Dear Doctor,

Can taking too much sugar in my drinks cause diabetes? Jalia

Dear Jalia,

Diabetes is an endocrine disorder of glucose metabolism. The body is unable to metabolise and assimilate the glucose present in the body. The basic cause is deficiency of insulin (substance responsible for handling glucose) in the body or resistance of body cells to insulin present in the body.

Taking too much sugar per se does not cause diabetes. However, indirectly it does cause diabetes. Sugar has no nutritional value, but provides calories to the body. If not burnt out, these calories add on the weight of a person, resulting in obesity. This further causes "metabolic syndrome” where the body cells become resistant to existing insulin, causing diabetes. A person without diabetes can consume and tolerate any quantity of sugar even if it is much. But somebody having diabetes will not be able to handle even a small quantity of sugar.