Is it possible to beat early stage diabetes?

[LegalEagle-ish]

I have just had a blood test that shows I may have the early stages of adult onset diabetes and wondered if anyone knows if it can be halted or reversed if I manage to give up sugar (damn that will be hard!) or lose weight.

Does anyone have any advice on managing or beating diabetes at the early stage (or even when it has become full-blown diabetes).

Has anyone managed to halt it in it's tracks?

[Pickle]

I'm fairly sure you can halt it (if not reverse it) by adopting a healthy eating and exercise regime - certainly losing weight will help if you're currently carrying a bit of excess weight. I had a client a few years ago who had early signs of diabetes and she had been told to come to my classes by her doctor as a way to help (I used to run weight loss classes).

Might be worth getting a referral to a nutritionist or similar to get some good advice on what you should & shouldn't be eating.

Good luck.

[candj]

Adopting a low GI (glycaemic index) diet would help lose the weight and make you feel full and keep your blood sugar level stable. This was recommended to my husband by his GP and although my husband doesn't have diabetes, he did grow up on a starchy potato based diet in the old country which was rather unhealthy in the long run. There are loads of books on low GI eating.

Very best of luck.

ps- alcohol is metabolised as sugar in the body, so cutting down on drinking would also be beneficial.

[dulwichmum]

Poor legalEagle-ish,

What a shame. Why don't you go to your GP and ask for a referral to a consultant so that you can get advice, also the NHS direct web site can be worth a look.

DM

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

My friend's father in his late fifties completely reversed his diabetes through diet and walking - he lost four stone.

[LegalEagle-ish]

Thanks for the advice. It's still early yet, i need another blood test next week before i get any referrals but i wanted to start on changing my diet straight away to see if that helps.

I've been looking for info on what i can and can't eat and drink. Is all alcohol bad or are some worse than others?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Not sure, but friend's dad has a glass of red wine every evening which apparently helps his cholestrol!

[candj]

I think alcohol should be kept to a minimum, like 200mls per day for men and I believe red and white wine is better for the antioxidant properties. I'm not a doctor though, just someone who has read a book or two on GI diets, so please ask your GP about it.

Best,

-C

Edited to say cross posted with PGC, but there are health benefits to drinking ONE glass of wine a day.

[Nero]

I would take advice directly from your GP and get him/her to refer you to a dietician. In the meantime, regular exercise, cutting back on empty sugars and starches such as white bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and alcohol and good sleep is what I would recommend. I wouldn't ditch everything, though, but if you are very keen on the booze and the chips and the cakes, then really cut back.

I read some research that said that it is possible to get your body to readjust its reaction to insulin, which spkes when sugary foods are broke down, through short bursts of intensive exercise.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I have type 2 diabetes. The Gardens Surgery has a great Diabetes specialist nurse and I suspect other GP practices will have the same.

You can keep it at bay, but it requires you to cut out alcohol and sugary foods, fruit juices, limit the amount of fresh fruit you eat (3 pieces per day) and look at the ingredients tables when you buy food. Aim for less that 10g of sugar per 100g of content. It is frightening to see that so much of what we eat consists of 25% plus of sugar.

Complex, unrefined foods are better as your body has time to break down the food and deal with it effectively. Quick hit, refined foods overload the body with sugar too quickly. Thus fresh orange = OK, orange juice = not OK.

Weight is a big issue, cut out fatty foods and lose weight.

However the health professionals do tend to be a bit unrealistic and preachy in my opinion and would have you eating raw oats and water, followed by a 20 mile run everyday. My GP's dietitian was more realistic and suggested that an occasional treat was OK, so I have a drink occasionally. Otherwise its Diet Coke and soda water with lime.

Its a pain at time, but what is the alternative? Full blown, uncontrolled diabetes = blindness, foot problems leading to amputation, heart attacks, strokes and early death. Such things are quite motivational.

