Type 1 Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes results when cells in the pancreas are destroyed, causing a severe lack in insulin production. Causes for this type of diabetes are infection by a specific virus or bacteria, exposure to cow's milk as a young infant and exposure to food-born toxins.
  
  

Type 2 Diabetes

• One of the main causes for type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, when response cells to insulin fail. Other causes are insufficient insulin available and when the insulin that is available is abnormal and doesn't work properly in the body.
  
  

Risk Factor - Hereditary

• An individual with a family history of diabetes is 25 percent more likely to develop diabetes.
  
  

Risk Factor - Age

• Anyone over age 45 typically becomes less active; as we become less active, we tend to gain weight, which can result in pancreatic dysfunction.
  
  

Risk Factor - Diet

• Eating too many carbohydrates, proteins and fats hampers the pancreas' ability to properly secrete insulin to the body.
  
  

Risk Factor - Obesity

• Obesity, an excessive amount of body fat, prohibits the pancreas from optimal performance; this excessive weight makes an individual predisposed to developing diabetes mellitus.
  
  

Risk Factor - Emotional Stress

• The irregularity and chaos of a highly-stressed, busy lifestyle can negatively influence metabolism and, as a result, can lead to diabetes.