Does this alarm you? It should!

Type 2
1

Dear fellow Tudiabetes members,


Please read this article: Medco's report on kid's consumption of prescription drugs.


While the entire article should be alarming to you, the part that I want to specifically address talks about kids with type two diabetes. I'm concerned that something ominous is happening here. I suspect that doctors (at the behest of the pharmaceutical industry) are pushing more drugs on our kids because it's more convenient and considerably more profitable than discussing healthy lifestyle choices (and, therefore, losing a patient). And are we, as a society, failing to raise healthy children out of ignorance? Or, could it be that it's just too inconvenient to bother with? The human body hasn't really changed much in the fifty years I've been around, so why the increases in drugs? My experience has shown me that type two diabetes is a disease that more than likely results from a nutrient poor, Calorie rich diet and sedentary lifestyle. When I hear of kids being prescribed drugs for type two diabetes, it makes me want to shout at the top of my lungs that it's not necessary. If our government were truly serious about helping our country's healthcare system improve, they would look at the data. It's not that hard to figure out.


Your thoughts are welcome. - Craig

2

Something to consider though is that not all type 2 diabetes is related to obesity. There are many who believe that POPs (persistent organic pollutants) in the environment are a contributing factor. Everyone has some level of POPs in their bodies, but some people have much higher levels - and these people have a much higher incidence of type 2 diabetes.

So while some type 2 is related to obesity, and YES, we do need to better educate future generations about healthy lifestyle choices, we can't say definitely that in this way we are 'failing our children'.

3

While I don’t recall saying anything about obesity (I was primarily referring to nutritional deficiencies), your point about POPs (never heard of them until now, btw) is well taken. If BPE (biphenyl ether, found in many plastics that our food comes in) and ‘agent orange’ (used widely during the Viet Nam war and implicated in many vets becoming T2DM) are considered POPs, then I can see what you mean. Both compounds have been shown to wreak havoc on the endocrine system. After re-reading, I believe you’ve made my point, however. We, as a society, are failing our children out of ignorance. If you know about POPs and I know about BPE and ‘agent orange’, then it’s safe to assume that flags have been going up at key positions in the government. Specifically, the FDA and the CDC. It is widely known that T2DM is a diet and lifestyle related disorder. The government knows this. They also know about ‘agent orange’ and probably know about the many other chemical pollutants that weaken the body’s defenses. Why are is so little being done by way of education when so much can be done to improve? Obtaining clean water, drinking out of glass containers, filtering household air, insuring that we have the healthiest, organic foods possible prepared in non plastic containers is not only achievable, it makes sense. With all due respect, I would still argue that our (collective) ignorance is costing our children dearly. The underlying point here is, trusting government, the pharmaceutical industry, and doctors to help us (as a society) is precisely what is wrong with our society.

4

Bravo Jayne!!

5

I honestly think it's more a result of the parent's view and the doctor/parent relationship. Think about the ADD epidemic that went on and how it seemed nearly every kid went on Ritalin. A lot of them just needed to learn some discipline. But it's far easier to stick them on a pill. I think the same thing is occurring here. Parents hear their kid has diabetes and just want a pill to cure it rather than looking at all the treatments available. Many parents (not all, please don't flame me) don't want to spend the time making their kids eat healthy/exercise (hot dogs and PS3 are far easier) if there is a pill that will do the trick.

Does it alarm me? Yes.

Does it surprise me? Not a bit.

6

Many of the POPs that have been found to correlate to high incidence of T2 have been banned for decades now. However, POPs are stored in fat, thus traveling through the food chain. They are extremely hard to avoid, because at this point, decades after their use, they are in a major part of the food chain that humans consume. They are almost impossible to eliminate from fat stores, so affected organisms were eaten and the POPs absorbed into the predator, and so on, up the food chain. I don’t know much more than that :confused:

7

Here’s more info from the EPA http://www.epa.gov/oia/toxics/pop.html

8

Well, unfortunately, the issue is a lot more complicated than just kids overeating... There is a kind of correlation going on with the weight of many people, and incidence of Diabetes, BUT... in many studies, light is being shed on the fact that the same thing that is causing the Type 2 is causing the obesity... Insulin resistance is showing up FIRST in many young kids, teens, and adults, and THEN the obesity, and the Type 2 Diabetes... I understand your concerns of medications, and overmedications... I have dealt myself with doctors overmedicating me for ONE issue, when they really just missed the BIG picture of my overall health... And that is what these kinds of articles do: Miss the big picture. We simply just don't understand the full ramifications of everything we are doing right now... to our food, and to our environment. I, myself, am a child of those kinds of changes: I suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (suspected to be caused by pollution, those plastics that leach, and the hormones in cattle, and milk)... and I went from being a thin child, to an obese child, practically overnight... producing massive amounts of insulin, all on my own, for no explainable reason... My thyroid stopped working at an early age, as well... There is NO KNOWN cause for PCOS... And PCOS led me to develop Type 2. So, in essence...

1. What we are doing to our environment: Industrial pollution, and climate change, etc.

2. How we are genetically modifying foods.

3. How we use massive pesticides to produce foods.

4. How we are not just modifying foods to yield more produce, but making food that really isn't even food! All that pre-packed stuff...

5. WE are serving that to our children every day -- in our homes, in our school meal programs, in camps... We are cheaping out on our food, to save a penny or two...

6. How genetics plays into it... because with every generation, DNA changes... sometimes, with a fostering environment, ailments start coming on much, much quicker... Now even the Surgeon General's Warning has stated that just having ONE cigarette or being exposed to just ONE second hand smoke can change ours or our children's DNA, and mutate it.

All those things and much, much more... contribute to people getting almost all the types of Diabetes... at this point. Either because it messed up your genes, or because it caused an autoimmune attack.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that that article has ABSOLUTELY no proof that all those kids are overweight. Heck, we have one lady in our community, right now, with a child who has Type 2... already needing to take insulin, and who is NOT overweight! Articles like this always seem to choose to want to pass the buck of responsibility around... and let me tell you, it is a HARD world to feed yourself or your kids proper foods when the school lunch is giving donuts, pizza, soda, and chips to our children, and when employers don't even want to give proper breaks to people to eat... and keep them going 10-14 hour days... And when a Triple Bacon Deluxe costs 99 cents, and broccoli costs $1.50 a lb. Absolutely, people need to take personal responsibility for their own selves, and their health... and absolutely doctors need to look at the big picture before considering medications... But I REFUSE to get down to the level of calling our struggling children names, such as "drug taking blimps," or pretending a simple diet and exercise is going to solve our huge problems, right now. Delaying Diabetes for a few more years is NOT preventing it! It will NEVER be preventing it.... And many times even "prevention" is up to fate, and not to us. My brother, who was a professional athlete, got Diabetes... And my really heavy, older sister did not. Hey, it just happens sometimes. We need to stop blaming and making people feel guilty and awful... because not one case of Diabetes is as simple as just diet and exercise, and you're cured. Not ONE. The FDA, the CDC.. the ADA... ALL receive kickbacks from companies, and big pharma... and ALL are puppets to say what they want them to say in the media... Be careful what you read... be careful what you do with the information to treat, or judge your fellow man, or fellow man's children. We are not stats on a piece of paper... Just remember that.

9

Also note… that medco is a big pharma company. They are not some “researchers” there trying to be kind and helpful. :confused:

10

As a person with type 2 diabetes I have always tried to instill healthy habits in my children regarding the importance of making healthier food choices and being physically active. Even though I am fully insulin requiring myself I still try to set a good example by how I live. Diet and exercise is not a cure though it is one of many tools available to help manage diabetes. There is no cure for type 2 diabetes.

If they develop prediabetes it will be in spite of lifestyle not because of it. And if they develop diabetes I would absolutely look to adding medications if it was needed to help them control their blood sugars.

11

Thank you for the lecture (er, rant?). I think we can agree that we are being kept in the dark as to what is really the root causation. You apparently missed my point, however, in bringing this article forward. I'm a proponent of getting back to nature and avoiding (as much as possible) those things that brought us here. The article alarms me because it shows that modern medicine and the big pharmaceutical companies are ineffective at stemming the real problem with all of their chemicals and rhetoric. Doctors fail us because they couldn't care less what the cause is, they only care about treating us in as 'efficient' a way as they can... with drugs. Our bodies were optimized for certain, chemical free, natural foods and certain levels of daily activity. The further you deviate from that actuality, the more likely you are to develop chronic disorders/diseases. The more you introduce artificial components, the more likely you are to develop problems. It follows, therefore, that the more you can eliminate artificial influences and reintroduce nature to your existence, the more likely you are to regain your health. In fact, I have and so have thousands of others thanks to Dr. Joel Fuhrman's, "Eat To Live" and T. Colin Campbell's, "The China Study".

I agree that you don't have to be overweight. I wasn't. Nor were thousands of others who were diagnosed with T2DM. Rest assured, however, that virtually ever single one of us who subscribes to a natural, organic diet consisting of primarily raw fruits, vegetables, and whole grains responds favorably. Why? Simple. Lowering insulin resistance is about healthy cell walls. Healthy cell walls are mostly about proper nutrition, limiting excess refined carbohydrates, and sufficient daily physical activity in an effort toward keeping fats and triglycerides down to acceptable levels. Chemicals, or no chemicals. I believe the body has an incredible ability to overcome many chronic disorders provided you give it what it needs and avoid those things it doesn't. This line of thinking has helped me overcome not only type two diabetes, but depression and fibromyalgia as well. It hurts no one and helps everyone.

12

FWIW, MrsAcidRock gets Fitness magazine and they had an article that mentioned that if you eat lunchmeat a certain number of times/ week, it will increase your probability of getting T2 by 19%? I can’t remember the number or which mag it is but if I run into it, I will update the thread but, since I am immune to T2, I eat lots of lunchmeat but not nearly as much as a lot of people I wait behind at the deli counter!

13

Diet and exercise may not be a cure, as you say (even though many of us feel ‘cured’ because we no longer have to take meds), but proper diet and daily exercise can work wonders and is your childrens’ best defense against not only type two diabetes, but many other chronic diseases as well. See my reply to the ‘queen’ above for details.

14

Likely something to do with the additives/preservatives, I suspect.

15

No rant, no lecture. Just sharing my perspective.

Diets are healthy things; they are not cures... Medicines are often overprescribed... and sometimes they are needed, and there is NO shame in needing them. Some people may be able to stop taking them... and some not. And there is nothing wrong with that.

16

There is really no “immunity” against T2… You could be a Type 1, and still develop insulin resistance… and you could be a T2, and eventually, develop an autoimmune attack.

17

There’s no ICD-9 code for that! I guess I can’t exclude the possibility but I am reasonably certain that once the doc has me pegged as a T1, I will continue to be 1?

18

Yeah, you're right. Medicine is bad. T1s should all stop taking their insulin and get back to nature.

19

hehehe there many not be codes for it… :slight_smile: but trust me, it can happen. :slight_smile: It’s just not the most common thing ever.

20

If you mean Type 1 and insulin resistance, yes I think a fair number of us get it the longer we have diabetes. Look at the number of people who write in that they are type 1 and take Metformin, which helps us with insulin resistance. It does me, at least. T1D since spring '82.

By the way, congrats to DWQ on your tudiabetes award!