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Does eating sugar lead to diabetes?

A lot of people want to know if a particularly bad sugar binge was what pushed them over the edge into diabetes – if that’s why it’s sometimes called ‘sugar diabetes’. While eating large doses of sugar, especially in one sitting, is obviously not good for anyone, it does not directly lead to diabetes.

A diet high in sugar, fat and processed food is one of the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, so indirectly eating a lot of sugar can make you more of a risk for developing diabetes. That said, Type 1 diabetes is completely unrelated to diet – people who eat no sugar become diabetic, and those who eat lots of sugar also become diabetic.

The key is ‘everything in moderation’. While many people suggest that those with diabetes should avoid all sugar and treats altogether, that makes the treats even more tempting. Small portions of ‘good treats’ will keep the cravings at bay and not have too much of an effect on blood sugar. Avoid anything fatty, fried and processed, and rather have very small portions of things like dark chocolate, homebaked muffins (no icing) and low GI crunchies if you need a guilty pleasure!

Do you avoid sugar completely? What’s your favourite treat?

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4 Comments

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  2. Diabetes is a disease that can not be underestimated, if we are attacked by the disease diabetes medicine better go, hopefully we will not develop the disease.

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Sweet Life is a registered NPO/PBO (220-984) with a single goal: to improve diabetes in South Africa. We are funded by sponsorships and donations from aligned companies and organisations who believe in our work. We only share information that we believe benefits our community. While some of this information is linked to specific brands, it is not an official endorsement of that brand. We believe in empowering people with diabetes to make the best decisions they can, to live a healthy, happy life with diabetes.