Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone. When you eat, your pancreas produces and releases it. When you have type 2 diabetes, your body becomes insulin resistant. Your body no longer utilizes hormones as effectively. This forces the pancreas to work harder to produce more insulin.

Over time, this can damage the cells of the pancreas. Eventually, the pancreas may no longer be able to produce insulin. When enough insulin isn’t produced or the body doesn’t use it efficiently, glucose builds up in the bloodstream. As a result, your body’s cells are starving for energy. Doctors don’t know exactly what triggers this chain of events. It may be related to pancreatic cell dysfunction or cell signalling and regulation.

While lifestyle choices are typically what trigger type 2 diabetes, you may be more likely to be diagnosed with following conditions:

• A genetic predisposition to developing type 2 diabetes in your family
• A genetic predisposition to developing obesity in your family, which can increase the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes
• At least 45 years old