[Pops]

Dino, I've been pretty low, especially early on when I was eating as the ADA recommended and trying to keep my average BS low while eating a "regular" amount of carbs. The fast acting insulins can make your BS fall fast and hard leading to bad hypoglycemia if you make a miscalculation. The main reason I eat low carbs is so I can use mostly slow insulin.

Luckily I've never been so low as to have a seizure or be totally out of it necessitating an EMT or even a glucagon injection, never lost memory. But I do get a little talky, impatient, and later somewhat disoriented and out of focus, distracted etc.

Basically your brain needs a certain amount of glucose to function. It can run on ketones to an extent but the one big reason the liver makes glucose is to run the brain. Below a certain level it starts failing.

[C8]

Subjectivist: thanks for the reply- I am curious about some of you answers however and hope you can help me

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', '
')2, T2D is considered a progressive disease because if you do not control your diet you will become medicine dependent, and the quantity and type of medication will increase from that day until you die from any cause. If you are willing to do the hard work of controlling your diet and not cheating frequently then you can control the disease and slow or stop its progress for a long time.

[C8]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'I') was uninsurable after that in the regular market and the assigned risk pool rates were more than my total income so I was cash until recently with the ACA. Insulin runs about $400/month for the good, time release stuff, there are cheaper alternatives but they are much harder to use effectively. I use old fashion vial and needle. "Pumps" can probably run another $500/month but all they really do is meter out short acting insulin, essentially the same thing as taking the time release flavor. Testing supplies are expensive too, I use the cheapest WallyWorld brand which can run 50¢ a pop, 4-6 times a day if a person eats a lot of carbs and is diligent at testing.

[Tanada]

Below is the corporate sponsor page from the American Diabetes Association. Note that most of those corporate sponsor make their profits by selling drugs of 'specialty food' to persons in the USA who suffer from Diabetes.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ur Corporate Supporters

More than ever before, companies are joining forces with the American Diabetes Association to confront diabetes, fight it, and ultimately, help us stop this disease that affects 29.1 million Americans and another 86 million at risk.

We thank the following corporate supporters for their valuable support, and we urge other companies to Join the Millions® and help us in our fight to Stop Diabetes®.
Banting Circle Supporters

The Banting Circle Elite is the American Diabetes Association's highest level of recognition for companies that develop medicines and devices to help individuals living with diabetes. It is named for Sir Frederick Grant Banting, a Canadian medical scientist, doctor, Nobel Laureate, and co-discoverer of insulin. The annual total support for companies reaching the Banting Circle Elite level is at least $1,000,000. This includes sponsorship, educational grants, advertising in Association publications and exhibiting at the Annual Scientific Sessions and/or the Annual Advanced Postgraduate Course. Companies whose support total is at least $500,000 are recognized at the Banting Circle level.

Abbott
AstraZeneca
BD Medical-Diabetes Care
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
Eli Lilly
GlaxoSmithKline
Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Solutions
LifeScan Inc. and Animas Corp.
Medtronic
Merck
Novo Nordisk
Pfizer
Sanofi

National Strategic Partners

The consumer product companies that support the Association at the highest level of sponsor commitment comprise our National Strategic Partners. The cumulative annual support from these companies is at least $400,000 per year (includes sponsorship, advertising and promotional support) and they engage their employees and customers in the fight to stop diabetes.

Cary's Sugar Free Syrup
Colgate Total®
Kroger
Nutrisystem® D®
PEDS®
Walgreens

National Sponsors

Our National Sponsors support the Association with a annual financial commitment of at least $100,000 and conduct promotional activities to help raise awareness about the seriousness of diabetes.

Beiersdorf, Inc.
Boar's Head
Catherines
Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt
Davis Vision
Dr. Comfort
Gateway Health
Gold's Gym
Hass Avocado Board
iHealth
Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Merisant Company
MyHydrate
Sun Life Financial
Visionworks

Last Reviewed: January 28, 2014
Last Edited: October 10, 2014

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('C8', 'I')s there an aftermarket for pumps etc. after someone dies like craigslist, Ebay, etc? You seem pretty resourceful with gadgets, etc. and saving $. Can you buy stuff direct from China?

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('C8', 'S')ubjectivist: thanks for the reply- I am curious about some of you answers however and hope you can help me

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', '
')2, T2D is considered a progressive disease because if you do not control your diet you will become medicine dependent, and the quantity and type of medication will increase from that day until you die from any cause. If you are willing to do the hard work of controlling your diet and not cheating frequently then you can control the disease and slow or stop its progress for a long time.

[C8]

Thanks for all the replies- I always heard of people getting diabetes but it seemed mostly old people, the really overweight and people who had other conditions also. I had no idea it was this huge of a problem and affected this many people. I was really shocked when I saw the projections for future diabetics.

So often on this website I hear of things like Avian flu, Ebola, etc. But maybe this is the wrong emphasis. Maybe its the diseases we already see as common getting out of control that are the real danger. From my research it appears that diabetes could really become a major force in a slow societal collapse. It produces:

1. massive disability and relatively less productive people who need a great amount of resources

2. A possible source for Medicare/Medicaid insolvency if it grows according to projections- this might strongly contribute to a larger US debt induced bankruptcy

3. higher health premiums move more businesses overseas lead to more unemployment and unrest

Hopefully a cure or cheap effective treatment will be found

[Tanada]

Fascinating read from one of the foremost research physicians treating T2D

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') am sometimes asked about my journey and how I became so interested (obsessed?) about nutrition and dietary treatments. It’s kind of a funny thing. I barely had more than a passing interest in nutrition until the mid 2000s. At the time, the Atkins diet was in full swing. It was everywhere. Some family members had tried it and were ecstatic. However, like most conventionally trained physicians, I believed their arteries would eventually pay the price.

