Diabetes and Diet

My dad died from untreated diabetes last year (stroke/thrombosis), and it really frightened me because I know I am also at risk. I used to live on takeaways, get ZERO excersize and guzzle sugary drinks and snacks non stop. My dad never took the risk of diabetes seriously, so neither did I.

When he died I made a big effort to turn my life around, I lost two stone just by cutting out the take aways and walking a bit. I still had the occasional chocolate bars, take aways and alcohol however up until a couple of months ago.

In the last couple of months, in an effort to lose another two stone I’ve started a fairly strict 1,000 calroie per day diet. I initially tried to cut out all sugars from my diet (including fruit) but found this too difficult so I gave in and reintroduced fruit and honey.

At the moment my everyday diet is as follows:

Breakfast – either no added sugar museli with skimmed milk OR fruit with yoghurt and 1 tablespoon of honey

Snacks – One or two plums or pears

Lunch – Small portion of meat and salad, or maybe something like beans on toast

Dinner – Small portion of meat and salad or vegetables, and for desert a zero fat zero sugar yoghurt with 1-2 teaspoon of honey.

I drink either water or green tea (sometimes coffee – no sugar), and very occasionally naturally cloudy apple juice. I have 1-2 glasses of wine every friday evening, other than that no alcohol. I don’t have any fizzy drinks and certainly no diet drinks (because of the aspartame).

So I do still have sugar but its either from fruit or honey – I know both fruit and honey are high in sugar, it’s just not refined sugar. So does this still put me at risk of developing diabetes? And if I keep this diet up, will I be safe from diabetes?

Your father presumably had type 2 diabetes which comes on in later life? In case you don’t know the difference I will explain – In the pancreas are the islets of langerhans which produce insulin to process the sugar you eat – its a supply and demand system – when working properly the islets of langerhans produce exactly the right amount of insulin to deal with however much sugar you have eaten quickly. With type one diabetes this system does not work at all and the person will need insulin injections and a carefully worked out amount of sugar. With type 2 diabetes the supply and demand mechanism wears out. You may well have inherited the tendency to wear out the mechanism early but you have done the right thing to protect it. If you were eating loads of sugar and then none and then loads again your insulin production would veer all over the place and wear out more quickly – by stabilising sugar and losing weight you are not putting it under too much stress.

If you do develop diabetes however type 2 diabetes is much less serious and is usually controlled by diet – a similar diet to the one you have set out. You do need sugar and cutting it out completely will not help you – I am not sure if you realise there is sugar in all carbohydrates? The thing to do now is to eat healthily generally and avoid big intakes of sugar in food or alcohol – we should all do this. Have the occasional treat but in moderation. If you start to develop diabetes you will know by becoming very thirsty and sweaty after meals and feeling groggy and tired before them. You will smell a sweet smell on your skin and a smell of pear drops in your urine. (This smell is also produced by losing weight so don’t panic if you smell that now)

Here is a good link – follow it now but also allow yourself the odd treat.
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Diet.aspx

I’m 5′1", 146 lbs, BMI of 27.6 (pretty close to obese), and I’m 13 years old.
I want to lose a total of 36 lbs by August 15th (my 14th birthday) but I’m not sure where to start.
I walk and jog a lot, eat pretty healthy (no pork, love vegetables and fruits), but my weight fluctuates like crazy. It seems like every other month I’m either 10 lbs heavier or 10 lbs thinner. I want to lose weight because a lot of people in my family have diabetes and are overweight. Well that’s enough about me. Now to my question:

Where do I start and how do I keep going? Does anybody know any good diet/excersize plans that actually WORK (and won’t kill me or work me until I pass out)?
Oh yeah and I forgot to add: I’m a girl. =]

when i was your age i started to wanna lose weight (im 16 now) you can always use an elleptical, or treadmill, etc. make sure yu eat in moderation, dont cut down ur calorie intake to 1000 or less
but i reccoment the jillian michaels 30 day shred (google it) it helps soooo muchhh (its an excersise video)

plz help nobodys answering
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Akm.Hq4lSGrGU8mpD4MrK8Xty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20100407131915AAerYBo

Im a female, 15 years old and for a few years now ive had a dark brown ring around my neck, also black on my thighs and on my armpits. I exercise everyday and earlier this year took a mile running regime. i also trampoline daily and love eating fruits/vegetables. Recently i have been eating alot more than usual, but found myself not full, also on certain occasions not everyday but i find myself overly thirsty. I have been snapping and been quite mean to friends and co-workers that i usually get along quite well with, and ive been sleeping alot more then usual. Ive also been experiencing a little bit of blurriness and have decided to go to my opticians. i was wondering if anyone could shed light on this situation. Thankyou.

