How different are we?

[hanadr]

I frequently read on diabetes notice boards that what works for one person won't necessarily work for another, " because we are all different!"
I then get flamed, because I don't think we are all that different. Certainly we have individual differences, often in the degree to which something happens. However, our metabolic proccesses are pretty similar, simply because we are all members of the same species. If this were not so, there'd be no point in doctors!
I suspect that many of the differences in diabetic outcomes are related to individual personalities rather than metabolism.
In other words, I think low carb would work to some degree for everyone, but how much we are prepared to stick to the choices it entails, is very variable.
What think you guys?
Hana

 

[Indy51]

That is why I think eating to one's meter is the best solution - you can work out by trial and error what does and doesn't work for you. I also think regional adaptions have taken place in our genome along the way - even though we all belong to one species, some of us can digest lactose and some of us can't, for example.

If you can get good BG levels on 150g carbs, I don't see the need to go ultra low carb. I'm not one of the people who can do that, however, though I can get pretty good control at around 70g. At the moment I'm trying for lower carb as although I'm normal BMI, I still have quite a high % of body fat and would like to 'tweak' my body composition, if possible.

I don't think trying to force 'prescriptions' about diet works - the person has to chose for themselves - so yes, I do think personalities do come into it.

 

[xyzzy]

I agree entirely with what you've written that fundamentally everyone works in roughly the same way so the differences boil down to individual choices to a large extent however I disagree in the following case.

If you are a T1 or T1.5 or a T2 with none or very little pancreatic function then personal choices to cut carbs are all well and good but effectively are overruled by the fact that you need insulin to survive. Once you are an insulin dependent diabetic the reason you choose a low carb regime is different to that of a diet only or diet only + meds T2. In those cases low carbing does things like reduce the amount of insulin you need to use etc so the fundamental reasons for low carbing change and your opinion of the pro and cons of low carbing are different to that of a diet only or diet only + meds T2.

This distinction was brought hope to me the other day when my son and I competed over eating bowls of home made low carb ice cream that MW had made. Although as a T1 he normally low carbs the fact his pump could deliver an increased insulin demand meant he could continue eating said ice cream with zero BG consequences well after I had to stop

 

[Snodger]

I don't know about T2s but T1s vary a lot in our responses to exercise, alcohol, different kinds of carbs, stress, illness, and hormone fluctuations. I'm not talking about our psychological responses but our physical responses - the way our blood sugars fluctuate. Different people also respond in very different ways to different kinds of insulin, and insulin itself changes the way it acts at different blood sugar levels in different people. As for hypo symptoms - there are some similarities between T1s but to be honest there are more differences than similarities.
On a very basic level, yes, we're all the same, insulin brings our blood sugar down. But if you are trying to fine tune it then all the differences really do come into play.

 

[Patch]

People have told me I'm "different" all my life. :thumbup:

I think there are a MILLION reasons that we are "sick", shall we say, "metabolically challenged", but we all get grouped together as diabetics.

I think the medical profession needs to focus more on identifying the problem in each of us, and addressing it - not simply identifying high blood glucose and attacking it with conventional wisdom.

I dare say that lo-carbing for some of us will sort it out - depending on WHAT is wrong in the first place, and the severity of whatever it is that IS wrong with each of us.

Unfortunately, the medical profession doesn't know exactly what is wrong with each of us, and the only way to find out how we react to lo-carbing, is to try it...

 

[noblehead]

I don't know about T2s but T1s vary a lot in our responses to exercise, alcohol, different kinds of carbs, stress, illness, and hormone fluctuations. I'm not talking about our psychological responses but our physical responses - the way our blood sugars fluctuate. Different people also respond in very different ways to different kinds of insulin, and insulin itself changes the way it acts at different blood sugar levels in different people. As for hypo symptoms - there are some similarities between T1s but to be honest there are more differences than similarities.
On a very basic level, yes, we're all the same, insulin brings our blood sugar down. But if you are trying to fine tune it then all the differences really do come into play.

I think Snodger sums it up rather well :thumbup: