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Read about diabetes, your way.
72 short articles across 13 topics. Every one begins with a plain-words summary and an example.
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4 min readEstablishedThe 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.
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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.
The body4 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.
The body4 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.
The body3 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.
The body2 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.
The body3 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.
The body2 minEasy readEstablished
Type 1 diabetes: the complete journey
Type 1 diabetes is usually an autoimmune condition. The body’s defence system harms the beta cells, so less and less insulin is made.
Type 14 minEasy readEstablished
Why Type 1 begins: autoimmunity
In Type 1, the immune system stops recognizing the insulin makers as “part of me”. Special antibodies can show this is happening.
Type 12 minEasy readEstablished
The stages of Type 1 diabetes
Doctors describe Type 1 in stages, from the first immune signs to full diabetes. The stages describe biology, not a calendar.
Type 12 minEasy readEstablished
Type 1 symptoms and the silent phase
Before symptoms, the body can cover for missing insulin. Later, high sugar causes thirst, lots of peeing, weight loss and tiredness.
Type 12 minEasy readEstablished
Classifying Type 1: glucose, antibodies, and C-peptide
A blood test can confirm diabetes. Working out the type takes more clues: age, speed of onset, ketones, antibodies and C-peptide.
Type 12 minEasy readEstablished
Living with insulin replacement
People with Type 1 need insulin from outside the body. Sensors and pumps can help, but education and a backup plan matter as well.
Type 12 minEasy readEstablished
Type 1 disease modification: preserve, replace, protect
Scientists are working on three tasks for Type 1: save the cells that are left, replace the ones that are lost, and protect the new ones.
Type 12 minEasy readPreliminary
Type 2 diabetes: how the system changes
Type 2 diabetes happens when the body’s need for insulin grows and the pancreas cannot keep up, so sugar slowly rises.
Type 23 minEasy readEstablished
Insulin resistance: from everyday language to cell signaling
Insulin resistance means cells respond weakly to insulin, so the body needs more insulin to get the same job done.
Type 22 minDeep diveEstablished
Why beta-cell compensation can fail
Beta cells can make extra insulin for a long time. Later they can run out of capacity, and blood sugar rises.
Type 22 minMedium readEstablished
Reducing Type 2 risk before diagnosis
If you are at higher risk, you can lower the chance of getting Type 2 with steady support. It reduces risk; it does not promise anything.
Type 22 minEasy readEstablished
Treating Type 2 beyond the glucose number
Treating Type 2 means looking at more than a sugar number: heart, kidneys, weight, safety and cost are part of the plan.
Type 22 minEasy readEstablished
Prediabetes: an early signal, not a destiny
Prediabetes means blood sugar is higher than usual but not yet in the diabetes range. It is a warning sign and a chance to act.
Prediabetes3 minEasy readEstablished
Understanding the prediabetes window
Prediabetes has more than one route: HbA1c, a high fasting sugar or a high 2-hour test can all show it.
Prediabetes2 minEasy readEstablished
Detecting diabetes early
Finding diabetes early means asking four different questions: who is at risk, who might have it now, does a test confirm it, and which type is it.
Detection3 minEasy readEstablished
Symptoms: signals, mechanisms, and blind spots
Common signs are thirst, peeing a lot, hunger, tiredness, blurry sight and slow healing. But many people have no signs at first.
Detection3 minEasy readEstablished
HbA1c: a record written in red blood cells
HbA1c is a blood test that shows your average sugar over the last few months. Sugar sticks to a protein in red blood cells, and the test measures how much has stuck.
Detection2 minEasy readEstablished
Fasting plasma glucose: the overnight system check
A fasting glucose test measures the sugar in your blood after at least eight hours without food. It shows how well the liver and body handle sugar overnight.
Detection2 minEasy readEstablished
The oral glucose tolerance test
An OGTT is a test where you drink a measured sugar drink and have your blood sugar checked two hours later. It shows how the body handles a challenge.
Detection2 minEasy readEstablished
Continuous glucose monitoring: useful data, defined limits
A CGM is a small sensor worn on the body that reads sugar in the fluid under the skin all day and night, showing trends and alarms.
Detection2 minEasy readEstablished
The other tests: what they can and cannot tell you
Many other tests help with cause, emergencies and related health, but they do not by themselves diagnose diabetes.
Detection2 minMedium readEstablished
Preventing Type 2: what the evidence supports
The strongest evidence is for steady, supported changes across several habits in people at higher risk of Type 2. No single food or supplement is the answer.
Prevention3 minEasy readEstablished
Exercise: an alternate route into muscle
When muscles work, they take in sugar even without much insulin, and afterwards they respond better to insulin.
Prevention2 minEasy readEstablished
Food, glucose, and the whole metabolic picture
Food is more than sugar. Carbs, fibre, protein and fat all shape how a meal affects you. There is no single best plan for everyone.
Prevention3 minEasy readEstablished
Sleep, circadian rhythms, and metabolic risk
Poor or broken sleep can change hunger hormones and sugar control. Sleep apnea, where breathing stops many times at night, also matters.
Prevention2 minEasy readEstablished
Stress: why glucose can change
Short-term stress hormones raise sugar to give quick energy. Long-term stress can affect sleep, food and routines, which can then affect diabetes.
Prevention2 minEasy readEstablished
A practical prevention framework
A simple way to organize prevention: daily habits, weekly and monthly check-ins, and regular clinic checks.
Prevention2 minEasy readEstablished
Treatment as a coordinated system
Treatment aims for good health now and later, avoiding low sugar and making daily life manageable. It is a team effort.
Treatment2 minEasy readEstablished
Medication mechanisms, benefits, and tradeoffs
Diabetes medicines work in different ways: lowering liver sugar, boosting insulin, helping the kidneys remove sugar or changing appetite.
Treatment3 minMedium readEstablished
Basal, bolus, injections, and pumps
Basal insulin covers background needs and bolus insulin covers meals and corrections. Injected insulin takes time to work and cannot be recalled.
Treatment2 minEasy readEstablished
Hypoglycemia, DKA, and HHS
Three emergencies matter: low sugar (hypoglycemia), DKA (too many ketones, acid) and HHS (very high sugar with severe dehydration).
Treatment2 minEasy readEstablished
Supplements and “natural cure” claims
Cinnamon, berberine, vinegar and other “natural cures” do not replace treatment. Studies are small and mixed.
Treatment2 minEasy readLimited Evidence
Remission is possible. It is not the same as a cure.
Remission means blood sugar stays below the diabetes range without usual diabetes medicines. It is wonderful news, but it is not the same as a cure.
Remission4 minEasy readEstablished
The science and language of remission
Remission has a formal meaning. It is good news, and it needs continuing check-ups because it can end.
Remission2 minEasy readEstablished
How persistent glucose exposure can damage tissues
Sugar that stays high for years can slowly harm tiny blood vessels and nerves through several chemical changes at the same time.
Complications2 minDeep diveEstablished
Eyes: retina, macula, and vision
High sugar can damage the tiny blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensing layer at the back of the eye.
Complications2 minEasy readEstablished
Kidneys: filtration under metabolic stress
Kidneys are filters. Over time, diabetes can strain the tiny filtering units, letting protein leak into the urine.
Complications2 minEasy readEstablished
Nerves: sensation and autonomic function
Nerve damage can cause tingling, pain or numbness, usually in the feet, and can affect digestion, bladder and heartbeat control.
Complications2 minEasy readEstablished
Heart and brain: risk beyond glucose
Diabetes can raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes, along with blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and kidney disease.
Complications2 minEasy readEstablished
Feet: when sensation, circulation, and healing interact
Numb feet, poor blood flow and shoe pressure can lead to sores that heal slowly and sometimes get infected.
Complications2 minEasy readEstablished
Stem-cell-derived islets: a milestone, with unfinished work
Scientists can grow islet-like cells from stem cells. Early studies show they can make insulin in people, with immune-suppressing medicine.
Future3 minMedium readPreliminary
State of diabetes research — 2026
A 2026 review of the newest research: immune medicines, lab-grown cells, gene editing, new Type 2 drugs, devices and AI.
Future4 minEasy readPreliminary
Gene-edited islets and immune cloaking
Gene editing can change donor cells so the immune system may not attack them. One 2025 report followed a single person for 12 weeks.
