Type 2- I not, never have been Obese!

[HpprKM]

I have been living with the knowledge that I have T2 for 2.5 yrs now, and I really have to let off steam about something that is really driving me mad! That is the inference that all T2s have diabetes because they have led unhealthy lives, eat too much bad food, do not exercise and are generally obese! I was shocked to learn I had diabetes, I have always been slim, only size 12 and for many years have tried to eat healthily, even before the big trend and publicity that healthy eating has received.

The other day I read an article on T2 from the BBC news page, where they said that T2 is linked to obesity, today I have just read this Canadian News report on Diabetes.co.uk Re: their huge increase in diabetes risks (as I am half Canadian with immediate family living there, and will be going there again for a month in 2 wks I was naturally interested in the article). However, this is what I read

With type 2 diabetes linked to poor diet and body mass, and the sixth most common cause of death in Canada, nearly 61 per cent (13 million) Canadian adults are thought to be either overweight or obese, which is a rise of seven per cent since 2004.

Yes, ok - I will concede that being overweight, underactive and eating a poor diet is a contributing factor, and I realise this is meant to shock people into listening, but I feel very wrongly labelled when I hear this, as though when I tell people I have T2 diabetes I am admitting to being exactly the things that I am not (if that makes sense), like people who do not know me will automatically assume that is who and what I am! Please, please can these statements that are associated with T2 be changed to something along the lines, of 'generally linked to poor diet and body mass, but this is not always the case'. In my own case I am told it is probably genetic, but neither of my parents had it, I now know my maternal grandmother and maternal aunt had it, but I have to say without wishing to caste aspersions of either of them - that they were rather rotund - so I am still wondering just why I have it! I have always had a sweet tooth, but then again, we know that sugar does not cause diabetes.

Have a thought for those of us who have tried to eat healthily, have always maintained good body mass and are T2s :?

 

[Patch]

We now know that T2 diabetes is caused by TRANS FATS. Some people can eat plenty of fat, and not put on weight. My whole family is like this - both of my brothers eat more than me, and put on NO weight. (lucky bu99ers!)

Just because you are not overweight, doesn't mean you haven't eaten the same things that cause T2 Diabetes. A lot of lo-fat (marketed as "healthy") spreads are loaded with trans fats.

You should be pleased that you are not overweight - being overweight AND having T2 Diabetes is a double edged sword.

Being overweight doesn't cause (or contribute) to T2 Diabetes. BUT - being T2 Diabetic DOES (sometimes) cause you to become overweight. Remember, in T2, the body cannot utilise the insulin that the pancreas produces - so what happens? The pancreas creates MORE insulin in an attempt to lower the blood glucose level. Then what happens? I'll give you a clue... They don't call insulin the FAT BUILDING HORMONE for nothing. THEN WHAT HAPPENS??? being overweight causes your resistance to insulin to increase - so what happens? The pancreas pumps out EVEN MORE INSULIN!

Count your blessings - it sounds like you are NOT in this catch 22 situation. It also sounds like you would benefit from trying a lo/reduced-carb regime (or even lo-GI). plenty of info in that around here.

 

[carty]

I also get mad at the "type 2 must have had a bad diet and lifestyle" I have always eaten a healthy diet without the trans fats .I have never been even slightly overweight I have had DB for 12 months and am trying to gain weight while keeping BS down with reduced carb diet .Its a nightmare.I some times feel like complaining to all the media sources when they report this sort of inacurate information :mrgreen:
CAROL

 

[lovinglife]

We now know that T2 diabetes is caused by TRANS FATS. Some people can eat plenty of fat, and not put on weight. My whole family is like this - both of my brothers eat more than me, and put on NO weight. (lucky bu99ers!)

Just because you are not overweight, doesn't mean you haven't eaten the same things that cause T2 Diabetes. A lot of lo-fat (marketed as "healthy") spreads are loaded with trans fats.

You should be pleased that you are not overweight - being overweight AND having T2 Diabetes is a double edged sword.

