View our animation of how foods containing carbohydrate are normally digested by your body into glucose. See the part insulin plays in helping glucose to enter your fat and muscle cells for energy production or storage.
Then scroll down to view what happens in people with type 2 diabetes.
Use the ‘Next’ navigation button to move through the scenes. You can also use the ‘Play again’ and ‘Back’ navigation buttons to review scenes and to move backwards.
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People with type 2 diabetes usually have a combination of problems: the pancreas does not produce enough insulin; and the body's fat and muscle cells are resistant to the insulin.
This means that insulin does not do its normal job of helping the cells to process glucose and make energy or store the energy for use later.
The cells are starved of energy as the glucose remains in the bloodstream. The glucose builds up in the bloodstream leading to what's known as a ‘high blood sugar’ or ‘high blood glucose’ level.
Last Reviewed: 21 April 2010