Is sugar consumption is a major contributor to the development of diabetes?

[Celtics4ever]

Lifestyle plays a role in many illnesses folks.

[nickagneta]

With type 1 diabetes, the disease is more of an autoimmune disease that attacks the pancreas. It's most common in children and sugar does not appear to be a main trigger in the disease surfacing.

With type 2 diabetes, sugar consumption and lots of carbs can lead to it because it generally leads to obesity which is the main trigger to diabetes. That is why type 2 diabetes, if caught early can be easily managed or even cured through diet and exercise. Type 1 diabetes can only be managed.

[ManUp]

high amount of meat consumption? and processed foods?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3hm1rhOiRc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiBAYK4t9pA

[slamtheking]

With type 1 diabetes, the disease is more of an autoimmune disease that attacks the pancreas. It's most common in children and sugar does not appear to be a main trigger in the disease surfacing.

With type 2 diabetes, sugar consumption and lots of carbs can lead to it because it generally leads to obesity which is the main trigger to diabetes. That is why type 2 diabetes, if caught early can be easily managed or even cured through diet and exercise. Type 1 diabetes can only be managed.

as does genetics.  case in point: my wife and I.  My wife is much heavier than I am, has subsisted on diet of primarily sugars, fats, alcohol and carbs her adult life and an extremely low activity level with no signs of diabetes.  I ate a primarily health diet (before meeting her) and a very low sugar diet since then as well has having been fairly active except for the past 12 years (due to work).  I was diagnosed as diabetic 10 years ago.  after the diagnosis (several serious health issues diagnosed at the same time to go with the diabetes), I fortunately had a temporary shift in work duties that allowed me to get out and walk during my workday which enabled me to lose 45 pounds.  still had diabetes but it was much better managed.  sadly, changing jobs has taken away my time where I can get some activity time and control of my diabetes has suffered

[jambr380]

I can say from personal experience you don't need to have a sweet tooth to become diabetic or overweight unfortunately.

I would generally agree. Remember, there are two different types of carbohydrates - simple and complex. While simple sugars like candy and soda are often to blame, it's the pastas and breads that I believe are the real culprit in obesity, and, eventually, diabetes.

And, the real fix for most people, unfortunately, is exercise. Of course calories in/calories out is the simplest way to break this down, the easiest way to improve your metabolism, and, thus, your ability to burn off those pesky calories is to be more active.

It’s the carbs that I don’t understand. I am 61 and while I do have health problems, weight is not a factor and I don’t have any sugar-level issues.  I eat tons of bread (at least 1 large sandwich a day)and a fair amount of pasta and I’ve weighed about 145-150 my entire adult life.  Not an exercise fanatic by any means but do light workout maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

Is it a rationalization/denial for me to think that carbs do not have a negative impact on me given that they do not impact my weight?

The answer to your question, of course, is it depends. Working out certainly helps and if you eat carbs and aren't gaining any weight, then I'd say you are good in that department for now. At 61, I am sure there are a lot of people who want to kill you for not gaining weight throughout your entire adult life 

I am 39 and am in excellent shape - I took up long distance running earlier in the decade, go to the gym a couple of times a week, play recreational sports, and eat TONS of carbs. I love pizza, cookies, skittles...you name it, I love it. I gave up eating meat a few years ago (very occasionally eat fish) and I just don't like vegetables very much. I find that even when I eat quite a bit, I am still hungry and I certainly eat more than people who are much heavier than I am.

As has been pointed out, there are many factors at play - metabolism, activity level, and genetics are probably the primary factors. If your body is able to burn off what you eat at your current activity level, then usually there aren't too many issues. The thing to keep in mind, though, is even if somebody isn't super-fat, they can still be skinny-fat and be totally unhealthy. That is more of a body frame/genetics thing. Some of the unhealthiest people I've known are slim enough with a shirt on, but definitely not so once the shirt comes off. Actual weight isn't always the main factor - especially with something like type 2 diabetes.

[hwangjini_1]

here is some simple information on how to make those carbs less problematic.

http://hopkinsdiabetesinfo.org/what-is-resistant-starch/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cooling-resistant-starch#section3

https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/health/article/2016/05/20/how-make-your-favourite-carbs-healthier

simply stated, put your rice, spuds, and pasta in the refrigerator over night and then reheat. the level of resistant starch is increased, bad things decreased. 

[Roy H.]

I think genetic predisposition is a huge factor, but being overweight and eating a ton of sugar will get a lot of people to Type 2.

