So… all the individuals in this study were selected from a cohort that could attest that they picked their own diabetes-free ancestry in advance of birth, eh? And that they made sure (prior to their own births) that their mothers ate perfectly, slept a full 8-10 hours nightly, and lived a completely stress-free life, too?
It’s ■■■■■■■■. The tendency to develop insulin resistance is genetically determined, and in some people the trigger for that tendency is environmental, but in others it isn’t. Person A can chow carbs day and night and spike insulin all over the place and never exercise yet will not develop insulin resistance. Person B can do the same thing and become insulin resistant but never develop diabetes. Person C can do the same thing and be in full-fledged diabetes by the time he/she is 30. Person D, on the other hand, can eat a balanced diet and exercise and STILL develop T2 diabetes. None of them have any control over their DNA, not to mention the fact that there’s a great deal of research coming in that shows that parental exposures affect children in utero and can influence later development of diseases. So unless they’ve found a way to control for the fact that most people don’t have a full genetic analysis showing what disease tendencies exist in their DNA, AND for the fact that NOBODY can alter their mother’s behavior while she’s carrying them, these results mean bupkes. And I’ll bet all the loose change in all the fountains in Italy that this study was undertaken by someone with ties to the insurance industry. Just looking for another reason to deny patient claims.
Completely agree with Elizabeth. Obesity isn’t a risk factor, it’s a cofactor. There’s a subtle but important difference there. The hormone that causes fat deposition is called insulin. It just so happens a low carb diet and exercise lower insulin resistance, requirements, and production, thus also limiting fat deposition in some people. The same therapy happens to address both issues. Many doctors and the public don’t get this because they still think eating fat is what makes people fat when it’s carbs because, without insulin, fat cannot be stored no matter how much you eat. Low carb diets typically address high cholesterol too. No one is saying high cholesterol causes diabetes and saying obesity does makes about as much sense, but these are the doctors still pushing statins instead of low carb for cholesterol. As Elizabeth said one person may be predisposed to becoming insulin resistant and diabetic on a USDA recommended menu whereas another may experience no problems at all.
This and other papers strongly suggest T2 diabetes is autoimmune like T1: T2 autoimmune
The climate with doctors and the general public with respect to T2 right now reminds me of the early days of AIDS when it was presumed someone who had it deserved it. This was good cover for people who didn’t understand why it happened or how to fix it.
When my symptoms first hit me hard I was 5’11" and 165 pounds and doing hard labor up to 18 hours a day. Undiagnosed, I quickly ballooned to 220 due to the excessive insulin production. I was still eating the same thing I had the previous 45 years. Now that I’m dxed, ultra low carb, I’m 168 pounds thanks to normalized insulin levels despite the fact I may eat more and more fatty foods than I ever did.
Yes, I’m able to normalize my bgs with a ridiculously low carb diet and lots of exercise. That isn’t normal. I shouldn’t have been expected to know that. It’s my pancreas’s fault not mine. I only get symptoms when I listen to doctors, the USDA, and the ADA. No matter what I do my missing beta cells won’t grow back. Ultra low carb and exercise will not make me not be a diabetic, they’ll simply allow me not to manifest symptoms for an undetermined period. To me the idea many people can avoid diabetes by diet and exercise is crazy, if they could develop it they already have it. Until the doctors catch up they’ll put the onus on us.
My comment is there are people who weigh 98lbs soaking wet, and they are diabetic. There are little kids who have diabetes, not their fault. Diabetes says your pancreas isn’t working right, is not working at all, or you have something wrong that affects how your body reacts to different foods. YOUR fault, I think not. As for insurance companies, I can see that being tried, but not succeeding…then they’d have to do the same thing with MS patients and anyone else that gets a disease that needs to be covered for a long period of time. We just have to be watchful and vocal enough that it doesn’t happen.
The lack of compassion in your post is astonishing.
The content of many of the posts on this thread perfectly illustrate WHY I avoid people, for the most part: shaming, blaming, ignorance and kicking folks when they’re already down, down, down.
Jesus wept. I expected better from this community.
Of course they exist here. Just read this thread. They’d rather kill me with their dripping hate than look into their own souls and ask themselves, “Why the hate?”
They don’t care. They’re blinded with irrational hate.
Your posts are STUNNINGLY offensive – do you think that T2s who struggle with their weight are NOT trying???
Being Diabetic is my own fault ??? NO ---- I did not ask for this. I became Diabetic after treatment for a Toxic Thyroid nodule.
The Endo monitored my Thyroid hormones for 3 months watching them go back to normal but in the same time frame as they dropped my BS continued to rise. After 3 months I was diagnosed Diabetic. I was 5’3 and 145 lbs. Since being diabetic and taking a myriad of these drugs have found it difficult to maintain my weight.
Read this article in a Nursing journal —
You Did NOT Eat Your Way to Diabetes!
Don’t fall for the toxic myth that you caused your diabetes by reckless overeating
While people with diabetes often are seriously overweight, there is accumulating evidence that their overweight is a symptom, not the cause of the process that leads to Type 2 Diabetes.
Blaming you for your condition causes guilt and hopelessness. Even worse, the belief that people with diabetes have brought their disease on themselves inclines doctors to assume that since you did nothing to prevent your disease; you won’t make the effort to control it. A belief that may lead to your getting extremely poor care.
The myth that diabetes is caused by overeating also hurts the one out of five people who are not overweight when they contract Type 2 Diabetes. Because doctors only think “Diabetes” when they see a patient who fits the stereotype–the grossly obese inactive patient–they often neglect to check people of normal weight for blood sugar disorders even when they show up with classic symptoms of high blood sugar such as recurrent urinary tract infections or neuropathy.
The way this myth originated is this: Because people with Type 2 Diabetes are often overweight and because many people who are overweight have a syndrome called “insulin resistance” in which their cells do not respond properly to insulin so that they require larger than normal amounts of insulin to lower their blood sugar, the conclusion was drawn years ago that insulin resistance was the cause of Type 2 Diabetes.
Articles on the “obesity epidemic” blame overeating for a huge increase in the number of people with diabetes, including children and teenagers who are pictured greedily gorging on supersized fast foods while doing no exercise more strenuous than channel surfing. In a society where the concepts “thin” and “healthy” have taken on the overtones of moral virtue and where the only one of the seven deadly sins that still inspires horror and condemnation is gluttony, being fat is considered by many as sure proof of moral weakness. So it is not surprising that the subtext of media coverage of obesity and diabetes is that diabetes is nothing less than the just punishment you deserve for being such a glutton.
Today’s society need to be re-educated.
I assume when people get aids its their fault to for practicing risky behaviors or being hemophilics.
Unfortunately there’s still a lot of misinformation out there – even from supposedly “trustworthy” official sources, like this anti-sugar PSA from Boston Public Health. It encourages people to limit the amount of sugar they give their kids … then goes on to say, “Too much sugar can cause type 2 diabetes …” (along with obesity and tooth decay).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M53J6uizLng
With information like this going out, it’s no wonder so many folks think anyone who gets diabetes has only themselves to blame.
what god awfull pithle and crap.
if your liver over releases glucose instead of being in fasting mode when gut producing glucose; you cannot consciusly change that without meds.
morans who produce this crap should be shot. No amount of dieting can stop this crap.
I was finally at 330 lbs and AFTER using metformin to stop liver and move BG from 13.3 to 6.9;
Diet and exercise can help.
Life style probably did not create ones diabetes, but meds properly used with diet - carbs control and counting and exercise will help put beast fully into the cage.
This is one of those perennial subjects. I'm bloody sick of the ignorance in the public mind that is actively reinforced by those who are supposedly helping us - the medical profession. It makes it even worse when far too many people on diabetes forums believe the crap.
I wrote this a while back and I've seen little reason to change it since: Type 2 Diabetes and the Shame Game
Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia
Everything in Moderation - Except laughter
one again, another uninformed opinion.
If ones liver adds too much glucose, Diet is worthless and achieves little.
Once liver under control, yes one can manage properly using diet and exercise.
Having been there and watching my weight climb exhorably on a tight 1200 calorie diet with carbs restrictions,
that problem did not stop till liver was shut down. Once that achieved, yes diet - same 1200 calorie diet
then worked and got weight down from 330 pounds to under 250 and still dropping.
I am fed up with such arrogant opinions.
Life style does not necessarily cause the problem, but once medical conditions trapped and fixed, diet and life style critical to keep problem turned off.
