Diabetes Basics

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease in which your body is unable to properly use and store glucose, a type of sugar. The glucose backs up in the bloodstream, resulting in blood glucose ('sugar') to increase.

What Causes Diabetes?

All  types of diabetes causes people to have too much glucose in their blood.
Glucose is very important to our body as it provides us our energy.
We get glucose when our body breaks down the carbohydrates we consume in our diet.
That glucose is released to our blood stream.


We also need a hormone that is called Insulin that is made by our pancreas.
It is the hormone that allows the glucose in our blood to enter our cells and fuel our body.


 

Photo Credit: International Diabetes Federation

If you don't have diabetes, your pancreas can sense that glucose has entered the bloodstream and releases the correct amount of insulin so the glucose can enter the body cells.

But if you have diabetes, this  system does not  work properly, or does not work at all.

 

Type 1 Diabetes

When you’ve got Type 1 diabetes, you can’t make any insulin at all.

 

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes(T2D) is a form of diabetes that is charachterized by high blood sugar and insulin resistance.

Read more.

 

Gestational Diabetes

 

 

 

Prediabetes

 

 

 

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Diabetes affects almost 30 million people, and that number is growing each day.

Any donation will make a big difference in our fight against these growing numbers and against diabetes.

Diabetes National Institute is first and foremost a growing campaign against diabetes and a community effort to enrich the lives of people with diabetes. Our mission is to provide free services and create a warm and supportive atmosphere where people with diabetes, their families, and the public can engage, learn, and build a greater understanding of diabetes.

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