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Get Smart about Diabetes

As of 2014, 29.1 million people in the United States, or 9.3 percent of the population, have diabetes. One in four people with diabetes don’t know they have the disease. An estimated 86 million Americans aged 20 years or older have prediabetes.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not make any insulin or can't use the insulin it does make as well as it should. Insulin is a hormone made in the body. It helps glucose (sugar) from food enter the cells where it can be used to give the body energy. Without insulin, glucose remains in the blood stream and cannot be used for energy by the cells. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems, such as heart disease, nerve damage, vision problems, and kidney disease.

Learn more about preventing these diabetes problems and managing your diabetes.

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