How can I support my wife who just learned that she has DIABETES?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Feb 14 2007, 12:50 PM) [snapback]390247[/snapback]</div>

I stopped taking multi-vitamins because they contained too much copper. Google copper and memory problems and see what you come up with.

I had high cholesterol for years, which resulted in short-term memory problems. I stumbled upon several reputable web sites, scientific studies, which revealed that too much copper inhibits your body's attempts at clearing plaques from your brain (caused by high cholesterol).

Trust me: everyone needs to get their cholesterol numbers in shape. Being a vegetarian won't help much because most cholesterol problems in Americans is from trans fats found in Crisco, french fries, cookies, almost all baked goods, etc.

High cholesterol + high copper = serious memory problems. Max recommended copper is 0.9 mg per day, my vitamins had 2.0 mg of copper. The multi-vitamins found their way into the garbage. My memory continues to improve.

Harry

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Feb 14 2007, 01:17 PM) [snapback]390281[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, the vitamin industry is always quick to say that your body can't tell the difference between vitamins from nature and synthetic but that's an arrogant presumption. All that they really know is that they themselves can't tell the difference, not that your body can't. I take a vitamin C supplement during the winter but that's it, the rest I get from food. Most soy milk that is fortified is very nutritious. The one that you had the link for is not one that I've tried myself but it's better than cow's milk. http://www.notmilk.com is an interesting site.

 

I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 1995, and got a lot of help from the Diabetes Forum on Compuserve. It still exists and is free, but it's not as active as it used to be.

YES, read all the things people have told you about. Here's a repeat of some and possibly some new information:

1. DO get a blood sugar meter. Mine can download numbers to a computer, but I prefer to keep track of things in an EXCEL spreadsheet. The MINIMUM testing to do is: when you wake up in the morning (fasting blood sugar), before your major meal (lunch, dinner, supper, whatever) and 2 hours later. You WILL notice patterns based on what you eat.
You can get a decent meter basically for free - watch for ads and coupons, and some doctors give them away. The real cost is in the test strips, but they should be at least partially covered by your medical insurance. The test strips for the 'name brand' meters generally average somewhere in the $1/strip range, maybe as low as 80 cents. But almost all supermarkets and drug stores carry 'generic' meters and sell the strips for them, around 50 cents/strip.

2. Fat content in the diet is extremely important for diabetics, especially Type II diabetics, because fat increases your resistance to insulin, whether it's produced by your own body or injected. So definitely try to stick to a low fat diet (definitely less than 30% of your calories, but try to go as low as 10%). (You, as the non-diabetic partner, can help a LOT with this by sticking to the same sort of diet.)

3. Medication may NOT be necessary. Mild aerobic exercise like walking and paying attention to healthy eating can allow diabetes to be controlled without medications. Most good doctors who understand diabetes (and there aren't a lot of them!) will want you to start with this approach, and see how the blood sugar behaves with that regimen before adding medications. (Taking walks is another area where you can help - go with her, and turn it into an enjoyable activity rather than just a prescribed 'chore'.)

4. Most type II diabetics who need medication can do well with oral medications that boost your own power to produce insulin; very few need to inject insulin (unlike Type I diabetics who cannot produce insulin in their own bodies).

5. Back to diet - learn to read food labels, and avoid high fat foods, and learn what you can 'substitute' - If you use cream in coffee, switch to regular milk, then lower fat milk, then skim, or even learn to drink black coffee; start using reduced-fat or no-fat salad dressings; try lemon juice and pepper on a baked potato instead of butter and sour cream. And learn that in non-fast-food restaurants, you can usually ask for special preparation of food - when you order broiled salmon, ask if they can prepare it with little or no fat and give you extra lemon, for example.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Feb 14 2007, 01:59 PM) [snapback]390307[/snapback]</div>

That's very interesting, Jeannie, I didn't know about fat increasing your resistance to insulin. That would mean staying away from even a lot of butter substitutes since they all have a lot of oil in them. Do you also have to stay away from nuts since they have a lot of fat? I'm guessing that you've learned a lot about how to get your protein from vegetables.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Feb 14 2007, 02:58 PM) [snapback]390306[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, me neither. No vitamin/mineral supplements for me. The only one that I should be taking and don't is Vitamin B12, as I am a vegetarian. I do eat dairy, but not daily. So, I'm probably not getting enough.

