Diabetes

Diabetes is, at heart, a problem of fuel: the body either stops making the hormone insulin or stops responding to it, and blood sugar climbs. This section starts with the overview (how the whole system works and how diabetes is treated), then turns to the part of daily life that raises the most questions, food: a careful guide to what to eat, and a quiz to test yourself. These are explainers, not medical advice; for anything that affects you personally, see a qualified professional.

• Overview: diabetes and blood sugar

  How blood sugar and insulin work, the real difference between Type 1 and Type 2, how it’s diagnosed by HbA1c and monitored, the complications that matter, the discovery of insulin, and modern treatment from CGMs and pumps to metformin and the GLP-1 drugs.

• Eating with diabetes — foods to enjoy and to limit

  Why food moves blood sugar, the foods to enjoy, watch and limit across British, Indian, Mediterranean, East-Asian and Middle-Eastern kitchens, honest answers on bananas, nuts, flours, rice and chocolate, every kind of drink, and how walking and sleep help, with simple charts and the tools that make it easier.

• Diabetes food quiz

  Guess whether each of hundreds of common foods is a smart choice for blood sugar or one to go easy on, then read a plain-English explainer for every answer. Tracks your score and streak, filters by category, and includes a searchable list of every food.