Being overweight doesn't cause (or contribute) to T2 Diabetes. BUT - being T2 Diabetic DOES (sometimes) cause you to become overweight. Remember, in T2, the body cannot utilise the insulin that the pancreas produces - so what happens? The pancreas creates MORE insulin in an attempt to lower the blood glucose level. Then what happens? I'll give you a clue... They don't call insulin the FAT BUILDING HORMONE for nothing. THEN WHAT HAPPENS??? being overweight causes your resistance to insulin to increase - so what happens? The pancreas pumps out EVEN MORE INSULIN!

Count your blessings - it sounds like you are NOT in this catch 22 situation. It also sounds like you would benefit from trying a lo/reduced-carb regime (or even lo-GI). plenty of info in that around here.

Spot on explanation Patch


The whole of my dads side has T2 and they are like rakes - it manifested in me too but I also have PCOS - oh and I got fat at the age of 28 after being around the 81/2 st mark for years - same time as I was diagnosed with PCOS - in 2 years I was twice the weight and continued to gain - then ate for comfort - vicious circle that at 48 I have managed to break (hopefully!)

 

[Janieb]

Some times its just genetic, my big brother has high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes and he is skinny very healthy veggie and cycles ever day.

Thats life - some of us are unlucky others live a long fruitful life and win the lottery ( perhaps we;ve all been naughty in a previous life lol. )

 

[catherinecherub]

Thought I would add this article into the mix as it may explain why some people develop Type 2 without being overweight.
It is not meant as a criticism so please don't think that it is.
There are plenty of people with Type 2 regardless of their size and surely we do not want to try and distance ourselves from obese individuals? They have enough to contend with by stereotyping.
Life isn't fair, we just have to get on with it as it is not a rehearsal, this is it.

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2010 ... cle-mass-/

 

[Synonym]

Whilst I can understand the angst caused by the prevailing blame culture associated with T2 I think Catherine is spot on with her comment that, “Life isn't fair, we just have to get on with it as it is not a rehearsal, this is it.”

Hopefully it will soon be realised just how counter-productive and un-helpful this ‘blaming’ actually is. All we can do is help people to understand that Diabetes is not as simple as it is made out to be! :roll:

The link given by Catherine is also very interesting and certainly explains why I got T2 as I was very unwell and consequently inactive for a very long period.

 

[HLW]

If you've recently been diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes and are under 30 and/or are not overweight, get tested for type 1 diabetes.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 5 years ago, I thought it was odd at the time because of my age and I was not significantly overweight, but the doctor said it was definitely type 2 because the metformin had worked (when I moved and registered with another doctor he said the same thing). After years of the diabetes getting worse and the medication being increased again and again and more tablets added, I asked to be referred to the diabetes clinic at the local hospital. The consultant said to get the antibody tests for type 1 diabetes done, which I did, and they were positive. Of course the metformin and actos worked at the start, It would still work to some extent now, I still have functioning beta cells producing insulin. The consultant said he would always test for type 1 diabetes in people under 30, I have no idea why the doctors didn't.

 

[phoenix]

If you've recently been diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes and are under 30 and/or are not overweight, get tested for type 1 diabetes.

Age isn't that relevant. There is one peak at puberty and another in the 40s. Many people develop type 1 in each decade of life and the older you are the more likely you are to be misdiagnosed.
the Royal College of physians recommends :
Where diabetes is diagnosed, but Type 2 diabetes suspected, the diagnosis of Type 1
diabetes should be considered if:
● ketonuria is detected, or
● weight loss is marked, or
● the person does not have features of the metabolic syndrome or other contributing
illness.
and also
Tests to detect specific auto-antibodies or to measure C-peptide deficiency should not
be regularly used to confirm the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. Their use should be
considered if predicting the rate of decline of islet B-cell function would be useful in
discriminating Type 1 from Type 2 diabetes.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/be953e5f-8851-4137-b326-857e6c83cc55.pdf
So if at diagnosis the above are present (ketones, weight loss etc) then you should question your doc .
Moreover if you have are thin and oral drugs don't seem to work for very long, it may mean that you are losing beta cell function and that you have type 1 (it make take longer to develop in adults than children), it can take as much as 6 years to insulin dependance) http://www.locallada.swan.ac.uk/faq.html

