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What causes Diabetes, type 1 and 2..

C

CR00

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Type of diabetes
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I do not have diabetes
Hello
I am new to this forum and although I do not have diabetes, I am a massage therapist and have an interest in medical conditions.
I need some advice: my friend is adament that fat causes type 2 diabetes, has researched this and absolutely won't accept anything else as a cause; she says that it is fat in the bloodstream that causes type 2. I don't agree - I think there is more than fat/poor diet that causes it.
What is the answer here? As I feel right and so does she :/

CR00
 
I have my crystal ball out and I can see through the misty haze..........2 things.....

1. A can of worms.
2. A ten foot barge pole.
 
lol. Yep that's what I see too Scardoc. So why am I responding? Not sure, but very gently without trying to upset anyone I'll start. Deep breath, trainers on, ready to run as I hit reply.
I'm not a scientist, so this is just my personal opinion; I have been wrong before and I have been right before. I am only referring to type 2 as I know very little about type 1, if you want a simple explanation I think your friend's one has some merit. It isn't just about whether the person is fat (as many of us are, me included) it is more about fat in the bloodstream and around the organs. I also think you are right in that diabetes is a complex disease and we are all different. So I am sitting on the fence here a bit. it would be good if some of the scientists among us could give you a proper reply. But hey I've started the replies now.....fools rush in and all that......
 
I wondered what significance of the people running around with splinters in their **** in the crystal ball was........................
 

I'm type 1 and mine is auto. Immune, the body attacks its self, thus my pancreas was destroyed outright and died :-(. Hope that helps .
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Hey there,

Quite tricky to explain as it's not totally straightforward - so this is a simplistic explanation.

Most type 2 diabetes starts with insulin resistance. This is basically caused by fat in the body's cells effectively blocking the proper uptake of glucose out of the bloodstream (much more to insulin resistance than just this) This causes blood glucose levels to rise, which then triggers the pancreas to secrete more insulin - helping the body make use of the glucose and bringing blood glucose levels back down. Type 2 diabetes is basically diagnosed at the point that the pancreas begins to fail, and can't secrete enough insulin to keep Blood glucose at a healthy level.

Bearing in mind that in the UK, over 64% of the population is classified as being overweight and yet only perhaps 5% of the population actually have Type2 diabetes, then it is fairly clear that there is a genetic component to the condition. It appears that some people can have a BMI of 35 and never develop diabetes, and another can have a BMI of 25 and develop type 2 diabetes.

Add to this the complication that some people just have a genetic pre-disposition to have a slowly failing pancreas. This means that someone who is a healthy weight can gradually develop what can sometimes be classified as type 2 diabetes and weight loss really isn't an option.

So in answer to the question - yes, weight is often part of the problem but if that was the only cause then over half of the people you know would have it!

(Turns and runs for cover!)
 
Hi. I'm not aware of any scientific evidence that fat in the blood is a cause of T2. However, excess distributed body fat is a well-known cause of T2 due to insulin resistance. Excess distributed body fat does not result from eating too much fat but typically due to eating too many carbs. So, in summary your friend is wrong and I think may be confusing excess body fat with fat in the blood stream
 
My GP says that my steadily increasing weight (aka excess fat) finally 'tipped the balance' - much in line with what's been said by other contributors to this thread. Tom Hank's doctor recently put it a little better: "'You know those high blood sugar numbers you've been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you've graduated". See http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/08/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/tom-hanks-diabetes/ for the full quote.

My case is similar to Hank's and no doubt many others in that, as my weight increased, my BG had been rising in line, and my doc kept saying they were "a little on the high side". But the numbers then suggest it took me only 2-3 years before I developed full-blown T2. Hank's current age of 57 suggests it was nearer 20 for him.

Unfortunately, no-one (my GP included) impressed on me me what might happen. Or - more to the point - I couldn't be bothered to Google what the logical conclusion of the increasing levels might have been, in time to possibly prevent my eventual fall off the cliff - which I only noticed when the inevitable symptoms appeared.

Looking back, I freely admit that was a spectacularly dumb thing to have done ...........
 
As far I have been able to read up on causes for type 2 diabetes, it is mainly about genetics. You can be obese with severe insulin resistance and your pancreas will produce the amount of insulin required. If you have a genetic disposition for diabetes your pancreas will not. It seems obesity is a symptom of diabetes in some cases, not the cause.

Then there are all the type twos who are of perfectly normal weight and find it hard to be taken seriously when trying to get the proper tests for diabetes. It took me over half a year to get my GP to do the tests needed and I am very diabetic as in extremely sensitive to carbs.

The more diabetes genes you have, the worse your condition.
 
There is quite a good course (free) running via Univ Copenhagen https://class.coursera.org/diabetes-001/wiki/syllabus Week 3 covers Obesity & diabetes!
 
I'm a type 2, diagnosed aged 66 in January 2014. At the time my BMI was an obese 31 and had been at that level for 6 months. I had been overweight for many years previous to that but not obese. Absolutely no-one in my family ever had diabetes, parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. I cannot blame a genetic disposition. I can only blame my weight, especially round my abdomen area, and eating too many savoury carbs (not sugary things as I haven't got a sweet tooth) with too little exercise.

Happy to say my BMI is now down to 26 and still falling.
 
Thanks for all your replies! I believe I am right in saying its a complex condition and not a' one size fits all' cause, but my friend is right in fat in the bloodstream can contribute to it. However, she does need to realise that diabetes is not straightforward and is complex and I don't think she does, but rather than debate on the subject again, I think we will agree to disagree but also agree that, in some way, we are both correct. Interesting point re: high carb diet and not fat causing weight gain - I have recently upped my protein and reduced my carbs as that was all I was eating and I feel much better for it! Not lost any major weight yet, but losing centimetres. Again, my friend, who is vegetarian, is adament that carbs are more important than protein....
 

Brilliant!
Sounds like you're moving in the right direction in respect to diet, and well done you for choosing to ask a question of the diabetes community in order to better understand diabetes, rather than making wrong assumptions.
 
I think that if there was a definitive answer to what causes diabetes then the medical profession would be delighted. What is known is that the working and production of insulin is at falult. That is certainly the case in IDS or Type 1. Some research suggests that this may be due to viral activity which causes the pancreas to stop or reduce insulin production. I got diabetes when I was 23, and was 9.5 stone, and 6ft 2ins. A skinny young man. That was in 1971. At that stage surprise was expressed because non of my family had had the illness - and the prevalent theory was that it was genetic, with lots of research into twins, especially similar twins. I cannot blame the onset of my diabetes on my diet - I was concious of eating well. I enjoyed cooking fresh food, and had a degree in Biochemistry.
The situation is a bit different with NID or Type 2 diabetes. As I have got older I have met many Type 2 people - and they do have a tendency to be large. From discussions I have heard, and NHS posters, it does appear that there is a rise in Type 2 diabetes in the population, and there is a correlation with being overweight.
 
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