Diabetes is a disease that causes high glucose (a kind of sugar) in your blood. It happens when your body can not make or use enough insulin. While there is no cure, you can still live well with diabetes if you manage it well.
What happens when you have diabetes
When you eat foods containing carbohydrates (such as bread, cereal and fruit), your body turns them into glucose. A hormone called insulin then moves the glucose out of your blood and into your muscle and fat cells. Insulin is made in your pancreas, which is a gland right below your stomach. When you have diabetes, there is a problem with the way your body produces or uses insulin.
- If you have Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make enough insulin.
- If you have Type 2 diabetes, your body cannot use the insulin it makes properly.
Some women get another kind of diabetes while they are pregnant called gestational diabetes.
If you have too much glucose in your blood, you may have a range of symptoms including feeling thirsty, needing to wee a lot and feeling tired. Some people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms.
Managing diabetes
Diabetes is a serious condition that needs to be managed. Long term, it can lead to complications in several parts of your body including your eyes, feet and kidneys. You can reduce your risk of complications by carefully managing your diabetes.
Eating well and being physically active are important in preventing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and for treating all diabetes.
Watch a video from Diabetes New Zealand that explains how insulin works and what happens when you have diabetes.
Diabetes basics — Diabetes New Zealand on YouTubeexternal link