Understanding the Causes of Diabetes mellitus: What Food Causes Diabetes

Diabetes has become one of the “most common diseases in adults”. These days, even kids are suffering from diabetes right from their childhood. The disease has many different causes and when we try to decode that what causes diabetes, we find a lot of results as diabetes is a complex of many different diseases.

Once we find the causes of diabetes, it gets easier to find the cure and know the reason behind it. There are a set of practices and food habits you need to follow once you are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Let’s see the various causes that are influential in the onset of diabetes in most of the people who suffer from diabetes.

What Causes Diabetes mellitus?

The major phenomena in which men or women are diagnosed with diabetes is when there is low production of insulin by the body or if the body is not responding to the insulin produced.

Many people wonder that does sugar causes diabetes?

Most of the people will answer ‘Yes’ but it is not completely true. Because it is true that sugar is important for the body to create energy but it is also a fact that excessive of sugar can be a diabetes cause.

There are various other factors that play a significant role in causing diabetes. In this disease, usually a person suffers from high blood glucose which is also known as ‘Hyperglycemia’.

Most Common Causes of Diabetes mellitus

Although many factors lead to diabetes but some of the factors are so common that they are usually found in all those who suffer from diabetes. Some of the causes are quite common whereas some are triggered by having a certain type of food. All of the most common causes of diabetes mellitus are as followed.

• Autoimmune Response: Low production of insulin by the pancreas is one of the main causes of diabetes.
• Age: The risk of having diabetes increases with age, especially for older age (40+) people.
• Genetic Predisposition: Hereditary problems where the ancestors or someone in the family suffered from diabetes can be a common cause.
• Insulin Resistance: No response by the body to the insulin that is produced sufficiently.
• Unhealthy Diet: Eating junk foods on a regular basis (bad eating habits) can lead to heart disease and diabetes.
• Fat: Obesity or overweight is also the major cause of diabetes mellitus.
• A Sedentary Lifestyle: Lack of any physical activity, doing nothing and sitting for long hours can be a major cause of this “Sugar Disease”.
• Other Factors: Various environmental factors play a huge role such as the virus or toxins present in the environment can also cause diabetes.

Does Sugar Cause Diabetes?

There is a widespread notion that having sugar causes diabetes but it is not exactly true. However, excessive consumption of sugar can lead to obesity and weight gain in a short period of time. This increase in weight can then cause diabetes.

Thus, if we notice, sugar indirectly causes diabetes but you can’t totally stop consuming sugar because it is necessary for our body to produce energy too.

It has also been proved that no matter how much sugar you consume in your diet, you can’t get Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes can be caused indirectly by sugar but it has no direct effects on causing diabetes.

What Food Causes Diabetes?

Wrong eating habits is said to be one of the major causes of diabetes. There are some food items that are provocative to diabetes and they can prove harmful for your health. Below are the types of foods that you must certainly avoid as they can cause diabetes:

• Highly processed carbohydrate foods are extremely harmful for our body and along with diabetes. They are the causes of several other diseases too. You must completely eliminate such food items from your diet to lead a healthy life.
• Sugar sweetened drinks or soft drinks are also responsible for making us obese which is one of the major causes of diabetes.
• There are food items which are high in calories but lack in almost all kinds of nutrients, such foods must be avoided altogether as well.
• Saturated and Trans fats need to be avoided as well. They are mostly food items from the bakery and various packaged goods which are oily too. These food items also pose a risk of high cholesterol which can lead to heart diseases.
• Red and processed meats are also very bad for health and may cause diabetes. They are quite rich in sodium as well as nitrates which are harmful for our health. Small portions are fine when included in a balanced diet but anything more can be unhealthy.

Causes of Diabetes during Pregnancy

It has been found that even pregnant women can be diagnosed with diabetes due to certain changes in their body during pregnancy. There are various causes of gestational diabetes and some changes in lifestyle can prevent it from happening.

When a woman is pregnant, the placenta in her body produces a hormone which further increases the build-up of sugar in her body. Usually, the female body is made to handle that amount of sugar, but in case if it can’t, then it leads to Gestational Diabetes.