Diabetes

[Hawks]

A short/in-depth (oxymoronic, that is) guide to diabetes.. And for general discussion of said disease.

 

[spoiler=Diabetes Defined]

 

 

There are two main types of diabetes mellitus, Type 1 (aka juvenile, insulin-dependent) and Type 2 (aka adult-onset, insulin-independent). There is also gestational diabetes, which a woman can get while pregnant. For more info on that click the link to the Wiki page.

 

The factor in diabetes is insulin, or a lack of it. Insulin is a protein/hormone which allows the body's cells to use metabolized sugars. The analogy I like to use is that of a pirate and treasure chest. The pirate can't get into the chest without the key; that key is insulin. In type one, the keys are all gone. In type 2, you might say that some of the keys are lost and/or some are bent or broken and the pirate can't open the lock.

 

Type 1 diabetes is commonly regarded as an autoimmune disorder. It starts when your body's T cells (specialized white blood cells; they attack viruses and such) begin to attack your pancreas' beta cells, which are the cells which produce insulin. It is believed that the T cells do not recognize the beta cells as the body's own, and so attacks and kills them off. After a long enough time, the body does not produce any more beta cells (which is why type 1 is currently not reversible). It is not preventable in humans.

 

Up until the late 80's diabetes was very uncommon, and was usually diagnosed in children in adolescence (10-16 yrs). More recently, very young children have been diagnosed (as young as 1 week) and more adults are being diagnosed.

 

Type 1 is a very odd disease in that it is caused (as far as we know) by a myriad of things. In addition to being genetically susceptible, a number of things can trigger the autoimmune attack. Your risk is also increased if you have a first-degree relative with type 1. Studies have suggested that drinking cow's milk before 6 months of age, insufficient vitamin D, a lack of childhood exposure to common viruses, and stress can trigger the attack. There are many studies being done on various aspects of type 1, for more information you can Google it or ask me.

 

 

Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when one of two (or both) things happen. Your body produces too little insulin for your needs, or your body cannot efficiently use the insulin it has. Traditionally, it is known as adult-onset, because it was usually diagnosed in older, more overweight adults. With the rising weight of the American people, younger and younger kids are getting it, and are more at risk to get it. People of certain ethnicities and relatives with it are more likely to get it, and obviously obesity is a factor. Type 2 is sometimes preventable, and often a good excercise program and diet can alleviate the problem.

 

[spoiler=Treatment]

 

 

People with type one have a number of treatment options, centering around various ways to deliver the precious substance, insulin. Generally, they must also keep track of their blood glucose/sugar levels, with the use of a blood glucose monitor/meter.

 

 

The first and oldest option is injections. They fill a small syringe with a dose of insulin and inject it in their arm, stomach, thigh, or buttock. There are various math equations done to decide upon dosage; these depend on the person's blood glucose (BG) and the number of carbohydrates consumed. There are 2 main types of insulin, long-acting and short-acting. Oftentimes, a long-acting dose will be taken in the morning, which will allow that person to eat a certain amount of carbohydrates at a certain time (aka lunch). The morning dose will also cover whatever breakfast that person had. The same thing would happen at night, a long acting dose for overnight, and a short acting one for dinner.

 

This method does not allow for a lot of freedom, unless you want to constantly be giving yourself shots. It requires a daily schedule which is nearly the same every day, and can result in less efficient treatment.

 

 

The second option is insulin pens. These look just like a pen, but have insulin inside them. You calculate your dose, dial it in, then put it on your arm/etc and push the button. You may also have to take a daily shot of long-acting insulin. These offer slightly more freedom (portability), still at the expense of more pokes and math.

 

 

The third option is insulin pumps. You insert a catheter under the skin and insulin is piped in by a device about the size and look of a pager. The catheter is usually held in place with an adhesive and provides a place to remove the tubing at or near the infusion site. This allows you to take it off when you shower, exercise, or go swimming. The infusion set must be changed at least every three days. The catheter is inserted with the help of a needle; some sets are manual and others offer inserters which are spring-loaded. The insulin pump keeps a cartridge of insulin (generally 3mL) and pumps it in as necessary. Instead of a long-acting shot daily, the pump gives you a very small dose of short-acting insulin every few minutes; this is a 'basal'. Most new pumps calculate your dose (called a 'bolus') based on the carbs you ate and your current blood sugar (which you input). Some pumps also wirelessly communicate with your meter; you may also be able to control the pump with the meter. A few can also act as receivers for continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), which I'll cover later.