So my interest in nutrition began to grow around the mid 2000s when several interesting publications started to appear in the most prestigious medical journal in the world – the New England Journal of Medicine. These papers were randomized controlled trials of the Atkins styled diet versus the standard low-fat diet that I, along with thousands of other physicians, believed to be the ‘best’.

These studies all had the same conclusion. The Low Carb diet was significantly better at weight loss than the Low Fat diet. Even more stunning was that all the important parameters (cholesterol, blood sugars, blood pressure etc.) for heart disease were also much improved on the Low Carb diet. This was a puzzle, a real conundrum. This is how my journey began.

[onlooker]

this is a link to a book about the diabetes obesity epidemic and the coined phrase of the book Diabesity. http://www.amazon.com/Diabesity-Doctor- ... 0553383795
It is pretty conclusive that the overweight person cannot handle sugar as well as the thinner person, thus insulin levels spike with in turn leads to even more weight gain. So both diseases or afflictions go hand and hand.

[AgentR11]

On the T2 onset, postponement thing, I'll chime in a little. not a doc, not medical advice, see your own dang doc. blah blah.

Part of my physical involves an A1C.. A few years back, mine crept up near 6.0 where they start to say, "here take this pill". I asked the doc to let me fix it with exercise and a little bit of food control. He seemed skeptical, but I wasn't even fifty, and my feet weren't falling off, so he spotted me six months.

My experience is, and published medical studies confirm, aerobic exercise strongly enhances insulin sensitivity over a 24 hour post exercise window, and resistance exercise moderately enhances hepatic(liver) insulin sensitivity over a 72 hour window post exercise. You can use that knowledge, and tweak your diet to be slightly hypo-caloric, and if you still have beta cells, and still have some sensitivity to insulin, you can drop your A1C like a rock. Overlap their effects, line up higher carbs with higher sensitivity, worked like a champ. I even did a few "studies" of food, taking BS each 15 minutes, with high carbs and low sensitity stimulus I'd get peaks very close to that magic "200"; with high carbs and high sensitivity stimulus... flat as a board.

OTOH, it doesn't undo ANY damage. Its just managing where you are, and keeping it from progressing. My exercise and diet have been poor over the last few months (ill, then injured), and my A1C is right back up close to, but not at 6.0, pretty much where it was when we first noticed the problem. I'm able to exercise again now, and the damage wasn't as bad as I had predicted (doomer to the core), so I'd bet on a 5.2 at the next check in a few months.

BTW... getting destroyed by a 30 mile bike ride when you're accustomed to 80+ miles... very very sad panda.

nb... The scale of "exercise" is important. Aerobic intervals of 1-2 hours, HR sustained near 75% max; 3-5 / week; resistance freeweight lifting at near max, should be hard to walk or lift a briefcase afterwards. 1-2 / week. This "walk 20 minutes" thing might be great for health in general, but it won't do piddle to your insulin sensitivity.

[onlooker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ') Air pollution is triggering diabetes in 3.2 million people each year

[dissident]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ') Air pollution is triggering diabetes in 3.2 million people each year

[longpig]

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system attacking the pancreas, there are a number of factors that can cause this and is usually irreversible. Type 2 diabetes is simply the result of eating a very poor diet, it is reversible by following a very low fat diet, sugar is not the cause of type 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u4IiVbPdKk

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('longpig', 'T')ype 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system attacking the pancreas, there are a number of factors that can cause this and is usually irreversible. Type 2 diabetes is simply the result of eating a very poor diet, it is reversible by following a very low fat diet, sugar is not the cause of type 2.

[longpig]

No, fat in the diet causes insulin resistance. Carbohydrates causing type 2 diabetes is misinformation put out by the medical industry to keep people diabetic so they can sell them treatments for diabetes, the average cost for a type 2 diabetic is $13,700 per year. Studies have shown when type 2 diabetic people reduce their fat intake and increase carbohydrate intake they are quickly cured of diabetes.

[KaiserJeep]

You are a gullible fool. That makes no sense. Diabetes is caused by eating far more sugars than is healthy for you. Sugar or high fructose corn sweetener is added to most packaged foods in the USA today.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hey find that consumption of a high-fat diet and high intakes of saturated fat are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, this association disappears when they adjust for BMI.

[Cog]

Carbs ARE sugar. A high fat, high protein diet is the easiest way to defeat type 2 diabetes.

[Tanada]

I must agree with the rest, in terms of Bio-Chemistry the fructose half of table sugar and the main component of High Fructose Corn Syrup puts massive strain on the liver. This strain causes NAFLD Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and also Fatty Pancreas as a side effect, which in turn causes insulin resistance. Humans are omnivores with the primary capability to get biochemical (food) energy from two main sources, animal fats and complex carbohydrate plant materials like tasty leaves of lettuce.

Simple starches and sweet fruits are not the main food source of your ancestors, while they are fine in moderation they are distinctly unhealthy when consumed in large proportions like North Americans and other European culture regions consume them today.

On a scale of insulin demand starches and sugars have a very large demand placed on the pancreas, Protein mostly in the form of meat has a much lower demand and mostly for purposes of allowing cells to rebuild using the protein taken in. Fat and Complex Carbohydrates like Lettuce and Cabbage and Kale have a near zero insulin response, which is what you want. A big greasy burger wrapped in multiple leaves of lettuce is nearly perfect as far as your biochemistry is concerned while a doughnut made of fried super refined simple starches that is sweetened with sugar and bathed in artificial vegetable fat is distinctly unhealthy.