 

[HpprKM]

Hi,

Some very interesting posts here, thank you! I am kind of relieved that others feel as I do about this 'labelling', just knowing that helps

As always, you are a great bunch on this site, and how would I have coped without you all

 

[zanc]

I'm not obese and got diabetes. I also ate "healthily", plenty of starchy foods, fruits fruit juice etc, low alcohol consumption. Now I have cut out these "healthy" foods I am still diabetic but all my figures are in or closer to the non-diabetic region. My definition of "healthy" foods has now changed.

 

[Patch]

My definition of "healthy" foods has now changed.

Exactly! The problem is - what we are told is healthy is just the opposite. And the only way any of us ever find that out is by experimenting.

Some people are not willing to experiment and go against their doctors wishes, and it is these people that will end up on high levels of medication when it really is not necessary.

The sheer number of us that KNOW that dietary fat IS NOT bad for us is something that cannot be ignored forever.

Who'd have thought - that all those years we were being told that it was the FAT in chips that was making us overweight, when it was actually the CARBS in the potatoes?!?

The revolution will not be televised!

 

[noblehead]

The sheer number of us that KNOW that dietary fat IS NOT bad for us is something that cannot be ignored forever.

Mmm...........I think you may have exaggerated a little with the above statement Patch! :roll:

Just remember that not all fats are equal, there are good fats and there are bad fats. Good fats are monounsaturated which can be found in olives, avocados etc, and also polyunsaturated fats that are found in fish and nuts such as almonds and macadamia. Both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are essential in maintaining good all-round health.

On the other hand, there is the bad fats which include trans fats and saturated fat, trans fats are man-made and found in processed foods, and saturated fat found in diary products and red meat, although low levels of saturated fats are thought not to be harmful to long-term health.

Nigel

 

[Eurydice333]

Well at least you're here to change views of people who believe all type 2's lead a very unhealthy lifestyle...

Cheer up, i used to get really annoyed that there are really unhealthy people who don't become diabetic but like someone else was saying, life isn't fair and you've just got to deal with it...

 

[Patch]

On the other hand, there is the bad fats which include trans fats and saturated fat, trans fats are man-made and found in processed foods, and saturated fat found in diary products and red meat, although low levels of saturated fats are thought not to be harmful to long-term health.

Couldn't agree more about the Trans Fats - they are truly terrible, and the reason many of us are here in the first place. Not convinced about the scare stories relating to saturated fat, though. Don't forget - Coconut Oil is/was classed as saturated fat, and has since been proven to be one of the healthiest fats available.

 

[Ka-Mon]

Couldn't agree more about the Trans Fats - they are truly terrible, and the reason many of us are here in the first place. Not convinced about the scare stories relating to saturated fat, though. Don't forget - Coconut Oil is/was classed as saturated fat, and has since been proven to be one of the healthiest fats available.

Patch, are you saying that we became diabetics because we ate trans fats? If that's the case how comes there are still people in the world that are not diabetics just like us?

I have been told by experts, ie. Doctors, Consultants etc., that you do not become a diabetic because of what you eat but you can have clogged up arteries leading to angina, heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems by eating saturated fats, are you saying that all the experts around the world are lying to us and don't know what they are talking about?

 

[Patch]

Patch, are you saying that we became diabetics because we ate trans fats? If that's the case how comes there are still people in the world that are not diabetics just like us?

How come there are diabetics that are not overweight, and how come there are overweight people that are not diabetic? Lifes just a b1tch, I suppose...

I have been told by experts, ie. Doctors, Consultants etc., that you do not become a diabetic because of what you eat but you can have clogged up arteries leading to angina, heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems by eating saturated fats, are you saying that all the experts around the world are lying to us and don't know what they are talking about?

