What is Diabetes?

Diabetes (medically known as diabetes mellitus) is the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood glucose, or blood sugar levels. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1, also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disorder of the body's immune system-that is, its system for protecting itself from viruses, bacteria or any "foreign" substances.