"You take too much sugar and sweets, you will probably get diabetes!"

Isn't this familiar? You probably get this from your relatives and friends.

However, this is a common misconception among people that eating candy, foods high in sugars and other "unhealthy" foods is the cause of diabetes. Having a sweet tooth does not mean that you will end up with diabetes. Of course, this doesn't mean that you can go gorging on desserts and sweet things. Too much of anything is probably not healthy in the long run. If you are eating only sweet stuff day in and day out and not getting nutritional food, this sort of a bad diet can probably lead to diabetes eventually.

So what are the true causes of diabetes?

To learn about the cause of diabetes, we need to understand diabetes. There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Each sub-type has diverse causes and affect people of varied ages. Doctors and researchers all over the world still have not found out the real cause of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is also called juvenile diabetes, diabetes mellitus, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, sugar diabetes or brittle diabetes. This type of diabetes is usually found in children and young adults, characteristically those below the age of thirty are found to have this type of the bad health.

It is believed that genetics play a major part of why some people are predisposed to growing type 1 diabetes. Another suspected cause of type 1 diabetes is when the body begin to attack the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This results in the body not producing insulin anymore. Researchers and doctors are not sure why this occurs.

There is nothing that can be done to prevent type 1 diabetes, it is an autoimmune sickness.

A person who has type 2 diabetes still produces insulin but develops a resistance to insulin. Tissues in the body, such as muscles, do not respond to insulin and cannot use insulin to utilise glucose properly in the blood. Other organs such as the liver, along given the usual insulin-producing organ: the pancreas will increase insulin production. Finally the pancreas is unable to produce any more insulin and the tissues become even more insulin resistant.

How to lower your risk of growing Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes are usually casued by unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits. Those who are fat and physically inactive are at risk of this sickness. Especially those who have fat that is concentrated on the tummy. This type of diabetes usually affects people later in life usually around 52 and is often called late-onset diabetes. Recent statistics however, indicates that the average age of diagnosis is becoming lower as lifestyle habits change. If you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, there is an increased chance of developing this disease.

To lower your risk, you really need to maintain a nutritious diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables including a regular exercise.