What Is It?

 

Overview

Many people know that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American player to make it into the Major Leagues. However, only a few know that he had diabetes. In fact, diabetes was the reason for his death in 1972. Every year, millions of people like Robinson become victims of diabetes, or diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which people are unable to use or produce glucose properly. As a result, people with diabetes have too much glucose (sugar) in their blood. Because of this, diabetes is often called the “sugar disease.” There are three forms of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational. You will later learn about the differences between these types in the 'Types of Diabetes' sublink. Today, about 176 million people have diabetes. This problem is becoming a very serious matter.

In order to fully understand diabetes, it is key to understand what insulin is. Insulin was first discovered in the late 1920's. Insulin is a hormone-a chemical substance that performs a certain task in a part of the body such as muscles, cells, and fat-that controls the level of glucose in the blood. Insulin is secreted in the pancreas (an organ behind the stomach that produces insulin and performs other important tasks) by islet cells. Insulin acts as a gateway between glucose and the cell. When insulin does not function properly, glucose cannot enter the cell and without glucose, the cell cannot properly function and we do not have enough energy. This is why type one diabetics (produce little or no insulin) can become very weak and ill without insulin shots. In addition to being the gateway between the cell and glucose, insulin is necessary for growth. It also helps and promotes the storage of glucose in the form of glycogen.

In this section of the website, you will learn a lot about this disease in the following sublinks to your left. It will answer many questions about diabetes such as "What causes it?", "Who Gets it?", and "What are are the symptoms?" You are probably very curious already! To get started, just simply click on the links to the left. 

 

 

 

Jackie Robinson

(Courtesy of Authentic History Center)

 

 

Wait! Did you know…?
Diabetes did not stop Jackie Robinson from achieving great success. Not only did he break the barrier of segregation in baseball, he also had a very successful baseball career. Robinson played in six World series teams and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He was nominated for six consecutive All Star Game nominations and won Rookie of the Year in 1967. Unfortunately, he died from a heart attack due to complications of diabetes. Prior to death, diabetes also caused him to go blind.