Consuming Large Amounts Of Sugar, Particularly Fructose, May Set Off Process In The Body Leading To Prediabetes And T2D.

website reports a “new study may hint at why some patients end up with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes even when they don’t appear to have all of the typical risk factors such as age, obesity, and an unhealthy diet.” After working with liver samples taken from humans and with mice, researchers found that “consuming large amounts of sugar, especially fructose,” may “set off a process in the body that leads to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes [T2D].” The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He and colleagues found that in mice, excessive sugar in the liver appears to activate a molecular factor known as carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein – ChREBP. Activating this factor causes the liver to keep making glucose, contributing to increased blood glucose levels despite insulin signals telling it to stop. “We found that no matter how much insulin the pancreas made, it couldn’t override the processes started by this protein, ChREBP,” he explained. Ultimately it caused blood sugar and insulin levels to increase, which over time can lead to insulin resistance elsewhere in the body. “This paper is about a mechanism that we’ve identified by which sugar ingestion, particularly fructose ingestion, can contribute to hepatic [liver] insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes,” Herman said. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sugar-can-too-much-cause-type-2-diabetes/