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WHAT IS TYPE II DIABETES

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:01:45 +0000

Forty-six-year-old Tony Paolo thought at first that he had the flu. He had been leading an active life, but now he felt tired all the time. He found that he had to go to the bathroom much more often than usual, and he couldn’t seem to quench his thirst, no matter how much fluid he drank. He lost twelve pounds, and his vision started blurring. When he consulted a doctor, tests quickly showed that he had diabetes.

Among the fourteen million Americans with diabetes, only about 10 percent have IDDM (Type I diabetes). The far more common forms of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) or Type II diabetes usually strike people after the age of thirty-five or forty—and they strike mainly people who are overweight. More than 12.5 million Americans have Type II diabetes, and as many as half of them don’t even know they have it.

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes can go on for years before it is detected. Many people first discover they have diabetes when a routine medical checkup shows sugar in the urine. They may have such mild cases that there have been no symptoms at all.

When symptoms do appear, they may be similar to those of Type I diabetes—excessive urination, extreme thirst and hunger, for example. A person with Type II diabetes may also have frequent infections and find that cuts and bruises are slow to heal. Blurred vision is another common symptom, (Fluctuations in the blood sugar level may affect the flow of fluid into and out of the eyeballs, causing them to swell or contract and thus change the way images are focused on the retina.)

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THE CARBOHYDRATE ADDICT’S PROFILE: A DIETARY DEMON DISGUISED

admin — Sun, 15 May 2011 09:59:05 +0000

When Cindy K. came to the Carbohydrate Addict’s Center, she told us she was ready to give up on dieting. She had tried to follow to the letter the various dietary instructions she had been given in the past, yet despite her attempts to do “everything right” (as she put it), she had been unable to lose weight and keep it off.

“It’s like something is working against me,” she told us. “I’ll go along determined that this is the time that I’ll do it and bingo! before I know it, I’m eating again. I just don’t know what happens.

“I really want to stick to it, but I just find myself eating. At this point, I just don’t care.”

She was angry and frustrated—and unsuccessful in her dieting attempts.

Cindy took the Carbohydrate Addict’s Test and talked a good deal about herself and her dieting. It was obvious that her problem wasn’t that she just gave up on her diets. It wasn’t a lack of willpower. Her problem was that the foods she had been taught were “diet” foods were making her addiction worse.

Cindy, along with hundreds of other people we have treated, had been taught to believe that fruit was a free or safe food. It was, she had been told, a good diet food, and she ate it several times a day. For some dieters, fruit is a perfectly appropriate, low-calorie snack. For the carbohydrate addict, however, fruit is frequently T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

This is why.

Carbohydrate addiction is characterized by a reaction to an entire class of food. This food group is, of course, the carbohydrates, which include breads, starches, sweets, most snack foods—and all fruits, which contain the natural sugar fructose.

When you throw a rubber ball against a hard surface, it bounces back, right? When the carbohydrate addict consumes food rich in carbohydrates, simple or complex, his or her appetite will also “bounce back.” And each bounce goes ever higher and higher. The comparison is a bit simplistic, but one cookie will produce the desire for another. Or two or three or a good many more.

The food doesn’t have to be a personal favorite of the carbohydrate addict, and may even be one that the dieter was eating while trying to avoid more “fattening” foods. Many carbohydrate addicts reach for fruit instead of candy, thinking that fruit is okay. Although apples and oranges and the rest are traditionally regarded as essentially harmless to the dieter, in the carbohydrate addict a small serving of fruit— even a few grapes—can set off a biochemical chain reaction that produces a strong and recurring desire to eat.

So there was Cindy, dutifully following one dietary regimen after another, all of them promising to help her lose her a few pounds. Unknown to her, her very body chemistry was busily undermining her hopes and her plans. She could force herself to skip her morning Danish, replacing it with an innocent piece of fruit, say an orange. But that orange would cause too much insulin to be produced, and an increase in hunger would result. A piece of fruit would often produce the desire for another; eventually, her desire broadened, and Cindy’s fruit fantasies gave way to carbohydrate snacks, foods high in starches and sweets.

We put Cindy on the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet. She reported to us within days that she felt as if she had been freed. “I never knew dieting could be like this. I can’t believe it. It’s so easy. And all of these years I thought I was ‘being good.’ I was eating the wrong foods! No wonder I was hungry.

“It’s wonderful. It doesn’t even feel like dieting. I just didn’t realize I was different. I treated myself like every other dieter. And I’m not.”

Cindy’s carbohydrate addiction is not unique. In fact, she was so happy with the diet that she brought her brother to see us. Alan is a very large man, a weight lifter who stands over six and one-half feet tall. He weighed better than 300 pounds. But he admitted to cowering before an uncontrollable compulsion to eat huge quantities of carbohydrates.

His case was trickier than his sister’s. He had noticed on his own that bread and other starches seemed to make him hungry, so he skipped carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch. He even skipped dessert at most dinners. Yet he often felt almost uncontrollable urges to eat. “Suddenly, I’m starving. I eat anything in sight. I don’t know what gets into me. I go along fine for a while and then I can’t stop,” he reported.