But you never thought to go to doctor for blood draw testing? That is the first thing you should do. It does not matter how active you are or how well you think you are eating.

Now, go get that doctor’s appointment as soon as possible so you can first off, set your mind at rest, and secondly you can start treatment if necessary as soon as possible. You have classic signs.

I normally eat maybe twice a day if I’m busy. I rarely eat sweets, I don’t like a lot of salt and I’m allergic to fresh fruits and vegetables. I have tried snacking but I have to force myself to eat snacks. I’ve tried yogurts but because they are so sweet it takes me days to finish one container. I’ve been to doctors and I don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure. I’ve been working out but I’m concerned about my diet.

Eating twice a day is horrible for your metabolism. You need to focus on a regular diet and eating structure. Eating plain yogurt can contain a high amount of sugar, so if you’re going to snack on it get a sugar free fat free version. Yoplait sells it I believe. Also, go and buy yourself a 2-liter water bottle and force yourself to chug it consistently throughout the day. This will hyper activate your metabolism and regulate your hunger. Yes! It will make you hungry again! Since you are not eating fresh fruits and veggies, I would suggest taking a basic multivitamin once a day and buying mix-in fiber for that 2 liters of water you should be drinking. Also, eat when you are hungry! Not when a certain time comes around such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You should be eating small, 400 calorie meals throughout the day. The average woman should be eating around 1,600 calories daily. Snack on nuts. Those are rich in fatty acids that are important to the function of your organs. Eat fish once a weeks and lean, trimmed meats other nights. Also, continue working out like you have been, and you should be on the fast track to an amazing metabolism and shedding pounds. In my links I have included a benefits of water page and your caloric intake calculator to see how many calories you should be consuming. Good luck and remain steadfast!

I used to weigh 410, and I have undergone a serious lifestyle change, not following any diet regimen, and i am currently 285, and i have developed, i guess you could say an addiction to my own smoothies. I put my servings of fruit and vegetables in a blender with some ice and water, and i never add sugar, things i use are like strawberries, blueberries, grapes, oranges, lemons, spinach, carrots, mango, banana.. and sometimes i will add a little bit of fresh "Lots of Pulp" FLordias Natural OJ non-concentrate. I have this like maybe once a day, about 40-48oz worth, after my workouts — sometimes i will add whey protein powder. My sister kinda scared me by sayin that she had a friend once that ate too much fruit she developed diabetes, and i shot her down, but it’s bothered me.. can I develop a health problem from eating too much fruit? or blending it into a drink? Thanks for input.

Contrary to popular myths, eating too much sugar *does* cause diabetes.

Sugar is sugar, whether from fruit or a candy bar. Increase the protein and fat in your diet and drop the sugar and you should lose weight.

Read the book "Cereal Killer" by Alan Watson for a good overview of the current research that explains why too many carbohydrates can be a health problem. Or watch the movie "Fat Head".

And the "food pyramid" is based on a flawed idea about what causes heart disease and diabetes dating from the 1960’s. We’ve learned a lot since then, and the culprit turns out to be a high carbohydrate diet.

hi im 17 birthday is tuesday, and latley i noticed i wake up and go to the bathroom at night, however i drink a lot of water, i eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and i run 3 miles everyday and no one in my family has ever had diabetes, & last year my blood test came back normal, however i am due for a blood test this summer (my doctor usually recommends one every year) so i dont think i do have it but then again maybe its because i drink more than eight bottles of water a day… i know but i love water i never drink soda, sugary drinks etc.

No you are just paranoid.