I’m “blessed” with adult onset type 1, which completely blows.

[Rosco917]

We're not known Worldwide as the fat ugly Americans for nothing.

We've been brainwashed into eating what is easily mass produced, harmfully preserved, and then mass advertised as good for us. We are among the most unhealthy, overweight people on earth coming from a first world nation. Our health care cost are obscene. We suck down prescription drugs at an alarming rate. We have overweight children with sickness that at one time was reserved for 80 year old people.

Watch "What the Health" on Youtube or Netflix and see what the options are. You'll be amazed at the truth. Read the China Study. The China study is the only study ever done on a mass scale of people, over a 10 year period on food and its relationship to heath. Taking a quote from the book: "When you flip a coin and it comes heads twice in a row it can be a coincidence, but when you flip a coin a hundred times in a row and it comes out heads every time, you have a problem.)

We've been hoodwinked into eating what is easiest to make a profit on by massive corporations and the media in the name of GNP. Gross National Product.

Frankly speaking, sometimes freedom blended with ignorance can be harmful. 

[hwangjini_1]

We're not known Worldwide as the fat ugly Americans for nothing.

We've been brainwashed into eating what is easily mass produced, harmfully preserved, and then mass advertised as good for us. We are among the most unhealthy, overweight people on earth coming from a first world nation. Our health care cost are obscene. We suck down prescription drugs at an alarming rate. We have overweight children with sickness that at one time was reserved for 80 year old people.

Watch "What the Health" on Youtube or Netflix and see what the options are. You'll be amazed at the truth. Read the China Study. The China study is the only study ever done on a mass scale of people, over a 10 year period on food and its relationship to heath. Taking a quote from the book: "When you flip a coin and it comes heads twice in a row it can be a coincidence, but when you flip a coin a hundred times in a row and it comes out heads every time, you have a problem.)

We've been hoodwinked into eating what is easiest to make a profit on by massive corporations and the media in the name of GNP. Gross National Product.

Frankly speaking, sometimes freedom blended with ignorance can be harmful.

here is a very readable and informative book on the topic of fast food in the US, origins, presentation, and relation to declining health.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003G83UI2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

fast food nation, by eric schlosser. i really do recommend it if you want to learn more on this.

[slamtheking]

I think genetic predisposition is a huge factor, but being overweight and eating a ton of sugar will get a lot of people to Type 2.

I’m “blessed” with adult onset type 1, which completely blows.

very sorry to hear you're "blessed" with any type Roy.  hoping yours is well under control

[Csfan1984]

With a few different types of diabetics in my family I did some reading on it. For those who arent born with diabetes a majority is about how much you put in and get out in terms of diet and activities.  Proper nutrition and activities in balance with a person's lifestyle and genetic makeup are what is needed to avoid it if it runs in the family. There are studies showing multiple forms of bad eating and no activity can lead to obesity and then diabetes. Its not about sugar vs protein vs colpex etc, getting diabetes is more about what you do with the food. This of course is all prior to ruining insulin conversion and developing insulin resistance. Once the later happens and you have it you usually have to alter your diet and exercise to fix things but you will be predisposed to slip into a diabetic state/condition once the damage is done or if it is genetics.

So I can't blame sugar itself, our current society is just less active and more prone to developing the condition because of that inactivity.

[SCeltic34]

The greatest risk factors for type 2 diabetes are likely genetics and the metabolic syndrome (overweight/obesity and its associated comorbidities such as insulin resistance).  Diet clearly has a major role in the latter, but the reason the role of sugar in the diet is still controversial is because a lot of the data comes from epidemiological (observational) studies.  These studies are meant to identify correlations, but correlation is not necessarily causation, and it is also impossible to control for all potential confounding variables.

For example, some recent review articles:
One that refutes the role of sugar intake and diabetes risk - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5436961/
A meta analysis showing a strong correlation - https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3576

There is a pretty good review here that is very much worth reading if you are interested in the topic: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-016-1340-8

Basically the correlation appears strongest when high sugar intake is also contributing to excess overall calorie intake.  This is not surprising.  If you start drinking a 6 pack of soda daily in addition to your normal food intake, of course you're going to gain weight and your risk of diabetes development is going to increase significantly.

As noted in the article, keep in mind that while fructose is often scapegoated, the studies linking fructose intake and metabolic dysfunction is based on subjects/animals receiving a very significant portion of their daily calories from fructose, a dose that is larger than what most people consume on a daily basis.  Now of course you don't want your diet to be high in simple sugars, but it's not helpful to demonize fructose exclusively, because if fructose was in absolute terms bad for you then you'd have to avoid fruits (after all fructose is "fruit sugar" and fruits also naturally contain sucrose, which is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose).  Diets higher in fruits and vegetables have been inversely associated with diabetes risk (i.e. it decreases risk). For reference, a large apple only contains about 13 grams of fructose.

