Type 2 diabetes is seen primarily as a "blood sugar" problem. As a result, most people with diabetes don't really take this disease seriously -- until they start to have problems with their kidneys, eyes or feet.
But, by then, the disease has had a chance to take hold in your body, making it difficult to manage the disease and slow down its progress towards amputation, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack or stroke.
As depicted in the diagram below, Type 2 diabetes affects every system in the human body, including two systems that are not included in the diagram (I ran out of room :-)): the Integumentary System and the Reproductive System.
Let's take a look at Type 2 diabetes at the cellular level. Type 2 diabetes is a combination of insulin resistance and inflammation that affects the muscle cells, liver cells and fat cells.
Insulin resistance and inflammation prevent these cells from effectively using the insulin produced by the pancreas. That is, the insulin receptors on the surface of each cell are damaged (inflamed), ignoring the presence of insulin in your blood and refusing to allow glucose from your blood to enter your cells.
In addition to the muscle, liver and fat cells, diabetes affects many other cells in the body. As a result, diabetes affects almost every major part of the human body, which can lead to problems with the eyes, kidneys, feet, heart, brain and other organs.
Some of those cells that are affected by diabetes include the following:
Blood vessel cells: of the circulatory system's arteries and veins begin to degenerate and weaken, causing leakages and sometimes clotting; and, reduces the amount of oxygen getting to all parts of the body.
Leakages in the small blood vessels that feed the eyes, kidneys, feet, etc. along with thickening of capillary walls can lead to diseases associated with those parts of the body.
And, the damage to the large blood vessels causes hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or poor circulation in the feet.
In addition, these effects reduce blood circulation to the skin, arms, legs, and feet; and, also, change the circulation to the eyes and kidneys. Reduced capillary blood flow may cause some brown patches on the legs.
Brain cells (Neurons): causes synaptic degeneration (synapses are the structures at the end of each neuron used to communicate between neurons); also, affects the hippocampus portion of the brain causing a reduction in neurocognitive speed, learning and mental functioning and focusing, leading to a slowdown in memory processing, brain fog, memory loss, a lack of concentration; and, depression. Also, the formation of amyloid plaques between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain can lead to Alzheimer's Disease (AD).
Glucose triggers the brain to release natural chemicals called opioids, which give the body a feeling of intense pleasure. The brain then recognizes this feeling and begins to crave more of it. Similar to a cocaine addiction, when you crave glucose, it activates certain areas in the brain, specifically, the hippocampus, the insula and the caudate) that are activated.
Endothelial cells: in the lining of all blood vessels and the inner walls of the heart chamber; can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, etc.
Eye cells: Because of damage to the small blood vessels that nourish tissue and nerve cells in the retina, blood clots and scar tissue can form in front of the retina, preventing light from hitting the retina, resulting in blindness.
Fat cells: become insulin-resistant, along with muscle and liver cells, can cause obesity.
Heart (muscle/chamber) cells: can lead to heart disease, heart attacks.
Kidney cells (incl. Nephrons (Glomerular cells, Renal corpuscle (parietal cells, podocytes and mesangial cells) and the various tubules (columnar and cuboidal epithelial cells): lose the ability to filter the blood as the blood vessels in the nephrons become more porous. Over time amino acids and proteins escape into the urine through these pores, which is an indication of kidney dysfunction eventually leading to kidney failure and dialysis.
Liver cells: can lead to a increased toxins, increased cholesterol, fatty liver, many health issues.
Nerve cells: damage to the blood vessels in the legs and damage to the myelin sheath of nerve cells in the legs leads to numbness, pain, and eventually amputation.
Pancreatic beta cells: may wear out and lose their ability to produce insulin.
Red blood cells: become hardened and stickier, making the blood thicker and slow-moving; and more prone to clotting. Can lead to high blood pressure, eye disease, kidney disease, heart disease, amputation, inflammation, infection; and many other health problems/diseases, because the circulatory system touches every major system in the body.
Skin cells: (or epithelial cells) can cause dry skin, slow-healing bruises and infections, damaged skin due to glycated collagen.
White blood cells: can weaken the immune system, leading to infections, slow-healing wounds and other diseases.
Please Note: This is, by no means, a complete list of every cell and organ in the human body. But, this list should help you to better understand how diabetes can affect so many parts of the body.
Note: The circulatory system and the nervous system go to every major part of the human body. And, since diabetes affects these two systems, then, you can see why diabetes affects every major part of the human body.
Note: For more details about diabetes and its complications (and how to treat them naturally without drugs), refer to Chapters 3 and 15 of the Death to Diabetes book or Chapters 2-6 of the DTD Science of Diabetes ebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment