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When you have type 2 diabetes, your body is unable to properly use the sugar called glucose.
Glucose is created when your body breaks down food to use for energy.
Your body uses glucose as its main source of fuel with the help of a hormone called insulin.
Insulin acts like a key to unlock the body’s cells, so glucose can enter and serve as fuel for the cells.
This is how most people’s bodies maintain a fairly normal amount of sugar in the bloodstream.
That’s not the case with type 2 diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes can’t maintain normal sugar levels.
This happens either because the body doesn’t make enough insulin or because the body can’t use its own natural insulin properly—a process called insulin resistance.
High blood sugar sets off processes that can lead to complications, like heart, kidney, and eye disease, or other serious problems.
The good news is that healthy eating, exercise, and, possibly, medication can help.
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