Question: Can eating too many carbohydrates increase your chances of developing diabetes?
A: Carbohydrates don't cause diabetes, however eating too many calories overall (from carbohydrates or other types of food) can lead to diabetes in some people. Here's what's going on: Usually when a person eats, her or his blood glucose rises and in response insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, is released. Insulin helps cells in the body to absorb glucose from the blood to use for energy or store as fat. People with diabetes either don't produce enough insulin, or their bodies don't respond to the insulin, or both. As a result, glucose remains in the blood, depriving the body's cells of energy they need, and causing damage to blood vessels, heart, kidneys, eyes, and feet.