Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the full name for the condition that most people just refer to as diabetes. Of all the people who must deal with this disease, 90-95% of them have type 2. The disease is caused when the body does not naturally produce enough insulin, or when an insulin resistance has been developed, for various reasons. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas whose job is to escort the glucose (sugar) in the blood to the cells in our body, so they can be used as fuel. When we develop a resistance to insulin our cells become less responsive to this hormone, and much of the glucose is forced to stay in the bloodstream.

One of the main reasons that the diabetes rate is skyrocketing is because of our poor diets and inactivity. Excess fat around the abdomen is one of the biggest risk factors for developing insulin resistance, and type two diabetes mellitus. Many of the processed foods we eat, such as soda, candy bars, chips, and pasta, cause an enormous spike in insulin levels. These spikes happen quite often in those of us who rely solely on these foods. Most natural foods release glucose (and thus insulin) at a much slower rate, so there is not such a big spike. When the levels of insulin are consistently so high, the cells eventually stop listening to it.

Other factors such as family history, inactivity, and age also predispose people to this illness.

Many people are at the beginning stages of this problem, but it has not got bad enough to call it type 2 diabetes yet. This is a condition called pre-diabetes, and is thought to be one of the biggest health epidemics Americans have ever faced. In fact, there are more than 57 million people in the United States that have pre-diabetes.

When the condition worsens from pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes mellitus, it is a lifelong condition with no complete cure. Those who are affected must learn to deal with it on a daily basis. If it is not carefully looked after it can cause some serious problems such as blindness, heart disease, and kidney failure.

The good news is that with some major lifestyle changes it is possible to live a long, and relatively normal, life. For some people a complete life style change can be enough to keep the disease in check. Other people must go on diabetes medications or insulin therapy.

The scary part about this disease is that so many people do not even know that they have it. If you have any of the risk factors mentioned this article it would be wise to go talk to your doctor as soon as possible. If you are then diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes mellitus, you can then work with a medical expert to create a plan to combat this disease.  The longer you wait the more risk you are at for the seriously negative effects of this disease.