A vehicle needs gasoline, our home needs electricity and our body needs glucose to function. But this fuel that provides energy, also called sugar, in exaggerated doses, ends up causing diabetes. Diabetes is the elevation of sugar levels in our bloodstream and this elevation occurs when the pancreas, the organ responsible for breaking down and sending the substance to the body, is unable to regulate and produce the necessary amount of insulin, the hormone that controls these levels. of sugar. In other words, to fully understand the emergence of diabetes, it is necessary to understand what sugar is and its importance in our body. What is sugar? Glucose and sugar are the same thing and although their quantity varies, it can be found in any and all foods. Sweets have glucose, savory snacks have glucose, fruits have fructose, which is also a component for this type of substance. In other words, our body receives energy all the time from different food sources and they all form the same thing in our body.

1. Blood Sugar
How sugar is transported in the blood and
what it has to do with diabetes
A vehicle needs gasoline, our home needs electricity and our
body needs glucose to function.
But this fuel that provides energy, also called sugar, in
exaggerated doses, ends up causing diabetes.
Diabetes is the elevation of sugar levels in our bloodstream and
this elevation occurs when the pancreas, the organ responsible
for breaking down and sending the substance to the body, is
unable to regulate and produce the necessary amount of
insulin, the hormone that controls these levels. of sugar.
In other words, to fully understand the emergence of diabetes,
it is necessary to understand what sugar is and its importance
in our body.

2. What is sugar?
Glucose and sugar are the same thing and although their
quantity varies, it can be found in any and all foods.
Sweets have glucose, savory snacks have glucose, fruits have
fructose, which is also a component for this type of substance.
In other words, our body receives energy all the time from
different food sources and they all form the same thing in our
body.

3. Carbohydrates, lactose, sucrose, etc. All these substances are
transformed into energy for humans.
What happens to the body when sugar
levels are high?
At first, our pancreas can handle excess glucose well. It starts
working double time to produce insulin and regulate how much
of this substance should remain circulating in the blood or
absorbed by cells or accumulated in some tissues.
However, due to several factors, but mainly genetic
inheritance, the pancreas is not capable of producing enough
insulin to carry out adequate sugar control, allowing it to
accumulate, leading to high levels in the blood.
And that's where diabetes comes in.

4. What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease and means a constant rise in
blood sugar levels, as the pancreas can no longer regulate and
produce insulin levels.
Classified into types, this disease causes the destruction of
pancreatic beta cells (Type I), insulin resistance (Type II) and, in
rarer cases, pancreatitis, tumors and hyperthyroidism.
In type I, there is a complete absence of insulin production, as
the immune system itself (our defense system) ends up
attacking the cells and destroying them. Symptoms range from
excessive hunger and thirst, weight loss and dehydration. If not
taken care of, it can develop into severe dehydration and even
coma.
In type II, insulin production is compromised and the body finds
resistance to the substance and, unlike the other, there is
weight gain and obesity. Its bothersome symptoms take longer
to appear, and although they can lead to dehydration and
coma, patients sometimes don't find out in time to start
treatment early.

5. What are ideal blood sugar levels?
Sugar levels vary during the day, so depending on the time they
were measured, different reference values should be observed.
Fasting: 70 to 99 mg/dL
Random or after overload: up to 140mg/dL .
These results can be obtained in the office or on a glucose
meter.
If fasting levels are above 100 and levels after eating or
overload exceed 140 mg/dL , the patient is diagnosed with
diabetes.
Remembering that, if any of these values indicative of diabetes
are measured on one day, it must be confirmed on another so
that the diagnosis can be confirmed.