What is diabetes?

To quote Maria from the sound of music, “let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start”.

What is diabetes? I’ve heard many things.

• • Your pancreas has died and stopped working.
  • It’s what happens when you eat too much sugar.
  • Your cells don’t work as they should.
  • It’s a genetic disease.
  • An illness that stops your body producing insulin and can be fixed by following a good diet.

Is it all of these things? Is it none of these things?

I did what one billion other people do when faced with a question, I turned to YouTube! There is an abundance of information out there, the tricky part is wading through it all to find what’s useful, without being intimidated or feeling overwhelmed. (I’ll do my best to share any helpful resources I discover through my blog).

Check out this short video I found (3.42 minutes). It was created by Diabetes UK to help children learn about Type 1 diabetes and in my opinion is perfect for adults as well. My favourite part is hearing “It’s not because of anything you or your parents or anybody else did, it just happens!”

Diabetes doesn’t seem so frightening after all.