Understanding Blood Sugar Regulation and Diabetes

🌡️Blood sugar refers to blood glucose, which accounts for over 90% of the sugar in our blood.

⌛In a healthy state, our bodies tightly regulate blood glucose levels using hormones like glucagon and insulin.

🥯Carbohydrates, the main source of glucose, can be simple sugars (monosaccharides) or more complex (polysaccharides).

🌽Digestion breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars before absorption in the bloodstream.

💉Diabetes is diagnosed based on fasting blood glucose levels, oral glucose tolerance tests, and HbA1c levels.

What is blood sugar?

—Blood sugar refers to blood glucose, which is the primary sugar in our blood and accounts for over 90% of it.

How are blood sugar levels regulated?

—Our bodies regulate blood sugar levels using hormones like glucagon and insulin, which control the release and uptake of glucose into cells.

What are carbohydrates?

—Carbohydrates are molecules made up of sugar units. They come in two forms: simple sugars (monosaccharides) and complex sugars (polysaccharides).

How is diabetes diagnosed?

—Diabetes is diagnosed through fasting blood glucose levels, oral glucose tolerance tests, and HbA1c levels, which indicate average blood glucose levels over time.

What are the main types of carbohydrates?

—The main types of carbohydrates are monosaccharides (simple sugars) and polysaccharides (more complex sugars). They can be found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other foods.

00:00There are over 537 million people worldwide with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

00:35Carbohydrates are the main source of glucose in our bodies.

05:20Glucose is the primary sugar in our blood, and our bodies tightly regulate its levels.

07:55Glucose tolerance tests and HbA1c tests are used to diagnose diabetes.

09:40Different types of carbohydrates, including monosaccharides and polysaccharides, affect blood glucose levels in different ways.