The control of body glucose is the on tune orchestra peformance of some major organs such as liver, gut/intestine, kidneys, thyroid,brain and pancrease.
Unfortunately, not withsatnding major miracule cures in other areas of medicine, current dark ages 20th century type 2 diabetes medicine is focusing on the pancreas only. That’s a type 1 problem and solution not really applicable to most type 2 insulin resistance diabetes. Solve the Insulin resistance first and the better answers show up studying cell physiology.
In my case; after 30 years on wrong stupid drugs boosting insulin, my main medicine is metformin placed at key times and my pancreas is working well and only off a small amount and a small boost of insulin of 1 to 4 units helps tighen up control.
I am fed up with the stupid ignorant opinions out there.
Wow, in honor of “The Walking Dead” premiere it’s “Night of the Living Thread”. Interesting to see it unfold over the years though?
Worse yet; the purveyors of the crap have no answer to the doubling and tripling of type 2 cases and at younger and younger ages.
One would hope that the three degree nuts who peddle this stuff might just arrive at the perspective - We are not solving the correct problem here. No other argument is required. Were the increase in single digit per centage numbers, many of the opinions ventured here may have had better merit.
As the per centage increase is 200 to 300 per cent, the current situation and solutions are a national disgrace.
Gee, thanks.
Well, Mr. Peachy, I am the exception to the rule. I lost over 80 lbs, I exercised, and I ate healthy. I still got gestational diabetes with my second son at 35 and full blown T2 at 49…My lifestyle was a healthy one, and I still got the disease. So where does that give me responsibility. I did take care of me, I did what I was supposed to do.
My grandmother, my great grandmother and one aunt had diabetes…and I got gestational. So I am the exception. All exceptions line up behind me.
neat.
Blame is pointless, useless and unproductive.
In past human did not have to manage energy input due to scacity of food and its poor quality. In addition; it tooks lots of work and energy to get a meal.
Today we have case where food is totally abundant especially the grains, corn and corn sugar with attendent drop in exercise due to cars, laptops, videogames and all sorts of couch potatoe entertainment - wide screen TV’s etc.
Now the energy supply /food/carbs are always plentiful 24/7days. Maybe we should blame science over this.
So now we have old hunter gatherer high efficiency digestive system that grabs every calorie intended for days of min food and poor quality and bypasses nothing. There is no dash lite and no capability of gut to bypass calories when all cell storage and liver topped out.
Hence this becomes riot for human to ensure food/energy consumed matchers actual energy burn so that cell storage/liver does not get filled up. If not the liquid energy - glucose backs up and only place left is the blood system.
Blood Glucose regulation is based upon the storage capability of body cells/liver always have room left over to store glucose.
Hence - drop food/energy input or increase hearty exercise or both to put body back in equilibrium.
In the end, life style probably did not cause your type 2 diabetes but changes in life style are crucial to getting the body back to working correct.
Using excess insulin and avandia/actos to stuff more glucose into cells topped off is dangerous and in end is counterproductive.
Well, your BMI is 27.8, and while not obese, is nevertheless overweight. BUT, you did not cause your Type 2. It is strongly hereditary, and I bet there are or have been others in your family with it. (of course, I could always be wrong – it won’t be the first time!) Anyway, there are a lot of things that contribute to Type 2. There is insulin-resistant Type 2, which is usually characterized by central body fat (not necessarily obesity), hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. There is also insulin-sensitive Type 2, which is usually characterized by normal weight, but negative for antibodies. Some people’s pancreases get progressively more damaged over the years, and others are pretty stable. There are other diseases which contribute to insulin resistance, such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom, which you obviously don’t have. 
But you might have other conditions which contribute, some of which have yet to be described scientifically.
Of course, the things that are advised by the medical professionals really apply to everyone – everyone should make the effort to eat healthy (which means eliminating most or all refined carbs, and most “whole” carbs, too, and concentrating on protein and non-starchy vegetables), and exercising, both aerobic and resistance. It’s always wise to take care of your body as best as you can.
So, NO, it’s NOT your fault. You got dealt a lousy hand of cards. But you CAN do things to control your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, if you have problems with them. And yes, your insurance is full of it if they dropped you for developing diabetes. That’s NOT what you paid them good money for while you were “healthy”. I don’t know the answer, but I think you should read your policy very carefully, and see if you can find reason for appeal. Don’t go down without a fight!