Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (commonly known as ‘diabetes’) is a metabolic disorder disease, ie. one that affects the mechanism that converts the food we eat into energy for the body. A person with diabetes has a comparatively high amount of glucose in their blood (hyperglycemia), either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (or none at all), or because the cells do not respond adequately to the insulin produced by the pancreas.

There are 3 types of diabetes – Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes. Nine out of ten people with diabetes have Type 2, which has unfortunately begun to affect younger and younger ages, while 3% – 4% of sufferers do not even know they suffer from it. Diabetes is a disease that, if not treated properly, can have serious effects on the body.