Future2 minDeep diveExperimental
Teplizumab and immune modulation
Teplizumab calms the immune reaction that harms beta cells. It slows Type 1 in selected people; it does not build new cells.
Future2 minEasy readStrong Evidence
Can beta cells be regenerated?
Regeneration means helping the body grow new working beta cells. It is a separate idea from transplanting lab-made cells.
Future2 minEasy readExperimental
Encapsulation: a protective boundary with tradeoffs
Encapsulation puts insulin-making cells inside a protective barrier that lets food, oxygen and insulin pass but keeps immune cells out.
Future2 minEasy readExperimental
The artificial pancreas as a feedback system
An artificial pancreas links a sensor, a computer program and an insulin pump into a loop that adjusts insulin automatically.
Future2 minMedium readStrong Evidence
AI and diabetes: deployed systems and open questions
AI already helps in narrow tasks, such as checking eye photos and running some insulin pumps. Many other ideas are still being tested.
Future2 minDeep diveModerate Evidence
The next generation of Type 2 therapies
New Type 2 treatments combine gut hormone signals (GLP-1, GIP, amylin) to lower sugar and weight more strongly.
Future2 minEasy readPreliminary
How far are we from a cure? A scientific gap analysis
A gap map of what stands between today and a cure: stop the immune attack, replace cells, protect them, make them last, keep them safe and make them affordable.
Future3 minEasy readPreliminary
Prediction is not diagnosis
Predicting risk is not the same as diagnosing. Prediction guesses the future; diagnosis says what is true now.
Prediction2 minEasy readEstablished
A personal risk dashboard: an educational concept
A personal dashboard can show useful facts, but it cannot diagnose you. The page here explains what each signal can and cannot tell you.
Prediction2 minMedium readLimited Evidence
Designing a diabetes digital twin
A digital twin is a computer model updated with one person’s data. A good one starts with one narrow, well-tested job.
Prediction2 minDeep diveExperimental
The diabetes screening decision tree
A step-by-step decision path: urgent symptoms first, then symptoms, then risk-based screening. Type 1 has its own pathway.
Prediction2 minEasy readEstablished
Global diabetes: count, prevalence, and access
The WHO estimates about 830 million people had diabetes in 2022, up from about 200 million in 1990. Access to treatment differs greatly between countries.
Perspectives2 minEasy readEstablished
Diabetes in India and South Asia
A large national study in India (ICMR-INDIAB-17) found a big diabetes and prediabetes burden. South Asian people can have higher risk at lower body weight.
Perspectives2 minEasy readEstablished
Children and teenagers: different developmental context
Children can have Type 1 or Type 2. New bed-wetting, thirst, frequent peeing, weight loss or unusual tiredness need checking.
Perspectives2 minEasy readEstablished
A short history of diabetes research
Before insulin, severe diabetes could be fatal quite quickly. Insulin was made ready for use in 1921–1922, and tools have improved ever since.
Perspectives2 minEasy readEstablished
Diabetes myths: separating causes from stories
Diabetes is not caused by one sweet, one stressful day or a single food. The real causes are more complex.
Perspectives2 minEasy readEstablished
Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes
A long table comparing the two main types: cause, insulin, symptoms, treatment and research.
Compare2 minEasy readEstablished
Prediabetes vs diabetes
Prediabetes is in-between sugar levels; diabetes is above agreed cut-offs. The cut-offs are practical lines, not the first day biology changed.
Compare2 minEasy readEstablished
HbA1c vs fasting glucose vs OGTT
HbA1c, fasting glucose and OGTT measure different parts of sugar handling, so they can disagree.
Compare2 minEasy readEstablished
CGM vs fingerstick testing
A CGM gives continuous readings and alarms; a finger-prick meter gives a single reading at one moment.
Compare2 minEasy readEstablished
Treatment options: different targets, different outcomes
Insulin, other medicines, surgery, automated pumps and cell replacement each aim at a different target.
Compare2 minEasy readEstablished
Remission vs cure vs control
Normal sugar on medicine is control, a formal period off medicine is remission, and cure means the disease is gone for good.
Compare2 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.
The body3 minEasy readEstablished