In line with these findings, a recent study demonstrated that believing to follow a low-calorie diet while in fact having an energy-balanced diet leads to a body mass reduction 6.

Several papers have identified an anticipatory psychological response following carbohydrate mouth rinse influencing energy budgeting and utilization 7 , 8 , 9. These findings suggest that the brain in engaged in substantial metabolic and endocrine regulation based on anticipation of challenges and resource availability.

This can contribute to an evolutionary advantage, as the expectation prepares the body to better cope with the anticipated event As blood glucose and insulin signaling is a mean to regulate different organs 11 , the role of anticipatory budgeting mechanisms could be particularly relevant for people with diabetes.

The World Health Organization WHO reports that diabetes rates have almost quadrupled globally over the past three decades, making diabetes one of the most important international public health challenges causing an estimated 1. Ninety percent of diagnosed diabetes cases are type 2 in which the body fails to generate sufficient insulin or use it properly 6.

Diabetes has short-term and long-term complications, including strokes, neuropathies, kidney disease, and vision problems While diabetes is generally approached following the dominant biomedical model, there is some evidence that psychological aspects play a role in its physiological processes.

For example, stress has been consistently associated with higher blood glucose levels among both nondiabetics and diabetics 14 , 15 , Moreover, depression 17 and psychological comorbidity 18 can affect diabetic physiology. In our recent work, participants with type 2 diabetes took part in a study that examined whether the perception of time passing affects blood glucose levels Participants fasted beforehand to ensure similar starting blood glucose levels and consumed no food or drink while playing simple video games, switching games every 15 min, and keeping track of time with clocks provided by the researchers.

In all cases, the task period lasted 90 min, but some clocks were rigged to run fast or slow. Unadulterated clocks correctly indicated that 90 min had elapsed; fast clocks reported a total elapsed time of min; slow clocks indicated that only 45 min had passed.

All participants spent the same amount of time playing video games, but their time perceptions were altered. Blood glucose samples were drawn from each participant before and after the task period.

Although all experienced the same elapsed time, the findings revealed that fasting blood glucose decreases have been associated with the perceived time passage rather than the actual time passage. In addition, participants who thought more time had passed reported being hungrier than those who thought less time had passed.

These findings indicate that psychological processes can influence physiological levels, although the role of perceptional and cognitive processes in metabolism is still under-appreciated. The biomedical model primarily assumes that blood glucose levels rise and fall as time passes after sugar intake.

However, as discussed, the subjective perception rather than the objective passage of real time has been shown to determine blood glucose level changes in people with type 2 diabetes In the current study, we targeted the amount of sugar consumption, which is the most widely accepted factor in explaining blood glucose fluctuations, to investigate whether psychology mediates the effect on blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

We used a food label method similar to that used by Crum and colleagues 5. Our study participants drank identical beverages containing the same amount of sugar level, but they were labeled as having either higher sugar or lower sugar.

We hypothesized that perceived rather than actual sugar consumption would influence blood glucose levels. In addition, we aligned the study with empirical evidence regarding psychological factors that influence blood glucose levels such as perceived hunger 19 , stress and mood 18 , restrained eating behaviors 20 , and nutritional satisfaction We also searched for potential idiosyncratic factors that may influence blood glucose levels as well as potential mediators or moderators affecting the relation between perceived sugar consumption and blood glucose levels.

We used flyers and local advertisements to recruit volunteers who have insulin-independent type 2 diabetes mellitus and were being treated with diet and metformin, a biguanide antidiabetic medication.

At least three days before participants came to the laboratory, they received a package of forms and instructions, including a brief survey about their medical conditions, a daily glucose diary, a glucose fluctuation chart, and fasting instructions. To ensure that they would be familiar with their own BGL fluctuations, participants were instructed to record their blood glucose levels before and after every meal and to complete a daily blood glucose change chart for three days before the experiment.

