What causes diabetes,and what are the side effects?

Eating a bad diet or too much sugar does not give you diabetes. And type 2 is not caused by bad diet. Both types of diabetes is caused by the pancreas not functioning right. In type 1, the pancreas makes little to no insulin. This type must always have insulin injections. They are insulin dependent. Type 2 diabetes is caused because the pancreas makes insulin, but the body does not use it correctly, (insulin resistance) OR the pancreas is making very little insulin. This type is treated with oral meds, insulin, or both. There are some type 2 diabetics that can control their disease by diet and exercise for many years. They must use very tight control. Later in life they usually require medication. You do not have to be overweight to develop type 2 (51% are not and have never been overweight) and you do not have to have a bad diet. Genetics plays a big roll in both types. However, just because it is in a persons family does not mean they will develop it. They believe that the pancreas of a type 1 was attacked by some sort of virus at some time, OR it could be caused by the autoimmune system. In type 2, the genetic factor is greater, but they also believe that a virus could contribute to the development of the disease. The side effects are great, ranging from heart disease, strokes, neuropathy, blindness, gangrene, limb amputation, kidney disease and more.

Type 1 - Caused by your immune system attacking beta cells in your pancreas. Has absolutely no correlation to sugar intake and can happen to anyone because it is an autoimmune disease. Type 1 diabetics' pancreases do not produce ANY insulin.

Type 2 - Usually is found in the obese. In this type of diabetes, the pancreas is not able to "keep up" with the demands of the body (ie. large food intake). Therefore, most type 2's use diet and excercise to control their disease.

Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes are two completely different diseases. The only thing in common with them is that they have to do with lack of insulin.

It all depends on if you are talking about Type 1 or Type 2. Type 1s, like my father and daughter, happens to be an auto-immune disease. The body essentially thinks that the insulin producing islets are foreign objects inside the body, attacks them and kills them.... essentially leaving a pancreas that cannot monitor blood sugars or produce insulin. Type 1s become dependant on injections of insulin and BG checks. So Type 1s need to count every gram of carbohydrates and inject accordingly... ie: so if they want that piece of cheesecake, nothing stops them :)

Type 2s are more common where the pancreas is producing insulin, but can't keep up with the demand of the body. Type 2s need to monitor their food intake and excersise. They can also have help with pills and if it becomes bad enough, become dependant on insulin.

I took a quick glance at wikipedia and there is a nice article on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes

Causes
Type 2 diabetes is caused by a complicated interplay of genes, environment, insulin abnormalities, increased glucose production in the liver, increased fat breakdown, and possibly defective hormonal secretions in the intestine. The recent dramatic increase indicates that lifestyle factors (obesity and sedentary lifestyle) may be particularly important in triggering the genetic elements that cause this type of diabetes.

Insulin Abnormalities
The characteristic features of most patients with type 2 diabetes are:

Insulin resistance in muscle cells
Normal or even excessive levels of insulin (to compensate for this resistance), eventually followed by a drop in insulin production
In addition, researchers are trying to determine the factors that might promote insulin resistance:

Both obesity and insulin resistance at different phases are marked by elevated levels of free fatty acids and the hormones resistin and leptin. It is not known yet if elevated levels are simply a product of obesity or play some causal role in diabetes.
Insulin resistance is associated with a chronic low inflammatory response, which involves a number of immune factors, such as TGH-beta 1 and C-reactive protein. Such factors can cause damage over time and may be responsible for the association between insulin resistance and heart disease.
Genetic Factors
Type 2 diabetes has a genetic component. In 2006 and 2007, major breakthroughs in genetic research identified six new genes associated with type 2 diabetes. Ten genes have now been positively confirmed as increasing the risk for type 2 diabetes: TCF7L2, SLC30A8, HHEX, PPARG, KCNJ11, IGF2B2, CDKAL1, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and FTO.

Most of these genes play a role in regulating insulin action, including the processes that occur in the pancreas鈥?insulin-producing beta cells. The FTO gene increases the risk for obesity, which itself is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. These genes appear to cluster around three genetic regions that include a number of chromosomes. Scientists hope that future research will help uncover how genes influence the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes, and how lifestyle and medical intervention may help delay or prevent this process.

Possible Complications
Emergency complications include diabetic coma.

Long-term complications include:

Diabetic retinopathy (eye disease)
Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease)
Diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage)
Peripheral vascular disease (damage to blood vessels/circulation)
High cholesterol, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease

The notion that poor diet does not cause type two is completely false and dangerous to fall for. Not only does poor diet cause it, a good diet can not only reverse the disease, it can even prevent it from ever happening in the first place. I'm living proof that healthy diet reverses it. I was type two for years before stumbling upon a diet that reversed it so completely, that I was able to discontinue the medication and now manage my type two with diet and exercise alone. Millions of people around the globe who live in rural, primitive environments where they live off the land eating healthy diets of natural foods and enjoy lots of daily physical activity, simply don't become type two diabetics. This isn't rocket science, it's common sense. If you eat what your body was designed to eat (natural foods) you don't become type two diabetic. If you don't eat natural foods and become type two diabetic, and you want to reverse the disease, you employ common sense and eat lots of healthy natural fruits and vegetables and avoid manufactured foods that are stripped of their essential nutrients. Read my story:
http://www.geocities.com/seabulls69/Type...

The biggest preventable cause of diabetes is being overweight and having a poor diet. A lot of cases of diabetes are avoidable or reversible.

A very High intake of Sugar Your body makes too much glucose and not enough insulin