Yup.

It's the experts that I doubt. They've done their training, and they believe what they have learned ie - fat is bad. Their experience in the field also backs up what they have learned (that those people that eat unhealthy diets ("unhealthy" to them means containing cakes, fried bread, pizza, fries, crisps, etc.. - where the unhealthy elements (in their eyes) are the FATs, NOT the CARBS/Sugars)) are the very ones suffering from Cardio-vascular problems. It's not the fats that are causing this - it's the combination of fats and carbs. Cutting out the CARBS, instead of the FATS is much more effective way of treating the problem. But conventional wisdom doesn't allow that.

There are OTHER (non-conventional) experts (Bernstein, Atkins, Young, etc...) who have approached the problem with an open mind, and found conventional wisdom to be flawed.

Just ask around here - people that have approached it with an open mind have found that eating FAT, not only encourages your body to BURN BODY FAT, but that it actually lowers both HDL and LDL cholesterol.

As ever - I'm not trying to get you to change what you do. If what you're doing works for you, you'd be a fool to stop doing it. But if it's not working.........

 

[Ka-Mon]

Patch, are you saying that we became diabetics because we ate trans fats? If that's the case how comes there are still people in the world that are not diabetics just like us?

How come there are diabetics that are not overweight, and how come there are overweight people that are not diabetic? Lifes just a b1tch, I suppose...

Exactly Patch and that to me proves that eating trans fats does not meant that one will become a diabetic, there must be other underlying causes to why some become diabetics and the great majority don't. Just becuase trans fats maybe bad for some people no one can for definite claim that they are bad for everyone.

I have been told by experts, ie. Doctors, Consultants etc., that you do not become a diabetic because of what you eat but you can have clogged up arteries leading to angina, heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems by eating saturated fats, are you saying that all the experts around the world are lying to us and don't know what they are talking about?

Yup.

It's the experts that I doubt. They've done their training, and they believe what they have learned ie - fat is bad. Their experience in the field also backs up what they have learned (that those people that eat unhealthy diets ("unhealthy" to them means containing cakes, fried bread, pizza, fries, crisps, etc.. - where the unhealthy elements (in their eyes) are the FATs, NOT the CARBS/Sugars)) are the very ones suffering from Cardio-vascular problems. It's not the fats that are causing this - it's the combination of fats and carbs. Cutting out the CARBS, instead of the FATS is much more effective way of treating the problem. But conventional wisdom doesn't allow that.

Patch, you said; "Their experience in the field also backs up what they have learned", doesn't this mean that what they have learned is the right thing and they know what they are talking baout?

Also, it is my own experience that proves the experts right, cutting out the fats and not the carbs is what helped me to reduce my colesterol even before being diagnosed as a diabetic.

There are OTHER (non-conventional) experts (Bernstein, Atkins, Young, etc...) who have approached the problem with an open mind, and found conventional wisdom to be flawed.

Do the "experts" you mentioned above have access to autopsy reports or has any of them carried out autopsies on people who died of heart problems or maybe other fat induced deaths such as liver problems? Have they actually analysed the contents of arteries?

Just ask around here - people that have approached it with an open mind have found that eating FAT, not only encourages your body to BURN BODY FAT, but that it actually lowers both HDL and LDL cholesterol.

That didn't work for me I'm afraid, the more fat I consumed the more weight I put on and the higher my colesterol went up which then lead to heart problems.

As ever - I'm not trying to get you to change what you do. If what you're doing works for you, you'd be a fool to stop doing it. But if it's not working.........

Well, reducing the fat helped me before and after diagnoses and as you said, I'd be a fool to stop doing what I'm doing.

 

[Patch]

Right on.

 

[noblehead]

Patch,

I wouldn't be using Atkins as a expert on fat, following his own diet he allegedly died of a heart attack nearly 5 stone overweight with clogged arteries and high cholesterol levels, his wife and family threatened to sue the City of New York if his autopsy report became public.......I wonder why! :?

Nigel