11/03/2026
November is National Diabetes Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness, encouraging early detection, and focusing on action to prevent and manage diabetes-related health problems.
Let's start with the basics.
What is diabetes? Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas can no longer make insulin, or the body cannot effectively use insulin.
Diabetes causes your blood glucose (blood sugar) levels to rise too high. When you eat, your body breaks food down into glucose and sends it into your blood. Insulin then helps move the glucose from your blood into your cells. When glucose enters your cells, it is either used as fuel for energy right away or stored for later use.
If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make insulin, can’t use the insulin it does make well, or both. Your blood glucose (blood sugar) will be affected in different ways depending on what type of diabetes you have.
The three most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (GDM)
