Other Risk Factors For Diabetes
While consuming large amounts of added sugar is linked to an increased risk of diabetes, many other factors are at play, such as:
- Body weight: Research shows that obesity is one of the main risk factors for type 2 diabetes but that losing just 510% body weight can reduce the risk (
If reducing your intake of added sugars feels overwhelming, you can start by simply reducing your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, which are the primary source of added sugars in the standard American diet .
This one small change could make a big impact.
Carefully reading nutrition labels is another must, since there are over 50 different names for sugar used in food products. Learning to notice them is the first step in reducing your consumption.
Thankfully, there are many ways to cut back on sugar while still enjoying a flavorful and nutrient-dense diet, so you dont have to feel deprived.
Eating fewer added sugars can reduce your risk of diabetes, as can a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and coffee with moderate alcohol consumption.
Do People With Diabetes Have To Eat Special Food
Some people might think that a child with diabetes cannot have any sugary foods. But children with type 1 diabetes can eat any foods that other children can eat, whether it’s chips or cupcakes, in moderation. However, parents and kids must carefully adjust their insulin dosage to account for any carbohydrate-heavy foods they eat. Dr. Choudhary encourages her patients with type 1 diabetes to eat healthy, well-balanced meals and avoid sugar or soda unless they have very low blood sugar.
Children with type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, should try to eat a healthy diet to manage their blood sugar. Though they can eat cake at birthday parties or enjoy a sugary dessert for a special occasion, children should do so in moderation. Children with type 2 diabetes should avoid the following foods:
- Juice, soda and other sweetened beverages
- Unhealthy snacks like chips, cookies or even dried fruit
- Fried foods
- White bread, rice or pasta
- Fatty red meats
- Full-fat dairy products
If your child is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Dr. Choudhary encourages parents to help their child focus on a healthy diet full of vegetables, lean meat, low-fat dairy and whole grains.
What Kind Of Doctor Treats Diabetes
Endocrinology is the specialty of medicine that deals with hormone disturbances, and both endocrinologists and pediatric endocrinologists manage patients with diabetes. People with diabetes may also be treated by family medicine or internal medicine specialists. When complications arise, people with diabetes may be treated by other specialists, including neurologists, gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists, surgeons, cardiologists, or others.
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What Are The Risk Factors For Diabetes
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not as well understood as those for type 2 diabetes. Family history is a known risk factor for type 1 diabetes. Other risk factors can include having certain infections or diseases of the pancreas.
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes are many. The following can raise your risk of developing type 2 diabetes:
- Being obese or overweight
- Ethnic background: Hispanic/Latino Americans, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Alaska natives are at greater risk.
Diabetes And Brain Health
If you have diabetes, your doctor may screen you for depression or cognitive impairment. Older adults with diabetes are at higher risk for these conditions, compared with others their age who do not have diabetes. Having depression or cognitive impairment can make diabetes self-care challenging.
Your diabetes management plan will cover how to:
- Track your glucose levels. Very high glucose levels or very low glucose levels can be risky to your health. Your plan will show how often you should check your glucose and how often to get the A1C test. If you are managing your diabetes without taking insulin, you may not need to check your glucose as often.
- Make healthy food choices. The food you eat affects glucose levels, so its important to learn whats best for you to eat, how much, and when. If you are overweight, work with your health care team to come up with a plan to lose weight.
- Be active. Walking and other forms of daily exercise can help improve glucose levels in older people with diabetes. Set a goal to be more active most days of the week, and create a plan for being physically active that fits into your life and that you can follow. Your health care team can help.
- Take your medicines. You should take medicine as prescribed even when you feel good. Tell your doctor if you have any side effects or cannot afford your medicines. Also, let your doctor know if you have trouble taking your medicine or keeping track of your medication schedule.
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Upswing: Steroids And Water Pills
People take corticosteroids, such as prednisone, to treat rashes, arthritis, asthma, and many other conditions. But they can boost your blood sugar, and may even trigger diabetes in some people. Diuretics that help high blood pressure, also called water pills, can do the same. Some antidepressants also raise or lower blood sugar.
Why Is It Important To Reduce The Size And Duration Of These Spikes
Reducing these spikes may help you to increase the amount of time you spend in your target blood sugar range , which will have a positive impact on your future health. You should consult your healthcare team to understand the best target range for you, as this will differ from person to person. However, the International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes recommends a target of 5.0-10.0 mmol/L .
