What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition where your body can’t use blood glucose (sugar) properly. Insulin, a hormone made by your pancreas, helps take the blood sugar from your blood to use it for energy. With diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use it well. When this happens, blood sugar can build up in your blood.1
There are two types of diabetes:
Type 1 happens when your pancreas stops making insulin. It accounts for only 5 percent of all diabetes.2
Type 2 happens when your body still makes insulin, but it may not make enough. Or, the insulin you do make might not work very well. About 95 percent of the people diagnosed with diabetes have type 2.3
Prediabetes is a condition where your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be Type 2 diabetes. Making lifestyle changes can decrease your risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.4 Eating right and exercising are vital for all people, but they are especially important for people with diabetes and those at risk for diabetes — overall physical fitness helps your body lower blood sugar levels.5
1 Mayo Clinic. Diabetes. mayoclinic.org
2 ADA. Type 1 Diabetes. diabetes.org.
3 ADA. Type 2 Diabetes. diabetes.org.
4 Mayo Clinic. Living with diabetes. mayoclinic.org
5 ADA. Blood Glucose Control and Exercise. diabetes.org.
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