Beyond that, our understanding of this condition may be hazy and that`s not surprising, since medical researchers are still debating about the disease.
There are two major types of diabetes, both characterized by abnormal processing of carbohydrates. In juvenile-onset diabetes, the body somehow fails to produce enough of a substance known as insulin, which helps the cells of the body take sugar (in the form of glucose) from the bloodstream and use it. In adult-onset diabetes, the body manufactures insulin, but somehow it cannot use this insulin properly.
Relatively high levels of sugar in the bloodstream, then, are the result, not the cause, of these problems with insulin-the body is not able to remove this sugar from the bloodstream and use it at the same rate a normal person`s body would. But there is a further difficulty.
Diabetes has very dangerous complications, including degeneration of the large and small blood vessels and high blood pressure. Some scientists think that relatively high levels of sugar in the bloodstream may help bring on these complications. And that`s why some physicians teach their patients to monitor their blood sugar levels carefully and take steps to prevent wide swings in the level. Other physicians, however, don`t agree that the high blood sugar levels are the cause of the complications; they think some other relationship may be involved.