Symptoms of a high blood sugar level also vary in individuals, but they may cause you to feel thirsty, tired, stressed and need to go to the toilet a lot. In the short term, by avoiding prolonged high blood sugar readings after eating, you should also reduce the occurrence of these symptoms and improve your energy, cognitive and athletic ability and overall mood.
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One Last Question: How Much Sugar Can People With Diabetes Have
Grieger;adds that there isn’t a set recommendation for the amount of sugar people with diabetes should or should not consume, as sugar is a subgroup of carbs and carbs are important to monitor on a daily basis because they can have a direct effect on blood sugar.
But;the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines;recommend keeping added sugar below 10 percent of your overall daily caloric intake. And;the American Heart Association;suggests consuming no more than 9 teaspoons equal to 36 grams or 150 calories of added sugar if you’re a man, and 6 tsp equal to;25 g or 100 calories if you’re a woman. “Naturally occurring sugars don’t count in these recommendations,” notes Grieger, which means you should worry less about those sugars in fruits and veggies, for instance, than you should about those in processed fare.
To help cut down on added sugar in your diet, keep it simple by avoiding packaged, processed foods, and opting instead for whole foods. Try eating an apple instead of applesauce, an apple pastry, or apple juice, Grieger suggests.
Additional reporting by Melinda Carstensen
If you’re aiming to lower the amount of sugar in your diet, check out Diabetes Daily’s article “10 Ways to Reduce the Sugar in Your Diet!”
Can You Get Diabetes If Youre Thin
You donât have to be overweight or obese to get type 2 diabetes. In fact, you can have high blood sugar even if you look thin. Around 10% to 15% of people with type 2 diabetes are at a healthy weight. Itâs called lean diabetes. It may be a kind of âhybridâ of type 1 and type 2, says Mercedes Carnethon, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University.
That means you may not make enough insulin or respond to it very well.
And you may have more fat than you think. âNormal weight individuals who go on to develop diabetes may have muscle that is heavily marbled in fat,â says Carnethon.
Experts donât know the exact cause of lean diabetes. But you can get a blood sugar test to see if you have it. If you do, your doctor can help you find a treatment.
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Can Diabetes Kill You
Yes, its possible that if diabetes remains undiagnosed and uncontrolled it can cause devastating harm to your body. Diabetes can cause heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and coma. These complications can lead to your death. Cardiovascular disease in particular is the leading cause of death in adults with diabetes.
Calculating Your Daily Allowance
If you don’t have diabetes, the AHA recommends limiting calories from sugar to 10% of your total calories. One gram of sugar equals 4 calories.
For a 2,000-calorie diet, that means you can have up to 50 grams of sugar from all sources per day. It’s worth noting that the World Health Organization recommends an even lower percentage: no more than 5% of total calories from sugar.
If you have diabetes, it’s important to work with your doctor to figure out what’s right for you. Ask what percentage of your total daily calories should come from sugar. This will help you to make adjustments if you are obese and need to cut calories or if you are underweight and need to increase calories.
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Carbs And Blood Sugar
Keeping your blood sugar levels on track means watching what you eat, plus taking medicines like insulin if you need to. Your doctor may also have mentioned that you should keep track of how many carbohydrates you eat. But what exactly are carbohydrates and how do they affect your blood sugar?
The foods we eat contain nutrients that provide energy and other things the body needs, and one of these is carbohydrates. The two main forms of carbohydrates are:
The body breaks down or converts most carbohydrates into the sugar glucose. Glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, and with the help of a hormone called insulin it travels into the cells of the body where it can be used for energy.
People with diabetes have problems with insulin that can cause blood sugar levels to rise. For people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas loses the ability to make insulin. For people with type 2 diabetes, the body can’t respond normally to the insulin that is made.
What Are The Other Types Of Diabetes
Diabetes can occur temporarily during pregnancy, and reports suggest that it occurs in 2% to 10% of all pregnancies. Significant hormonal changes during pregnancy can lead to blood sugar elevation in genetically predisposed individuals. Blood sugar elevation during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually resolves once the baby is born. However, 35% to 60% of women with gestational diabetes will eventually develop type 2 diabetes over the next 10 to 20 years, especially in those who require insulin during pregnancy and those who remain overweight after their delivery. Women with gestational diabetes are usually asked to undergo an oral glucose tolerance test about six weeks after giving birth to determine if their diabetes has persisted beyond the pregnancy, or if any evidence is present that may be a clue to a risk for developing diabetes.
“Secondary” diabetes refers to elevated blood sugar levels from another medical condition. Secondary diabetes may develop when the pancreatic tissue responsible for the production of insulin is destroyed by disease, such as chronic pancreatitis , trauma, or surgical removal of the pancreas.