[Robyn0312]

In addition to the GI diet they can also give you Metformin if your in the early stages - they did it for me and it also conveniently caused my weight to drop a few dress sizes - which in turn helps the problem itself.

The discipline is what I have issues with but once you get into a routine its OK - I found (as Im too impatient to read all the labels in suprmarkets) that i just bought all the ingredients and cooked from scratch so you have a tight control over whats in your food.

I agree with Paleogus - the alternatives make lifestyle change seem like quite a small commitment.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I too am on Metformin and a blood pressure pill and I suspect that at some point a statin will be included in the mix.

Isnt middle age marvellous ..

[dulwichmum]

Michael darling, you are still in your prime sweetie. Your restraint in the face of a tray of Krispy Kreme has been an example to me.

[Michael Palaeologus]

This is true, only last week on the train I was pounced upon by a 6'6'' Brickie who attempted to foist Krispi Kreme donuts on me. I resisted manfully.

Who were they for DM? You were rather coy when quizzed on the matter ..

[dulwichmum]

I bought them for my new au pair. She is too damn slim for my liking. Tonight I gave her potato and pasta bake with crumbled tortilla chip topping for supper and boil washed her acrylic lingerie with a pair of my old jeans.

[bigbadwolf]

I know I implied you're a bitch but what happened to the scraps you leave me in the evening DM. And more to the point whats with your new Albanian groundkeepers, you know Tarkan and trigger happy Dino armed with 9 mils! What happened to Mr McGregor and his over n under? Ms Wolf Dug two slugs from my leg this morning! Are all your staff wanted by the Hague! Sort it out or next time one of your Falcons flies off and you want it located ask Woofthedog as I hear he's looking for work. Good day to you!!!

[dulwichmum]

I am not ignoring you Mr Wolf, it is just that, for once, I don't quite know what to say!

[Mikecg]

Theres a first.

[louisiana]

Pulses: lentils, beans, chick peas. You can do great things with them and all have low GI. Sourdough bread.

[andymat]

My Mum has type 2. Controlled through exercise, better diet and a few other lifestyle changes.

[LegalEagle-ish]

I've heard that there is a natural sweetner called stevia which is much healthier than the others (Aspatame is supposed be really scary) so that might help.

I'm going to try to ease out of my diet all the high carb stuff I live off, like bread, rice and pasta. Sourdough bread sounds nice tho.

Getting back into taekwondo with my daughter too.

I feel a lot better hearing from people who have managed to recover from this tho, and the new, slimmer, healthy image of me that I have in my head right now is a good motivator!

[legalbeagle]

I had gestational diabetes and I found this website very useful: www.diabetes.org.uk. They have some very practical advice on diet in particular.

[cate]

Let's get Bon3yard to come up with some great GI recipes. His lentil soups are already there. The GI way of eating is healthy overall for everyone. Brown pita bread is good, bran flakes, lots of pulses as already mentioned, skim milk are a few things. I have a book somewhere which has the foods listed in order of green - low GI, yellow, so-so and red, high.

[ThinLizzy]

Hi Legal,

I'm a Type 2 diabetes researcher -- and if you have early stages Diabetes Mellitus, it means you have early stages Type 2, where the pancreas is starting to produce less insulin, or the insulin produced is not sufficiently helping your adipose tissue to store glycogen. You can control by cutting down high sugar foods and getting more exercise and of course losing weight. That should do the trick -- and you have to stick to it! But, if you carry on eating foods high in sugar (and this includes some fruit unfortunately, and starchy food), your pancreas will get even more 'run-down' and produce less and less insulin. By then you'll either need to go on Metformin (pills to make the insulin you are producing more effective), or insulin injections (to give your body the insulin that it lacks). You are lucky that you have a chance to do something about it :)

TL

[LegalEagle-ish]

Legalbeagle - thanks for the diabetes link - I've registered for their e-news.

Ms Lizzy - Which fruit should I avoid? What about wholemeal bread?