To minimize potential BGL variability, we asked participants to fast for at least 8 h before the study, which began at AM. The present study was approved by the Institutional Review Board IRB for protection of human subjects in research at Harvard University. The protocol was reviewed and registered by the Institutional Biosafety Committee IBC at Harvard University, the Committee on Microbiological Safety COMS.

All the research staff involved in handling human blood samples were trained before the project began, in compliance with COMS policies. All methods were performed in accordance with the approved guidelines and regulations, and all participants provided written informed consent.

Initially, we recruited thirty-four participants, but three failed to attend the second session, and one failed to follow the fasting procedure. In a within-subject design, participants were instructed to come to the laboratory twice, with a three-day interval between visits.

When participants first arrived, we explained that we were gathering evaluations of the taste and perceived nutritional value of a high-sugar beverage and a low-sugar beverage designed for people with type 2 diabetes see Fig.

At each session, participants consumed one of the two beverages, which were actually identical but had labels indicating different sugar levels Label 1: 0 g sugar, Label 2: g sugar, Actual: 62 g sugar. We counterbalanced the order of presentation based on a block randomization procedure, creating two equally-sized group samples.

Instructions and surveys were presented using the Qualtrics survey software package Qualtrics, Provo, UT. After participants signed informed consent forms, they filled out a series of baseline questionnaire items.

After a researcher measured and recorded starting blood glucose levels, participants consumed and evaluated their assigned beverages, some labeled as having high sugar g , others labeled as having low sugar 0 g. We controlled for consumption speed by instructing participants to completely consume the beverage in 3 min.

We then measured blood glucose levels three times, with an interval of 20 min from the baseline measurement. After the final blood glucose measurement of the second session, participants were debriefed and compensated.

Researchers were trained to handle biological wastes e. Blood glucose levels were measured by the Bayer Contour Next EZ We analysed blood glucose measurements. Participants received a form for evaluating the beverages according to taste, nutritional value, and overall enjoyment.

They also indicated whether they would drink the beverage regularly, and if so, why. As a manipulation check, participants rated their perceived sugar level of the beverages they drank from 1 very low to 5 very high. The participants also rated their satisfaction with the nutrition facts on the beverage labels from 1 very dissatisfied to 5 very satisfied.

The PSS scale primarily assesses stable perceptions of stress over prolonged periods, so we also included a Single Stress-Measuring SSM question item endpoints: 1, not stressed at all to 10, extremely stressed , and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale PANAS Cronbach's alphas of PANAS were 0.

Finally, we used the Satiety Labeled Intensity Magnitude SLIM 26 , a single vertical line scale with an average reliability coefficient of 0. We administered the SSM, PANAS, and SLIM at the pre-intervention session, again at the mid-intervention session after the second blood glucose measurement , and finally at the post-intervention session.

low sugar label in the first session interaction terms as fixed effects. Random intercepts were set for individual subjects in each label type, to control by-subject variation and by-manipulation variation in the model.

Figure 2 shows effects of the label manipulation on perceived sugar intake. To test whether beverage type, study order, and blood glucose measurements systematically induced momentary stress SSM , positive or negative affectivities PANAS , and subjective feelings of hunger SLIM , we performed a mixed model analysis of variance ANOVA by including order as a between-subject factor and beverage type and time as within-subject factors in the model.

Figure 3 graphically represents average blood glucose levels for participants across four time points. We fit linear mixed models by incorporating into the model time baseline, 20 min, 40 min, and 60 min , beverage type, and order with all interaction terms as fixed effects and random intercepts for subjects and beverage type.

As Fig. To test for nonlinear blood glucose changes, we compared a model fit with a quadratic term to the original model with the linear time parameters. However, for subsequent analyses, we used the quadratic model, due to its AIC fit and because it matched our hypothesized pattern of blood glucose responses.

To examine whether perceived stress over the past month influenced how beverage type affected blood glucose levels, we entered PSS as a covariate in the final model.

