The problems of diabetes are causedby too much blood sugar, that is, toomuch glucose in the blood. This creates a chemical imbalance in thebody which increases the fats in theblood. The imbalance damages theblood vessels, which are thepipelines through which blood travelsto all parts of the body. The damagedblood vessels become clogged and lessable to carry blood. This in turnharms body cells that depend on thebloodstream for food and oxygen. The various organs of the body function poorly when their cells are starved in this way.Damaged blood vessels in the eyesleak fluid, bleed, and swell. Replacement blood vessels begin to grow,but they are fragile and may alsobleed, causing further damage if untreated. This can lead to blindness. People with diabetes are at greaterrisk for heart disease. A risk factorfor heart disease is high bloodpressure (also known as hypertension). High blood pressureoccurs when the heart must usegreater force than normal to pushblood through the pipelines. Highblood pressure can damage theheart and further strains the bloodvessels that have been damaged asa direct result of glucose imbalance.With high blood pressure comes anincreased risk for heart attack andstroke. High blood pressure alsostresses the kidneys, which filterthe blood. Damage to the kidneysleads to even higher blood pressure,resulting in a dangerous spiral.As stated above, the chemical imbalance caused by too much blood sugar has an effect on cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a wax-like substance that circulates in the bloodstream and plays an important rolein several functions of the cells.Improper amounts of cholesterol can increase the risk for heart disease.
Improper blood sugar also disruptsand damages the nerves. Thenerves are the networks of cells thattransmit signals from all parts ofthe body to the brain and back.Since the nerves go everywhere inthe body, damaged nerves lead toproblems throughout the body. Despite all the extra sugar in theblood, not enough is getting into thecells that need it. This is becauseinsulin (which triggers cells to openup and take in glucose) is not present or is not working properly. Thebody thinks the problem is a lack of glucose, so it raids the liver, where glucose is stored. It also breaks intomuscle and fat cells that have storedglucose. Without insulin, the releasedglucose still cannot be used by thecells that need it. They stay deprivedof the energy they need to keep working.This uncontrolled type 2 diabetes creates trouble throughout the entirebody and can lead to a long list ofbreakdowns in health. People often do not make a connection between the illness called diabetes and theseother health problems. In fact, diabetes can be the terrible trigger.
