Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease that affects a person’s blood sugar levels. There are three major types of diabetes prominent in the world, being Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes.

Mayo Clinic explains Type 1 diabetes, otherwise known as juvenile diabetes, gets its name due to it usually occurring before adulthood. It is a lifelong condition where the pancreas produces little to no insulin at all, so scientists have created lab-made insulin in order to help type 1 diabetics keep their blood sugar levels in range.

Type 2 diabetes, although sharing similar traits to type 1, is not completely insulin dependent. The pancreas still does not produce as much insulin as a person without diabetes would, but they have a little more leeway. People who are type 2 diabetics mainly obtain it through continuously affected family members, or from their cells, muscles, and liver naturally becoming insulin resistant, as stated by Healthline.

The simplest treatment for type 2 diabetes is being aware of what you eat, your weight, and your health in general.

Gestational diabetes on the other hand, is diabetes that is diagnosed for the first time during pregnancy. It is similar to the other forms of diabetes in the fact that it affects how your cells use and distribute glucose (sugar). It is not lifelong with the the symptoms of diabetes tend to disappear after delivery.

Although diabetes is very prominent in the world, with the United States being the fourth country in the world with the most cases for diabetes according to the National Library of Medicine, there are many things that can be done to prevent it.

Early signs of diabetes can be noted by extreme thirst and/or hunger, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, mood changes, feeling tired and weak, and random blurs of vision. Meanwhile, leaving diabetes uncontrolled can lead to complications with the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves.