How do I avoid becoming diabetic? i'm ADDICTED to all things sugar.?

My mom tells me that if I continue eating like I do, I will most likely become diabetic. It runs on my dads side of the family...[they are also overweight, i don't know if that has anything to do with it]. I eat candy constantly, always have a soda in my hand, and OVERLOAD my coffee, especially at starbucks, with sugar.

i'm pretty skinny,100-105 pounds, (it yoyos), and I'm 5'4. I'm 13.
I also have a low immune system and rheumatoid arthritis, if that helps.

I'm honestly worried here...
we were at ihop the other day and a girl my age collapsed in the bathroom of what was said to be a diabetic coma, and it really got me thinking.

I absolutely HATE needles and cant stand the thought of pricking my finger, so I'll take all the help I can get!

Thanks so far to all that have answered.

I'm a vegetarian, so meat is not an option for me.

I don't eat TOTALLY unhealthy, but I do LOVE sugar, and I can see how it can be a bad thing if I don't cut down.

I also don't use splenda...because it causes cancer in lab rats and is supposedly extremely bad for you, but I will take alot of these answers into consideration.

As for soda, when we have it, [it goes fast between a family of four...mom, dad, brother, me.], I'll drink anywhere from 2-4 a day.

I love tea...but I really only like the sweet kind, and as for candy, since I got lots of chocolate for christmas, I've been eating it a couple times a week whenever I feel like it.

My weight isn't an issue...but I also know alot of people my age who has diabetes that are as thin as I am...

I just REALLY don't want my love for sugar to affect my health.

Unfortunately, at this time nobody knows what causes diabetes. However, eating too much sugar (as the sole cause) has been proven to be nothing more than an old wives tale.

There is a lot of study about obesity being the number one cause, especially since obesity bogs down the rest of the system and causes stress on the rest of the body (including insulin utilization).

The biggest thing I can say for sure is that the safest and healthiest thing to do is enjoy all things in moderation. Too much of anything is very bad for you in the long run, just as too little is bad.... nature seeks a balance in all things.

Find something you like that isnt that much sugar and become ADDICTED to that.

Stop eating all the sugar, it will catch up with you. Just eat healthy, lots of fruit and veggies and lean meats. Eat sweets in moderation. Exercise on a regular basis.

use splenda or sweet & low on food. use that ocean spray stuff for drinks.

Just stop go to a doctor to get advice, they can tell you a diet that works and that will slowly take you off of your habit of sugar

GOOD LUCK!!!!

cold turkey! That's probably your best bet. Just quit eating anything you know has white sugar and white refined flour. simple carbs are pretty bad for you. That means no more fast food! You don't have to go overboard, but if you truly feel addicted, that's the way to get your triglycerides down, and they're part of the culprit.

Learn to drink your coffee black, or with sucralose (that's the best sweetener for diabetics, and surely for diabetic prevention), Don't drink so much soda, and when you must (one a day is too many) drink diets, and try to find one sweetened only with sucralose or saccharine, that aspartame causes more problems than it tries to avoid.

Try and limit yourself to wat you eat per day. Substitute some of you soda for water or juice, it's much better for you! Try to only have 2 cans of soda a day. Once you actually start not drinking it, after a while you just forget about it. I personally am not a fan of soda myself, however I will have the odd sprite every now and again.

As for the candy problem. Try cutting that down too much, I don't know how much you mean by "constantly," but try only having one or two chocolate bars a day.

Also try using sweetners instead of sugar, this will help a lot.

Being addicted to sugar is something simple that can be fixed.

Drop the soda.

You can eat a candy bar every now & again, but stick to cans of juice, not soda. EAT HEALTHY. The only reason right now you love sugar, is becuz your, well, attatched! You hooked yourself onto it. You do the same to heathly stuff.......

Good Luck!
*~D-Girl~*

it's not the sugar intake its your weight....keep your weight low and eat all the sugar you want......its still not healthy, but you wont get diabetes.

ask your mom to get the book Sugar Blues by william Duffy, if you read how bad sugar really is it might help discourage you.
try eating fruit- i love sugar too so having at least something sweet helps

Don't eat fast or drink a lot of soda. You may be suffering from pica a lack of nutrients that makes you crave sugar and all that processed junk food you eat have food additives that make you crave more food. Eat generic or grow your own food because companies don't care about our health and generic foods are too cheep too add a lot of additives. Eat to live don't live to eat. But your young don't worry so much if your not over weight just have sugar every once in a while you'll be fine.

Drink less soda, if you can. Try drinking water instead. I know it's hard but try it once in a while at first.

Try switching to eating fruits that are sweet when you're craving sugar. Have an apple, a banana, or some strawberries. It will satisfy your sugar craving and benefit your body in other ways. For instance, an apple is fibrous and a great snack to stave off hunger. Bananas are loaded with potassium which is great for blood pressure and good for reducing muscle cramping during exercise. Strawberries are great because they are loaded with antioxidants. Those are just some examples. There are lots of sweet tasting fruits and most of them have other great health benefits!

My Grandmother was diabetic. She died from some of the symptoms in her late 70s. I don't blame you for not wanting it.

when you feel like your going to eat candy think of how bad your teeth will get and how you might develope diabetis, and how you could have to get a needle in your skin everyday. there is another thing you could try too, and that is making a freah smoothie, it's healthy, good, and you don't have to worry about sugar.