In order to understand what may cause diabetes we need to understand the role of our pancreas. The pancreas makes an important hormone: insulin. We all need insulin to help our bodies take glucose (sugar) we get from food and use it as energy.
The cells that produce insulin are our beta cells. These cells unfortunately do not reproduce easily. Beta cells actually get exhausted over time, they die out and lose their function. We then end up with too little insulin production and too much glucose in our blood. That will cause side effects over time and depending on the severity will lead to diabetes. This condition can cause serious health problems and damage vital organs. Most people with diabetes have a shorter expectancy than people without the disease.
