Oh dear!

[dawnmc]

Just watched channel 4 and heard a nurse pointing at all the Easter eggs donated and saying our staff are going to get diabetes!!! Now most of my family are nhs staff and they are marvellous, but to state this!!

 

[HSSS]

Just watched channel 4 and heard a nurse pointing at all the Easter eggs donated and saying our staff are going to get diabetes!!! Now most of my family are nhs staff and they are marvellous, but to state this!!

Not sure what your point is here. Excessive consumption of sugary/carby foods is undoubtedly a risk factor for the onset of diabetes and this could be seen as a health message. Or are you perceiving the comment as ungrateful or blaming diabetics for their condition?

 

[Antje77]

Well meant but very badly worded.

 

[Antje77]

Not sure what your point is here. Excessive consumption of sugary/carby foods is undoubtedly a risk factor for the onset of diabetes and this could be seen as a health message. Or are you perceiving the comment as ungrateful or blaming diabetics for their condition?

I think the problem is that every time someone says 'Oh my, all this food is going to give me diabetes' it's reinforced diabetics made wrong choices and should've known better. It's just not true. For one, many people get T2 when having been roughly following official advice for years. Secondly, most people eating rubbish don't ever get diabetes (but often still blame diabetics for getting diabetes). Third, a one-off sugar feast has never ever given someone diabetes.
Do you know how many children with diabetes get comments about all the sugar they must have eaten, thanks to the 'common knowledge' that eating sweets gives you diabetes?

 

[Mbaker]

At least one of the root causes is known, somendeny this. Some people would have unwittingly stoked the demon over this period.

 

[dawnmc]

My point was that, we stuffed our faces with rubbish and ended up with diabetes. Some people watching it would have said, see, told you, even a nurse says they brought it on themselves.

 

[Member496333]

Just a throwaway comment. Not worth getting offended by it. Plus sugar does contribute measurably to insulin resistance, so it's not exactly an irresponsible comment.

 

[Mbaker]

I think the problem is that every time someone says 'Oh my, all this food is going to give me diabetes' it's reinforced diabetics made wrong choices and should've known better. It's just not true. For one, many people get T2 when having been roughly following official advice for years. Secondly, most people eating rubbish don't ever get diabetes (but often still blame diabetics for getting diabetes). Third, a one-off sugar feast has never ever given someone diabetes.
Do you know how many children with diabetes get comments about all the sugar they must have eaten, thanks to the 'common knowledge' that eating sweets gives you diabetes?

I think diabetics did unknowingly give themselves diabetes, I certainly did. As a techy I am ashamed to say I did not know carbs turn to sugar. I actively avoided sugary drink, sugar in tea and the like, but are high carb "healthy" (so called) starches and tropical fruits galore.

Knowledge is key, if everyone is told the truth about what carbs generally do, like smoking they can make an informed choice. I would have never downed at least a litre of orange juice a day and dates had I known they sent blood sugars into the atmosphere.

 

[KK123]

Just watched channel 4 and heard a nurse pointing at all the Easter eggs donated and saying our staff are going to get diabetes!!! Now most of my family are nhs staff and they are marvellous, but to state this!!

I wholeheartedly agree with you and as a Professional, this person should know better than to spout ridiculous stereotypes. Yes, I am sure that eating 'sugary things' won't help someone with diabetes but if it was down to that and only that then why are those who also consume carbs/sugar NOT diabetics, getting it is far more complicated than down to what you eat. It angers me when ignorant people reinforce nonsense and to those that say 'so what, don't get offended' they have clearly never seen the hurt and humiliation some people suffer from such comments of either type. I doubt any such comments would be made were it any other chronic condition, for some reason with diabetes it's ok. x

 

[Brunneria]

Well, I followed a very good diet as a child - lots of good protein, plenty of vegetables, relatively low carb, nothing processed, and sweets...? Nope. None of that rubbish. My parents were indoctrinated in WWII rationing, and fed us similarly.

yet I had a screwed up metabolism and RH by 5 years old, with further metabolic and blood glucose problems escalating through puberty. My adult life was low carb before the descriptor ‘low carb’ existed.

So no, I didn’t eat chocolate or carbs to cause my health issues.
And I really resent people making that assumption, and perpetuating the myth/judgement.

I see slim, fit, active, healthy people (my mother in law, for example) eating toast and jam for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, a teacake at 4pm and then a pie and mash at 6pm followed by a pudding. Thinks a strawberry yoghurt is a health food. She has spent 84 years eating like that and has never managed to eat herself to diabetes.

A great pity that a medical professional is that ignorant, judgemental and rude, especially where it can be seen by the public.

 

[HSSS]

I think the problem is that every time someone says 'Oh my, all this food is going to give me diabetes' it's reinforced diabetics made wrong choices and should've known better. It's just not true. For one, many people get T2 when having been roughly following official advice for years. Secondly, most people eating rubbish don't ever get diabetes (but often still blame diabetics for getting diabetes). Third, a one-off sugar feast has never ever given someone diabetes.
Do you know how many children with diabetes get comments about all the sugar they must have eaten, thanks to the 'common knowledge' that eating sweets gives you diabetes?

