What Causes Diabetes Type 1?

How is diabetes caused and especially what are the causes of diabetes type 1 are the hottest queries among the parents of diabetics. If the blood sugar levels are not properly controlled, they eventually cause life threatening complications in human body. Till to date it is not clearly known that what is the cause of diabetes type 1. The best theory that revolves around it says that hereditary tendencies are the root cause which is then triggered by the environmental factors. These environmental factors are not yet clearly known. Following are the outlined causes of diabetes

Heredity or Genetics: Researches have revealed that there is close connection between genetic make up and diabetes type 1. Many people are born with the tendency to develop the disease. It is important to note that diabetes is not inherited ailment. The people that have the genetic disposition of this disease end up after catching the disease. For example if a sibling or a parent of a person is suffering from diabetes then the chances of acquiring disease will be increased by 10%. Even in case of identical twins, if one twin has the disease then the risk factor of the other increases by three folds.

Epidemics of Diabetes type 1 have increased a lot in European countries in the recent past years. If the disease of this would have been genes then according to researchers it would have taken 400 years for the expansion. The rate of the growth depicts that there are some other underlying causes as well.

Environmental Factors: The environmental factors also trigger diabetes. Researchers believe that viral infection is the cause of diabetes. Those with genetic disposition are more prone to be attacked by this viral infection. In this case the viral attack produces a protein that resembles beta cells of pancreas. Immune system gets hoaxed by the similarity of the two. It attacks the viral protein as well as the beta cells.

A group of researchers believe that this attack is caused by some pollutant. It is thought that these are some toxic microorganisms in top most part of the soil. The researchers believe that bacteria are swarmed in the vegetables. These vegetables, when eaten by the person who has genetic disposition of disease, triggers the autoimmune disorder and as a result the diabetes type 1 onset.

What Is Type 1 Diabetes? - Symptoms and Causes

Diabetes type 1 is a metabolism disorder where the body does not produce insulin which is important to convert sugar into energy needed in our daily life. What happen is the immune system which is suppose to fight bacteria and foreign viruses started attacking beta cells which is the primary source of insulin for some reason.

Now that these beta cells cannot release the insulin producing hormones, the body has a hard time breaking down sugars. Insulin is important to help transport nutrients throughout the body for energy. The body needs these functions to be able to perform effectively and efficiently. Unfortunately, this does not seems to be the case with type 1 diabetes.

The main problem with those suffering from type 1 diabetes is that sugar is not transported, and this can lead to starvation of the cell, causing it to not be able to perform its important functions. Apart from accumulating sugar, the body suffers from dehydration as well. The amassing of sugar would cause patients to frequently urinate because the glucose would simply be lost through the kidneys instead of being transported to cells. This means that the majority of victims would lose a lot of weight since the cells have no staple carbohydrate intake.

The most life threatening aspect is the fact that patients can develop Ketoacidosis, which is the fatal combo of dehydration, excessive sugar and large build up of acids. The sugar that is not released in urine would continue to build up and harden the arteries in the body, which may lead to a heart attack.

There is no specific age limit to the victims of diabetes type 1. The good news is that this condition only affects a small number of people. However, the main causes of type 1 diabetes is still unclear today. The only clear point that studies found over the years is that it is an inherited disease.

Symptoms of this condition include thirstiness, frequent hunger pangs, nausea, dry mouth, abdominal pain, abrupt weight loss, tiredness, blurry vision and difficulty in breathing. If you are having the symptoms above, consult a doctor immediately. The doctor will get a urine sample to know if you have this condition.

Do not be overly worried if you are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. There are a lot of people who continue to live a normal and fulfilling life with this condition. One would have to regularly monitor one's own sugar levels to treat and prevent onset of complications.

The main things to do are to keep a close watch on your diet, exercise regularly and undergo insulin therapy. The most common way to treat diabetes type 1 is through insulin injections. This is to make up for the lack of insulin that is not produced by the body. This condition can lead to kidney failure and other ocular complications if it is not treated. Heart disease is one of the possible linked disease as well.