We questioned Alan more thoroughly, but the source of his addiction wasn’t apparent at first. He didn’t share his sister’s love for fruit; naturally, we asked him that. We were as puzzled as he—until he dropped the answer before us in living color. It was in lemon yellow and orange orange … it was fruit juices. He drank them by the gallon, all day long. He consumed a literal stream of carbohydrates that pumped up his insulin level and produced an appetite rebound that Superman couldn’t have controlled.

We unmasked Alan and Cindy’s dietary demon—that natural fruit sugar, fructose—and limited those foods to a once-a-day satisfying intake. We introduced them to the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet. It worked for both of them and continues to work for them to this day.

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THE G.I. FACTOR: WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME OVERWEIGHT?

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:50:55 +0000

Is it genetic? Is it hormonal? Is it our environment? Is it a psychological problem? Or is it due to an abnormal metabolism?

Consider the energy balance paradox that exists in our bodies. For most of us, even without much conscious effort, our bodies maintain a constant weight. This is despite huge variations in how much we eat. For a proportion of people who are overweight this apparent bal despite every fad diet, every exercise program, even operations and medications, body weight can steadily increase over the years, regardless of all apparent efforts to control it.

It has always been said that our weight is a result of how much we take in and how much we burn up. So, if we take in too much (overeat) and don’t burn up enough (don’t exercise) we are likely to put on weight.

The question is: how much, of what, is too much? The answer is not a simple one: not all foods that we eat are equal and no two bodies are the same.

People are overweight for many different reasons. Some people believe they only ‘have to look at food’, others put on weight from ‘just walking past the patisserie’, others blame themselves because they eat too much. It is clear that a combination of social, genetic, dietary, metabolic, psychological (and emotional) factors combine to influence our weight.

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DIABETES IN CHILDREN: PARTIES

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:01:19 +0000

Of course you will want your child to go to parties and have a party of his/her own.

In planning a birthday party for your child you should consider:-

(a) Timing: Parties for younger children are often held during the afternoon. However you may find a party over mealtime more satisfactory, as more carbohydrate exchanges can be allowed. Remember that your child will be excited and no doubt running around and so will require additional carbohydrate exchanges in order to prevent hypoglycemia. You could also allow a little extra carbohydrate and adjust it at the next meal. Do not try to save carbohydrate exchanges from earlier in the day.

(b) Type of party: This will influence the types of foods served. As children become older, barbecues, sausage sizzles etc., may be appropriate or perhaps you may consider eating out.

(c) Suitable foods: All food prepared should be suitable for the child with diabetes. It is important that food is attractive and tastes good. Diet drinks are suitable for all guests. Emphasis should be placed on savory foods.

Nibbles could include cut up raw vegetables and dips, chips, twisties, pretzels, or savory shape type biscuits. Party favourites such as party pies, sausage rolls, cocktail frankfurts, sandwiches are also suitable.

After the savory foods a few artificially sweetened foods could be placed on the table. Diet jelly can be used in a variety of ways. Many of your own recipes can be adapted for use in a diabetic diet e.g. chocolate crackles, cream puffs. (Refer recipe section).

The birthday cake should not create any problems. Suitable alternatives could include:

1. Sponge or cake prepared with artificial sweetener as a substitute for sugar and decorated with whipped cream, or a cream cheese frosting. A small amount of grated chocolate or 100′s & 1000′s could be used for decoration.

2. Ice-cream cake — prepared commercially or at home.

3. Sponge prepared using a minimum of sugar would be acceptable for special occasions. The amount of sugar used should be included in estimating the carbohydrate content of the recipe Decorations similar to cake prepared with artificial sweetener would be suitable.

Note: 15 g sugar = 1 carbohydrate exchange

Birthday cake

Number of Exchanges

4 eggs -

180 g Flour self raising 9

1/3 cup sweetaddin -

1/3 cup hot water -

Vanilla essence -

Separate eggs. Beat whites until stiff but still shiny. Add sweetener, then egg yolks one at a time. Add sifted flour. Pour water and vanilla essence down the side of the mixture. Fold in flour. Pour mixture into 20 cm sponge sandwich tins. Bake in moderate over for 20 minutes.

Total = 9 carbohydrate exchanges.

Cut into 8 serves. Each serve = 1 carbohydrate exchange.

Decorate as desired using any of the following: Carbohydrate modified jam, diet jelly, whipped cream or cream cheese frosting, chopped nuts, grated chocolate, or coconut.

Cream cheese frosting

3oz low fat creamed cottage cheese (Not American Style) 1 tablespoon milk Artificial sweetener to taste Lemon juice to taste Artificial colouring (if desired) Mix all ingredients together, beat with wooden spoon. Using as icing for patty cakes or sponge. Recipe contains negligible amount of carbohydrate.

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