Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90-95% of diabetes cases.
Type 2 Diabetes (non insulin-dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes) develops when the body tissues become resistant to the effects of insulin. In many cases the pancreas is producing a plentiful amount of insulin, however the cells of the body have become unresponsive to its effect due to the chronically high level of the hormone. When the pancreas exhausts its over-active secretion of the hormone, insulin levels fall below normal.
While Type 2 Diabetes can be hereditary, it does not often develop in normal-weight people who eat a low or moderate carbohydrate diet. However obese, sedentary people whose diet is primarily poor-quality diets high in refined starch, are likely to develop insulin resistance because starches constantly activate pancreatic insulin secretion. Although Type 2 Diabetes isn't as immediately disastrous as Type 1 Diabetes, it can lead to complications after many years of the condition, causing serious disability and a shortened lifespan.
Type 2 diabetes develops mainly in patients over forty
Because this form of diabetes usually develops in middle age, it is often referred to as Adult Onset Diabetes. But native peoples like North American or Australian Aboriginals, whose traditional diets never contained refined starch and sugar until they were introduced by Europeans, have very high rates of Type 2 diabetes. Quite alarming is the trend in recent years to see Type 2 Diabetes diagnosed in obese school-age children of all racial origins.
Since Type 2 diabetes is induced by diet, dietary changes should prevent or at least manage it. However, since many diabetics find it impossible to lose weight or adhere to a diet free of starch, sugar and junk food, Type 2 Diabetes must be treated with drugs which restore the body's response to its own insulin. Sometimes even injections of insulin are required.
Treatment for diabetes is essential
If treatment for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is neglected, both can lead to life-threatening complications such as kidney damage, heart disease, nerve damage, blindness, and hypoglycemia (the drastic reduction in glucose levels). More specifically, diabetes damages blood vessels, especially the smaller end-arteries, which leads to severe and premature hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
Diabetics can also develop foot problems since neuropathy, which afflicts about 10% of patients, causes feet to lose sensation. When foot problems go unnoticed, the feet often cannot heal because of atherosclerotic blockage of the tiny arteries in the foot. Gangrene then set in and amputation of toes, feet or even legs is not uncommon for many elderly patients.
