What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in your blood.  Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and it is estimated that 7% of children and adults in the United states have diabetes.

The Types of Diabetes

Type 1 was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes. Type 1 usually occurs during childhood and adolescence and may account for 5-10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes though the exact mechanisms for developing both diseases are unknown. In some genetically predisposed people, the appearance of type 1 diabetes is suspected to follow exposure to an "environmental trigger," such as an unidentified virus, stimulating an immune attack against the beta cells of the pancreas (that produce insulin).
Type 2 was previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), or adult-onset diabetes. It is the most common form of disease, which can occur at any age and may account for about 90-95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.
Gestational diabetes usually occurs halfway through pregnancy as a result of excessive hormone production in the body.
Pre-diabetes is the stage before diabetes, where blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Other specific types of diabetes resulting from drugs, infections, malnutrition, specific genetic syndromes, surgery, and other illnesses may account for 1-2% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.