People who have diabetes are unable to produce or unable to properly use and store glucose, a form of sugar found in foods and used by the body's cells for energy. As a result, glucose accumulates in the bloodstream, and the person's blood glucose rises too high. In type1diabetes, the pancreas completely stops producing any insulin, a hormone that enables the body to use glucose. Type 2 diabetes results when the body doesn't produce enough insulin and/or is unable to use insulin properly.
In addition to the millions of people in this country who have been diagnosed with diabetes or who have it but don't yet know that they do, an estimated 41 million people ages 40 to 74 have entered the danger zone known as prediabetes. Their blood glucose levels are higher than normal but have not yet risen to the level at which they would indicate a diagnosis of diabetes. In people with prediabetes, the pancreas may not be working as efficiently as it once did or the body may be gradually building a resistance to the insulin it produces so that the hormone can't do as good a job of clearing glucose from the bloodstream.
Many Americans have prediabetes without knowing it. They are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also are at increased risk of developing heart disease. For more on prediabetes:
