Misinformation ...

... this story piqued my interest this morning "Can Sugar Substitutes Make You Fat?". Mainly because I have been using artificial sweeteners to sweeten my coffee and I have been drinking diet sodas. On the advice of my dietitian and diabetes educator.

Overall the story is pretty sound; however, near the end of the story the reporter writes, "Excess sugar in the diet can lead to diabetes and heart disease, even independent of its effect on weight. " Excess sugar DOES NOT lead to type-1 diabetes. I also believe that it is not the direct cause of type-2 diabetes either. If you eat a gallon of sugar, you will not get diabetes.

For type-1 diabetes, it is a combination of genetics and an environmental trigger that causes it. The trigger could be several things, most probable would have been an infection.

For type-2 diabetes, it more of the years of a sedimentary lifestyle. Which would cause weight gain. Young people (under 45) who are type-2 diabetic are obese and overweight. Thus it becomes more difficult for the body to be as 'sensitive' to the insulin it releases. Hence, doctors will prescribe insulin sensitizers. Its not the sugar that is causing the diabetes. The biggest thing is that not everyone who is overweight or obese has type-2 diabetes. So, there must be some sort of genetic disposition that also must present. Again, like type-1, its probably genetics and an environmental trigger that causes the body to be less sensitive to insulin. The weight gain could just be a catalyst (but I'm not a scientist, so don't take the last comment as truth).

Mythbuster ...

... I figure I'll start a new label to dis spell any myths about diabetes. Most of them will be in reference to the type-1 diabetes.

In recent days, I have started to let people know that I'm diabetic. They usually have several good questions and a lot of preconceived ideas about this condition. So, I figure I would attempt to correct them in subsequent posts. I believe I may have touched upon some of these myths in previous posts. But I'd like to re-enforce them.

I've also been doing a lot of reading. There is a ton of information about diabetes out there and I probably haven't even scratched the surface. I'll probably end up doing some sort of book reviews in the upcoming days, if I don't feel lazy ... or ill (I have a bit of a cold).