How too much sugar causes diabetes

    Sugar is a contentious topic in the nutrition world. Some argue that sugar is not as bad as many people claim. Others say sugar is the root cause of the obesity epidemic, heart disease, diabetes, and various other lifestyle-related issues. An adult's recommended amount of sugar is around 100 grams daily, equivalent to eight tablespoons. In North America, the average sugar intake is roughly 170 grams or thirteen tablespoons. Many food companies add sugar to foods to improve flavour or use it as a preservative. Modern advancements have made sugar cheap and abundant, resulting in many individuals consuming excess amounts of sugar. The excessive consumption of sugar could become harmful to one's health. This article will go through the role of sugar in the development of diabetes.

    Diabetes is a long-term condition where your cells no longer produce or respond to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels. According to studies, one out of every ten people in North America has diabetes. Patients with diabetes have a shortage of insulin, so their bodies cannot get the sugar, known as glucose, into their cells. As a result, excess sugar builds up in the bloodstream. There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.  Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune reaction that inhibits your body from producing insulin. Your immune system targets and destroys the insulin-secreting cells in your pancreas. People with type 1 diabetes require daily insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body's cells do not respond to insulin, or your pancreas' beta cells do not create enough insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for approximately 95 percent of all diabetics. The focus of this article will be on the development of type 2 diabetes.

    To comprehend the process of developing diabetes, you must first understand how insulin works. Insulin is a vital hormone secreted by the pancreas, a gland positioned behind your stomach. After a meal or snack, the food is digested and converted into a sugar known as glucose. The small intestine's lining absorbs and transfers the glucose into your bloodstream. Your blood sugar levels rise when glucose enters the bloodstream, and the pancreas releases insulin. When there is too much glucose in your bloodstream, insulin signals your body's cells to absorb the glucose and either use it for energy or store it in the liver or muscles.

    When you consume excessive sugar, there will be a sugar surplus in your bloodstream. Your pancreas produces insulin to restore normal blood sugar levels. It's like a suitcase; if you put the first few articles of clothing in, they easily fit. This is similar to sugar in your body; you put a little sugar in, and your cells easily absorb it. When the luggage is full, fitting two more t-shirts becomes difficult. You use more pressure to push it down. Now it's like the cells in your body, they are full of sugar and no longer require it. So if you consume excess sugar, it will remain in your blood; this condition is known as insulin resistance. There's nothing wrong with your cells or insulin. The cells do not need more sugar, so they aren't taking anymore. So the pancreas generates more insulin to signal the cells to absorb the glucose, but the cells do not respond. Your body generates more and more insulin to try and restore normal blood sugar levels. So, to return to the analogy, imagine the luggage is full, and you ask a friend to assist you in pushing it down. Then you start putting in more clothing, making it more difficult, so you get a third friend, possibly a fourth or fifth. In your body, you do the same thing; you keep trying to pump sugar into your cells by producing more insulin. It eventually reaches a point where this system no longer works.

    If your pancreas is constantly overworking making insulin, eventually, it will become damaged and no longer able to produce enough insulin. As a result, you may develop prediabetes, a condition in which your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. If you do not take the necessary steps to reduce sugar intake, you won't have enough insulin. Consequently, the extra glucose stays in your bloodstream and builds up instead of being absorbed by your cells. You will then develop type 2 diabetes over time.

    In western societies, many food manufacturers use sugar because it is cheap, abundant, and widely enjoyed. So these companies will keep using sugar, and people will keep buying it. The lifestyle of continual consumption of sugar causes many health issues, such as type 2 diabetes. With the continuous sugar consumption, your cells will eventually stop responding to insulin's signal, and the blood sugar will keep rising. So, nutritionists recommend keeping track of what you eat and being aware of its consequences on your body.