I just hope that people don't come away with the idea that moderate/high carbohydrate intake automatically leads to increased diabetes risk.  After all, ALL carbohydrates are in fact sugars.  And there are many large studies (observational) that show an inverse correlation between higher intake of whole grains and diabetes risk.  Same thing for legumes.
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/142/7/1304/4743493
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662533/
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/76/3/535/4677418

It's certain that the western diet pattern - high in refined grains, total sugar, total fat and types of fatty acids (high in arachadonic acid which promotes inflammation), and probably most importantly is by nature very calorie dense - increases risk of health problems.  But if you like carbohydrates then eat nutritious sources of them without guilt.

TLDR: Genetics aside, excess overall calories is likely a greater culprit in diabetes risk than simply just high sugar intake.

[Tr1boy]

BEST exercise seems to be walking. Just walk.... the thing about walking, assuming no walking disability, is that you have  no excuse about equipment not working, or inability to get to the gym. Just walk you can walk in your house you can walk in your yard. You can walk at work, and you can walk at school. There was a guy in school that just walked up and down the stairs in the building and around the building. He must have lost about 100 lbs. I dont know what else he did, but he walked a lot and he dropped a lot of weight. A few years ago I committed to walking 10,000 steps a day. I really committed to it. I did not change much else and I lost about 50 lbs over about six  months.

excellent man.  Folks in Japan are also obsessed with this and try to walk 7 to 10k everyday.   In North America... thats the problem lol

nobody really walks.  Everyone drives.

Also metformin is one of the most prescribed drugs ... which shouldn't be taken long term

Yes, great point.  I have always been a hiker/walker, and about 10 years ago my wife and I decided to make walking in the woods a shared activity with the extra benefit that it would an activity (along with the conversation, significantly) that we can do together and thus strengthen our relationship.  She now wears a FitBit and keeps track of her daily steps, 10-12k daily is her goal.

All the earlier points about carbs are valid, but there's one more subtle point:  If you eat lots of carbs, the lesser evil is to do so early in the day so your body has a chance to metabolize it.  The big no-no (and often my own weakness) is the late night carbs.  Then they just sit in your stomach with very slow metabolism overnight.

I agree

In time eating carbs late will eventually make the liver dump more glucose during sleep... and this is where big issues arises

Long walks/exercise are very good.  Clear out the glucose from the system as much as possible and reset insulin sensitivity

[Tr1boy]

Anybody heard of the Okinawa diet?  (or other "blue zone" areas)

That city has produced ones of the highest number of centenarians in the world

A staple in their diet is bitter melon.  I tried it last week at a restaurant.  It taste so bitter ... almost inedible

[Phantom255x]

I can say from personal experience you don't need to have a sweet tooth to become diabetic or overweight unfortunately.

I would generally agree. Remember, there are two different types of carbohydrates - simple and complex. While simple sugars like candy and soda are often to blame, it's the pastas and breads that I believe are the real culprit in obesity, and, eventually, diabetes.

And, the real fix for most people, unfortunately, is exercise. Of course calories in/calories out is the simplest way to break this down, the easiest way to improve your metabolism, and, thus, your ability to burn off those pesky calories is to be more active.

THIS.

Obviously if you consume soda, candy and other sugary things a lot and on a consistent basis (like every day), that's bad for you and can cause health problems if you just keep eating/drinking them.

But the biggest problems tend to be when people eat a lot of carbs in the evenings/nights. Things like breads, pasta, even cereal can lead to weight gain over time if you have large portions of them, or eat them at night right before bed. You likely aren't burning those calories and carbs unless you exercise at night, so it stays in your body while you sleep. 

Sweets can lead to becoming overweight or developing diabetes, but it absolutely isn't the only reason. Sometimes the things you don't think of are actually the culprits for health issues.

Also, just in general, the lifestyle you live can also dictate things. You can eat a lot of healthy things, but if you're super lazy and sleep a lot (and I don't just mean, "sleeping in for a bit", I mean like sleeping 10+ hours at night and then taking multiple naps during the day lol), it can still lead to health problems down the line. Maybe not being overweight, but things like diabetes, etc.

Ugh if only God made it so junk food was considered healthy food and vice versa