In other words, perceived stress was not directly linked to any factors in the model to predict blood glucose levels, but it accounted for substantial overall effects of beverage type on blood glucose levels.

To check whether individual eating behaviors were related to the label manipulation effect on blood glucose levels, we added the restrained, emotional, and external eating subscale score for DEBQ as covariates in the final model.

To assess whether perceived satisfaction with nutrition facts NS influenced the effect of label manipulation on blood glucose levels, we entered NS as a covariate in the final model. To clarify how NS affected the relationship between the label manipulation and blood glucose levels, we performed a serial mediation analysis testing how beverage type indirectly affected blood glucose levels through the potential mediators based on the bootstrapping procedure Furthermore, to identify how external eating behaviors were linked to blood glucose levels directly or indirectly through our predictors, we performed a simple mediation analysis for the external eating variable using the approach described above.

Path diagram illustrating how perceived sugar and nutritional satisfaction serially mediate the relationship between beverage type and changes in blood glucose levels and how nutritional satisfaction mediates the relationship between external eating behaviors and change in blood glucose levels.

All presented path coefficients were unstandardized. In this study, we tested whether psychological factors influence the effects of sugar consumption on blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. We hypothesized that people with type 2 diabetes would show significant blood glucose responses to their perceptions of sugar consumption.

Although beverages used in all study sessions contained the same sugar content, the results showed blood glucose profiles aligned more with what study participants had actually believed from the label of sugar contents see Fig.

These findings challenge the mainstream assumption that natural biological and physiological metabolic homeostasis processes require sufficient insulin to allow glucose to return to normal ranges.

This is in line with other works that found no evidence that insulin action determines the steady-state level of glucose In contrast to conventional biomedical models and their assumptions of independent actions of the physiological processes, we show that subjective perceptions of sugar intake, even when incorrect, produce measurable biochemical changes in diabetic metabolism.

To understand the results, we must consider psychological dimensions working on the relationship between physical stimuli and bodily responses. It is, however, important to note that our study does not indicate whether psychological effects have long-term efficacy.

Our findings instead suggest that psychological processes may be, at least temporarily, able to influence biochemical processes in diabetic metabolism. The excess of blood glucose occurring in hyperglycemia, together with the atypical performance of pancreas, however, fits well into the anticipatory budgeting mechanism.

Perceptions of sugar level would produce altered glucose dynamics as they provide a different signal to pancreas. A hyperglycemic response can be then understood as an excessive anticipatory energy budgeting following glucose perceptions. Additional research into the physiological or biochemical mechanisms underlying these psychological effects and their long-term effects is necessary to further refine the biopsychosocial model of diabetic metabolism.

In addition to these results, we find some intriguing individual factors. When we controlled for stable idiosyncratic factors such as emotional eating habits and the level of perceived stress, perceived sugar intake had significantly less effect on blood glucose levels.

Perceived sugar intake, however, was not directly related to the changes in blood glucose levels. Accordingly, affective feelings associated with the nutrition facts seem to have a pivotal role in determining blood glucose changes in our model.

It is possible that people with diabetes who decide whether to eat based on external stimuli e. Our mediation analysis also revealed that the individual factor of external cued eating is linked to changes in blood glucose levels Fig.

In contrast to internally directed eaters, externally cued eaters are heavily influenced by factors such as visual and olfactory cues Consequently, especially those who were diagnosed with diabetes at least 12 months ago may be more aware of nutritional facts and, thus, form strong food perception from reading nutrition labels.

These findings provide an interesting new direction for future research in diabetes management. If external cued eating is an individual factor that mediates the relationship between perceived sugar intake and blood glucose levels, it would be worthwhile to examine a possibility that the high glycemic variability in type 2 diabetes is directly linked to the idiosyncratic strength in their association between feelings about nutrition facts and expectations about blood glucose response.

Our study has limitations that must be addressed. First, participants were required to consume a beverage containing sugar. Consequently, we must be cautious in generalizing our findings to the full scope of the type 2 diabetic population.

