Diabetes

The foods we eat contain nutrients that provide energy and other things the body needs, and one of these is carbohydrates.

The body breaks down or converts most carbohydrates into the sugar glucose. Because the body turns carbohydrates into glucose, eating carbohydrates makes blood sugar levels rise.

The pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Insulin transports glucose from the blood into the body’s cells. Glucose provides the cells with the energy they need to function.

If there is too little insulin in the body, cells can no longer take up glucose from the blood. As a result, levels of glucose in the blood rise. A doctor may refer to this as having high blood sugar or hyperglycemia.

Hyperglycemia is responsible for most of the symptoms and complications of diabetes.

People with diabetes have problems with insulin that can cause blood sugar levels to rise.

For people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas loses the ability to make insulin. For people with type 2 diabetes, the body can't respond normally to the insulin that is made.

Eating foods high in refined carbs and sugar increases blood sugar and insulin levels, which may lead to diabetes over time. Avoiding these foods may help reduce the risk.

It’s possible for some people to put their type 2 diabetes into remission using a low-calorie, diet-based, weight management programme. For many patients, it can be reversed with sustained weight loss of around 15 kg.

References:

Hallberg, S. J., Gershuni, V. M., Hazbun, T. L., & Athinarayanan, S. J. (2019). Reversing type 2 diabetes: A narrative review of the evidence. Nutrients, 11(4), 766.

Taylor, R., Al-Mrabeh, A., & Sattar, N. (2019). Understanding the mechanisms of reversal of type 2 diabetes. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 7(9), 726-736.