Too many to list here. Generally Type1 occurs in children and is a lifelong condition that must be treated through daily injected doses of the hormone Insulin. Type 2 generally occurs in adults and is treated through oral medications-it is commonly seen along with obesity and lack of physical activity. This is in no way comprehensive, but rather a caricature of each condition. Check Google for a more thorough study of the issue.

It regulates how your body uses sugar–which is your bodies main source of fuel, needed to think, talk, walk, climb…and how much sugar remains in the blood. Insulin makes the blood sugar go DOWN.

Carbohydrates are in almost ALL foods (go through the supermarket next time you go shopping and LOOK at the nutritional info and see!) and they break down into sugar during digestion. This is why we talk about blood sugar going up from eating starchy foods like pasta or rice which you might not think of as “sweet” but that are loaded with carbs. Carbs make blood sugar go UP.

These numbers indicate the amount of sugar in your blood–which fluctuates constantly due to myriad variables. Ideally it should be between 80 and 120–this is the normal, healthy balance that most non-diabetics enjoy.

Either can work really well depending on your preference. Blake uses a pump and loves it. Steve takes injections and loves it. Both of us use CGMs.

The kind where you eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. In short there is a lot of snake-oil-cinnamon-pill cure gimmicks out there which we aren’t into. Each person needs different types of nutrients depending on what they are doing. We aren’t dieticians-but we have learned what works for each of us individually. On a general level, high quality food from a reputable, local source which does not process it to death or add tons of sugar, salt or preservatives would seem to be a good start. Eat more veggies and drink more water too.

There’s a tough one to answer. Sometimes it makes it go up-others it goes down. Exercise is really helpful in managing diabetes but it takes careful monitoring to make sure that you can stay on top of your diabetes while you’re out climbing. The rule of thumb is that less strenuous climbing done over a long period will make BGs drop (like hiking) while bouldering or intense bursts of powerful climbing can raise BGs. Adrenaline can also cause a spike-so it’s important to always test and learn how your body responds.