
Does Sugar Cause Diabetes?
Sugar has no part of causing Type 1 diabetes. That form of diabetes has multiple causes, probably including genetics and certainly including elements we don't yet understand.
Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, frequently occurs in overweight patients. In fact, the most common comorbidity in diabetes is obesity.
But consuming sugar is not the only cause of obesity, and consuming sugar as a limited part of a well-designed diabetes meal plan will not cause harm to the diabetic patient.
Sugar Is a Carbohydrate
Sugar is a carbohydrate. So is starch and so is fiber. While sugar and starch tend to digest and hit the blood stream quickly, fiber takes longer through the digestive process, thereby causing a more muted effect on blood sugar levels.
The recommended diet for diabetics encourages food from all food groups. The trick is balance. With a controlled amount of carbohydrates as part of a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables and proteins, along with a limited quantity of fat, blood sugar levels can be maintained in a healthy way.
Sugar as Part of the Diabetic Diet
The trick with including sugar in the diet is to make sure you are getting the biggest nutrition bang you can from it. The diabetic diet is primarily counting and balancing carbs, so that the quantity of carbs consumed is fairly even throughout the day and keeps blood sugar levels in balance.
Those who are accustomed to following a diabetic diet have become proficient in making healthy substitutions. For instance, instead of drinking an 8 ounce glass of soda, with its 24 grams of sugar and no nutritional value,
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