Diabetes is a health condition in which the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood stays higher than normal. Glucose is an important fuel that comes from many foods, especially carbohydrates. The body needs a hormone called insulin to help move glucose from the blood into cells for energy.
Understanding diabetes helps students see how food, hormones, cells, and healthy habits work together.
Key Facts
- Diabetes means blood glucose stays too high because insulin is missing, too low, or not working well.
- Insulin is made by the pancreas and helps glucose move from the blood into body cells.
- Type 1 diabetes happens when the body makes little or no insulin.
- Type 2 diabetes happens when cells do not respond well to insulin, often called insulin resistance.
- Food, physical activity, stress, illness, sleep, and medicine can all affect blood glucose levels.
- Energy idea: food carbohydrates break down into glucose, and insulin helps cells use glucose for energy.
Vocabulary
- Diabetes
- A condition in which blood glucose levels stay too high because the body cannot make or use insulin properly.
- Glucose
- A simple sugar in the blood that body cells use as a main source of energy.
- Insulin
- A hormone made by the pancreas that helps glucose enter cells.
- Pancreas
- An organ near the stomach that makes insulin and other substances that help with digestion and blood sugar control.
- Insulin resistance
- A condition in which body cells do not respond well to insulin, so glucose has more trouble entering cells.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Thinking diabetes means a person can never eat carbohydrates is wrong because carbohydrates can be part of a balanced plan when portions, timing, and medical guidance are considered.
- Confusing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is wrong because Type 1 usually involves little or no insulin production, while Type 2 often involves insulin resistance.
- Assuming only sugar causes diabetes is wrong because diabetes is affected by many factors, including genetics, body chemistry, activity level, food patterns, and overall health.
- Ignoring symptoms such as unusual thirst, frequent urination, tiredness, or blurry vision is unsafe because these can be signs of high blood glucose that need medical attention.
Practice Questions
- 1 A student checks blood glucose before lunch and it is 160 mg/dL. Two hours later it is 120 mg/dL. By how many mg/dL did the blood glucose level decrease?
- 2 A snack has 18 g of carbohydrate from crackers and 12 g of carbohydrate from fruit. What is the total amount of carbohydrate in the snack?
- 3 Explain why a diagram might show insulin as a key and body cells as doors. What does this model help students understand about glucose and energy?