type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes are conditions that affect millions of people they can lead to heart disease and stroke which are the first and third leading causes of death and disability in the united states respectively people with diabetes and pre-diabetes can develop problems with their vision and lose feeling in their limbs they may develop liver and kidney disease and are at risk for stroke and heart attack however type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes can be avoided and risk can be reversed what is diabetes diabetes is a complex disease that affects many parts of your body but
is caused by the way your body mishandles the food you eat after a meal food is broken down into sugar molecules called glucose glucose travels through the intestines into the blood where it is carried to all different areas of the body and is used for energy there are some parts of your body that need help absorbing the glucose molecules and require a special hormone called insulin insulin is formed in the pancreas and circulates in the blood with glucose to the cells that need help specifically liver cells fat cells and muscle cells when the body develops
resistance to insulin increasing amounts of insulin are necessary for it to be able to utilize glucose initially during insulin resistance your pancreas will work on overtime to produce more insulin this can happen even when your glucose levels are relatively normal if tests reveal abnormally high insulin levels a condition called hyperinsulinemia along with insulin resistance markers your body shows initial risk for developing diabetes lots of insulin in the blood also affects the production of lipids and lipoproteins which are the small particles that are broken down from cholesterol molecules and fat products called triglycerides these particles are
small enough to travel in your bloodstream but can be dangerous in large amounts when they build up in your blood vessels in the presence of elevated levels of insulin your body especially your liver releases bad cholesterol particles such as vldl and the higher your insulin levels the more bad cholesterol particles are circulating in your bloodstream a condition called dyslipidemia furthermore adiponectin a hormone released by your fat cells that helps break down lipids in particular free fatty acids is often low in obese or insulin resistant patients prior to developing type 2 diabetes while such lipid and
lipoprotein markers are traditionally tested to measure cholesterol they also provide insightful clues on the extent of insulin resistance after a while the pancreas will become overworked and the special beta cells that produce insulin will begin to die some tests will measure how well your beta cells function and if they are showing strain beta cell dysfunction means that your body can no longer make enough insulin to help your cells take up glucose for energy and high levels of glucose will remain in your blood a condition called hyperglycemia when insulin levels are low your body may react
in a number of ways some of the cells that use insulin to control glucose levels have the ability to store glucose liver and muscle cells will begin to release stored glucose when insulin levels are low in order to provide the body energy without adequate levels of insulin in the presence of insulin resistance more and more glucose is released into the bloodstream and the effects of hyperglycemia are heightened markers of glycemic control are usually measured during periods of fasting when your blood sugar should be low test results that demonstrate consistently high glucose levels are the defining
characteristic of pre-diabetes and diabetes to summarize how diabetes develops let's review the main features high insulin levels mark the beginning of insulin resistance the primary mechanism that leads to pre-diabetes and diabetes abnormal levels of lipids lipoproteins and the hormone adiponectin may further indicate insulin resistance a drop in insulin production by the pancreas occurs from strain on the hormone-producing beta cells and beta cell dysfunction eventually leads to an insulin deficiency without adequate levels of insulin your body's ability to control glucose levels is disrupted and glucose levels increase defining the onset of prediabetes and diabetes too much
glucose circulating in your blood hyperglycemia and too many harmful lipids circulating in your blood dyslipidemia are two conditions that are characteristic of prediabetes and diabetes left untreated they cause serious damage to the blood vessels leading to a variety of complications excess levels of lipids and lipoprotein particles can build up to create a plaque in your blood vessels this is heightened in the presence of excess glucose molecules and free fatty acids due to blockage in your vessels blood cannot circulate to your limbs and the nutrients and oxygen carried by your blood cannot nourish your body's extremities
build up causes the vessels to expand and squeeze the nerves that course alongside them leading to a condition called neuropathy damaged nerves can cause numbness and keep you from healing normally they can cause your muscles to weaken and eventually atrophy sometimes requiring amputation and you may experience sensory changes including blindness involuntary functions such as blood pressure and heart rate and even sexual function may become abnormal as a symptom of neuropathy in large vessels like those supplying your heart and your brain plaque buildup leads to a condition called atherosclerosis over time the plaque can grow and
rupture which can cause cardiovascular disease or a heart attack or in the brain can lead to a stroke atherosclerosis further contributes to end-organ damage like kidney or liver disease [Music] you
