• Question: if you have diabeates can you die from eating cake

    Asked by jackgold to Carol, Ellie, John, Philip, Rebecca on 28 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: John Welford

      John Welford answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      Even without diabetes you can die from eating cake if you eat too much of it!

      People with diabetes can’t regulate sugar in the body as well as others so they need to be especially careful.

    • Photo: Rebecca Lacey

      Rebecca Lacey answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      Hi jackgold!

      If someone with diabetes ate lots of cake then they might go into what doctors call “diabetic ketoacidosis” which basically means that there is too much sugar in their blood. If someone has diabetes they don’t regulate their blood sugar very well and it can go high quite easily.

      Diabetic ketoacidosis can be life-threatening if it is not treated quickly. To treat it doctors have to give the patient insulin to help them deal with the excess sugar in the blood (diabetics don’t produce enough insulin).

    • Photo: Carol White

      Carol White answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      You’re definitely more likely to die from eating cake if you’re diabetic but ultimately it’s raw sugar that’s worst for diabetics. So a can of coke, or a bar of sugary sweet is much more dangerous because it can give a really big peak in blood sugars for diabetics which they can’t deal with well.

      Diabetics can eat cake though, my dad does!

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