 

Pumps are really durable things; they're generally made of the same plastic as motorcycle helmets. For those afraid of needles, this offers a chance to only deal with one every three days, and some you don't even have to look at the needle. They're always getting better, more precise, with more features. There are a few models now that are self-contained; there's no tubing, you control it with a meter/PDA type device. You can also download your recent history (boluses, BGs, etc) to your computer and print out pretty graphs.

 

 

For type 2s, in addition to the probable meds associated with conditions you're likely to have (hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol) you can take a variety of medications. Some type 2s are also put on insulin; they have the same options as above. Traditional meds are in the Sulfonylurea group; metformin is a widely used drug. Your doctor will probably suggest a diet and weight control program, even if you're not overweight. (I'm not type 2 so I don't know a lot, imo there's not a lot to cover.)

 

 

In addition to your insulin or pills, you need to test your blood glucose (BG) often. This is done by the use of a blood glucose meter/monitor. There are many different ones on the market, ranging from ones that just tell you your BG, to ones that draw graphs and communicate with insulin pumps.

 

To use one, you poke your finger with a lancing device (I might call it a lancet too) until you get a drop of blood (the amount required varies by meter). You then 'feed' the strip the blood (it wicks up the strip) and wait the allotted time; somewhere from 5 seconds to a minute or so. Then it gives you your result, and you decide what to do based on it.

 

Some meters and doctors allow testing to be done on the arm or palm of the hand... This is sometimes helpful, especially if you have a habit of poking the same finger all the time; it builds up little scabs which generally result in pain and peeling skin.

 

There is also a device called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). It is another thing you stab into your body somewhere (same as where you can get injections and infusion sites) and it reads the glucose of the subcutaneous fluid every few minutes. It may or may not be very accurate, so you are advised to also test on a fingertip. These are somewhat invasive at the moment; the smallest one is about the size of a half-dollar coin (1-2 in across). They require a fair amount of calibration and must be changed every 2-3 days. Some communicate with insulin pumps, otherwise they transmit results to a remote/meter.

 

 

 

I think I got to a lot of stuff. So thanks for reading if you did, and consider yourself educated about what diabetes is and how it can be treated. If you have diabetes, it'd be nice to hear your opinion and experiences.

 

I've neglected to discuss the signs and symptoms, which are the most important. However, I am tired at the moment, and so will edit those in a bit later.

 

I've been a type 1 diabetic since December of 2002. For most of that time, I've used an insulin pump; at first an Animas 1100 (I think?), currently a Medtronic MiniMed 722. I'm planning on switching back to Animas in 2 years, when the warranty's up.

[marky428]

well i have type 1 diabetes, and i use novarapid and levimir, (no pump),

i got it since 19 sept 2008

 

 

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

 

 

*some spellings are wrong but im not english*

[fastortoise]

Huh, I didn't know you could 'get' type 1, I thought that was (close to) 100% hereditary.

[aquariusman]

well i have type 1 diabetes, and i use novarapid and levimir, (no pump),

i got it since 19 sept 2008

 

 

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

 

 

*some spellings are wrong but im not english*

Aren't diabetics meant to stay away from sugar? Or at least a high amount of sugar? That 6L of sugar-rich cola may well be the reason you pee so much. Why not just go with water?

[marky428]

that was before i had it,

the way i notice i had diabetes.

 

and i was the whole day thirsty.

so i had to drink something

[Kimberly]

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

This is basically how my mother discovered she was diabetic. People actually thought she was dying, initially, because her weightloss was so dramatic. She could easily down a 2liter bottle of soda in a matter of minutes. When she brought it up to her doctor, she was tested and told she was a Type 2 diabetic, though her mother and father were both type one diabetics. (So yeah, we're not too sure what type she is, but we're damn sure she's diabetic.)

 

She takes regular humalog throughout the day when her sugar spikes, and at night she takes a shot of Lantus (sp?), a long acting insulin, that's supposed to help her maintain normal sugar levels throughout the day.

[Beeskers503]

Yep, i was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes sept. 31 2009.

No one in my family ever had diabetes wither so it was just out of the blue.

i had the same symptons marky had and my mom noticed and took me to the doctor and my blood sugar was off the charts and when i got to the hospital i found out it was 650 =/. Luckily my mom noticed early so i didnt get sick or anything.

I take novalog before every meal(fast acting) and lantus at night (long acting).

[Hawks]

Like I said, I'm on a pump, so I use Humalog (fast-acting) whenever.

 

My blood sugar when I got into the pediatric ICU was 1275 mg/dl. I ought to be dead. My cousin was something like 650 when she was diagnosed, I know another kid whose was 1300 or close when he was too.

 

The more obvious signs are:

 

Incessant thirst, therefore excessive bathroom use.

Fatigue and weakness

Extreme weight loss

Extreme hunger to try to make up all the calories you're losing

 

Sometimes there's also a 'fruity' (acetone) smell to your breath (which is a byproduct of your body trying to burn the sugar)

Towards the very end your body starts rejecting all food... Then you'd probably fall into a coma and likely die.

[champion]

My dad has Type 1 Diabetus. He's had it since he was like 12. He used an Animas pump for a while but gained quite a bit of weight because of it or something, now he's just back to regular insulin shots.

[Saru Inc]

Diabetes is in my family history. So I was mad scared of getting it, and I'm about 99% sure I don't have it (according to the description of the symptoms on this thread.) I used to drink large amounts of soda and junk food all day. Now, I have the occasional glass at work, but I drink almost all water, as well as exercising a lot. My uncle has diabetes, I am NOT going to have it. (I'm also losing weight too :D )

[Saru Inc]

double post

[Albel]

Huh, I didn't know you could 'get' type 1, I thought that was (close to) 100% hereditary.

I have type 1 diabetes. I got this when I turned 7 years old. Before this, I only had one other person with diabetes and that was type 2. You can obtain it without hereditary influences.

 

As I said, Ive had type one since I was 7 years old making me have it for 10 years (11 this coming up september) I'm on a insulin pump and have been for about 6 years. I actually plan to get off the pump in the next few months just due to the fact that It used to work for me but now I can barley control my blood sugar levels anymore. Ill just switch to a pen.

[Hide=My pump][/hide]

The day I got it was very weird. My family and I was on a camping trip. Prior to that, I had begun to lose a lot of weight. I was a heavy kid then, weighed about 75 pounds. When we left I weighed around 63. I also felt sick a lot...and just didnt feel right. I would drink a ton of water everyday, and go to the restroom every 10 minuets. One minute I would be hyper and the next I was sleeping. The next day we left early and when to my family doctor were they checked my blood suagr and it was 451 mg/dl. To be honest I had no idea what was going on, all I knew was I was going into the hospital for some reason and my family was crying. I was put into the hospital and slowly did I learn what I had and how to treat it. I was put on a type of therapy were the hospital gave me a teddy bear that had diabetes. I would check his blood sugar and give him shots just like my self. I still have the bear and I will never give him up for any amount of money. A few weeks later our local newspaper did a story about the diabetes therapy and I was featured in the article.

[hide=Me, September 5th 1999 with my teddy bear oliver] [/hide]

And here is a picture of oliver now, one of my best friends.

[hide=] [/hide]

[Skeptical]

well i have type 1 diabetes, and i use novarapid and levimir, (no pump),

i got it since 19 sept 2008

 

 

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

 

 

*some spellings are wrong but im not english*

 

Uhh, hate to say it but consuming "6L of cola a day" might be considered an "environmental factor."

[Hawks]

well i have type 1 diabetes, and i use novarapid and levimir, (no pump),

i got it since 19 sept 2008

 

 

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

 

 

*some spellings are wrong but im not english*

 

Uhh, hate to say it but consuming "6L of cola a day" might be considered an environmental factor.

He's referring to the fact that when his blood sugar was really high prior to diagnosis, he was extremely thirsty; not that he normally drank 6L of cola a day.

[Skeptical]

well i have type 1 diabetes, and i use novarapid and levimir, (no pump),

i got it since 19 sept 2008

 

 

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

 

 

*some spellings are wrong but im not english*

 

Uhh, hate to say it but consuming "6L of cola a day" might be considered an environmental factor.

He's referring to the fact that when his blood sugar was really high prior to diagnosis, he was extremely thirsty; not that he normally drank 6L of cola a day.

 

Doesn't sound like that.

 

Care to clarify?

[Hawks]

When your body has a lack of insulin (and therefore energy), it tries to first get more sugar into the bloodstream, so the kidneys put out lots of sugar. After it realizes that's not working, it starts burning fat and muscle to get energy, and you get very thirsty because it is now trying to get the sugar out of the bloodstream in the only way it can, through the urine.

 

If you have never heard of diabetes, you don't know that drinking sugared soda is going to make it worse, you're just insanely thirsty and will drink anything you can get your hands on.

[Skeptical]

To outline;

 

I am 15, going on 16. I have a grandmother who is diabetic, cousins and possibly a sibling that are "pre-diabetic" I had issues with frequent urination (no, not the drug-company advertising induced "frequent" I mean at the age of 8 not being able to sleep 10 hours without being up to urinate twice.) As had been previously posted, that is a sign of either diabetes, or a disposition towards it.

 

I know that I might sound like a spammer sometimes, but I have to say that eating Paleo works. It can help you; I eat this way not because Health Canada tells me too (it doesn't; every time I eat a half dozen eggs cooked in butter, along with a slab of meat and a bowl of greens a nutritionist is crying.) nor because someone is selling me a miracle cure or some vague notion of healthfulness based on the most unscientific principles.. No one profits from Paleo, no one is selling anything.

 

So far, the most comprehensive, well written, and scientifically validated approach to Paleolithic eating is Dr. Kurt Harris's PaleoNu (Stands for paleolithic nutrition, link is to how to get started.) To explain how brilliant Dr. Harris is fairly difficult: he went to school for physics, switched to pursue his medical license and now owns a clinic and a contagious enthusiam for helping others and destroying false conventional wisdom that I haven't stumbled across since reading 'Good Calories Bad Calories' by Gary Taubes. A brief explanation of PaNu, taken from Paleonu.com:

 

The PāNu approach to paleolithic nutrition is derived from clinical medicine and basic sciences disciplined by knowledge of evolutionary biology and paleoanthropology. The best evidence from multiple disciplines supports eating an animal-based diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates and cereal grains.

 

What is PāNu?

 

PāNu is an approach to living centered on the thesis that the diseases of civilization are largely related to abandonment of the metabolic conditions we evolved under - what I have termed the "evolutionary metabolic milieu" - EM2.

 

Returning to EM2 is not based on paleolithic food re-enactment. You don't have to eat bugs or wooly mammoths. Unlike many popular "diets", it doesn't require a calculator, or even a recipe book once you learn some basic science about food.

 

We can make sense of many of the diseases that are prevalent now and relate them to some simple but profound changes that have occurred with the introduction of agriculture. These changes are related to how the food environment, including it's cultural and biological availability, interacts with the metabolic environment in our bodies.

 

My conception of the EM2 is not derived from a single science or field of inquiry, but draws first on medical sciences like biochemistry and endocrinology, and only then looks back with history, paleoanthropology and archaeology. It is becoming clear now that many of the diseases afflicting humanity are not a natural part of the aging process, but a side effect of technological and other powerful cultural changes in the way we eat and live that have only occurred over the past 10,000 years.

 

Switching to eating Paleo has helped me a lot, both physically and mentally: I am no longer slave to my meals, I can fast for hours upon hours, I no longer have blood sugar issues, my allergies are vastly reduced, I no longer need prescription nasal steroids, my lack of plaque and my former gum inflammation is lauded by my orthodontist.

 

I have spent the last twenty minutes writing this post, and it's really just to convince people to read this one article, or at least this quote:

 

Type II diabetes is a late consequence of the metabolic syndrome where the primary defect is in the liver - likely due to the neolithic agents fructose and n-6 PUFA injuring the liver and causing both liver and systemic inflammation.

 

You can prevent, slow, or even reverse diabetes if you alter the way you eat. I can't get my grandmother to alter the way she eats; she insists on treating doctors as infallible gods, and her health is worse off for it. Abandoning your slavery to modern nutritionism (coined by Micheal Pollan) is the real way to combat diabetes, not more drugs more lies and more profit for the Regime.

[Albel]

Finally got off the pump. Im still on it, but once school lets out ill be going to pens for insulin. Ill be on Lantus and Apidra. So happy to be off the damned pump :thumbup:

[Myweponsg00d]

well i have type 1 diabetes, and i use novarapid and levimir, (no pump),

i got it since 19 sept 2008

 

 

here are some thing where i reconised that i had diabetes

 

i had to go around each 20min to to toilet,

and my urine just smelled like sugar, the only way ur body can get rid of it without insuline

big weight loss, (16kilo in 1mounth)

always thirsty (6l of cola a day)

fast tired

a very white skin.

 

 

 

*some spellings are wrong but im not english*

 

Uhh, hate to say it but consuming "6L of cola a day" might be considered an "environmental factor."

 

 

LOL. wow

 

I'm thirsty so I'm gonna drink some cola.

 

Its hard to believe that people are still this clueless about their health.

[Hawks]

Regarding the PaNu thing or whatever:

Relevant to the theme of this blog, you should know that Type I DM is an order of magnitude more common in those with celiac disease and is more common in those with other autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc. Type I DM is an autoimmune disease that usually has onset in childhood. I believe it relates to leaky gut - with foreign proteins or peptides inducing an immune response via molecular mimicry in the context of an immune system that is likely impaired by excess n-6 linoleic acid and consequent 6:3 imbalance.

 

In type I DM, the initial damage is caused by the hyperglyemia - excess glycation leads to kidney, nerve and eye damage and inflammation, etc. Later, the damage is also caused by the excess injected insulin required when the patient is put on the ADA diet and the spikes in glucose that inevitably occur due to the inherent lack of precision of injected insulin. As an alternative to the insanity of the ADA, this can be minimized with VLC - a fatty acid/ketone -based metabolim that requires just enough insulin just to tell the liver to hang on the glycogen stores and facilitiate peripheral uptake, not the massive doses of insulin required to compensate for 6 times a day tsunamis of glucose arriving from the gut to keep the glucose from putting you in a coma.

 

This is complete bullcrap. Your doctor isn't going to give you a strict diet from the ADA. Your doctor is going to, optimally, teach you carb counting or to use the exchange system. The 'inherent lack of precision of injected insulin' is also crap. Maybe in the 50's that was the problem, but now we have synthesized insulins with different known active durations and peaks. Everyone's sensitivity to insulin is different, but once you know your number, you know exactly how much insulin you should give yourself. Of course, it'll change over time, but you'll know when it does and how to fix it.

 

Eating mostly fatty acids, especially animal-based ones, is going to cause you other problems as well.

 

I am on a pump. Over the course of this day I have eaten a probably normal diet for most teenagers, consisting of 3 meals and a lot of random snacks, including some cookies and candy. I have used about 50 units of insulin for all of my food. This is not a 'massive amount' of insulin, and had I wanted to have a killer headache, I could probably have given myself as little as 10 units over the course of the day and been fine, less the headache and risk of damage to myself over time.

 

In all, the only reason this diet helps slow/get rid of TYPE 2 diabetes is because it is low in carbs and fats are naturally easier to absorb into the body. However, carbohydrates are the true useful source of energy for our bodies and you are expending a lot of extra energy in burning fat to get your calories; this diet only works if you are an active person (many type 2s aren't).

 

Please explain his thoughts on 'damage done by insulin' as it makes absolutely no sense.

[Skeptical]

Regarding the PaNu thing or whatever:

Relevant to the theme of this blog, you should know that Type I DM is an order of magnitude more common in those with celiac disease and is more common in those with other autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc. Type I DM is an autoimmune disease that usually has onset in childhood. I believe it relates to leaky gut - with foreign proteins or peptides inducing an immune response via molecular mimicry in the context of an immune system that is likely impaired by excess n-6 linoleic acid and consequent 6:3 imbalance.

 

In type I DM, the initial damage is caused by the hyperglyemia - excess glycation leads to kidney, nerve and eye damage and inflammation, etc. Later, the damage is also caused by the excess injected insulin required when the patient is put on the ADA diet and the spikes in glucose that inevitably occur due to the inherent lack of precision of injected insulin. As an alternative to the insanity of the ADA, this can be minimized with VLC - a fatty acid/ketone -based metabolim that requires just enough insulin just to tell the liver to hang on the glycogen stores and facilitiate peripheral uptake, not the massive doses of insulin required to compensate for 6 times a day tsunamis of glucose arriving from the gut to keep the glucose from putting you in a coma.

 

This is complete bullcrap. Your doctor isn't going to give you a strict diet from the ADA. Your doctor is going to, optimally, teach you carb counting or to use the exchange system. The 'inherent lack of precision of injected insulin' is also crap. Maybe in the 50's that was the problem, but now we have synthesized insulins with different known active durations and peaks. Everyone's sensitivity to insulin is different, but once you know your number, you know exactly how much insulin you should give yourself. Of course, it'll change over time, but you'll know when it does and how forum.tip.iting mostly fatty acids, especially animal-based ones, is going to cause you other problems as well.

 

I am on a pump. Over the course of this day I have eaten a probably normal diet for most teenagers, consisting of 3 meals and a lot of random snacks, including some cookies and candy. I have used about 50 units of insulin for all of my food. This is not a 'massive amount' of insulin, and had I wanted to have a killer headache, I could probably have given myself as little as 10 units over the course of the day and been fine, less the headache and risk of damage to myself over time.

 

In all, the only reason this diet helps slow/get rid of TYPE 2 diabetes is because it is low in carbs and fats are naturally easier to absorb into the body. However, carbohydrates are the true useful source of energy for our bodies and you are expending a lot of extra energy in burning fat to get your calories; this diet only works if you are an active person (many type 2s aren't).

 

Please explain his thoughts on 'damage done by insulin' as it makes absolutely no sense.

 

Eating mostly fatty acids, especially animal-based ones, is going to cause you other problems as well.

 

I can tell you haven't read very much aside from what's been fed to you by CW. It's not worth my time to do the research and present the evidence: you're not at that stage yet. I put up this post to promote awareness: I'm not pretending to be a doctor, or to have read (and understood) every single study published on the topic.

[Hawks]

CW?

 

And why am I not? I read all of that particular article, and also the definition of the diet/lifestyle, so please explain to me the reasoning behind the whole insulin thing. You'd think if there was something that was legitimate, I would have heard about it over the course of the seven years I've been living with diabetes.

[Skeptical]

CW?

 

And why am I not? I read all of that particular article, and also the definition of the diet/lifestyle, so please explain to me the reasoning behind the whole insulin thing. You'd think if there was something that was legitimate, I would have heard about it over the course of the seven years I've been living with diabetes.

 

Sorry, sometimes I forget which forum I'm on. CW = conventional wisdom.

 

Coventional widsom is the reason that we still are told to fear consuming saturated fats and cholesterol: essentially, people don't want to hear anything contrarian to the viewpoints they were taught and now espouse: anyone who can read and is aware of basic scientific principles should agree with the statement "Ancel Keys is an entirely unintentional pseudo-scientific fraud."

 

Simply enough: spikes in your blood sugar levels are bad for you, and yet instead of trying to determine and remove the cause (carbohydrates in the Western diet) we insist on trying to control it with insulin. When your blood sugars are wandering around, it's quite bad.

 

Article of interest: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14046621.php

 

As I've said, my primary interest is in evolutionary diet and historical logical biology. My studies of diabetes are limited, and Dr. Harris is one of the few people who have actually read any of the medical studies and not just blindly accepted CW as the "gods and demi-gods in all their glory have granted us."

[Asmodeous4]

I could be diabetic in later life, in fact it's incredibly likely. I have had a history of pancreatic problems and 2 operations on my pancreas, the whole of my mother's line has had something wrong with their pancreas in fact. My mum has genetic pancreatitis and gets the occasional attack, as does my sister, who has also had an operation, my Uncle is diabetic and my Gran died of pancreatic cancer...It doesn't look good for me on the diabetes front ;)

[Skeptical]

I could be diabetic in later life, in fact it's incredibly likely. I have had a history of pancreatic problems and 2 operations on my pancreas, the whole of my mother's line has had something wrong with their pancreas in fact. My mum has genetic pancreatitis and gets the occasional attack, as does my sister, who has also had an operation, my Uncle is diabetic and my Gran died of pancreatic cancer...It doesn't look good for me on the diabetes front ;)

 

Avoid carbs, and don't eat sugar. Period.

 

Not looking so great for me either, until you start to examine the fact that diet has as much, if not more of an effect on people that genetics.