What do I Need to Know About Diabetes?

If you've ever had a friend or family member tell you that they have diabetes or you yourself have it, you know it can be a difficult thing to deal with. While you may be wondering why this is happening you are still going to need to know more about diabetes to help that person or yourself. Diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism in which the body can no longer properly utilize the sugar it receives.

When you eat your body converts most of your food into a sugar called glucose. Glucose is then transported to the cells where insulin is used to help glucose into the cells so that it can be used as energy. When not enough insulin is produced or when insulin isn't being used in the right way it builds up in the blood and doesn't reach the cells. There are 3 types of diabetes: Juvenile diabetes (your body doesn't produce enough insulin), Adult-onset diabetes (your body is either not producing enough insulin or is unable to use it and gestational diabetes (forms during pregnancy and usually stops after birth).

While there is no known cure for diabetes there are ways to manage it effectively including diet, exercise, medication, insulin injections and blood sugar testing and monitoring. Each of these is unique to the type of diabetes being experienced and should be discussed with their doctor or possibly in this case your doctor.