Type 1 diabetes is caused due to lack of insulin in human body. Insulin, a type of hormone is required to change starches, glucose and several other foods into energy. The type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune syndrome which attacks the body’s immune system and demolishes the beta cells. Though anyone may suffer from Type 1 disease, it mostly occurs among children and youngsters.
It might be helpful to know about the causes of diabetes in order to take precautions and reduce the risk of increasing the hurdles caused by diabetes.
Genetic Susceptibility
Family history or heredity is one of the possible causes which increase the risks of Type 1 diabetes than those who do not have this disease in the family history. The disease is transferred when different genes along with the Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLAs) are passed to child from biological parent. These genes starts immune response in the body by making proteins on white blood cells and making them strong, causing the disease.
Autoimmune Destruction of Beta Cells
Once you suffer from type 1 diabetes, the white blood cells starts attacking and destroying Beta cells (Any of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas). This process starts before the symptoms of diabetes are noticed and keep on proceeding even after diagnosis. Research hints that insulin itself is possibly a major cause of more attack on beta cells. Since it is an auto-immune disease, the body reacts against insulin considering it as an Antigen or strange substance. The disease starts showing up its symptoms only after the majority of beta cells gets destroyed. When you get diagnosed at this stage, you will be needing daily insulin cure to stay alive.
Several Viruses
A virus cannot cause diabetes on its own. However, because of a viral infection, the beginning of type 1 diabetes crops up more often especially when viral illness are more frequent- during the winter. These viruses may destroy beta cells in vulnerable people which results in diabetes. Scientists are endeavoring to recognize a particular virus causing type 1 diabetes in order to develop a vaccine to prevent the disease.
Cow’s milk and Cereal Proteins to Children
Researchers claim that several dietary aspects of children increase the risk of increasing type 1 diabetes. For instance, infants who get breast milk and those who collect extra vitamin D may have a less risk of getting type 1 diabetes. But, those infants who are fed cow’s milk and cereal proteins might be prone to developing this diabetes.
Environmental Factors
Some researches propose that environmental factor may cause the autoimmune damage of beta cells along with genetic vulnerability to diabetes.