If you were just diagnosed with diabetes mellitus you are probably overwhelmed, concerned and have a million questions floating through your brain. You should know that you are not alone. Over 23 million people in the United States have diabetes. Most of them live long and happy lives. Odds are, since you are reading this, you will also live a long and healthy life because the best thing you can do to help treat your diabetes is to learn everything you can about the disease and how it affects your body.

Diabetes mellitus is classified as a metabolic disorder because it affects the way your body digests food for both energy and for growth. Most of the food that we eat is broken up into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar that runs through the bloodstream and is the body’s main source of fuel. Our cells need glucose for energy and growth. However, glucose can’t enter your body’s cells alone, it needs the insulin hormone your pancreas produces. With diabetes, your body either can’t make enough insulin or can’t use it properly so the glucose builds up in your bloodstream because it can’t enter your cells. So, even though your blood has plenty of glucose in it, your cells aren’t getting the energy they need to help
them grow and perform their vital functions.