When you’re learning about diabetes, there are probably lots of words you hear that you don’t understand. Next time you want to know what a word means, check back here. If it still doesn’t make sense, ask your parents or your doctor to help you.
| Beta (bee-tah) cells: | Cells that make insulin for your body. |
| Calories: | How the amount of energy in food is measured. |
| Carbohydrate (car-bo-hi-drate): | A source of energy from sugary and starchy food. |
| Glucagon (glu-ka-gon): | Something your doctor might give you to be injected if your blood glucose levels are too low. |
| Glucose (glu-cose): | A sugar in your blood that your body uses for fuel so that you can do things like walk, talk and even think. |
| Hyperglycemia (hi-per-gli-ce-mee-ah): | Having too much sugar in your blood. |
| Hypoglycemia (hi-po-gli-ce-mee-ah): | Not having enough sugar in your blood. |
| Insulin pen: | A tool for injecting insulin into your body that looks like a regular pen. |
| Insulin pump: | A tool for injecting insulin into your body. The pump stays on your body so that it can pump insulin into you over a long period of time. |
| Insulin resistance: | When your body can't use the insulin that is made by your body or that you've injected. |
| Ketones (kee-tones): | Things that show up in your urine when your body breaks down fat in your body for fuel instead of using the glucose it needs. Having ketones means you might be sick. |
| Lancet: | A little needle that you use to prick your finger when you test your blood glucose levels. |
| Meter: | A machine that tests your blood glucose levels. |
| Pancreas (pan-cree-us): | The part of your body that makes insulin. |
| Testing strips: | Strips that are used when you test your blood glucose levels. |
| Type 1 diabetes: | When your pancreas can't make the insulin it needs. You might also hear it called juvenile diabetes |
| Type 2 diabetes: | When your body doesn't make enough insulin or it doesn't use the insulin it makes properly |
