What to consider when you travel on the airlines with diabetes

Having diabetes shouldn't stop you from traveling. But taking a few precautions can help you have a safer and more relaxed trip, especially if you take insulin.

Insulin resistance is a decreased ability of some of the cells of the body to respond to insulin. It is the beginning of the body not dealing well with sugar (and remember that all carbohydrate breaks down into sugar in our bodies). One of insulin's main jobs is to get certain body cells to "open up" to take in glucose (or, more accurately to store the glucose as fat). Insulin resistance happens when the cells essentially don't open the door when insulin comes knocking. When this happens, the body puts out more insulin to stabilize blood glucose (and so the cells can use the glucose). Over time, this results in a condition called "hyperinsulinemia" or "too much insulin in the blood." Hyperinsulinemia causes other problems, including making it more difficult for the body to use stored fat for energy.

Pre-diabetes is a health condition in which is characterized by glucose levels in the blood that cannot be controlled like in normal healthy people. Pre-diabetes is a stage between normal and diabetic behavior of your body in terms of its response to insulin. The blood sugar (glucose) levels rise high, but, they will not reach high enough to be considered diabetes.