Definition of Diabetes
Diabetes, or to give it its full name "diabetes mellitus", is a condition occurring when the body isn't able to
use a type of sugar known as glucose, in the normal way.
This sugar, or glucose, is a main energy source for all the cells of the body and the amount of this
glucose in your bloodstream is controlled by insulin. Insulin is a hormone which the pancreas produces and it helps
the glucose penetrate into the body's cells.
Diabetes means that the body either:
- Can't produce enough insulin or;
- Doesn't respond in the normal way to insulin.
In those cases the blood ends up containing more glucose and that in turn can cause the usual symptoms of
diabetes, such as peeing more often, being very thirst and sometimes experiencing weight loss.
|