Currently, no data are available to accurately compare our sample to the overall population. In addition, our study took place in a psychology laboratory on a school campus rather than in a hospital or medical school.

Some participants indicated that the study location made them doubt whether our procedure was legitimately aligned with our advertised purpose. We asked all study participants to indicate what other purposes might be behind our study at the end of the final session, however, and they were unable to identify our purpose or manipulations.

However, as described earlier Fig. If so, the results could actually be even stronger. Nonetheless, we used altered nutrition facts mainly to induce two contrasting beliefs about the identical beverage, and the manipulations successfully produced the contrasting beliefs, despite the non-zero mean rating of perceived sugar levels on the sugar-free beverage.

Finally, future studies can be benefit by including a non-treatment group, or use a design that manipulates actual sugar contents to compare psychological and physiological effects. Our study indicates that blood glucose level in people with type 2 diabetes is influenced by the perception of sugar consumption.

Blood glucose levels increased in accordance with how much sugar participants believed they consumed rather than how much they actually consumed. These findings clearly show the inadequacy of the classical pathways to explain the metabolic and physiological reactions to food intake in diabetics suggested by the biomedical framework.

Similarly, recent studies of chronic diseases, as well as on aging 28 , 29 , are consistently revealing the undeniable influence that psychological processes exert on various chronic physiological and biochemical conditions including diabetes 19 , cardiovascular disease 30 , and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease In the face of rapidly surging epidemiological patterns of noninfectious fatal chronic diseases, we hope that our efforts to return the mind back to the equation of the dominant biomedical formulae will help stimulate more research endeavors in the biopsychosocial field.

The goal is to find more effective treatments for millions who have resigned to feeling helpless in the battle against uncontrollable biological processes causing illness and disease, perhaps by recognizing that the mind has meaningful control in regulating health.

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Yasunari, K. Top of the list to eliminate? Added sugars of any kind , refined grains i. These added sugars can be in obvious foods like soda and candy bars but can also be in less obvious foods like ketchup, salad dressing, and pasta sauces.

Naturally occurring sugars in their whole food form, like sugars in fresh fruit, are generally going to have less of an effect on glucose levels, as they will be surrounded by unprocessed fibers and other nutrients, making them slower to be digested.

Generally speaking, any food in its unrefined form will cause less of a glucose spike. In studies that have compared eating the same caloric amount of whole grains least processed , coarse flour more processed , and fine flour most processed , they have found a linear increase in glucose and insulin elevation as the grain becomes more processed.

If you want to get your glucose to a more optimal level , stick to unrefined whole foods known to cause minimal glucose spikes in the average person.

These include whole food forms of beans, tofu, chickpeas, green leafy vegetables spinach, lettuce, collards , kale, chard , eggs , blueberries, blackberries, garlic, onions, mushrooms , zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, peppers, avocados, fish, lean red meat, chicken, oils, olives, chia seeds , and apple cider vinegar.

Additionally, it is thought that the phytochemicals and antioxidants that exist in unrefined versions of plant foods can enhance the cellular processes that lead to optimal glucose regulation, particularly polyphenols.

Bottom line: Consuming unrefined, low glycemic foods will likely lead to lower glucose spikes and improved metabolic health over time. CGM allows you to see exactly how a particular food and portion size affects your glucose response.

Vegetables and low glycemic fruits also contain polyphenols, which may improve glucose regulation, and can be helpful to include. Kaitlin Sullivan. Exercise of pretty much any form including mild aerobic activity, moderate aerobic activity , high-intensity interval training, and resistance training improves metabolic fitness and glucose control.

Similarly, high-intensity training actually improves both fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity in as little as two weeks. It is also important to optimize the timing of exercise for glucose control.

Long story short: short bursts of activity multiple times per day lowers glucose more than one big chunk of exercise once a day. How so? One study compared 3 exercise regimens that all added up to 60 minutes of exercise per day:.

