Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes

I’ve heard from people that type 1 diabetes is the one you are born with where as type 2 diabetes is the one that can get when you are older. This description is inaccurate and it’s important that we truly understand the real difference.

Type 1 diabetes:

In order to keep a lid on rising blood sugar, our bodies need insulin, a hormone which takes sugar out of the blood and directs it into mostly muscle and fat tissue. Insulin is produced by the beta cells in the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is a disease where the pancreas is unable to produce any or enough insulin do to the loss of these beta cells. In this case the type 1 diabetic needs to take injections of insulin in order to stay alive. They must regularly monitor their blood sugar level during the day, and take the requisite amount of insulin. It is an annoying process but certainly worth the effort, since without insulin, diabetic ketoacidosis often develops, often resulting in coma or death. Now there are electronic devices called insulin pumps, which monitor blood sugar and supply the correct amount of insulin. These devices take less effort to use but still need to be attached outside the body. Unfortunately, we don’t know enough about how to prevent type 1 diabetes. The good news is that adult onset type 1 diabetes is much less common than adult onset type 2 diabetes, a disease much easier to reverse, especially during the early stages. Type 2 diabetes is so common now due to poor lifestyle habits with people in the developed world, that this disease is often just referred to as adult onset diabetes, even though that term isn’t really accurate.

Type 2 diabetes:

In order to take the sugar (glucose) in the blood to the surrounding tissues, we need not only insulin, but we need the insulin to work. People with type 2 diabetes can produce their own insulin, but their bodies aren’t able to use it, or at least not efficiently enough. Insulin is a hormone that attaches to receptor sites on the cells that need the glucose inside, mainly muscle and fat cells. When an insulin molecule is attached to the receptor site on the outside of the cell, it allows the cell to open up and allow glucose inside. Without insulin, glucose won’t be able to squeeze through the cell membrane. If the insulin receptor sites are damaged or not responding well to insulin, then insulin is essentially useless. In the early stages, type 2 diabetes is often characterized by reduced insulin sensitivity. Lifestyle changes alone are often enough to reverse this. Sometimes oral medications are needed. If the disease progresses far enough, insulin production becomes a problem, and these type 2 diabetics often need to start taking therapeutic insulin.