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Diabetes overview
What is insulin?
When you eat, some foods (called carbohydrates) break down into sugar. Sugar enters your bloodstream and the blood levels of sugar rise. The rise tells an organ called the pancreas to let out insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that helps sugar move from your blood into your cells. That is where it is used for energy. Sugar is the fuel for your body. Without insulin, your body cannot use the food you eat.
What is diabetes?
This is when the body does not make or use insulin the way it should.
The most common forms of diabetes are type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.