Most people are aware that diabetes has dangerous and adverse effects on the human body. Diabetic’s organs usually function at a lower level, and the diabetic immune system is not a healthy immune system. If left untreated, the diabetic immune system is degenerated even more than in a diabetic that is treating their condition. Long-lasting and persistent uncontrolled diabetes will degenerate the patient’s immune system to such an extent that they will almost certainly be vulnerable to deadly or harmful viruses and diseases at some point.
How is the Diabetic Immune System Compromised?
Diabetes changes the blood glucose levels of the diabetic’s body, which affects the functioning of the pancreas, where insulin is produced that is required to give the body the energy it needs on a daily basis. The lack of the proper amount of insulin causes the blood sugar level to rise to dangerous levels. The disease itself causes the immune system to turn on itself and destroy the insulin producing cells, and lowers the overall immune response. The diabetic immune system is even worse in people who are not controlling their blood sugar. The body’s cells become sort of “sugar concentrated, making them an ideal environment for all types of microorganisms. The untreated diabetic immune system becomes sort of unregulated because of the high sugar concentration. Even viruses like the flu will require hospitalization more often for diabetics than for people without diabetes.
Some researchers and physicians hypothesize that hemoglobin A1C or HbA1C is related to the immune system, and that blood sugars and HbA1C are proportional. Higher HbA1C figures are representative of higher blood glucose and thus the likelihood of a weaker immune system.
Type 1 Diabetes and the Immune System
The consensus among scientists is that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. But even after decades of research, the mechanisms involved in the type 1 diabetic immune system aren’t fully understood.
Diabetes type 1 is a form of diabetes that results from the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas. The beta cells are the cells responsible for insulin production. If left untreated, type 1 diabetes will lead to death. Currently, the only known effective treatment for type 1 diabetes is treatment with insulin. The cause of diabetes type 1 is still not completely understood, but it is clear that the destruction of the beta cells in the diabetic immune system indicates a compromised immune system.
For the Diabetic, Immune System Health is Clearly Important
Besides the medications you may be prescribed, it’s important to eat nutritionally balanced and healthy diets, exercise regularly, and avoid stress and other environmental factors that are detrimental to your health. The better your overall health, the better condition your immune system is likely to be in.
