By Jenna

Type 1 Diabetes

Young adults and children are the most commonly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.  Another name for Type 1 is juvenile diabetes.  Type 1  diabetes causes the body not to produce insulin.  Insulin is important because it lets your body be able to use sugar.   Sugar is the main fuel for the cells in your body.  Insulin takes sugar from the blood into the blood cells.  If sugar builds up in the blood instead of flowing into the cells, there can be two problems:  1) Your cells may be starved for energy in a very short time; 2) Blood sugar levels will be high and that may hurt your eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart.        

Insulin is produced from the pancreas, an organ near your stomach.  Your pancreas contains cells named beta cells.  Beta cells make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps the cells take in the sugar they need.  Beta cells sometimes don’t work and can’t produce insulin.  In Type 1 Diabetes, beta cells usually die because the cells that normally protect your body from germs attack your beta cells instead, and that means your beta cells can’t produce insulin. 

Type 2  Diabetes

The most common type of diabetes is Type 2.  When you have Type 2 diabetes, the body either:  1) does not produce enough insulin; or 2) the cells ignore the insulin. 

The purpose of insulin is to help the body use sugar. The basic fuel for cells in the body is sugar.  The insulin’s job is to take the sugar from the blood into your body cells.  Sometimes the glucose builds up in the blood of your body.  This can cause two problems:  1) your cells may be starved for energy; 2) blood sugar levels will be high, and this may hurt your eyes, kidneys, nerves, or heart.

People with Type 2 diabetes have glucose - which means sugar- building up in their blood.  Their blood sugar levels can go down to normal levels with treatment.