Regular readers of the Rantings will know that I consider your body’s biggest fight to be against the diabetic spectrum.
I refer to it as the “diabetic spectrum” rather than just diabetes to make sure that patients understand that, just because they haven’t been given the diagnosis of diabetes, there is danger everywhere along the process. Prediabetes increases your risk of just about every chronic disease you can think of. Many times, the only reason the patient did not become diabetic is because the prediabetic process killed them off through a heart attack, stroke or cancer.
So why is diabetes such a problem? Is it genetics?
Yes and no.
No, your genetics do NOT cause you to develop diabetes. If you treat your genes badly, yes, you can develop diabetes. However, when we talk about genetic risk as it relates to chronic disease, many people mistakenly believe the outcome is set in stone. This is clearly, absolutely not true.
Yes. The number one challenge the human body has, historically (with the exception of the past 100 years or so), had to fight against starvation for survival. Our bodies are incredibly well adapted to fight starvation. The slightest extra calories will get stored for a rainy day.
Basically, your body has a mechanism in place to fight off starvation. There is NO protection in place for the opposite end of the spectrum. In other words, how can you have a genetic predisposition for a situation that your body has no mechanism for?
You have to understand that diabetes is the “normal” response of your body, or at least it is a very predictable response.
Stress falls under this same category. Your body’s stress response is a protective response designed to help you survive a significant challenge in the environment. Generally designed for a short term challenge to your system. But once this stress becomes chronic, your body again does not know how to handle the situation.
So back to the original question–where does diabetes come from?
It comes from your body’s attempt at a short term solution to stress or excess calories that occurs in a chronic timeframe. Sure, the details are far more complex, but this pretty much sums it up.
Just in case you think this is my isolated opinion, you can read through this particular article…