What is diabetes?
88 Citations•1986•
S. Reading
Professional nurse
In people with diabetes the pancreas either does not produce insulin, or the cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced, so the body loses its main source of fuel even though the blood contains large amounts of glucose.
Abstract
When we eat, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into the cells. In people with diabetes the pancreas either does not produce insulin, or the cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body. So the body loses its main source of fuel even though the blood contains large amounts of glucose.