In the most general terms, both types of diabetes — type 1, type 2 diabetes — are considered a disorder that directly affects the metabolism. As food is ingested, patients presenting with either form of diabetes will experience a systemic inability to adequately metabolize the nutritional building blocks that make up the food or liquid, and thus there will be adverse bodily effects noticeable within minutes of consuming a meal. The very building block of the food associated with giving energy to the body, glucose, becomes elevated to the extent that it causes an unsafe spike in blood sugar values. This is due to the inability of insulin to adequately affect storage of the glucose.

As this is the general mode of operations of a body affected by diabetes, there are subtle differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Patients suffering from type-1 diabetes generally present with a level of insulin that is markedly lower in their bloodstream than it would be in the bloodstream of an unaffected individual. Insulin is a hormone that is known to be tied to the adequate functioning of the pancreas and when the latter is not adequately performing its systemic response, the amount of insulin that is found in the bloodstream at any given time is insufficient to deal with ingested glucose. Sadly, this form of diabetes cannot be prevented and instead must be treated daily and closely monitored. Patients must monitor their blood sugar levels, inject insulin to make up for the systemic deficiency, and closely scrutinize each and every bite they ingest in an effort to not cause a sudden spike of glucose in the blood.

On the other side of the spectrum are type 2 diabetes causes, which are brought on by lifestyle choices (for the most part). Insulin is present in the body and plentiful, but because of poor nutritional choices and also excessive weight gain, the insulin levels will taper off as the pancreas functionality is gradually destroyed. The good news for those suffering from this form of diabetes rests in the fact that a change in lifestyle choices, and increased level of care with respect to nutritional intake, and of course healthy exercise all have been known to counteract this presentation of the disease.  In addition to the foregoing, there are options for treatment that include oral medication and also specifically structured meal plans that seek to help patients let go of destructive eating habits.

Although type-1 diabetes is sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes, it is important to remember that adults also suffer from this ailment. Conversely, while it is true that type-2 diabetes is sometimes called adult onset, there is now an alarming number of children who are presenting with this condition, in part due to the rising percentage of morbidly obese children in the United States. Nutritional counseling, dietary changes, and of course lifestyle changes that include exercise and specifically exclude junk food may serve to counteract the effects of this latter from of the disease for children and adults alike.