When we are talking about Diabetes we are talking about Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes is greek for, “to go through”, and mellitus is greek for honey, which refers to sugar or glucose. So Diabetes Mellitus is literally “sugar going through”, which is exactly what happens with this disease. The sugar, or glucose, goes through the body and is not effectively used by the body for energy in the cells. For Type 1 Diabetics this is because the body lacks adequate insulin needed to usher the glucose into the cells. For Type 2 Diabetics, a lack of insulin is not the problem as there is still plenty of insulin in their system, but unfortnately the body cannot use it effectively.

Most people suffering from diabetes have Type 2 diabetes. Some may argue that Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are totally different diseases and should be called something else, and I would agree. Type 1 diabetes is most always treated with insulin because that is what their bodies lack, but Type 2 diabetics have a surplus of insulin and is unable to get access to the cells to do its job and escort glucose in for energy. This inability of the cells to effectively use insulin is known as insulin resistance.