Can eating sugar cause diabetes?

Contrary to popular thought, sugar doesn't necessarily cause diabetes mellitus. Consuming too much sugar can weight management challenging, but eating sugar won't cause you to gain weight as long as you don't exceed the number of calories that you need daily. However, it is easy to overeat high-calorie, sugary foods and quickly add excess calories to your diet. Added sugars are considered "empty calories" as they add calories to food but add few or no nutrients.

When it comes to sugar, research has found that eating sucrose doesn't cause a rise in a person's blood glucose level to any greater extent than does eating starch, so avoidance of sugar isn't necessary. However, being overweight increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and because weight management is a concern, there isn't room for a lot of sweets and treats in a diabetic diet (or anyone's diet, for that matter).

The American Diabetes Association recommends that individuals with diabetes consume a diet that includes a combination of predominantly high-fiber carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, along with low-fat milk, adequate amounts of lean protein sources, and unsaturated fats.

No, eating sugar per se does not cause diabetes. The primary risk factor for getting type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese. You can dodge diabetes by maintaining a healthy weight and eating healthy foods such as:

• whole grains: quinoa, whole wheat pasta, brown rice
• vegetables: all vegetables are great for you
• beans: chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans (all beans are good too)
• soy: tofu, edamame
• low or nonfat dairy: cottage cheese, yogurt, milk
• nuts: unsalted almonds, cashews, peanuts (in small portions. they are high in calories!)
• healthy oils: olive, canola, sesame

Exercise at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Walking is a great way to get started.

Avoid sugar sweetened beverages such as sodas, sweetened iced teas and fruit drinks. Choose water, seltzers, teas, herbal teas, low sodium tomato juice. 

You can have a sweet treat once in a while, just not all the time!

Sugar itself does not cause diabetes... There are many medical factors that play into whether or not someone is affected by this condition. There are many lifestyle factors that can limit your risk for diabetes. These include a healthy diet, at least 30 minutes of daily activity, and not smoking. A certified diabetes educator is the specialist in this area. They can answer many questions about this condition

Sugar comes in many forms such as fruits, breads, pastas, candy, and soda. Consuming increased amounts of high sugar foods (candy, soda, white bread, sugary coffee drinks, or chips) is stored as fat which often can causes weight gain. Taking in more than what the body needs for fuel will cause the body to store it as fat. Choosing whole grains such as whole grain pastas, breads, crackers, or baked chips is a better way to take in some sugars because they stay with your stomach longer. Weight gain can then lead to the development of type II diabetes. Type II diabetes is the body’s way of showing it is not able to regulate blood sugar levels in the body as effectively at the heavier weight. Therefore, eating sugar in excessive amounts is not directly related to the diagnosis of diabetes but may cause weight gain which may lead to type II diabetes diagnosis.

More related answers: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

This is a common misconception. Eating sugar does not cause diabetes. Your body, particularly your brain requires sugar as a source of energy. Type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system destroys the cells of the pancreas that secrete hormones responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. This requires that a person receive daily insulin injections. Insulin resistance characterizes type 2 diabetes. The person with Type 2 diabetes is typically obese or over the age of 55. More body fat makes the body's cells less responsive to insulin and this results in more sugar (glucose) staying in the blood and less able to get into body cells to be used for energy. Treatment for type 2 diabetes includes different types of medications along with diet and daily vigorous exercise.

Even though eating sugar doesn't cause diabetes, excess intake of sugar and carbohydrates in general can cause complications in individuals already diagnosed with diabetes. Regardless of the type of diabetes, one who has been diagnosed should follow a healthy diet by eliminating refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white pasta, white rice, cakes, cookies, crackers, etc. Stick with high fiber carbs such as whole wheat, brown rice, oatmeal, fruit (not fruit juice), etc. lots of colorful vegetables, lean proteins such as fish (wild salmon, Alaskan black cod and sardines), chicken and lean meat.

Also fiber and protein rich beans (kidney beans, lentils, chick peas), Greek yogurt. Drink lots of water, avoid soda regular and diet!  If one avoids refined sugar and includes, high fiber carbs, lean proteins, low fat dairy, etc., includes 30 minutes/day of vigorous exercise and maintains a health body weight and low body fat percentage the risk for diabetes is dramatically reduced. If one already has diabetes, following these recommendations will help one maintain their daily blood sugar levels within the health range.