It was found that the short but regular bursts of exercise done by group 3 were most effective in reducing post-meal glucose spikes. Some of us on the Levels team opt for being active in short bursts throughout the day to keep glucose down, rather than doing one big chunk of exercise before or after a meal.

The same effects hold for walking. Another study compared two walking regimens, both of which added up to 30 minutes per day. The two groups consisted of:. This study showed that the frequent, short walks in scenario 2 were significantly more effective at reducing post-meal glucose peaks and insulin levels than a single long period of walking, despite both groups doing the same number of total walking minutes per day.

Bottom line: Exercise of any type helps with glucose control and metabolic fitness. Short, frequent bursts of exercise seem to be more effective than longer isolated chunks of exercise. Try to be active throughout the day! Jennifer Chesak. Sleep is absolutely critical to glucose regulation and metabolic fitness.

Restricting sleep to 4 hours per night for just 5 days has been shown to significantly decrease glycemic control and metabolic fitness. In fact, partial sleep deprivation generates metabolic responses in otherwise healthy individuals that appear to be similar to people with clinically impaired glucose tolerance.

Just a short stint of sleep deprivation can send the body into pathologic metabolic states. Luckily, this may be reversible in as little as 2 days by improving sleep duration. Bottom line: You need good sleep hours per night for most adults to have proper glucose regulation.

No matter how good a diet is, sleep still plays a key role in metabolic function. Alex Moskov. Stress raises glucose levels, and if we want optimal metabolic fitness , we have to take ownership of managing the stress in our lives.

Studies have shown a significant correlation between perceived work-related stress and increased levels of circulating glucose. Fortunately, stress management techniques can be effective at reducing glucose levels. In a study of insulin-resistant individuals patients with type 2 diabetes , those who engaged in a program of 20 minutes of daily diaphragmatic breathing exercises showed reduced fasting blood glucose and post-meal glucose levels at the 9th week of the study as compared to those who did not do the breathing intervention.

Additionally, 6 months of twice-weekly meditation practice in individuals with heart disease has been shown to result in a significant decrease in fasting blood sugar, post-meal blood sugar, and hemoglobin a1c.

Bottom line: Stress of any kind can negatively impact glucose levels. In many forms, self-care, including meditation and deep breathing, can promote improved glycemic control and metabolic fitness. The Levels Team. In insulin-resistant individuals, high amounts of fiber are associated with lower post-meal glucose levels, insulin levels, and lower glycemic variability glycemic variability refers to up-and-down swings in glucose.

In a study of 18 individuals, those who ate ~51 grams of fiber per day had better glucose-related metrics than those who had an identical amount of calories per day, but only ~15 grams of fiber. Other fiber sources include seeds flax , chia , others , all types of beans, and nuts. Bottom line: High fiber diets appear to improve glycemic control in diabetic individuals.

To get ~50 grams of fiber per day requires making an effort to include fiber sources including beans, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, or whole grains at every meal.

In one study , consumption of 23 grams of protein and 17 grams of fat minutes before carbohydrate ingestion significantly decreased post-meal glucose elevation in nondiabetic individuals and those with insulin resistance. Similarly, eating fat alone in conjunction with a carbohydrate load will decrease the post-meal glucose spike.

Research shows that eating 3 ounces of almonds with a meal of white bread leads to significantly lower post-meal glucose spikes than when white bread is eaten alone. Similar trends were seen when participants were served 1 and 2 ounces of almonds, but the biggest effects were seen with 3 ounces of almonds ~40g of fat.

Saturated fats include fatty cuts of beef, pork, lamb, dark chicken meat, poultry skin, dairy foods milk, butter, cheese , tropical oils like coconut and palm, and margarine. To optimize insulin sensitivity, emphasizing unsaturated fats like nuts, seeds, olives, olive oil, avocado, fish, soybeans, and tofu appears to be a better bet.

