Contents:

• Executive summary
• What is diabetes?
• Type 1 diabetes
• Type 2 diabetes
• Gestational diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome
• Pre-diabetes
• Common health complications
• Why do people become diabetic?
• Genetics
• Lifestyle and environmental factors
• Life with diabetes
• Classical approach to treatment
• Medication
• Type 1 diabetes
• Type 2 diabetes
• Diet
• How well does it work?
• The D-Diet
• Basic principles of the D-Diet
• Why and how it works
• The D-Diet nutrition basics
• Conclusion
• References

Genetics

Our genetic make-up plays an important role in this disease and a certain set of genes can make us more or less susceptible to developing diabetes. However, even those with a greater susceptibility do not necessarily go on to develop the disease.

Type 1 diabetes

This is a brief overview of the heredity factors which influence type 1 diabetes (Diabetes UK, 2010b):

• If a mother has type 1 diabetes, the risk for her child of developing it is about two per cent.
• If a father has it, the risk for his child is about eight per cent.
• If both parents have this condition, the risk is up to 30 per cent.
• If a child develops it, the risk is around 10 per cent for other siblings. If a twin develops it, the risk for a non-identical sibling is around 15 per cent. If it is an identical twin, the risk rises to 40 per cent.

Several gene variants have been identified as contributing to type 1 diabetes susceptibility but only a small proportion of genetically susceptible individuals – less than 10 per cent – go on to develop the disease (Knip et al., 2005). This implies that environmental factors are necessary to trigger the autoimmune reaction which destroys insulin producing cells.

Type 2 diabetes

This is a brief overview of the impact of heredity on type 2 diabetes (Diabetes UK, 2010b):

• If one of the parents has the condition, the risk for their child of developing it is 15 per cent.
• If both parents have the condition, the risk is around 75 per cent.
• If a non-identical twin develops this type of diabetes, the risk is ten per cent for the other twin. If an identical twin has the condition, the risk for the other twin is 90 per cent.

As shown in the next chapter, lifestyle and environmental factors play an enormous role in type 2 diabetes. Therefore, even individuals with susceptible genes, or people who have already developed type 2 diabetes, don’t necessarily have to live with the condition for the rest of their lives.