The disease diabetes in the United States has reached almost epidemic levels in the past 40 years. Our diets, our lack of physical activity, and food additives have made the US populace into a breeding ground for the disease.

So what’s it important to learn about diabetes? First, you need to know exactly what the disase is. According to the American Diabetes Association, "Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life."

So the first thing you need to monitor is your sugar intake, as letting your blood sugar get too low or too high can lead to a diabetic coma. These comas can range from light dizzyness, to passing out entirely, to an actual coma that ends with fatality. If you’re diabetic or pre-diabetic, it’s important to take the threat of the disease seriously.

A not necessarily intuitive fact about diabetes is that not all sugar effects the system equally. Take, for example, high gructose corn syrup. This is a manufactured sweetender that began to be used in place of sugar in American foods in the early 1970s. Not coincidently, this coincides almost linearly with the diabetes boom in US society. There are many studies out now that show that large concentrations of high fructose corn syrup is much more likely to effect your body’s insulin levels, as well as its responses to sugar and other forms of glucose, than is a natural sweetener.

Does this mean high fructose corn syrup is the cause of the spike in diabetes? It seems that way, certainly, but it doesn’t necessarily follow. There could, repeat COULD be other causes, unlikely as that may be.

However, it does seem likely that high fructose corny syrup is the culprit. Check your bottle of soda, or your breakfast cereal. Even nominally "healthy" brands use high fructose corn syrup instead of regular sugar now. Check your catsup - it’ll be in there, too. Check almost any pre-processed food and you’ll find that it contains corn syrup. This product has altered our body chemistry rapidly, and we haven’t been able to keep up biologically. You want a solid step about diabetes prevention? Don’t eat any pre-processed foods. If you can leave it out on your countertop for a week and it doesn’t go bad, you don’t want that in your system.

It’s important to be aware of that. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans have diabetes of some sort now, and it’s in your best interest to avoid becoming a part of that group. And if you are a part of that group, it’s in your best interest to watch closely everything you put into your body.

Tags: about diabetes, diabetes