Sugar has many positive and negative aspects. Desserts taste good, this would be positive. Those of you with young children know that kids who eat a lot of sugar often then run through the house like the bulls of Pamplona. This would be less positive, possibly even construed as negative! But, beyond the trivial, sugar gets a lot of attention for being a root cause of type 2 diabetes. However, it is not really that simple.

Let’s first take a look at what sugar actually is, then where the controversy lies. Sugar is a form of carbohydrate, along with dietary fiber and starch (grains, beans, potatoes, etc). Sugar is either naturally occurring, such as in milk or fruit, or added, which is found in cookies, cakes and all those other great desserts. High fructose corn syrup is an example of added sugar. Some estimates are that up to 25% of our daily caloric intake is made up of sugar, a very high number.

When eaten, our body converts sugar into glucose, which is the way our bodies use energy. The glucose goes into our blood stream and is transferred into our individual cells. The problem arises if we eat too many carbohydrates, not just the sugar kind. All carbohydrates (except dietary fiber) are jammed packed with energy. The more you eat of them, the more glucose that is produced. As the extra glucose spikes in our blood stream, our body must produce massive amounts of insulin to process it. The glucose that cannot be processed into energy is stored as fat.

This cycle presents a number of problems. First, the excess sugar (and other carbohydrates) is a contributing cause to weight gain because the body cannot process all of the glucose we produce from eating it. Increased weight gain is a contributing factor for developing type 2 diabetes.

Second, the glucose spikes are often followed by a fall in glucose. Why? Your body is producing massive amounts of insulin to process the extra glucose. It does such a good job, at least when you are younger, that you then have a fall in glucose. Most everyone has heard the term, sugar high, sugar low. This is where it comes from. Ironically, this fall in glucose causes you to want to eat, to replace the processed glucose. Starting the cycle over and leading to over eating and weight gain.

Third, the increased insulin production required to process the sugar leads to producing less insulin and/ or your cells’ resistance to insulin in processing glucose. Obviously, when either or both of these situations result, your blood glucose levels start to rise, ultimately resulting in diabetes. Your body simply cannot process the glucose.

So is sugar the cause for diabetes? Sort of, sugar is only part of the problem. People tend to eat diets rich in grains (bread, pasta), starches (potatoes) and sugar. All of these foods, if not consumed in moderation can lead to overeating, obesity and insulin processing issues. And yes, they can lead to diabetes.

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