A Medco Health Solutions report found that spending on diabetes drugs could rise 70% by 2009, and was second only to cholesterol medications in 2006. Yet, myths about this condition abound. Life@work tells you what causes diabetes, and offers tips to help reduce the complications of the disease.

The following risk factors increase your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes: age, obesity, physical inactivity, and a high fat diet. Rarer causes of diabetes (including type 1 diabetes), include: certain medicines, as well as any illness that damages the pancreas and affects its ability to produce insulin. Eating sweets does not cause diabetes. However, it may cause obesity and this is associated with people developing Type 2 diabetes. Stress does not cause diabetes, although it may be a trigger for the body turning on itself as in the case of Type 1 diabetes. It does, however, make the symptoms worse for those who already have diabetes.

Diabetics can reduce heart disease by consuming ½ c. soy nuts. Half a cup of soy nuts (dry-roasted soybeans) every day, may work as well as anti-hypertension medication to lower blood pressure, a new study conducted on women at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found. A technique used in yoga to reduce stress and lower blood pressure is the Bhramari or Humming Bee. To perform this pose: Sit comfortably, eyes shut. Inhale and exhale deeply a few times. Inhale. While exhaling, hum gently, making an "mmm" sound. Lips must remain shut. You can also insert index fingers into each ear to feel the sound vibrating at your facial sinuses. This is one round. Do up to nine rounds. This exercise is used to create a meditative mind-set, for healing or controlling various ailments, from diabetes to digestive disorders. Pause for a moment today and enjoy some soy nuts and a humming bee pose.

A white elephant is a supposedly valuable possession whose upkeep exceeds its usefulness, and it is therefore a liability. Every type 2 diabetic is a valuable possession to someone: a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a daughter, a son...you get the picture. But when it comes to the complications of the disease - it costs the U.S. health system an extra $22.9 billion a year to treat these complications.

"It is a pretty significant wake-up call for people, or should be. It really points out the importance of managing the disease," said Willard Manning, a health economist at the University of Chicago who worked on the report.

Dr. Daniel Einhorn says "the fact that people are still getting complications means we are not using our tools effectively enough," When people fail to follow their diet, exercise and drug treatment plans, the disease leads to complications that boost the total health bill to $57.1 billion. "Either the patient doesn't recognize they have it and complications develop, or they are not good about adhering to their doctor's orders," he said, adding, "We've got to do a better job of managing the disease." Dr. Einhorn serves on the board of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

Of course, it's the patient -- NOT the drugs they are using. It couldn't possibly be the drugs.

Doctors are now finding patients who suffer from both type 1 and type 2 diabetes -- a phenomenon known as double diabetes. This development is predominantly due to the obesity epidemic.

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's inability to produce insulin, the hormone that ushers blood sugar to cells for energy. Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance -- the body's inability to properly use the hormone. Almost 30% of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, due to excess weight and lack of exercise. Generally, double-diabetes sufferers will often look as though they have the more common type 2 version because they're overweight. But subsequent blood tests reveal they also have type 1 disease.

Double diabetes might be caused, in part, by type 1 diabetics who are taking insulin but haven't made the other lifestyle changes necessary to control the disease. Sadly, one of the consequences of insulin use can be weight gain. The national trend toward unhealthy weight gain has spurred both the diabetes epidemic and this newer, more complex form of the disease, mirroring the obesity epidemic. This is an enigma that leaves gaping holes in the rationale of conventional medicine. So there it is-- insulin causes weight gain. Weight gain increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. There you have it: a diabetes double-whammy. No fair.