Is sugar the only reason for Diabetes? Let’s ponder.

Diabetes- one word most of us are hearing lately. For most of you reading this post, either you or any of your family members may be taking an insulin shot. This condition is particularly common in certain groups of population as seen in my previous post. What made India the Diabetic capital ( a tag which none of us want to hear)? If you are diabetic, the first thing you are generally asked to cut down on is sugar. But, despite being on a zero-sugar diet, many of their blood sugar levels are still spiked. This may come as a surprise to you but sugar is not the only villain when it comes to your health. Let’s dive deep and learn what foods can make us diabetic and what can we do to prevent the condition.

Diabetes

This is one word most of us have been hearing lately. For most of you reading this post, you or any of your family members may be taking an insulin shot. This condition is prevalent in specific populations as seen in my previous post. What made India the Diabetic capital ( a tag that none of us want to hear)? If you are diabetic, the first thing you are generally asked to cut down on is sugar. But, despite being on a zero-sugar diet, many of their blood sugar levels are still spiked. This may come as a surprise to you but sugar is not the only villain when it comes to your health. Let’s dive deep and learn what foods can make us diabetic and what can we do to prevent the condition.

Diabetes and its types

Most of you have heard the most common type 2 diabetes. This is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle and excessive sugar. However, there are two other types of diabetes. They are-

Gestational diabetes- which a lot of women develop during pregnancy. It affects the mother and fetus alike. The hormones produced during pregnancy interfere with insulin function leading to insulin resistance.

Type 1 diabetes- is an autoimmune condition where your immune system eats up the insulin-secreting cells I.e. the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. This can even occur by birth resulting in juvenile diabetes. If you have this type of diabetes, no matter how healthy your lifestyle and how low your sugar levels are, you are bound to have spiked sugar levels. The whole basis of diabetes is high glucose levels in your blood. But, The unsung hero in the whole process is insulin.

How does insulin work?

Insulin can be compared to a doorbell. Without insulin, the doors/glucose transporters (GLUTs) do not open, thereby does not permit glucose into the cell. Due to this, your glucose levels are spiked in your blood. What happens if your cells cannot take up glucose? As your cell’s primary source of energy, your cells cannot get the energy to function efficiently, making you weak and fatigued. This is why insulin is very important and that is also the reason why patients with type 1 diabetes have to take an insulin shot.

What about patients with type 2 diabetes?

Unlike type 1 diabetes, patients with type 2 diabetes produce insulin at normal levels. However, due to an unhealthy lifestyle and excessive sugar, your cells become insulin-resistant. Remember what will happen if they do not listen to insulin? The glucose receptor will not open and cells will not permit the glucose resulting in spiked blood glucose levels.

However, if you are mindful of your sugar intake and take care of your fitness regime, you can even reverse type 2 diabetes. That is the reason why diabetes patients are asked to cut down on sugar.

Coming back to the title,

Is sugar your only villain?

Studies conducted to date do not claim that eating sugar directly causes type 1 or type 2 diabetes. However, there are different aspects to be considered when it comes to diabetes-

1. It is important to note that an intake of excessive sugar causes insulin resistance. This means, your body’s cells do not respond well to the insulin hormone. So, the cells do not permit glucose into the cells unless the insulin secretion is very high. This is why you are asked to take an insulin shot if you get type 2 diabetes.
2. Yet another aspect of this is obesity makes you prone to diabetes. So, if you gain weight in addition to eating excess sugar, it increases your chances of getting diabetes.
3. The type of sugar matters- a specific type involving high fructose corn syrup is the villain in our story. Consuming high amounts of this makes you prone to type 2 diabetes. You may be unaware of this type of sugar because this kind of sugar is present in processed foods- from your favorite crunchy chips to chocolates to packaged snacks. So, you see white sugar isn’t the problem here.
4. Hidden sugar is seen in carbohydrates- bread, rice, potatoes. Carbohydrates are nothing but glucose. Here’s a simple math. Any amount of sugar more than 10% of your energy needs will not just be stored as excess fat but also disturb your homeostasis. Excessive fat storage around the liver and other organs results in insulin resistance.
5. All that tastes sweet is not sugar (at least sugar that doesn’t cause diabetes)- Are you craving sweets? Eat fruits! They may give that same sweet flavor but are packed with fiber, water, and other nutrients. These fall under the category of natural sugars. They are digested slowly and don’t spike your blood sugar.
6. Can I eat the fruit as it is or should I Juice it up? This has been a topic of debate lately. But, fortunately, we now have an answer. When you juice it up, you add additional sugar to it. Even if you don’t add sugar, the fiber is lost when you sieve the juice. It is hence not recommended to drink fruit juices. However, if combined with foods rich in fats and fiber, it is completely fine. Of course, highly processed and packaged (or canned) fruit juices should be avoided at all costs (even if they claim “100% natural fruit”)!
   

These are the factors that could make the difference between spiked blood sugar and normal blood glucose levels. Everything tasty from chips to snacks to chocolates, all have added sugar in them. However, this doesn’t mean you cannot have tasty foods. Moderation is the key. Craving for an Oreo? Go ahead and enjoy it (make sure you just stick to one). But, make sure you walk it up.  Once in a while, we need something we enjoy to keep our minds happy. It is equally important as physical health.

Happy eating, Happy reading!