Nutrition Feature: Diabetes What Is Diabetes?? It is difficult to define Diabetes.However, it can be stated to be a metabolic disease where utilisation and disposal of foodstuffs is deranged.Simple fuels are derived from the digestion of foods we eat.Digestion of starches(carbohydrates) yields glucose,digestion of protein yields amino acids, and digestion of fats yields fatty acids.In order to use all these fuels(glucose, amino acids and fatty acids), it is essential to simultaneously have a hormone called insulin available in the blood stream. Insulin is a hormone produced by a gland called the pancreas located in the abdomen.In the absence of insulin the raw materials cannot be produced and accumulate in the blood stream.In Diabetes, a deficiency of insulin or resistance to its action results in non-utilisation and accumulation of glucose, amino acids and fatty acids outside our body cells in the blood stream.When glucose accumulates in large amounts and exceeds approximately the level of 180mg percent in the blood stream,it starts spilling over through the kidneys into the urine.Hence, the value of 180mg percent is termed the renal threshold for glucose.Diabetes is diagonised because of elevated blood glucose and presence of glucose in the urine. ********************************************* Types Of Diabetes | 
