isn't understood why the body becomes less sensitive to insulin in type 2 diabetes, but excess fat, especially abdominal fat, low HDL ("good "cholesterol), high triglycerides and a lack of exercise seem to be factors related to developing type 2 diabetes.