By Vi Lam
October 2026 | 2026 Fall Newsletter
American Diabetes Month starts each November, serving as a good time to learn more about what diabetes is and learn how to prevent it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found that more than 40 million Americans have diabetes. Over time, diabetes can cause health problems like heart or kidney disease.
Our bodies break down the food we eat into sugar, known as glucose, which is then released into our bloodstream. This signals your pancreas to release insulin, which acts as the key that allows blood sugar into your cells and converts it into energy.
There are several types of diabetes:
- Type 2: This is where the cells don’t respond normally to insulin, called insulin resistance. The pancreas keeps making more insulin to try to get cells to respond. Over time, your pancreas can’t keep up, causing your blood sugar to rise, setting the stage for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
- Prediabetes: This is when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. At this point, you can learn and change certain habits to prevent diabetes.
- Gestational: Women who have never had diabetes but are pregnant can develop gestational diabetes, which usually goes away, but it can increase their risk of having type 2 diabetes later. The baby will also have a higher risk of obesity or type 2 diabetes later in life.
- Type 1: Your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin in your body, and you must take insulin medication every day to help your body convert blood sugar into energy.
You can learn more at cdc.gov/diabetes/about/index.html or diabetes.org/about-diabetes. Then schedule a visit with your primary care provider to discuss your concerns about diabetes and be sure to have your levels checked yearly.