Diabetes

Diabetes means that your blood glucose (often called blood sugar) is too high.

Your blood carries the glucose to all the cells in your body. Insulin is a chemical (a hormone) made in a part of the body called the pancreas. The pancreas releases insulin into the blood. Insulin helps the glucose from food get into your cells. If your body doesn't make enough insulin or if the insulin doesn't work the way it should, glucose can't get into your cells. It stays in your blood instead. Your blood glucose level then gets too high, causing you to have diabetes.

There are three different types of diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes or insulin dependant diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes which happens during the late stages of pregnancy and this form of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born.

Children and young adults have been getting type 2 diabetes a lot more frequently in the past few years because they eat a lot of fat and sugar and don't exercise enough. Exercise and eating healthy foods is important in preventing diabetes in not only adults but in children as well.