Learning Center

Diabetes

Diabetes means that your blood sugar is too high. Your blood always has some sugar in it because the body uses sugar for energy; it’s the fuel that keeps you going. But too much sugar in the blood is not good for your health. Your body changes most of the food you eat into sugar. Your blood takes the sugar to the cells throughout your body. The sugar needs insulin to get into the body’s cells. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, an organ near the stomach. The pancreas releases insulin into in the blood. If your body does not make enough, or the insulin does not work right, the sugar can’t get into the cells so it stays in the blood. This makes your blood sugar high, causing you to have diabetes.