DESCRIPTION:
Diabetes is a disease characterized by high blood glucose caused either by the pancreas producing insufficient amounts of insulin, or the muscle, fat and liver cells not responding normally to the insulin, or both. Diabetes currently affects about 17 million Americans, with another 6 million unaware that they have the disease. The three most common types of diabetes are type 1 diabetes, also called insulin-dependent diabetes or juveniles diabetes; type 2 diabetes, or adult-onset, the most common form; and gestational diabetes.
Juvenile, or type 1, diabetes, is a disease that causes an abnormally high level of sugar (glucose) to build up in the blood. Although it can occur at any age, it is normally diagnosed in children and young adults, and rarely in someone older than 30. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 3 percent of all new cases of diabetes each year, with one new case per every 7,000 children each year.
How does juvenile diabetes develop?
In most healthy adults, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin into the bloodstream each time a meal is consumed. Insulin encourages our body’s tissues and muscles to use up the glucose from our food as a basic fuel to provide energy to the cells. In a type 1 diabetic individual, the beta cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin. As a result, type 1 diabetic individuals have an overabundance of glucose circulating in their blood stream that cannot be converted to energy for the body’s cells to use unless they inject a synthetic form of insulin. Left untreated, diabetes will eventually lead to the destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Unfortunately, the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown.
What are the symptoms of juvenile diabetes?
Symptoms of juvenile diabetes, which are usually severe and occur rapidly, include:
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Weight loss despite increased appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Fatigue
- Absence of menstruation
Low blood sugar symptoms, on the other hand, include sweating, shaking, headaches, seizures, dizziness, confusion, blurred vision and personality change, as well as nausea and vomiting. If symptoms are not treated quickly, ketoacidosis, an abnormal level of acid in the body, can occur. In general, poorly controlled diabetes can lead to serious health issues such as diabetic cataracts, kidney failure, infertility, impotence, nerve damage, delayed wound healing, recurrent infections and even death.
While conventional medical treatments keep juvenile diabetes in check, they do not always address the varied side effects of this condition. By addressing the nutritional and overall physiology of the patient, as natural medicine therapies do, juvenile diabetes can be managed and its side effects minimized.
Discover why we believe that natural medicine treatments are the best way to treat juvenile (type 1) diabetes.
