November is National Diabetes Awareness, where we shed light to over 37 million adults and kids affected by diabetes. The theme of this year’s awareness of diabetes is Take Charge of Tomorrow: Preventing Diabetes Health Problems.

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body breaks down food you ingest that breaks down and turns into glucose (sugar), and releases into your bloodstream. When blood sugar levels go up, it signals the pancreas to release insulin. However people living with diabetes, their pancreas is functioning due to lack of insulin to break down food consumption and turn it into energy. Therefore those individuals take insulin on a daily basis. Untreated or not taking care of your diabetes can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.

Not only does diabetes affect your physical health. But what isn’t talked about alot is how it can affect your emotional and mental health. People diagnosed have high risks of being stressed, feeling low about oneself, depression, burnt out, and many more other disorders. 

There isn’t any cure for diabetes. However, helping your blood sugar stay leveled by staying active and eating healthy can help. 

There are two main types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. There is no “good kind” or “bad kind” of diabetes. Both are important and a serious condition. However people (mostly adolescence) with type 1 diabetes have to be more cautious and it can be more difficult to manage due to the pancreas producing little to no insulin. Type 2 diabetes is usually found in adults, the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to help your body break down food. There is another type of diabetes which is gestational diabetes, however that only happens during a woman’s pregnancy that is considered a high risk pregnancy. However, it does go away after the pregnancy. 

Diabetes is a chronic condition that isn’t talked about a lot. You can help people become more aware of diabetes by using social media to educate others and talking to friends or family. By doing this simple action it helps bring light to show appreciation to over 37 million people affected by diabetes.