What is diabetes?
Diabetes is caused when the pancreas is no longer able to produce sufficient insulin to control blood sugar levels.
Diabetes occurs in several forms.The most common are type-I and type-II diabetes.
In type I, the pancreas produces no insulin at all, and the onset is usually at a very early age.
In type-II diabetes, the body does produce insulin, but the organism is resistant to it.
Insulin is essential to control the blood sugar level. It is also needed to break down the glucose ingested with food when it reaches the muscles and liver and to metabolise any excess glucose stored in fat.
Type-II diabetes is a true civilisation disease, even though its causes have to this day not been identified. The main triggers are excess weight and lack of exercise.
Quality of life in spite of diabetes
Even today, diabetes is still incurable. However, there is scarcely any other disease where the patients themselves can do so much towards their own well-being. Early diagnosis, correct diet, exercise, the right medication and information on how to deal with the disease can help patients control the symptoms and reduce the risk of secondary effects.
Can artificial sweeteners play a part in the successful control of diabetes?
Both sweeteners and sugar substitutes are of particular benefit to people with diabetes since, in contrast to sugar, they do not affect insulin metabolism.
Sweeteners have the additional advantage of reducing calorie intake even further because they, unlike sugar substitutes, play no part whatsoever in energy balance. People with diabetes are frequently overweight and need to lose a few pounds. Therefore sweeteners are often the better option for them.
In collaboration with Diabetes UK