I hear Ester C is the best form of Vitamin C one can take, fyi. That was based on my research about 8 years ago, so maybe something new is out.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Feb 14 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]390322[/snapback]</div>

You should get Becoming Vegetarian, they have an entire section on B12. "Vitamin C in doses of 500 mg or more, taken within an hour of B12 sources, may destroy or decrease the availability of vitamin B12." Fortified soy milk will give you what you need, fortunately. They say to look for the words 'cobalamin' or 'cyanocobalamin' in the ingredients. B12 is one vitamin that you either have to get from animal products or a vitamin supplement. I ought to get to Whole Foods and get that supplement myself.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Feb 14 2007, 03:40 PM) [snapback]390339[/snapback]</div>

See???? I didn't know about C interfering w/ B12! Thanks for the info.

Yes, Whole Foods carries a sublingual form which is supposed to enter the blood through the capillaries under your tongue and be more absorbable than swallowing the vitamin. There's a new stamp on supplements that is indicative of independent testing to ensure the accuracy of content in correlation with the labeling. I think it's "GMP". Basically, you know that the pill contains that which is described on the label. It's probably not a perfect system as most aren't.

 

More on trans fats:

and for a 2% increase in energy from trans fatty acids the RR was 1.39 (1.15, 1.67; P = 0.0006). We estimated that replacing 2% of energy from trans fatty acids isoenergetically with polyunsaturated fat would lead to a 40% lower risk (RR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.75)." These researchers concluded that these data suggest that total fat and saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid intakes are not associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in women, but that trans fatty acids increase and polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce risk. Substituting nonhydrogenated polyunsaturated fatty acids for trans fatty acids would likely reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes substantially.

from: http://www.bantransfats.com/diabetes.html

Please, people, get informed on trans fats. It is literally killing you.

Harry

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Feb 14 2007, 04:10 PM) [snapback]390369[/snapback]</div>

The most depressing thing about having to shy from trans fats is the fact that I don't eat Teddy Grams any longer. Sniffle.

 

I'm mostly off of junk food and today I feel like I'm not out of the woods!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Feb 14 2007, 09:17 AM) [snapback]390223[/snapback]</div>

A pint??? I can't stop at anything less than half a gallon. (At which point I definitely feel bloated!) Which is why I seldom eat it.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Feb 14 2007, 10:59 AM) [snapback]390307[/snapback]</div>

And remember, that even though you are not diabetic, this diet is much healthier for you as well. My slogan (which I cannot always live by, but I do mostly) is: No food tastes as good as good health feels.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Feb 14 2007, 10:59 AM) [snapback]390307[/snapback]</div>

Just a tiny bit of black pepper alone is all a baked potato really needs. In fact, I love baked potatoes absolutely plain. But the best way to eat a baked potato is with beans. Best of all are home-made beans, but Bush's Best Vegetarian (fat-free) Beans from a can are not half bad.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Feb 14 2007, 12:24 PM) [snapback]390382[/snapback]</div>

You should be able to find graham crackers without trans-fats at a health-food store.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Feb 14 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]390382[/snapback]</div>

I've given up Archway cookies, which I used to eat morning, noon, and night.

But, I've found healthy substitutes for all the foods I used to eat with trans fats. Check out Newman's Own cookies: no trans fats, they are good, and they don't cost any more than regular cookies. Most Euro cookies are trans fats free.

I've switched to Smucker's old fashioned peanut butter. I used to get a load of trans fats from eating name brand peanut butter.

Get some trail mix, eat apples, drink grape juice, have a glass of red wine with dinner, etc. OJ with breakfast helps HDL. It's not hard to eat healthy, it just takes some effort and initiative to figure out what's bad and then substitute what is good.

Good health to all.

