Myths and Facts Diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body s ability to control the level of sugars in the blood. Many people have diabetes but don t know it. Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar as a child. Or your body may not be able to use the insulin it makes as well as it should.
Sugar then builds up in the blood.
High levels of sugar in the body damages blood vessels and can lead to kidney disease, nerve damage or blindness. Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans have diabetes as young as 30 years of age. More than 1 in 10 Mexican Americans 20 years or older have diabetes. Some people believe that taking extra insulin, not diabetes, is what makes someone sick. When someone with diabetes takes insulin, the body works better because it is getting more of something it makes naturally.