Known as the silent killer, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death by disease in the United States, claiming thousands of lives annually. A total of 15.7 million people nationwide have diabetes. If you take good care of yourself, you can delay the complications. These complications include heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, nervous system disease, amputations, dental disease and problems during pregnancy. Diabetes affects the body's ability to produce or respond to a hormone called insulin which helps glucose get into body cells.
Most food is turned into glucose for the body to use for energy.
In diabetics, glucose cannot reach the starved cells and builds up in the blood. As a result, diabetes can have devastating effects on organs. One out of 10 people with diabetes has Type 1. Because their bodies do not make any insulin, they must inject insulin every day to live. The other diabetics with Type 2 can produce some insulin, but their body can't use it properly.