When you digest food, your body breaks down much of the food into sugar (glucose). Your blood carries the sugar to the cells of your body for energy. The pancreas gland makes insulin, which helps move the sugar from the bloodstream into the cells. Type 1 diabetes is a disorder that happens when your body produces little or no insulin. The lack of insulin causes the level of sugar in your blood to become abnormally high.

When your body does not have enough insulin, it is hard for sugar to enter your cells. Sugar builds up in the blood. Too much sugar in your blood can cause many problems. These problems can be life-threatening if they are not treated. However, proper treatment can control your blood sugar level.

Type 1 diabetes is also called juvenile diabetes and was formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes. This type of diabetes usually starts in childhood or early adulthood. When you have type 1 diabetes, you will need to take insulin for the rest of your life.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when most or all of the cells in the pancreas that make insulin have been destroyed. Usually the cause of this type of diabetes is not known. Sometimes the diabetes may be the result of a viral infection or injury of the pancreas. Or it might result from an immune system disorder.