I am new

[RR1952]

I am 64, have 2 siblings have diabetes, so far kept it away. It's a lot of hard work to keeping it away. Now what do I do to not to get it... any advice? Thanks

[Anjijag]

Low carb,low sugar diet works if you stick to it. Is it type 2? If so read one of the books on the market that deals with low carb,low sugar diets and the tasty recipes that are included. Have regular exercise,ideally every day. Go for it and don't let diabetes rule your life!

[Gambit62]

At what age did your siblings develop diabetes and is there a strong family history of diabetes running through one side of the family? There is a MODY variant that runs in my mothers side of the family - this is a genetic variant that is a dominant gene so if you have the gene then you will develop the diabetes - this particular variant has onset between the ages of 30 and 45 which would mean that if the diabetes in your sibling was caused by this variant then the evidence is that you don't have the gene - I have no idea how prevalent this particular variant is but I am aware that MODY variants as a whole affect 2% of the population and can frequently be misdiagnosed as type 2 though they are closer to type 1 and actually respond better to treatments that promote production of insulin rather than drugs, like metformin that work on controlling insulin resistance.

In general the diabetes that develops later in life is type 2 - insulin resistance. To put it simply - as I understand it - if your blood sugar levels are high a normal person responds by producing insulin to convert those sugars into fats that it can store. However, if the levels of sugar are continually high then the body can react by producing anti-bodies that try to shut down this process - making you insulin resistant. This means that your body stops converting the sugars to fat and storing them and the sugar stays in your blood - which can lead to the build up of other damaging substances and generally lead to a lot of damage to your body that accumulates over time and will eventually kill you. So, common sense would say that the way of avoiding this reaction to high levels of sugar in your blood is to avoid having high levels of sugar in your blood.

Sugars in this context aren't the refined sugars in your sugar bowl but whole groups of related compounds that are extracted from your food by the digestive system and are rich in a lot of foods like starches. Refined sugars tend to be a big culprit in our diets today - but are often hidden in our foods so we don't realise they are there.

It can help to look at avoiding refined sugars completely and also processed foods as these are often processed in such ways that it makes it easier for our body to extract the sugars they cantain (and that can include refined flour). Checking foods for their glycemic index (a measure of how easily they are converted to sugars) is a good idea - this will help you to avoid foods that are going to be quickly converted to nutritional sugars and hence likely to cause spikey rises in your blood sugar levels - which is one thing that you want to avoid. Porridge for instance has a low glycemic index - the gut extracts the sugars it contains slowly. Most breakfast cereals are relatively high on the glycemic index - releasing sugars much quicker.

Exercising regularly is another thing that can help as this results in the sugars that you have in your blood being used up quickly as they are the source of energy used by your cells - so the sugar doesn't stay in your blood for as long.

A word of warning on diet though - particularly given your age. As you get older your stomach acidity levels can start to fall making it more difficult for your body to extract the nutrients it needs from your food so please, if at all possible, talk to your doctor before embarking on any radical changes to your diet - though I suspect they would be very supportive of moving to a diet that cuts down on the amount of pre-processed foods you eat - this is particularly true if you have any issues with things like acid reflux (which is generally assumed to be due to high stomach acidity but can also be due to low stomach acidity). You should also, ideally consult with a professional before embarking on any radical changes in exercise regimes.

[suramo Star in reply to Gambit62]

Gambit62

"actually respond better to treatments that promote production of insulin rather than drugs, like metformin that work on controlling insulin resistance"

I have a different opinion. Drugs are the last resort but a drug that reduces ir if far better than the ones whipping pancreas to produce more insulin. Type 2 is a hyperinsulinemic state. The key to reverse it is to convert into low insulinemic state.

"if the levels of sugar are continually high then the body can react by producing anti-bodies that try to shut down this process - making you insulin resistant."

That's not the pathogenesis.

1) high sugar levels don't produce antibodies.

2) antibodies are produced in type 1and LADA. These antibodies destroy beta cells and that leads to high bs.

All other advice are true. I partly agree to your last paragraph about gatric acidity.

[Gambit62 in reply to suramo]

thank you for your correction - I should have said that that cells stop responding properly to insulin, which puts the pancreas under pressure to produce more and more insulin until it is eventually unable to keep up with the induced need or more insulin.

The exact mechanism that causes cells to respond in this way is not understood and may be a mix of several factors.

[suramo Star in reply to Gambit62]

👍👍

[suramo Star]

RR1952

IDM. Lchf diet.