[Music] what is diabetes diabetes is a medical condition that happens when there is too much sugar in a person's blood there are different types of diabetes including type 1 type 2 and gestational but they all share this in common in this video series we'll be focusing on type 1 diabetes or t1d you might wonder what causes type 1 diabetes in the first place type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease this means that the immune system reacts differently to a trigger which results in a person developing type 1 diabetes normally the immune system attacks bacteria and
viruses that are harmful to our body in type 1 diabetes the immune system attacks the beta cells in the pancreas and damages the cells that make insulin unfortunately we don't know exactly what triggers the immune system to behave this way and there is no cure yet what does too much sugar in the blood mean and how does this happen to get a better idea of what causes high blood sugars let's take a look at what happens when we eat food you may have heard the terms blood sugar or blood glucose when talking about diabetes these
are interchangeable so you may see or hear either being used blood glucose also called bg for short refers to a nutrient that we need for energy that comes from the food we eat this nutrient comes from carbohydrates commonly shortened to carbs carbohydrates are broken down in the digestive system into glucose which is a type of sugar from there the glucose enters our bloodstream so it can be delivered to our cells the glucose travels through the blood to get to our cells where it can be used as energy the glucose needs to enter through special doors
in the cell but these doors are always locked the glucose needs a special key to get to the cells this key is a hormone called insulin so where does insulin come from insulin is made in the pancreas and special cells called beta cells when the beta cells are working correctly they make just enough insulin to get the glucose from the blood into the cells in a person with type 1 diabetes the beta cells stop making insulin or they don't make as much as the cells need without insulin the cell doors stay locked and the glucose
is left in the bloodstream where it continues to pool up when this happens the person may feel sick common symptoms that might signal this is happening include extreme thirst and needing to urinate frequently how do we treat type 1 diabetes we just saw what happens when the beta cells in the pancreas are not making the required insulin to allow glucose into the cells to treat this problem we need insulin from somewhere else this is why people with type 1 diabetes need to give insulin injections this added insulin can get the glucose from the bloodstream into
the cells where it can be used to make energy in type 2 diabetes the pancreas can still make some amount of insulin sometimes even more than the body needs but the cells can't use it correctly in other words the pancreas keeps making keys but the keys don't fit the cell's locks this is called insulin resistance treatments for type 2 diabetes might include medications that help the body's sensitivity to insulin changes to diet or exercise or insulin injections to add to the body's natural insulin these treatments might seem similar to treatments for type 1 diabetes but
the conditions are handled very differently people without diabetes commonly confuse treatments and advice for type 1 and type 2 diabetes so it is important to get your information from trusted educated sources instead of relying on well-meaning friends or family who might offer the wrong advice one common myth about t1d is that people with t1d should only eat sugar-free food or that sugar causes diabetes while it is true that diet plays a role in type 1 and type 2 diabetes people with t1d can eat the same foods as anyone else they just need to balance the
carbs they eat with insulin it's important for a person with type 1 diabetes to maintain a balance of carbs and insulin in their body if there is too much glucose in the body the person could become very sick and need to go to the hospital on the other hand if there is too much insulin and not enough glucose in the body they could fall unconscious have seizures or even die the balance between carbs and insulin can be changed by lots of other things including exercise sicknesses and aging throughout this series you'll learn about some of
these and how to manage them with time and practice you'll become a t1d pro and feel empowered to manage the condition independently in the next module you will learn more about blood glucose and how to keep it within a safe range [Music] you
