Diabetes: What is it?
The term diabetes refers to a group of diseases that affect the way the body uses blood glucose, also referred to as blood sugar. It results in too much glucose, or sugar, in the blood. Normally food is eaten and digested by the body resulting in glucose being absorbed in the bloodstream. The hormone insulin is secreted into the bloodstream and helps to carry the glucose from the blood into the cells to be used for energy. This regulates the blood glucose level as it lowers the amount of glucose in the blood. With diabetes the body does not produce enough or properly use the insulin it does produce resulting in too much glucose in the blood.
The three most common types of diabetes are type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. In type 1 diabetes the body fails to produce insulin and people with this type of diabetes take insulin daily. This type of diabetes most often develops in childhood. The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. In this type of diabetes the body can not produce enough or properly use insulin. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy usually goes away after the baby is born.