The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 37 million American adults have diabetes, and 1 in 5 don’t know they have it.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. Your food is broken down into sugar (glucose) and released into your bloodstream. As your blood sugar goes up, your pancreas releases insulin. This allows the blood sugar to enter your body’s cells for use as energy. A person with diabetes doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t properly use insulin. There are two main types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin. This type of diabetes is usually diagnosed in children, teens and young adults, but it can develop at any age.

• Type 2 diabetes occurs when the cells don’t respond adequately to insulin, known as insulin resistance. Of the millions of Americans with diabetes, about 90%-95% of them have Type 2.