Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body does not properly process food into energy. When we eat food (particularly carbs) the body turns it into glucose (sugar), the substance our body uses as energy. Central to this process is insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas to help cells absorb glucose. In people with diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or uses it inefficiently. This causes the blood sugar, or blood glucose levels, to either get too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia).