If you are looking for a straight answer to Can you get diabetes from eating too much sugar, then no, you can’t get diabetes from eating too much sugar. But this answer is applicable ONLY in the case of Type 1 diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the insulin (or the hormone that helps eat sugar) producing cell in the pancreas is destroyed. So if you eat too much sugar, there’ll be nothing to break it down. However, the answer to Type 2 diabetes is much more complex and different.
What you should know is that sugar doesn’t directly lead to the progression of Type 2 diabetes. Scientists are still trying to understand the exact cause behind Type 1 diabetes.
Simply put, Type 1 diabetes is when your body stops producing insulin, because of an autoimmune attack (lack of insulin). This is when individuals experience low sugar episodes. Whereas, type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes, is a disease that occurs when your body produces less insulin than it should, or becomes resistant to insulin. This is when individuals mostly experience high sugar episodes.
However, you may episode low or high sugar in either case, if not taken care.
In this article
Understanding Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus or Diabetes Type 2 is a prevalent medical condition all over the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 11.6% (38.4 million) of the U.S. population has diabetes. 90%-95% of the cases of diabetes in the USA are Type-2 diabetes. However, an increasing assumption among the masses is that diabetes is caused by consuming a lot of sugar but how true is that? Let’s find out.
We consume different types of sugar daily. The natural sources of sugar that we intake are fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The fructose and lactose present in these are essential to maintain our blood sugar levels and are RECOMMENDED to be included in our diet. However, what harms us is the added sugar or free sugar present in beverages, processed foods, condiments, canned goods, or ready-to-eat meals.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that Americans should cut back on the consumption of added/ processed sugars as it leads to obesity, heart diseases, tooth decay, or even strokes. Obese people are more likely to get Type 2 diabetes and sugar is the primary contributor to weight gain. Sweetened drinks such as canned soft drinks increase the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.
On further investigating, “can you get diabetes from eating too much sugar?“, we found that an average adult should consume 30g of sugar but an average American adult consumes 68g or 17 teaspoons of sugar a day. The 30g of sugar makes seven teaspoons of sugar including all the sugar one intakes through different sources. It is important to read the labels of products before indulging as teaspoons of sugar tot up more quickly than you think.
Substitutes of Sugar
We know, its hard to cut down on sugar entirely. Everyone craves a sweet dessert now and then. But the point is, are you burning the calories that you gain from sugar and have you included sugar in a healthy proportion of your diet?
As we know, you can’t get diabetes from excess consumption of sugar but sugar is still indirectly related to the development of diabetes by contributing to obesity which makes you vulnerable to not just diabetes but many other diseases. To also answer this question if can you get diabetes from eating too much sugar, we break it down here. The easy solution for keeping your sugar intake in control is to have it in a balanced way and to consume some easy substitutes of sugar like:
- Stevia
- Coconut Sugar
- Monk fruit sweetener
- Honey
- Maple syrup
Honey and maple syrup might have slightly higher calories than stevia and monk fruit sweeteners but still, they are a far healthier approach than your processed sugar. We can’t escape processed sugar in ready-made products like chocolates, soft drinks, candy, and snacks. That is why we should use better options than sugar for things we make from scratch to lead a healthy life.
Can you get diabetes from eating too much sugar? – Takeaway
To have a conclusive answer on can you get diabetes from eating too much sugar, we need to analyse which type of diabetes are we talking about, first. Adding to that, excessive sugar is not the sole reason for getting diabetes, however, it increases the risk of insulin resistance, weight gain, and increased blood sugar levels which might make you diabetic.
Substitutes of sugar that are listed above help you choose a healthy lifestyle. We have also recommended a few supplements that help you curb sugar cravings. You can opt for healthy choices in any way you want such as instead of a chocolate bar you can have yoghurt with chopped fruits, try artificial sweetener, or avoid sugary drinks as a can of cola contains 39g of sugar.
Diabetes is of three types; Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational. You already know why Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes develop in the body but gestational diabetes happens in pregnant women as the body is not able to produce enough insulin. If you have gestational diabetes then you might be interested in our article, 7 Ideal Gestation Diabetes Breakfast Ideas. Keep following us for more such healthy content.
