When you were diagnosed, your physician may have talked with you about the individual risk factors that resulted in your developing type 2 diabetes. And he or she probably started using a couple of words that you’ve heard before but whose meanings you weren’t sure of: namely, glucose and insulin.
When you’re in a doctor’s office hearing bad news, it can be difficult to listen to the details of something as complicated as diabetes. So let us explain. To understand diabetes, you need to understand the role that insulin plays in controlling glucose levels in your blood.

What is insulin, you ask? Insulin is a hormone created in the pancreas and secreted into the blood. Insulin is responsible for transferring the glucose (sugar) circulating in your blood to your cells, where it provides nourishment and energy. Insulin also prompts your liver to metabolize glucose. These actions together should keep blood-sugar levels steady and within a narrow range.

Glucose is the fuel that powers every cell in your body — and insulin plays an essential part in delivering it to your cells from your blood. When this system is operating efficiently, the pancreas excretes exactly the right amount of insulin to keep your glucose levels within a normal range. But when you have type 2 diabetes, excess glucose builds up in your blood instead of going into your cells. Over time, this can lead to a variety of complications.

When glucose builds up in the blood instead of being used by the cells, damage to the heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes can develop. We’ll tell you more about these possible complications — and how to avoid them — later on in the Diabetes Step-By-Step Program. Right now, the most important thing to understand is that controlling diabetes is all about managing the glucose levels in your blood. As you become accustomed to having type 2 diabetes, you will learn how to test and monitor your blood-glucose levels and adjust your eating, exercise, and medication patterns to keep your blood-glucose levels in a healthy range.

Using Insulin to Control Your Blood Glucose
So — you developed type 2 diabetes either because your body doesn’t produce enough insulin on its own or because your cells ignore the insulin you do produce. Either way, you’ve ended up with too much blood glucose (sugar) in your blood. Treating your diabetes means bringing your blood-glucose levels back into balance so your body can process its fuel efficiently, allowing you to have a full, energetic, and normal life.

What’s important is treating and managing your diabetes. As much as you might feel like sticking your head in the sand and ignoring this disease, don’t. No one said it was fair that you developed type 2 diabetes. But the good news is that you can do something about it.