why is diabetes incurable and long term why isnt a healthy diet enough
In: Biology
It depends on the type of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the insulin-producing beta cells in your pancreas are destroyed by your immune system. Without the ability to produce insulin, your blood sugar levels cannot be properly controlled at all. There is some minor success with treatments to transplant donor beta cells to restore insulin production (see Edmonton Protocol), but the disease is otherwise incurable. Patients must rely on insulin injections for the rest of their life.
Type 2 diabetes has more to do with insulin resistance, where your cells ignore the presence of insulin. This is suspected to be caused by obesity, sugary diets and lack of exercise. It can be somewhat controlled by dieting and exercise, which helps to lowers blood sugar levels. In severe cases, patients might need insulin injections to “boost” the insulin response of their cells to “normal”.
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