Diabetes - What Is It, Why Does One Get It, Etc??

[R K T]

I got my physical last Feb and blood tests showed pre-diabetic. Doc immediately wanted to prescribe meds. After discussing, she finally said I could try changing my diet instead of meds. I started reading ingredients of what I was consuming daily.....SUGAR was the number 1 or 2 listed in just about everything. Completely changed what I was eating, no sugar, very low carbs etc. Fortunately my wife took control and became my "boss"! After 3 months, went back in for blood work. I had lost 38 lbs and my numbers were actually below what they were supposed to be. No meds, just diet.

[Tobra]

Kudos to you Robert

Supes, the thing that infuriates me about the little kids getting adult onset diabetes is that it is 100% the fault of the parents and almost certainly could be avoided.

I am of the opinion that almost all adult onset diabetics(T2) could control their blood sugars with diet and exercise

[Instrument 41]

Tobra, appreciate the passion but there are huge numbers of children that have diabetes that are not the fault of the parent. But....lazy parenting is going to lead to more adult onset diabetes.

[Tobra]

You are thinking of T1 diabetics, which is more of a luck of the draw thing. I think it would be accurate to say that 100% of the children with T2 diabetes could be prevented, or at least delayed.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by jyl

I was thinking, suppose HFCS are a meaningful contributor to diabetes. Would that substance ever be taken off the market or regulated? The food industry would attack the science like it was global warming.

Too late! Watched a pro-HFCS commercial yesterday. The basis of the commercial?

"Sugar is sugar no matter if it comes from cane or corn! How can one be bad and the other isn't?"

Apparently "sugar" now comes in multiple chemical formulas...

[sjf911]

Type 2 diabetes is a very complex disorder with a strong but highly varied genetic component. The simple fact is that type 2 diabetics are born insulin resistant. It simply takes more insulin to achieve normal glucose control from birth. A number of things add to this. There is a correlation with circulating FFA's (free fatty acids) and insulin resistance. The more fat you carry, the more FFA's you have in circulation and the more insulin resistant you are. Also, skeletal muscle is a big player in insulin sensitivity. The less exercise you get and the lower you are on the fitness curve, the more insulin resistant you will be. There also seems to be a large degree of variability in individuals in pancreatic insulin production and durability leading to a concept of "pancreatic fatigue". This means, the more you stress your sugar/insulin pathway (simple carbs, excess calories, HFCS, etc.), the more you fatigue your pancreas resulting in declining insulin production. At some point your pancreas is just not able to produce enough insulin to overcome you insulin resistance and you become diabetic.

[Paul_Heery]

In my non-professional, ill-informed opinion, HFCS is at the heart of the obesity and T2 diabetes problems in this country. HFCS consists of both fructose and glucose. The ingestion of fructose does not trigger a release of leptin in your system. Leptin is a hormone that tells your body to stop eating when it’s full by signaling the brain to stop sending hunger signals.

With your brain not telling you to stop, you continue to ingest and people become obese and/or develop Type 2.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by R K T

I got my physical last Feb and blood tests showed pre-diabetic. Doc immediately wanted to prescribe meds. After discussing, she finally said I could try changing my diet instead of meds. I started reading ingredients of what I was consuming daily.....SUGAR was the number 1 or 2 listed in just about everything. Completely changed what I was eating, no sugar, very low carbs etc. Fortunately my wife took control and became my "boss"! After 3 months, went back in for blood work. I had lost 38 lbs and my numbers were actually below what they were supposed to be. No meds, just diet.

IF YOU TAKE THE MED YOUR HC INSURANCE CO WILL CLASSIFY YOU AS BEING DIABETIC..and then guess what

[Instrument 41]

Your labled a diabetic and getting life insurance is not very easy and/or cheap

[jyl]

There's money in HFCS. There's no money in no HFCS.
Since "the business of America is business", as a forgettable President once said, there will be tons of HFCS in the average American's diet for a long time.
In Europe, HFCS production is limited by law, so most sweetener is still conventional sugar.

I don't consume much HCFS. Maybe one soda a month, and cook from scratch, don't use much processed food. I guess I get some HFCS through commercial sauces.