Bottom line: Try not to overdo it on saturated fat, as it seems to be associated with lower insulin sensitivity. Favoring unsaturated fats is likely better for metabolic function.

Intermittent fasting means restricting food intake for longer periods of time, usually for 24 hours or more. A recent small case report in three individuals with type 2 diabetes showed intermittent fasting could meaningfully reverse diabetes in as little as 7 months. These participants did hour fasts, times per week.

What does this look like in practice? All 3 participants could regain enough insulin sensitivity to get off their high doses of insulin medication within 3 weeks of starting their fasting regiments.

One participant, who initially was taking 80 units of insulin daily, discontinued all insulin injections after just 5 days of fasting! Intermittent fasting is thought to increase the expression of genes, hormonal pathways, and cellular physiology that improve metabolic fitness and insulin sensitivity.

Bottom line: Twenty-four-hour fasts can improve insulin sensitivity. For practical purposes, this means eating breakfast one morning and then not eating calories again until the next morning. Jessica Migala. One study in overweight, non-diabetic people showed that even engaging in time-restricted feeding for just 4 days can significantly lower fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and mean glucose levels.

At the end of 4 days, the time-restricted feeding intervention led to significantly lower fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and mean glucose. Timing of food intake matters: our bodies are naturally more insulin resistant at night, so the same food eaten in the morning tends to have much less of a glucose spike than that food eaten at night.

One study showed that eating food later in the evening will cause a significant increase in both insulin and glucose levels compared with eating the same meal consumed in the morning.

The findings lead the researchers to propose a two-system model of regulating blood sugar levels composed of the islet-cell system, which responds to a rise in glucose levels by primarily by releasing insulin, and the brain-centered system that enhances insulin-mediated glucose metabolism while also stimulating glucose effectiveness.

The development of type 2 diabetes appears to involve the failure of both systems, the researchers say. Impairment of the brain-centered system is common, and it places an increased burden on the islet-centered system.

For a time, the islet-centered system can compensate, but if it begins to fail, the brain-centered system may decompensate further, causing a vicious cycle that ends in diabetes.

Boosting insulin levels alone will lower glucose levels, but only addresses half the problem. To restore normal glucose regulation requires addressing the failures of the brain-centered system as well.

Approaches that target both systems may not only achieve better blood glucose control, but could actually cause diabetes to go into remission, they write.

Seeley, Matthias H. Tscho, Stephen C. Woods, Gregory J. Morton, Martin G. And that could positively impact your weight as you create healthier lifestyle changes—like eating a healthy diet and exercising. Strength training can be particularly beneficial for increasing one's metabolism. This is because the body requires more energy to build and maintain muscle mass compared to fat, which increases that metabolic rate.

So no, there isn't one food you can eat that will immediately boost your metabolism , but the eating a balanced, healthy diet and doing regular strength-training exercise can make a difference—even for people who have diabetes.

Metabolism is the process your body goes through in order to create and use the energy from the calories you consume. This energy is then used to digest food, during daily movement both exercise and everyday activities , as well as to perform normal bodily functions.

This energy comes from blood sugar. However, if your body experiences insulin resistance or a reduction in insulin due to diabetes, this process doesn't work as smoothly.

And that's why insulin medication for type 1 and blood sugar management through healthy lifestyle habits for type 2 are key for keeping your metabolism humming along. Use limited data to select advertising.

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This fact is the basic principle of carbohydrate counting for meal planning. Fat has little, if any, effect on blood glucose levels, although a high fat intake does appear to contribute to insulin resistance. Protein has a minimal effect on blood glucose levels with adequate insulin.

However, with insulin deficiency, gluconeogenesis proceeds rapidly and contributes to an elevated blood glucose level.

Protein has a minimal effect on blood glucose levels with adequate insulin. However, with insulin deficiency, gluconeogenesis proceeds rapidly and contributes to an elevated blood glucose level.

With adequate insulin, the blood glucose response in persons with diabetes would be expected to be similar to the blood glucose response in persons without diabetes. The reason why protein does not increase blood glucose levels is unclear.

