Basics
What Type 1 diabetes is
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. The immune system attacks the cells that make insulin, so insulin has to be managed from outside the body.
Learn about Type 1Basics
Understanding Type 1 diabetes.
A plain-English orientation to what Type 1 diabetes is, how it is different from Type 2, and why daily life involves constant calculation, correction, and care.
Start here
The basics should reduce confusion.
This section should stay practical and general: enough context to understand the condition, the daily load, and the terms that show up in conversations about Type 1 diabetes.
Basics
Type 1 vs Type 2
Despite common perceptions, Type 1 diabetes is much different than Type 2. It is not simply caused by diet or lifestyle.
Compare typesBasics
Daily management
Living with Type 1 means making repeated decisions about insulin, food, movement, stress, illness, timing, and safety.
Walk through a dayTimeline
Diabetes care has changed dramatically.
The name is ancient, but modern understanding and treatment are relatively recent. Type 1 diabetes care today sits on a long chain of observation, discovery, insulin treatment, and technology.
250-300 BC
The condition is named
The word diabetes is first used in Greek medicine, describing a condition marked by excessive urination.
Ancient medicine
Early descriptions accumulate
Greek, Indian, and Egyptian physicians describe symptoms that later become part of the diabetes mellitus story.
1889
The pancreas connection
Researchers identify the pancreas as a key organ in diabetes, changing how the condition is understood.
1922
Insulin becomes treatment
Insulin is purified and used as an effective treatment, transforming Type 1 diabetes from rapidly fatal to manageable.
2000s
Technology and treatment expand
Modern insulin, glucose monitoring, pumps, automated delivery, and research programs continue to change daily care.
Terms
Common words should be easy to unpack.
The glossary starts with plain-English descriptions and short tooltip text so the same terms can eventually appear inline across the section.
Basics
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) T1D
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, leaving the body unable to make enough insulin to regulate blood glucose.
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Carbohydrates
Nutrients in food that usually break down into glucose and raise blood sugar.
Basics
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that moves glucose from the bloodstream into the body's cells so it can be used for energy or stored for later.
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Pancreas
An organ that helps digestion and produces hormones such as insulin and glucagon.
Blood Sugar
Blood Glucose
Blood glucose, often called blood sugar, is the amount of glucose circulating in the bloodstream at a given moment.