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    Diabetes is a disease that affects 16 million people each year. Diabetes can be a very scary subject to talk about.

    There are different types of diabetes, like type 1 and type 2. Only about 5 percent of diabetics have type 1, also known as "juvenile diabetes" or "insulin dependent diabetes." More people have type 2 also called "adult onset diabetes" or "non-insulin dependent diabetes." You will be learning about type 1. 

    A lot of people ask, " How does diabetes happen?"    There is an organ in your body you might not know about. It is hidden behind your stomach. It is your pancreas. Your pancreas produces a hormone called insulin. When you eat something, it is turned into a form of sugar called glucose. Your cells need glucose to live and grow. But the cells can’t get glucose without insulin. If you are diabetic, your pancreas doesn’t make insulin. 

To get insulin you have to take shots. Most diabetics take 2 – 4 shots a day. Along with that you must eat a balanced diet with limited amounts of sweets. You also have to take blood tests. To do that you must have a lancet device. A lancet device is like a thick pen with a needle. You flip a lever and that sends the needle into your finger. You then put the drop of blood on a glucose meter. That is a small machine that tells you what the level of sugar is in your blood. The optimum level should be 120 but a little bit higher or lower isn’t bad.