Harry

 

Hang in there. As people have mentioned it's so wide spread and there is so much info out there now about it. It's very manageable. It's not the big killer it was even just ten years ago. Go to the book store, there are a ton of great books out there. Diet and exercise is the key. You didn't say if your wife was going to have to take insulin or not?

Good luck and really, it's not that horrible.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Feb 14 2007, 01:38 PM) [snapback]390445[/snapback]</div>

I believe orange juice will raise your blood sugar level. So be aware of that. Most fruit juices are fairly high in sugar. Fruit is healthy, but only in moderation.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fphinney @ Feb 14 2007, 12:46 AM) [snapback]390037[/snapback]</div>

Invest...and I do mean invest...in a copy of "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution" by Richard K. Bernstein, MD.

Understand that diabetes is the definition of a seriously compromised carbohydrate metabolism, not a fat metabolism problem. The low-fat dogma that the American Diabetes Association continues to push is utter nonsense. Just look at who are their top funders...big agribusiness (grains) and big pharmaceuticals. Their policy is eat all the carbohydrates you want and then shoot up as much insulin you need to balance that (all while you continue to deteriorate from the complications of the disease). Very sadly, they don't have the diabetics' true interests at heart.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Feb 14 2007, 11:53 AM) [snapback]390205[/snapback]</div>

Soy is a big hoax. It's not as supposedly "healthy" as it's touted to be by the anti-meat eating people like PETA. Soy that Americans consume has generally not been fermented. Like required cooking of grains and beans, fermentation of soy neutralizes certain toxins that are found in the raw versions of all these foods.

For some great, non-mainstream-media-hyped, scientific evidence-based discussions about diabetes, soy, nutrition, health, etc., I highly recommend this blog: Weight of the Evidence

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Feb 14 2007, 06:19 PM) [snapback]390525[/snapback]</div>

Yes it will, as will any fruit or juice. And so will baked potatoes and graham crackers (with or without trans-fats).

 

I don't think anyone doubts diabetes is a problem with glucose metabolism/insulin deficiency/insulin resistance. However, it will be foolish to disregard the importance of maintaining a low-fat diet, as total body fat contributes to insulin resistance and diabetes-related alterations of lipid levels (specifically LDL levels) are an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular complications. Weight control is very important, and as already mentioned by others, some mild diabetics who are obese are able to control their disease sans medications with weight loss, exercise, and diet changes. Exercise is important, but for someone in their 70s, they should definitely check with their doctor before starting an exercise program. It is also crucial to control blood pressure.

It is very difficult to explain all of the issues accurately and have them be understood on a web forum. That is why it is important to have a good doctor (endocrinologist or good internist) guide new diabetics until they truly understand their disease.

Good luck.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 14 2007, 03:42 PM) [snapback]390537[/snapback]</div>

 

The South Beach diet is a very good way to go. It lowers the numbers in all areas, and you will lose weight.

My Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner told me about it and I went on it and it did wonders. She said that she recommends it for anyone who had problems with losing weight and also for those that are insulin resistant.

Basically, you do away with all the white stuff: flour, potatoes, sugar, low salt or no salt.

You will get most of the white stuff out of your system for the first 2 weeks. Then you will gradually add the good carbs, such as whole grains stuff, sweet potatoes.

But you will have to become very label aware. Most low-fat stuffs are loaded with sugar; most sugar-free stuff is loaded with fats, hydrogenated fats, and trans-fats. So you will have to read labels.

Get off of caffeine that will do a number on insulin resistance too.
Drink more water. Try and stay away from the artifical sweetners, especially Splenda. That has a chemical structure very similar to Deet according to my daughter's organic chemistry professor.

I personally, never felt better eating so healthy.

I also take omega-3 fish oil capsule, one a day to boost the good fish oil; and I use olive oil only for my salad dressing and eat lots of fresh veggies, and cook salmon, and chicken, and sometimes lean porkloin.

She will have to watch her fruits, and stay away from fruit juices.

So get the book, look it over, and make a decision. It will take some time getting use to it but both of you will benefit from it, seriously.

