Do specific foods 'cause' diabetes?

[Vegwoes]

Not sure where to put this, so hope it's ok in chat?!

We recently watched a doc about diabetes and were surprised to learn that it has become much more prevalent in Asia, places such as Japan, etc. Even France and many of the Med countries are experiencing large increases in cases.
Most online discussion just says 'it's the white rice!!'
But weren't they eating it for many years before this upswing in cases?

I have googled but can't find any definitive info regarding HOW people actually become diabetic (type 2), since there is a lot of what I presume to be misinformation flying around, and not a lot of detailed literature at specialist sites or the nhs.

Some groups suspect seed oils (!!), along with refined carbs as a sole cause for diabetes, some suspect too much meat. More medically focused websites site 'eating too much and not exercising' as a more likely cause - which is a bit vague...or is it?

Is there a particular type of food that will cause it? I don't mean what triggers insulin AFTER diagnosis, but more before? Since some info includes people having diabetes at a low BMI, is it always as simple as being overweight?

I am new to this subject and am interested in finding out more - my dad had it late in life and I have heard that there can be a genetic component.

Obesity is the main but not the only cause. Unbalanced meals and lack of exercise. Eating naked carbohydrates won't cause insulin resistance but causes spikes in blood glucose levels. For example a grilled lean bacon and egg sandwich will result in a slower and more gradual rise in blood glucose compared to a bowl of cereal such as corned flakes. White rice is an issue but only for those already with insulin resistance. Lots of countries across the globe have more westernised diets withp the major fast food chains having many branches in India, Japan etc. Major brands such as Nestle cater for foreign cultures and tastes eg kit kat has a green tea flavour in Japan. It's no wonder diabetes is on the up!. Another factor is the level at which someone is diagnosed has reduced on recent years meaning more people fall under a diabetes diagnosis. The aging population also adds to numbers as the body finds it harder to regulate blood sugars in old age.

No, specific foods don’t directly cause diabetes, but poor diet over time can increase the risk.

I thought of white rice before I read what you had put. I don’t think it causes diabetes actually but it’s a carb that’s very high in calories. The risk factors for developing type two diabetes include a family history, increasing age, diet, obesity and a high distribution of fat around your middle. You can have all these risk factors and not develop type two diabetes.

Diabetes is the generic term but there are several types of diabetes which is what you’re confused about. Type 1 you’re born with it and many slim people have this. Type 2 is caused by lifestyle factors and the usual overweight or obese. There isn’t any specific foods but they are taught what food groups to avoid such as carbs. Lots of information out there about this.

Also certain ethnicities have a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes due to a mix of genetics/ environmental and soco-economic factors.

The role of stress is important as well. I have no genetic risk for diabetes, no type 2 diabetics in my family. I was on a low carb diet with very little processed food. I became very ill and was shocked to get a diagnosis of T2. The only risk factor I have is extreme amounts of stress. My Hba1C was incredibly high and I am lucky I didn't go into DKO.

ETA and no specific foods do not cause diabetes.

If you’re overweight, inactive and have eat UPF/unhealthy diet, these things contribute to it.

A large part of this is growing wealth. Take India as an example, their sweets and treats are very unhealthy but they were something eaten rarely and their day to day food was simple and healthy. Now people can buy these foods easily and their bodies aren't able to cope. Asian cultures have always eaten lots of rice, for centuries, rice isn't the issue. One bonus is at least they don't yet eat all the processed crap we do in the West, but give it a few more years.

Indeed my son has type 3c caused by acute necrotizing pancreatitis which destroyed his pancreas he's treated as type 1 and is insulin dependent.

I'm 58.

I remember the ice cream van coming round early evening and in winter it sold snacks rather then ice cream. It called round once a week and we were allowed a treat so I had a packet of crisps while watching Star Trek.

Nowadays crisps are a daily thing for a lot of people and for a lot of children.

We moved to a new housing estate and at that time in that area very few mums worked, there was a garage but no other shops in walking distances. And as most families had only one car (if that) it wasn't easy to get snacks.

There were two mobile shops that came round and my parents did a 'big' shop once a week.

We did eat a lot of junk though. We just ate it at the table with our parents.

I also think there is more monitoring now, my T2 diabetes was picked up at a routine blood test.

Japan is interesting. Many schools don't allow packed lunches and there are strict rules on that the schools can serve. Food must be cooked on the day and meet nutritional standards, some schools even employ a nutritionist.

But outside school the same fast foods are available as everywhere, it's actually tradition to have KFC at Christmas.

We are not born with Type 1, we develop it at some point in our life. If a close family member has it we can have a higher chance of developing it.

That should say born with a genetic risk but yes babies can get it.

DH’s father had T2 diabetes and DH was diagnosed after years of drinking Lucozade to ‘give him energy’, it didn’t. He had a balanced diet from my cooking etc but a car boot full of crap stuff like pasties, sausage rolls etc He wouldn’t listen to me (nurse) or the adult DCs 🤷🏼‍♀️, took little exercise, spent hours driving for his job.
Subsequently he’s developed other health conditions, largely as a result of his diabetes being poorly controlled by him.
You can’t tell him anything, I gave up long ago.

Could DH father, a grown man not read the ingredients on the bottle? People need to take responsibility for their health. Many don’t.

