Many people think eating a lot of sugar rich foods causes diabetes, but it’s not that simple. Our bodies use glucose (sugar) for energy. Glucose is transported around the body in the blood. The body makes insulin, an essential hormone that allows the glucose from the blood to be used by the body’s cells for energy. When you have diabetes, your body is resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough, and glucose levels in the blood become high.
There are two main types of diabetes.
With type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system makes a mistake, destroying the insulin producing cells in the pancreas. The body can’t make insulin, and without insulin injections, glucose levels in the blood become dangerously high and can be life threatening. Type 1 diabetes is not preventable.
In type 2 diabetes, the body is resistant or intolerant to insulin. This insulin resistance starts well before diabetes develops. Often called pre-diabetes, this is where the glucose level in the blood is higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes.
Many factors can contribute to the development of type 2 or pre-diabetes. These are called risk factors. They include genetics or family history, ethnicity, age, lifestyle factors like food intake and physical activity, body weight, the use of medications (e.g. steroids) and some medical conditions. Some risk factors are modifiable, meaning they can be changed, and others are not.
Making small changes to your diet and activity levels, to achieve and maintain weight loss is the key to delaying or reducing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
So, does eating too many sweets or sugary foods cause diabetes?
A diet high in processed or sugar (energy) dense foods may lead to weight gain, and this can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It is one risk factor. As we have seen, there are also many other factors that can increase your risk. The more risk factors you have the greater your risk. You can answer a few simple questions to check your risk here – https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/the-australian-type-2-diabetes-risk-assessment-tool-ausdrisk/tool
High blood glucose levels, even in the ‘mildly elevated’ pre-diabetes range, significantly increases your risk of having heart disease or a heart attack. Damage to other organs in the body such as kidneys, eyes and nerves, is also caused by high glucose levels.
Knowing your risk, getting support to manage any risk factors or get your blood glucose levels into the healthy range, can reduce your risk of these complications caused by higher-than-normal blood glucose levels.
Further reading via the link below
Diabetes Educator – Nicole McClure