Topic
Understanding the body
How your body turns food into energy — and who is in charge.
7 articles in this topic
The one-page mental model
Diabetes means there is too much sugar in the blood for too long, because the body does not have enough insulin or cannot use it well.
4 minEasy readEstablished
Diabetes: the executive overview
This is the short tour of diabetes: what it is, the main parts of the body involved, the two big types, and what science says about prevention and cures.
4 minEasy readEstablished
Glucose: the journey from food to fuel
Glucose is a simple sugar your body uses as fuel. The liver and muscles can store it and give it back when you need it.
3 minEasy readEstablished
The pancreas and its islets
The pancreas is an organ with two jobs: helping digest food and making hormones. Tiny groups of cells called islets make insulin and glucagon.
2 minEasy readEstablished
Insulin: a signal with many jobs
Insulin is a hormone that tells the body how to use and store fuel. It has many jobs, and it is not a fuel itself.
3 minEasy readEstablished
Healthy glucose regulation
Homeostasis means the body keeps blood sugar inside a safe range by using messages that go up and down, not by holding it at one exact number.
2 minEasy readEstablished
The one-page diabetes cheat sheet
A one-page summary of the whole library: the words, the two types, the tests, treatment, remission and what we still do not know.
3 minEasy readEstablished