June Geraci wrote:
> While I will agree that diet can be a contributing factor in the
> development of type 2 diabetes, I believe that there are more
> tactful ways of advising people to watch their sugar intake than the
> one you used. Many people who develop type 2 are obese, but that is
> not the only factor, and scientists are still trying to pin down all
> the reasons people get it. In my case, there was a genetic
> predisposition for the development of type 2 - my father, my
> grandmother, and one uncle developed diabetes later in life. I also
> have chronic lung disease, which unfortunately required me to be on
> corticosteroids for over thirty years. (I thank the developers of
> Advair for finally making me prednisone-free!) While steroids
> helped my breathing, they also weakened my bones, made me gain
> weight, and raised my blood glucose levels. Being unable to breathe
> made it difficult to be active, also adding to weight gain. High
> blood pressure and high cholesterol are also contributors to the
> development of type 2 - and both run in my family - again the
> genetic predisposition.
>
> Dessert was not on the dinner table every night when I was growing
> up, nor was I given permission to chase the ice cream truck down the
> street every day, so when people tried to accuse my mother of
> "stuffing me with sugar" when I was a child, thus causing me to
> develop diabetes, they were dead wrong.
>
> Yes, the increased numbers of overweight children and adults, and
> the sedentary lifestyle that usually accompanies it will cause more
> and more people to develop this disease - it IS being called an
> epidemic.
>
> As far as overeating is concerned, that's a huge problem for many
> people. If I order a pasta meal at a restaurant, I will also ask
> for a takeout container, because my plate will generally have enough
> for three full meals on it. Thanks to carbohydrate counting classes,
> I can look at the meal and estimate how much I should eat. If my
> blood glucose is good three hours after that meal, I know I did it
> right! Unfortunately, most people will finish that plate, whether
> they are a six foot tall man, or a five foot tall woman, or a ten
> year old child!
>
> Let's educate people, and not attack them. You'll get better
> results that way. I met a young woman at a restaurant recently who
> was totally lost as to how or what to eat. She had just been
> diagnosed with pre-diabetes, but had been given no guidance. I
> pulled out a card from the local branch of the Joslin Diabetes
> Center and explained about all the classes available for her to
> take, and the type of help she could expect from them.
> Good health to you!!

June...... hear, hear!
Regards
Lee in Toronto