How it affects your body
Diabetes is a condition that affects the way your body uses glucose, which means that the amount of glucose in your blood can become too high. There are two main types of diabetes called type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes, and the high blood glucose levels it causes, can affect your health from day to day and in the long-term. Diabetes can’t be cured but you can manage it successfully. By managing your blood glucose levels, eating the right foods and taking tablets or insulin if you need to you can help to prevent serious health problems, both now and in the future.
What does diabetes do to my body?
The effect diabetes has on your blood glucose levels can affect on your body on a daily and a long-term basis. Controlling your blood glucose levels throughout each day is the key to controlling your diabetes, as is as looking after your long term health by having a healthy lifestyle. By managing your diabetes like this you can reduce your chances of developing many of the health problems that diabetes can cause.
The everyday effects section looks at the potential effects of high or low blood glucose levels on your body and outlines some of the steps you can take to help manage these problems or prevent them from happening.
- What is Glucose & what does it do?
- What is insulin & what does it do?
Glucose is a type of sugar that your body uses for energy, so it’s needed for your body to be able to work well and stay healthy. You get glucose from the foods you eat and the fluids you drink. Food and drink is digested in your stomach and intestines (your gut) and is broken down into very small parts that can be absorbed into your blood stream. This includes glucose. Glucose passes out of your gut and into your blood stream so that it can be easily used as energy by all the cells in your body.
Foot Note
Diabetes can't be cured but you can manage it successfully. By managing both now and in the future.