Certain medications may worsen diabetes control, or “unmask” latent diabetes. This is seen most commonly when steroid medications are taken and also with medications used in the treatment of HIV infection .
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Tips For Avoiding Glucose Spikes From Food
Someone with diabetes should eat meals at;regular times of the day;and should not vary their portion sizes. It is a great idea to eat one more serving of vegetables in a week. Drinking more water is also helps glucose levels. When drinking caffeine or alcohol, make sure you test your blood glucose often to be wary of your levels.
The medication comes in the form of pills or insulin injections. Dosage is incredibly important because it directly impacts blood glucose.
Moreover, medication timing can also be critical. You can take some medications at any time of day, while others have an optimum time to be taken, like at meals. For instance, taking insulin either before or after a meal is critical for many. Taking medications at the correct time every day, and checking personal blood sugar levels regularly will help ensure that diabetes is being regulated properly.
Remember to consult with your doctor on non-diabetes medications, as these can interfere with your diabetes medications and blood glucose levels.
A regular amount of light activity has been found to lower glucose. Walking, yoga, and pilates all aid in lowering blood glucose levels. Oppositely, high-intensity exercise like sprinting, running, or weight lifting has been known to raise blood glucose levels. A racing heart, hunger, trembling, headache, and dizziness are all symptoms of a spike in levels.
Can You Get Diabetes From Eating Too Much Sugar
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What Is Diabetes What Causes It
As stated on the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases informational page, diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar is too high. Blood sugar is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. The pancreas creates a hormone that plays a large role in the conversion of blood sugar into energy and it is called insulin. Often those who have diabetes arent able to produce enough insulin to convert the sugar in the blood into energy. There are three types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2 as well as gestational diabetes.
Does Sugar Cause Diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes type 1 and type 2 diabetes.;
We know that sugar does not cause type 1 diabetes, nor is it caused by anything else in your lifestyle. In type 1 diabetes, the insulin producing cells in your pancreas are destroyed by your immune system.;
With type 2 diabetes, the answer is a little more complex. Though we know sugar doesnt directly cause type 2 diabetes, you are more likely to get it if you are overweight. You gain weight when you take in more calories than your body needs, and sugary foods and drinks contain a lot of calories.
So you can see if too much sugar is making you put on weight, then you are increasing your risk of getting type 2 diabetes. But type 2 diabetes is complex, and sugar is unlikely to be the only reason the condition develops.
We also know that sugar sweetened drinks, like canned soft drinks, are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and this is not necessarily linked to their effect on body weight.;
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Symptoms Treatments And Prevention
Hyperglycemia means;high glucose in the blood . Your body needs glucose to properly function. Your cells rely on glucose for energy. Hyperglycemia is a defining characteristic of diabeteswhen the blood glucose level is too high because the body isnt properly using or doesnt make the hormone insulin.
Eating too many processed foods may cause your blood sugar to rise.
What Types Of Healthcare Professionals Might Be Part Of My Diabetes Treatment Team
Most people with diabetes see their primary healthcare provider first. Your provider might refer you to an endocrinologist/pediatric endocrinologist, a physician who specializes in diabetes care. Other members of your healthcare team may include an ophthalmologist , nephrologist , cardiologist , podiatrist , neurologist , gastroenterologist , registered dietician, nurse practitioners/physician assistants, diabetes educator, pharmacist, personal trainer, social worker, mental health professional, transplant team and others.
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How Many Types Of Diabetes Are There
Many people used to believe there were only two types of diabetes: one that affected kids and one that affected adults . However, we now know that children can also develop type 2 diabetes and that in fact, there are more than just two types.
Dr. Choudhary explains that as doctors’;understanding of diabetes grows, new types are identified and defined. These can include:
- Cystic-fibrosis-related diabetes
- Type 1.5 diabetes
These types of diabetes can be related to other conditions, medical treatments like chemotherapy, and other unknown causes.
What Does It Mean If Test Results Show I Have Protein In My Urine
This means your kidneys are allowing protein to be filtered through and now appear in your urine. This condition is called proteinuria. The continued presence of protein in your urine is a sign of kidney damage.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Theres much you can do to prevent the development of diabetes . However, if you or your child or adolescent develop symptoms of diabetes, see your healthcare provider. The earlier diabetes is diagnosed, the sooner steps can be taken to treat and control it. The better you are able to control your blood sugar level, the more likely you are to live a long, healthy life.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 03/28/2021.
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