disease

Crohn's disease is an auto-immune disease (meaning the immune system turns on itself) affecting the small or large intestine, or both of them together. Folks who have bad cases of Crohn's get bad colitis and diarrhea and pain and . . . it's just awful. I have two close friends who have this. They get scarring and problems and sometimes have to have surgeries. But the severity of cases can vary.

Diabetes is a disease that affect's the body's ability to produce the hormone, insulin, that helps us metabolize sugar. So they have high blood sugar levels in their blood. In type I diabetes, which people normally get in childhood, the immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that create insulin. In type II diabetes, which comes on later and tends to happen a lot more with heavy folks, people begin to lose their ability to metabolize sugar and fire it properly in the muscles, again at the behest of insulin. Type I's have to take insulin. Type II folks can control the disease, at least in the early stages, with diet and exercise.