Agree! We had a sweetie bag in the kitchen cupboard, a carrier bag hanging off the ironing board, usually about half full of sweets. Definitely didn't have free access to it but we had something from it every day. And crisps. Sprite was my main drink (I lived abroad, was gutted that I couldn't get it for a while when we moved back). I'm amazed I have any teeth left.

I had my first tooth extraction a few months ago, it cracked badly in an accident and decided attempts to repair it so I got to 71 with all my teeth and yes that was quite amazing.

In the 60s we had hot chocolate every day at school in winter. Cadbury's donated either drinking chocolate or cocoa I can't remember which. The dinner ladies heated up our free school milk and added the cocoa/drinking chocolate and then big saucepans if it delivered to the classrooms where it was served in plastic cups. If you had a penny the teacher would sell you one if those chocolate teacakes things, sort of biscuit base with a bit of jam then marshmallow covered in chocolate. But of course we never ever ever had anything between meals.

You don't need to believe in youtubers OP - as someone else said - check out the diabetes UK site. Before the development of modern diabetic drugs type two diabetes was managed by lifestyle and if you actually stuck to a healthy lowish card diet and moved more then it could quite effectively be managed.

Movement is a huge contributing factor - about 20% of spinal cord injury patients develop type two diabetes even if they weren't even in the prediabetic zone before. I had a significant leg injuray which left me with minimal movement (ie lived in a hospital bed at home with a movement zone of about 2 metres) and my long term blood sugars went from 36 (comfortably in the normal range) to 96 within about 6-9 months so high that they scanned my pancreas to make sure I didn't have pancreatic cancer! I managed to get it down despite still having very limited movement by low carbing without a break - every day was below 100gr and an average day probably aorund 60. Got my carbs from healthy high fibre sources like vegetable (even starchy ones like parsnips and beetroot) and moving for 15 minutes after a meal.

It made me realise how difficult having a healthy diet is to acheive if you're diabetic and need to reduce your carbs (when I decreased my carbs fatx dropped naturally even though I used butter on veg and eggs as without pasta and bread it was hard to add too much fat to anything!)

Most cheap food and most convenience food rely on cheap ingredients which tens to be carbs and cheap oils, they take the fat out of everything to appease the "low-fat" bandwagon and that removes flavour so you need to add suagr to make it tastier.

And most people barely walk anywhere these days - it's been proven that 15 minute walk after dinner has a significant affect on your blood sugar.

Cook whole foods (of any type) in moderate proportions and go for a walk after your lunch and dinner/tea. and you're probably 80% of the way there. I have PCOS so I need to be particularly careful with carbs but most people can probably get away with higher carbs than me if they have a decent amount of fibre (ie vegetable carbs!)

I am no expert but from a few studies I read yesterday, sat fat seems to accumulate around the pancreas and liver, as opposed to polyunsaturated fat.

It led to a conclusion that sat fat, or visceral fat around the liver and pancreas goes some way to causing diabetes - but of course not on it's own.

A ton of online 'experts' shout very different advice, which could be quite dangerous. People are being told that their doctor's are lying to them. I think a good percentage of our culture is on love with the idea of being lied to...that everything is a conspiracy. It's either big sugar, or big ag.

People seem to run miles from the idea of moderation/balance. Calorie reduction on it's own just isn't all that sexy

Muscle mass also has an impact on the ability to clear glucose from the blood.

Calorie reduction on it's own may not be enough though. We have a strong genetic predisposition to diabetes. My Dad would not by anyones' assessment be considered overweight but developed type two diabetes anyway - if he'd relied solely on reducing calories he wouldn't have been able to manage his diabetes in the way he has (he's 88 now and has no diabetes side effects and still takes metformin).

The problem with focusing on fat and caloroes is that the old model of calories in/calories out doesn't take into effect what impact different foods have on your insulin levels. And whilst insulin is a necessaity, too much is a right pain in the arse. You become more disposed to deposit fat rather than burn it and your organs bcome desensitised to insulain so you have to produce more and more. Which all becomes a vicious circle.

I wouldn't beleive a random on Youtube but I don't take dietary advice from my GP who was minimally trained in nutrition and insulin resistance. But I do stick to those GP's like David UNwin who lead the revolution in diabetes care in his practioce and Diabetes UK who persuaded the NHS to update their guidelines a few years ago.

Its huge and so underestimated by almost everyone except one physio who I had in rehab.

"People seem to run miles from the idea of moderation/balance. Calorie reduction on it's own just isn't all that sexy"

Hate to say it because it squarely applies to me but preaching moderation and balance to someone who is already obese because they struggle with moderation and balance doesn't work very well in practice.

Ultimate any "diet" you can stick to long term (ie forever!) should in theory work but if you are pre-diabetic/diabetic then a low calorie relatively high carb diet with lots of sweeteners to make things palatable probably isn't making things easier for you.

It's also difficult because there's no immediate feedback (unless your diabetes is really out of control) between what you put in your mouth and what affect it has on your body - it's a poor bio-feedback model. If someone took a rubber mallet to you little tow and bashed it everything you ate something you shouldn't, everything would be much easier...

Caloric excess causes type 2 diabetes in genetically predisposed and sedentary people, with smoking also contributing as a risk factor. Not a specific food but obviously anything with a high caloric density that’s easy to eat a lot of can contribute to an overall energy excess.

Subcutaneous fat depots become overwhelmed past a certain point, excess calories then need to be stored in other areas which are not suited to storing lipids. This tends to result in various health and metabolic problems.
Muscle tissue can also function as a storage depot for excess calories.