Several possibilities might explain the response: a slow conversion of protein to glucose, less protein being converted to glucose and released than previously thought, glucose from protein being incorporated into hepatic glycogen stores but not increasing the rate of hepatic glucose release, or because the process of gluconeogenesis from protein occurs over a period of hours and glucose can be disposed of if presented for utilization slowly and evenly over a long time period.

Abstract Insulin is required for carbohydrate, fat, and protein to be metabolized. The body then uses this energy to keep organs and biological processes working. There are three main ways that the body uses up energy:. People who have slow metabolisms typically have a low BMR.

This means they require fewer calories at rest than someone with a faster metabolism, or a high BMR. There are many factors that can raise or lower BMR, including :. This happens due to problems with insulin production. When a person eats carbohydrates, the body begins to break them down into their simplest form, which is glucose.

This glucose then enters the bloodstream, delivering energy to cells around the body. Usually, if blood glucose levels are too high, the pancreas releases insulin.

This hormone tells the liver to remove glucose from the blood and turn it into glycogen, which the body can use later. However, in people with diabetes, insulin levels become lower than they need to be. This leaves high levels of glucose in the blood, which can lead to serious consequences if left untreated.

In type 1 diabetes, a person has very low or absent insulin levels. This occurs because the immune system mistakenly attacks the cells in the pancreas that make it. As a result, people with type 1 diabetes need insulin injections throughout their lives.

Individuals usually receive a type 1 diabetes diagnosis in childhood or when they are young adults. In people with type 2 diabetes, the body stops responding as well to insulin, leading to high blood glucose levels.

Over time, the pancreas produces increasing amounts of insulin to try to keep up. This creates a deficit, where the body does not have the capacity to deal with the amount of glucose in the blood. Eventually, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin wear out. In addition to carbohydrates, the body can use protein as an energy source.

In some situations, the body can break down protein from its own muscles for energy. Experts term this catabolism. An older article notes that people with type 1 diabetes who do not have enough insulin from their medication may experience catabolism, leading to a significant reduction in muscle mass.

This same effect does not occur in people with type 2 diabetes. However, without insulin, the body can switch to using stored fat instead. This happens through a process that experts refer to as ketosis.

During ketosis, the body releases ketones, which are chemicals that break down from fats. If ketone levels become too high, they can make the blood acidic.

This results in a serious condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis DKA. DKA mainly occurs in people with type 1 diabetes, but it can also develop in those with type 2 diabetes. It is a potentially life threatening condition that requires emergency treatment. Learn about the symptoms of DKA here.

Diet, exercise , and body weight have a significant influence on metabolism and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A diet high in simple carbohydrates that digest quickly and provide more energy than a person needs can elevate blood glucose levels.

If the levels remain high over time, the body may not be able to produce enough insulin to lower them to a healthy level. This in turn can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, simple carbohydrates are not as filling as other foods, despite their high energy content.

This can mean people feel hungrier and eat more food as a result, further raising blood glucose. Simple carbohydrates are present in foods that contain a lot of sugar, such as candy, sugary drinks, and ice cream.

Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down, and they release their energy over a longer period of time. These include foods such as whole grains, beans , and high fiber vegetables. When someone engages in exercise or other physical activity, their activity-induced energy expenditure goes up.

This means the body can use up glucose that is circulating in the blood, lowering blood glucose levels. Strengthening exercises can also build muscle. Muscle cells require energy even when not in use, so the more muscle a person has, the more calories they burn at rest. A high body weight increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by making cells in the body less sensitive to insulin.

This means cells will not store excess glucose as effectively, making high blood glucose more likely. A combination of excess weight, a diet high in simple carbohydrates, and low levels of physical activity can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes.

Insulin medication stimulates the muscle, liver, and fat cells to absorb and store glucose as glycogen. In people with diabetes, the aim is to achieve a balance of insulin and blood glucose.