Diabetes News Hound reported on a study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine that found people with Type 2 diabetes are not doing themselves any favors by failing to maintain healthy diets, which could significantly aid their management of the disease. The study set out to find out to find what foods people with Type 2 diabetes were eating to make them overweight. Researchers found that most were not following national guidelines outlining optimal food intake.
Do you think the findings in this study sample are representative of the overall Type 2 population?
To read the full article from Diabetes News Hound, click here.
A sweeping generalization such as that made by Diabetes News Hound misses several confounding factors in addressing the socioeconomic and medical issues of Type 2 diabetes.
(1) In developed countries, many people with Type 2 diabetes are people are in the lower socioeconomic classes. The price of healthy eating exceeds their income levels and – because they are often working several jobs to pay the bills – the time needed to prepare healthy meals and snacks.
(2) In developed countries, many people with Type 2 diabetes in the middle classes are working too many hours to prepare healthy food and rely instead on fast-food and chain restaurants for many meals, often resulting in the observed “poor diet”.
(3) Many people with Type 2 diabetes are senior citizens. In addition to the issues of income, there is a decreasing physical ability to cook in, plus there may be issues of “selective memory” and trouble adopting lifestyle changes. There may also be a belief that this is a normal part of aging, not to worry about it.
(4) There are some indications that the “prescribed” diet for people with Type 2 diabetes may not be the healthiest diet for at least some of us. Some of us react better to a whole-foods, produce-oriented diet; others need something closer to a whole-foods, Mediterranean-style diet; others swear by a super-low-carbohydrate diet closer to an Atkins diet. Because there are different etiologies of Type 2 diabetes it is possible that the “optimal diet” needs to be different for each underlying sub-type of T2DM.
That’s probly what they say all the time. Type 2 are also caused by stress on your body, surgical procedures, thyroid problems.
As for the weight gain, some people have other medical conditions that contribute to weight gain. Or the meds can also contribute.
As for the foods, I just found out that the milk, any type no fat, 1% or etc. could also contribute to my weight gain cause I’m on these antibiotics to were I can’t have any dairy. I lost 3 lbs due to this. They say that certain foods you, yourself eat may not be tolerant for your body and you may not even know it till you get tested for certain foods that secretly you are allergic to without even knowing. The symthoms can be not noticable.
We as a society need to correct these people who do THEIR research that there are other factors and to stop putting it as we aren’t eating right that’s why we are the way we are.
I’m a very energetic female who was very surprised to find that I’m diabetic. In my household, we eat lots of veggies and fruit, meats and chicken hardly fried or deep fried, lots of baking our meats. No junk foods, maybe cause I see no need to waste my money on these snacks. We love bread, but moderate intakes only.
Yes, I do agree with the study but why not do research only other theories instead of unhealthy diets. This will probly put more research on were it really needs to be. Side effects of meds, certain foods that the body probly isn’t adjusting, abnormalties of the pancreas liver and kidneys, stress, abuse victims and so forth.
For now, I depend on my meds to keep my diabetes under control but there are mishaps from time to time. We, type 2’s, always get the third degree on the foods we eat from our doctors. What they really need to say is the way of a lifestyle are we leading. Not just food. But emotional and stress. What kind of surgeries did we have? What about abuse? What other medical conditions do we have? The research needs to do their own research on what to find to do a research. We already know about the FOODS we eat. Let’s hear some other research on it.
Thanks for bringing this up. Patti
Without links to the original studies (or the abstracts), it’s difficult to research back the very general comments made by Diabetes New Hound in this case.
The issue of diet-and-Type-2 needs to be examined in the social and economic contexts as well as the clinical context – and as many will tell you, the clinical context for Type 2 leaves a lot to be desired. There are many who would throw guilt for Type 2 on the patient, when the patient has spent his or her entire life living according to “healthy guidelines”. On the other hand, I would not go so far as to say that there is no case of T2 that is (non-deliberately) “self-induced” by poor lifestyle habits (where the patient has sufficient social, economic, and time resources to live closer to “healthy guidelines”).
The T2 etiology/diagnosis/therapy space is a complex one that is poorly described in a short space of paragraphs.
I believe it, because I know many diabetics who don’t have any education at all. The docs diagnose them, give them pills and that’s it. Education, self or by a professional is extremely important. Your team should have a dietican on board always…and then your journaling food is vital to your health…There is no vacation from diabetic learning or maintainence.
I don’t think I concur with the article. I was diagnosed with Type 2 on May 9,2009. I have a good friend who is Type 1 and has been for over 50 years. He is a lay expert on both kinds of diabetes. He told me to get on the Atkins diet, specifically the part known as “Induction”. It has worked for me. In less than 10 days, my blood sugar went from a high of 267 down to 90 and has stayed between 90 and 115.
I eat much meat, fat, veggies, and hard cheeses. I avoid ALL sugars and carbs completely. My A1C after 2 months, which was my last blood test, was at 6.5, down from an initial diagnosed level of 11. My cholesteral is overall 150, and my LDL is 44. My Blood pressure is 150/70. My height is 5’9". My weight at diagnosis was 180 lbs and is now 160 lbs. My doctor put me on 2 Janumet pills per day, I am down to one and about to go off the pills completely. I have blown the mind of dieticians and doctors. They don’t believe me until I show them my last 3 blood tests and then they are just speechless or dumbfounded. I don’t hold ill will towards the dieticians or anyone of the traditional methods. I have simply out performed their methods.
I have also run into friends with Type 2 and upon seeing my results, they tried my way and everyone of them had similar success, one man who was on insulin was able to get off of it completely within one month. The only people who should not do the method I have done are people with kidney problems or thyroid problems. I don’t trust many of the traditional institutional methods. Everyone to a person who was using the traditional methods I have spoken with tells me that I have blown what they are doing away.
