Even a thin person can get diabetes

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24716880/

If you think being thin gives you a free pass from this deadly disease, well, it may have a surprise in store for you, too.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every four people in the United States is living with either type-2 diabetes (20 million) or its precursor, prediabetes (54 million). And the incidence of type 2 — the kind of diabetes that people develop over time — has, in the past quarter-century, grown 32 percent faster among American men than among American women.

What's worse, type-2 diabetes is showing up in the young in record numbers. "People used to suffer type-2 diabetes in their 60s and heart disease in their 70s," says James O. Hill, Ph.D., the director of the center for human nutrition at the University of Colorado's health sciences center. "But with teens now developing it, are they going to have heart disease at 25 and need a transplant in their 30s? We've never gone through this before, but based on what we know about what happens once you have type-2 diabetes, the answer is probably yes."

(Much, much more in the article!)

Sorry if the question is naive, but does eating too much sugar cause
type 2 diabetes?

I found these here:

Type 2 diabetes: Type 2 diabetes has strong genetic links, meaning that type 2 diabetes tends to run in families. Several genes have been identified and more are under study which may relate to the causes of type 2 diabetes. Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include the following:

High blood pressure


High blood triglyceride (fat) levels


Gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds


High-fat diet


High alcohol intake


Sedentary lifestyle


Obesity or being overweight


Ethnicity, particularly when a close relative had type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes: certain groups, such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Japanese Americans, have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.


Aging: Increasing age is a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Risk begins to rise significantly at about age 45 years, and rises considerably after age 65 years.

I'm not familiar with that site, so I can't swear to its accuracy. But, from what I do know about Type 2 diabetes, their claims are reasonable. Google Type 2 diabetes causes and you'll get lots of hits. Most of them seem to give reasonable information.

Fat has absolutely NO effect on blood sugar.

It's high fructose corn syrup.

High sugar intake burns out the beta cells in the pancreas... and once they are gone or severely diminished you can't make insulin to bring blood sugar down.

My doc told me a couple years ago I was on the fast train to Type II, and from that moment on, I severely limited my sugar intake - including fruits and higher carb veggies. Most of my diet comes from meat, cheese and eggs... my cholesterols has never been lower and my blood sugar has dropped dramatically - it was never even in the prediabetes range, but I had all the markers to develop it.

My diet is around 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs per day, and I've never been healthier. I always wondered why I had a tendency to stay overweight, despite not eating very much. The calories in, calories out 'theory' did not work for me a all. Once I cut out the sugar, I dropped weight like crazy, and I even eat more now. I easily maintain a normal weight sticking to 5 to 10% calories from carbs a day... I eat the exact opposite of the food pyramid. Bur, give me a weekend where I eat high carbs again - "cheating" I guess, and I easily gain 12 pounds...

Again, a HIGH FAT diet does not contribute to diabetes. It's a high sugar diet - and low fat foods have more sugar.

American's have been cutting fat out of their diets for the last 20 years, and at the same time the diabetes epidemic is increasing...

Part of the risk for Type 2 diabetes is genetic; and, at least according to one report, there is a genetic link between a high fat diet and insulin production:



That doesn't sound like it would apply universally, but it seems there is, at least, a potential link. The study was done on mice, but I am trusting that the people who did the study know that this gene also exists in humans.

I read the study and noticed, the study did not take carbohydrate intake into account. They called it a high fat "Western" diet. The western diet (our wonderful processed and fast food diet) is high in FAT and CARBs. It's the high carbohydrate that causes a body to produce excess insulin. FAT alone does not cause a glucose response.

I've read every study I can get my hands on, and ONLY the low carb, which results in a much higher fat diet has been shown to significantly lower blood sugar levels and allow them to remain stable - no fluctuations over 20 points. I am able to maintain a blood sugar level of 85-90 points whenever I check it without pills or exercise I although I should exercise) by getting 80% of my calories from fat a day. Even protein effects blood sugar...


Appreciate the information though. I got most of my information at Dr Bernstein diabetes website. After reading all his info on diabetes and his diet of 30 carbs per day, and the testimonies from all the people on his message board, I was almost convinced. I then did my own research too, probably ovre 300 hours worth of every med study I could find, and I came to the same conclusion. The only way to fully save the beta cells I have left is too feed them very little sugar... that leaves only protein and fat. I don't know if I have the gene or not, but I do know I definitely used to eat way too many carbs - probably 300-400 a day... and most humans aren't made for that. That's why we're seeing epidemic levels of diabetes -it is of course the Western Diet, but it's the SUGAR in it. Check out the carbs in fast food and pizza - both high fat as well.

but the combination of a genetic predisposition and a sweet tooth will hurry the process along.

The children getting Type II now have been living on high fructose corn syrup in everything their whole lives. The genetic predisposition that would have them develop diabetes in their 40s to 60s has hit them before their teens, thanks to a diet of fake food high in sugar and low in real nutrients.

A fantastic talk about what's wrong with our diet is at http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

A discussion of Type II without medicalese is at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000313.htm

Being at Disney World (now back to visiting relatives before coming home) is the number of young (pre pubescent) kids that are really overweight since that is one of the risk factors. I saw a girl at our hotel pool who looked about 10 or so whose BMI was probably higher than mine, and I'm almost 34 and slightly overweight. I think what foods are available to kids in school and often at home are what's available while I'm on vacation- processed sugary crap. There have been improvements with more salads available I've noticed this vacation but the portion sizes are still pretty ridiculous. I hope to read the original article when I finally get home- time for continental breakfast which I already checked out and it mostly sugar.

My mother, my grandmother and all of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side had Type-2 diabetes. And no one except for my grandmother was overweight. I am at high risk now. I haven't been to the doctor in two years, and at that time, he said that I was pre-diabetic. And I am not overweight either.