Which is relatively more dangerous to health - too much sugar which causes diabetes OR too much salt causing??

Question

I am 65 years, try to exercise daily (2km walk) and although careless about salt & sugar intake, do try to 'sweat' out whatever I take

Answer 1

too much sugar is worse...  aside from causing diabetes it causes a whole mess of other problems - obesity being the worst one

Answer 2

well neither of these really sweat out...

anything in excess isn't really all that good...

but just about everything in moderation is a good thing to strive for

Answer 3

too much sugar does not cause diabetes but it will create excess weight which can in turn put extra strain on the heart.  Too much salt will cause you to retain fluid as well which will put strain on heart and can also create excess weight.

Diabetes occurs when you become either insulin resistant or your pancreas does not produce enough insulin.  Weight gain is a risk factor but by itself is not a cause and is too general of a comment to say it is cause.  As an aside people with diabetes are also at risk for heart disease

Answer 4

High salt intake causes hypertension (high blood pressure).  I would say at 65 you are more at risk for the hypertension.  Try to keep the sodium intake at 2000 - 4000 grams per day.

Answer 5

Neither is good for you.  To answer your question, I would think salt is worst since everyone's blood pressure tends to get higher as you age.  And excessive salt is directly related to high blood pressure.  

This is a common myth that too much sugar causes diabetes.  As another poster mentioned, diabetes is a genetic disease.  But too much sugar can cause weight gain which can lead to other issues.

The fact you are exercising everyday will help as you are burning calories and keeping your metabolism up which will help.