What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant).
Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose) and releases it into your blood. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body's cells for use as energy.
With diabetes, your body doesn't make enough insulin or can't use it as well as it should. When there isn't enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.
There isn't a cure yet for diabetes.
What can help manage diabetes?
- Lose weight/stay at a healthy weight
- Eat healthy and be active
- Take medicine as prescribed
- Get diabetes self-management education and support
- Make and keep health care appointments
What is Prediabetes?
With prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
Prediabetes is serious and increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The good news? If you have prediabetes, the U.S. CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help. When you join, you'll learn to make lifestyle changes that lower your risk and improve your health.
Learn more about Maine's efforts to manage diabetes and reduce prediabetes at rethinkdiabetesmaine.org/