Explanation

Diabetes is a disease in which your body can't control the amount of fuel in your blood. Just as a car is powered by petrol, you are powered by glucose, which is extracted from food in your gastrointestinal tract. Insulin normally gets the glucose from the bloodstream to where it's needed in the cells (your body's engines). Type 1diabetes and type 2

diabetes are both caused by problems with insulin.

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (also known as diabetes mellitus or insulin dependent diabetes) is what you get when your pancreas stops making insulin. It is an autoimmune disease in which your body's immune system attacks your pancreas by accident. Your pancreas then stops making insulin, and your body can't control the amount of glucose in your blood. If you have type 1 diabetes, you need injections of insulin to make sure you don't get hyperglycaemia or hypoglycaemia.

Type 2 diabetes

In type 2 diabetes (also called non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) your body becomes resistant to insulin. Being overweight, inactive or having an unhealthy diet can stop insulin from working. If this happens, your body can't control the amount of glucose in your blood.