Diabetes FAQ » Diabetes Q&A » I am not sure if I am diabetic or not but recently I have been craving an awful lot of sugar, I just want to eat it by the spoonful can you please tell me if it is a sign of diabetes?

I am not sure if I am diabetic or not but recently I have been craving an awful lot of sugar, I just want to eat it by the spoonful can you please tell me if it is a sign of diabetes?

It could be a sign of diabetes or it could be something else. Many women have cravings for sugar, carbohydrates and even alcohol. These cravings are associated with hormonal imbalances. It could mean a poor diet is causing the cravings, low serotonin levels, or low blood sugar and other reasons. It could also be a symptom of adrenalin fatigue, which will occur if you become too stressed, and the adrenal gland is overworked, from stress, exhaustion, and sleeplessness.

Specific to diabetes

There are people who are insulin resistant. Insulin is responsible for controlling the body’s blood sugar levels and when a person is insulin resistant the body is no longer capable of absorbing insulin from the blood stream and relies on outside sources, such as food and it will grab every calorie it can get in sugary foods and that in turn will result in fat, it doesn’t matter how little you eat everything will turn to fat. Insulin resistance can also lead to obesity and obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

What causes insulin resistance?

When a person does not eat a balanced diet, over the years it can and will cause havoc on the body especially when the diet is full of carbohydrates and very little nutritional value. The example of this diet can be found in the common American diet of a donut for breakfast on the run, and daily fast food restaurant choices like a greasy hamburger and loads of French fries.

Your body is responsible for breaking down carbohydrates into glucose, which is sugar and that sugar will then enter the blood stream. The more carbohydrates you have in your diet the more elevated your blood sugar levels will be. Your body produces insulin to usher the glucose from the blood into the cells of the body. The cells are equipped to receive the glucose through receptors, which are little extensions designed specifically to receive a certain substance. In the case of the brain it could be neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which is also associated with food cravings or glucose to feed the cells. The receptors can be thought of as little windows, which open and close to regulate the amount of glucose entering the cell. Over the years with sugary fatty uncontrolled diets, the receptors will malfunction since they have been overloaded with glucose and they may even shutdown. A damaging feedback loop occurs, you are getting too much sugar so the receptors shutdown, but because there are less receptors for the glucose necessary for the cells, the body must produce enough more insulin. This in turn causes the condition known as insulin resistance.

Type 2 diabetes is a result of your body not being able to produce enough insulin to meet its needs. This is also a reason why the type 2 diabetic individual always feels tired. Sugar is needed to convert into energy and when a person is insulin resistant the natural process is off balance.

Insulin resistance is also a factor in Type 1 diabetes as well. Damaged beta cells are often associated with reduced levels of insulin. Only this condition is hereditary and the onset is in childhood often around puberty (juvenile diabetes). It can also be caused by certain illnesses.

If you continue to have excessive cravings for sugar which is uncontrollable, do seek the attention of a doctor and get a diabetes test such as HbA1c test and a Glucose Tolerance Test sometimes the fasting glucose test can miss the presence of diabetes, and the HBA1c test will pick it up. Either way it is important to see the doctor who will determine what you may have, if anything at all. He or she may also refer you to a dietitian for a proper regular diet or diabetes diet.

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