Introduction:
What is diabetes?
A person has diabetes when their body’s blood glucose (or blood sugar) levels are higher than normal. We take in glucose from the foods we eat, and it has the extremely important task of providing energy to all of our body’s cells.
Usually the pancreas, which is an organ located in between our stomach and spine, produces a hormone called insulin that is responsible for helping the blood carry glucose to our cells. But if the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, or if the insulin isn’t doing its job, then our body is unable to process the glucose.
Basically, the glucose would be stuck in our blood and cells wouldn’t be receiving the energy they need to function.
There are three different kinds of diabetes:
- Type 1,
- Type 2, and
- Gestational Diabetes.
We will explain the differences between all three, but the rest of our discussion will focus primarily on Type 2 diabetes, as that is the most common form (and also the most easily prevented).