Can a Healthy Diet Prevent Diabetes in Those with a Family History?

[ShawnD]

I don't understand how you can be fat and have diabetes at the same time. It makes no sense to me. When a normal person eats too much, the sugar is stored away as glycogen for a later time. You eat food; you retain food. Too much food means too much storage, and you get bigger (fatter or just sweeter?). With diabetes, that extra sugar does not get stored; you literally piss it away. If sugar is not being stored, how can diabetic people get fat?

 

[MikeX]

I don't understand how you can be fat and have diabetes at the same time. It makes no sense to me. When a normal person eats too much, the sugar is stored away as glycogen for a later time. You eat food; you retain food. Too much food means too much storage, and you get bigger (fatter or just sweeter?). With diabetes, that extra sugar does not get stored; you literally piss it away. If sugar is not being stored, how can diabetic people get fat?

Well, being fat is what causes diabetes. Also, diabetics do not urinate it all away. Rarely (if at all) do thin people get diabetes then become fat. A very huge majority of diabetics are obese so there's a strong correlation between those two factors. Base on my knowledge of the physiology of diabetes, cell's metabolism, and insulin, I believe that since since their body fat reserves are large, they starts to produce the hormone called resistins that triggers their cells to stop taking in glucose, so their cells cannot perform cellular respiration since glucose is required for a cell's metabolic process. When a person has diabetes, once the insulin attaches the receptor on the cell's surface, it doesn't activate the glucose transport protein so the glucose couldn't enter the cell. So that's why the blood sugar starts to get high and they start to urinate some of it away since all of it couldn't be stored in their already large adipose tissues. In normal people without diabetes, the hormone resistins promotes our body to store the extra fat in preparation for a famine or a long period without food, and it'san evolutionary thing since back then food were very scarce, so people who could store the extra energy in their reserves were more likely to survive during hard times and procreate. Nowadays, due to a rapid change in our lifestyle and people are eating unhealthy foods many times a day and living a couch potato lifestyle, the very mechanism that we have to enhance our ability to survive can backlash and do the opposite thing it was designed to. If you are a doctor in a developing world, you will rarely ever diagnose a person who has diabetes. I hope this helps and sorry I couldn't get into more details so it's almost bed time for me. :)

 

[iansmith]

Well, being fat is what causes diabetes. Also, diabetics do not urinate it all away. Rarely (if at all) do thin people get diabetes then become fat. A very huge majority of diabetics are obese so there's a strong correlation between those two factors.

You are talking about type 2 diabetes. There is no correlation between being overweight and type 1 diabetes.

Being overweight and inactive increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

 

[MikeX]

You are talking about type 2 diabetes. There is no correlation between being overweight and type 1 diabetes.
Being overweight and inactive increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Yeah, I know that being obese doesn't cause diabetes or else we'll see diabetics everywhere I stated that a huge majority of diabetics are obese. The original poster asked why diabetics are fat, and I was simply pointing out that was the reason they developed diabetes. Being overweight simply increase the chance of getting Type II diabetics, as with people who have a family history of diabetes, people with low level of HDL, and people who live a couch potato livestyle, mostly characterists of obese people eating unhealthily.

I didn't clearly state I was talking about type II diabetes since about 95% of people who have diabetes are Type II so it's assumed. Type I is quite different from type II since the body immune system destroys the insulin producing cells in the liver, kind of an autoimmune thing.

 

[ShawnD]

Thanks for taking the time to explain this.

 

[B-80]

old thread but cand type 2 become type 1?

 

[hypatia]

nope, nor can type 1 become type 2

 

[NateTG]

But it is possible to have double-diabetes i.e. both type 1 and type 2.

 

[Monique]

Yes, it is possible to have both types of diabetes at the same time.

 

[B-80]

thts what it means to "go on insulin?" like they get type one while they have type 2. hows that possible...is it like common to happen arnt they very diffeerent

 

[selfAdjoint]

It's not common, because usually Type 1 shows up in childhood or youth while type 2 is characteristic of middle age or older. The two types have absolutely different causes; type 1 is due to over-production of sugar, while type 2 is caused by inability to metabolize sugar efficiently. The problem lies in the pancreas for type 1 and (mostly) in the liver in type 2.

 

[B-80]

oh i was never quite sure about that...if only id known last year during bio.....

so basically type 2 still makes insulin although it doesn't use it?
and type 1 just doesn't make it, which is why they inject insulin?
and you can have both, but they are not really connected, but is someone with type 2 more suseptible to getting type 1?

 

[iansmith]

The two types have absolutely different causes; type 1 is due to over-production of sugar, while type 2 is caused by inability to metabolize sugar efficiently. The problem lies in the pancreas for type 1 and (mostly) in the liver in type 2.

You got it wrong. In type one the pancreas stop making insulin because the destruction of the β-cell. This is often due to autoimmune disease attacking the Islets of Langerhans and there is some genetic factors in some individuals.

In type II, the body because desensitized to insulin. Insulin is still produce but a higher dose is require for the body to metabolize sugar normally.

Diabetes lead to hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar levels) and it is the result due to inability of the body to manage blood sugar.

so basically type 2 still makes insulin although it doesn't use it?
and type 1 just doesn't make it, which is why they inject insulin?
and you can have both, but they are not really connected, but is someone with type 2 more suseptible to getting type 1?

Type II does make insuline but the level are not high enough for the body to respond. Insulin is given to certain individuals in order to boost the insulin level.
Type I does not make insuline but the body will respond to it when insulin is present.

Type I and type II are not connect but a type I is susceptible to and may develop a type II diabetes. If I remember correctly, mismanagement a insulin injection have lead some type I individual to develop type II diabetes. They became insensitive to insulin.

The frequency of a type II developing a type I is probably low. I don't have the number

 

[Mk]

I thought there was a type III, but since its been totally ignored I guess it doesn't exist.

 

[Mk]

How does gestational diabetes work?

 

[jim mcnamara]

The answer isn't a one-liner. Here's a good version meant for anyone:

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/46/1667_51908.htm

 

[sumediang]

I don't understand how you can be fat and have diabetes at the same time. It makes no sense to me. When a normal person eats too much, the sugar is stored away as glycogen for a later time. You eat food; you retain food. Too much food means too much storage, and you get bigger (fatter or just sweeter?). With diabetes, that extra sugar does not get stored; you literally piss it away. If sugar is not being stored, how can diabetic people get fat?

A relative of mine who recently got diagnosed with http://www.realfoodnutrients.com/DB/home.htm" was told by her doctor to cut down on carbs and any products containing sugar in addition to taking medication. If someone has a history of diabetes in their family, is maintaining a healthy diet and weight a resonable way of making sure that you don't diagnised with this condition later on?