Diabetes (diabetes mellitus to give it its full name) is a life-long condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because the body’s way of converting glucose into energy is not working as it should.

What should happen?

Our bodies need glucose for energy. Glucose enters the bloodstream when you digest carbohydrate from various kinds of food and drink, including starchy foods (such as bread, rice, potatoes), fruit, some dairy products, sugar and other sweet foods. Glucose is also produced by the liver.

In people without diabetes, a hormone (a chemical messenger) called insulin carefully controls the amount of glucose in the blood. Insulin is made by a gland called the pancreas, which lies just behind the stomach. It acts as the ‘key’ that ‘unlocks’ the body’s cells to let the glucose in. The body’s cells then convert the glucose into energy.