To put it simply, you have Diabetes Mellitus when too much glucose is circulating in your blood stream. Glucose, also known as sugar, is an important and necessary fuel for our bodies. So necessary, that both the liver and the kidneys produce it naturally; however, we get the most glucose from the foods we eat.
Blood sugar levels normally stay in a certain range. In other words, your body has a system that regulates how much glucose is circulating in your blood stream. That system centers on a hormone called insulin, which is released from cells located in the pancreas.
Insulin speeds up the transfer of glucose from your blood and delivers it into your muscle, liver and fat tissues where it is used as fuel or stored for your body to use later.
If you don’t have enough insulin, glucose accumulates in your blood stream and you have diabetes. There are different factors that determine why you don’t have enough insulin, and those factors determine if you have Type 1, Type 2, Gestational Diabetes, or other Types of Diabetes.