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What is Diabetes ?

Diabetes

Your body converts food into glucose, which enters the bloodstream. The pancreas releases insulin to help cells absorb glucose for energy. In diabetes, the body either lacks insulin or doesn't use it properly, causing high blood sugar. Over time, this can lead to serious health issues like heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

0% of the US population have diabetes.

Over 0% of adults have prediabetes.

Prediabetes is when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. It indicates that the body is becoming resistant to insulin or struggling to regulate blood sugar effectively.

Type 2 Diabetes

More children, teens, and young adults are developing type 2 diabetes than in the past. Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable with lifestyle changes like healthy eating, exercise, and weight management.

In our dataset, the participants who are in diabetic group are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, leading to little or no insulin production. As a result, the body cannot regulate blood sugar levels properly. It is usually diagnosed in children, teens, or young adults, but can occur at any age.

Unlike type 2 diabetes, it is not preventable and requires lifelong insulin therapy through injections or a pump.

Visualize Your Glucose Level

Should We Avoid Fixed Eating Schedules to Stay Healthy?

Actually, people with diabetes often need strict eating schedules because their bodies can't regulate glucose naturally. The visualization below tracks glucose fluctuations across 15 participants by diabetic group.

Non-Diabetic Participants
Pre-Diabetic Participants
Diabetic Participants

The blood glucose trend can be compared to surfing on a wave...

Non-diabetic individuals experience a relatively calm and predictable ride.

Pre-diabetic individuals encounter a bit more excitement with occasional swells.

In contrast, diabetic individuals face a wild and unpredictable journey, with extreme fluctuations resembling the chaos of stormy waves.

Is there a systematic way to measure the glucose variance?

Measuring Glucose Variance

In our study, participants followed a controlled meal schedule:

  • Identical protein shake for breakfast
  • Standardized Chipotle meal for lunch

This controlled environment allows us to analyze three key metrics that reveal how different diabetic conditions affect glucose regulation.

Glucose Excursion Time

The time it takes to reach the maximum glucose level after a meal.

This metric captures how quickly the body absorbs glucose from food. A longer excursion time may indicate slower digestion or impaired insulin response.

Glucose Excursion

The spike height — the maximum glucose level reached after having a meal.

Higher excursions suggest the body is less effective at regulating glucose uptake, a hallmark of insulin resistance.

Recovery Duration

The time it takes for glucose to return to its baseline level after a meal.

Longer recovery times indicate the body struggles to clear excess glucose from the bloodstream.

Glucose Metrics Distribution

All participants had protein shake for breakfast and Chipotle for lunch.

Non-Diabetic Participants

Pre-Diabetic Participants

Diabetic Participants

Time Range

Glucose Level Over Time

Takeaway

Diabetes, particularly type 2, affects how the body regulates blood glucose, making meal control critical. That is the core reason why the diabetic group must rigorously follow a diet. From the data, it seems like the people who strictly follow three meals a day tend to demonstrate more fluctuations in blood glucose, which reveals their unhealthy status. This is explained by the previous observation — their diet is closely controlled, and they must strictly follow the dietary guidelines provided by their doctors.

Meet the Team

Developer & Designer

Guoxuan Xu

Developer & Designer

Cecilia Lin

Special Shoutout

Domain Expert & Guoxuan's Awesome Friend

Andrew Hudson Yang