Don't just take my word for it, but run it by a nutritionist and they will tell you that it's great.

Hope this helps.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fphinney @ Feb 14 2007, 12:46 AM) [snapback]390037[/snapback]</div>

In the Medicare population, diabetes is among the most commonly-diagnosed medical conditions. Depending on exactly how you measure it, more than 20 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have diabetes. So, there has been a lot of emphasis on finding and treating diabetes in the Medicare population, and that means a) your doc will be well up on what ought to be done and b) doctors are much more aggressive now about making the diagnosis, which is why the reported prevalence of diabetes has been rising so rapidly in the elderly population, and why more cases are diagnosed right on the borderline rather than at higher levels of illness severity.

Anyway, the 20% of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes is split roughly 60/40 between uncomplicated diabetes and diabetes with some complications. Your task is now to stay in the uncomplicated diabetes group. Diabetes by itself, well controlled, adds very little to the overall burden of illness for an individual or to the total cost of health care for an individual. But the complications of diabetes -- heart disease, blindness, end-stage renal disease (kidney failure) are all really bad outcomes that you need to avoid. You avoid them by keeping blood sugar under control. If you do that, nothing bad will come of this. Most elderly with diabetes never acquire any of the severe complications that are the main reason diabetes is to be feared. Smart, capable, well-to-do people are far less likely than average to end up with complications, because they understand the really bad consequences of failure to control diabetes and have the resources and know-how available to get the diabetes under control.

The prevalence of the disease varies about two-fold acoss the states, lowest in upper midwest and Mountain states, highest in the South. It's strongly associated with the fraction of the population that is overweight and with the fraction that does not routinely get any physical activity. That pretty much tells you the non-medical steps your doctor will recommend - lose weight and get more exercise. Regarding diet and exercise, do what your doctor tells you to do is all the advice you need.

And, as you've probably gathered already, diabetes is not a single, uniform state, but comes in widely varying severity. For many elderly all that is required is a change of diet and exercise. For others, pills to control glucose metabolism will keep blood sugar at normal levels. The point about getting a meter is right on target, and in addition your doc should, at regular intervals (once or twice a year), give your wife a blood test (called HgbA1C) that tests for average blood sugar control over the longer term. It's almost guaranteed that he or she will do that.

In summary: This is a very common medical condition in the elderly. The problem is not diabetes itself, but the really bad complications that arise from uncontrolled diabetes. For that reason, doctors have gotten far more aggressive in making the diagosis of diabetes, so cases that would have been ignored 10 years ago are diagnosed and treated now. Chances are good that your wife is right on the borderline and has no complications yet. If she controls it well, she never will. Control might be a simple as lifestyle changes, or might require another couple of pills a day, or, in rare cases, something more aggressive than that. Physicians have been sensitized to this issue and have all the information at hand to push you in the right direction. Elderly individuals who are motivated and capable of controlling their diabetes never develop the complications.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(liverbomb @ Feb 15 2007, 12:08 AM) [snapback]390695[/snapback]</div>

Insulin resistance, as well as lipid profile, in the vast majority of diabetic cases, become a non-issue when one seriously controls their intake of carbohydrates in the first place and eats a paleolithic nutrient-dense diet of whole foods (not processed, fractioned or low- or non-fat anything) of lots of green vegetables (preferably organic), complete sources of all the essential amino acids found in organic grass-fed meats, poultry, fish and plenty of eggs (I eat no less than 4 per day), whole-fat raw cheeses (technically not paleolithic, but perfectly fine if you don't have an intolerance or alergy to dairy), and nuts and seeds, and use of only the finest cooking oils and fats being macadamia nut oil, extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and butter, which is also very beneficial for weight control. I am a former pre-diabetic, and I've lost 82 pounds this way. And, oh, by the way, my lipid panels are excellent now too.

It's the over idulgence in carbohydrates, refined ones in particular, in both the standard American junk food diet and also the ridiculous low-fat craze which has caused the epidemic of diabetes, and the progression toward diabetes most certainly can be stopped.