My response did cover the blame issue. Totally agree it could be taken that way and a throw away non specific comment from the nurse can be misleading.

And apologies but I automatically think of diet and type 2 as this is my point of reference and know this is where the links are relevant. Whilst I recognise the difference with type 1/LADA/3c etc - and should know better and frame my responses accordingly- most public don’t.

Also agree I was never a huge sugar eater and more or less followed the guidelines but as @Mbaker says unknowingly I did contribute to it. Poor dietary education, advice and guidelines are to blame not necessarily individuals who don’t know any different.

It is still a minority who do get type 2 whilst eating huge amounts of carbs, it is a rapidly growing % isn’t it? with the increase caused in large part by inappropriate diet.

Is it a one off sugar fest or part of a way of eating/ culture that idolises sugary food as the pinnacle of treats?

 

[Deleted member 308541]

I blame wartime rationing for me being a T2, as we did not a television till around 1956.

 

[HSSS]

I never intended for my question at #2 to support blame culture.

I have been accused of eating my way into diabetes by scoffing sugar, being lazy and fat etc etc. It is not nice. Nor do I believe it to be true in the way it is meant by the accusers. I did follow the rules too.

But I do believe inappropriate diet for those that have the propensity/genetics for type 2 diabetes in the first place is a factor though and denying that doesn’t help any more than blaming solely that. Why else would so many of us cut carbs to reverse the condition otherwise. We need people to understand the link we food and diabetes. It what a huge part of this forum is about. We can’t simultaneously do that and also deny it. It does however need to be framed appropriately

Who knows if they can be a carboholic safely or not til its too late? Who knows what damage is being done to many of those who eat that way despite not receiving a formal diagnosis of diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Sure many will be ok. Many won’t

The comment made by the nurse was incomplete to be sure and poorly worded. It was easy to take it as blame or stereotyping but it wasn’t completely wrong either. Too much sugar can, not will, speed along a type 2 diagnosis.

 

[Resurgam]

I was diagnosed as type two after following a low fat diet full of healthy brown carbs for almost two years.
All my adult life I have explained that I can't eat carbs of any sort without putting on weight and feeling dreadful and been derided, mocked, insulted, and even once threatened with being put in hospital and fed properly because I was obviously eating wrongly.
I dread to think what my final weight was, but almost 300 lb I suspect.
Brainwashing people to consider carbs healthy is the problem - I did not give myself diabetes, but by going against every iota of dietary advice I have ever been given, I returned to normal levels.

 

[lucylocket61]

There is a huge gulf between saying

" I ate a carbohydrates based diet and that triggered a type 2 diabetic response I was unaware I had"


And

"I ate carbs and made myself diabetic."

Yes, they can be seen as saying the same thing BUT. have very different impacts on perception psychologically

 

[Deleted member 308541]

A word of warning not to watch "The Money Heist" on Netflix then, the hostages standard food items to eat were sandwiches and cold pizza.

Either diabetes or diabetic was mentioned when these were being handed out, the sub titles were a bit quick in that bit and I missed who said it a hostage or a bank robber.

There were some comments from both sides which I found amusing...

 

[sleepster]

Nothing I ate contributed to my diabetes

 

[Jaylee]

Just watched channel 4 and heard a nurse pointing at all the Easter eggs donated and saying our staff are going to get diabetes!!! Now most of my family are nhs staff and they are marvellous, but to state this!!

Hi,

I feel with so many HCPs at a higher risk (on the frontline.) of contracting COVID 19 right now
& the sad prominent news of so many losing their lives in the duty to others.

What more can be said..

Thanks to your family & their colleague's Stirling work.

 

[Robbity]

My point was that, we stuffed our faces with rubbish and ended up with diabetes.

Speak for yourself, but don't tar us all with the same brush! You may have stuffed your face with rubbish, but I certainly didn't. I only ended up late in life with T2 when I was put in a position where I was expected to eat more "healthy" carbs than my ancient pancreas could eventually tolerate.

 

[NicoleC1971]

I wholeheartedly agree with you and as a Professional, this person should know better than to spout ridiculous stereotypes. Yes, I am sure that eating 'sugary things' won't help someone with diabetes but if it was down to that and only that then why are those who also consume carbs/sugar NOT diabetics, getting it is far more complicated than down to what you eat. It angers me when ignorant people reinforce nonsense and to those that say 'so what, don't get offended' they have clearly never seen the hurt and humiliation some people suffer from such comments of either type. I doubt any such comments would be made were it any other chronic condition, for some reason with diabetes it's ok. x

As a type 1 I did used to think that I had a morally superior form of diabetes and that people like my dad suffered from gluttony, sloth and a lack of will power.
I know that is not true but that doesn't change the fact that many peopole are susceptible to getting insulin resistant with the ensuing metabolic issues including people who are slim but still can't deal well with starch and sugar As Robert Lustig points out the fat sick (80% of the obese) number less than the thin sick (40% of whom get metaolic problems).
As we've seen with current plague, the public health mesaging has to be pretty simplistic and personally I've got no problem associating sugary junk with diabetes. No judgement just let's have facts over feelings please. And yes type 1s don't get diabetes from sugar but eating less sugar/starch helps me manage my condition so I do not care if someone makes assumptions in their ignorance.