OBESITY AND DIABETES Sally Cronin Sorry to be long winded but I get asked all the time to talk about Diabetes and it is now becoming critical.

Many of the clients that I work with are on their way to becoming diabetic and like smokers, sugar addicts blithely continue to consume many times the recommended 10 level teaspoons per day under the illusion that it will never happen to them. The problem is that we now have over two million diabetics in the UK and many more obviously than that in the United States. What is an even more worrying statistic is that there are nearly a million children who are diabetic. Type 2 Diabetes is virtually avoidable and if you suspect that sugar or even its substitutes play a large part in your diet then spend six weeks going cold turkey except for natural sugar in fruit and honey and just see where your energy levels are on a scale of one to ten. In my mind it is refined sugars and those sugars found in white carbohydrate products which are the cause of our obesity and certainly increasing diabetes. Give me a good old fashioned sirloin with a jacket potato with a small pat of butter and a bunch of vegetables and salad any day. After you have read my programme notes – think about where your weight is on your body – if you are sporting a good old beer belly you are most likely consuming too much sugar – don’t have your head in the sand – be smart. If you need help there is plenty out there.
QUESTION – What Exactly Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a set of related diseases in which the body cannot regulate the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood.
Glucose is what gives you energy. Without it you would be unable to complete many every day to day tasks let alone exercise or lead any kind of active lifestyle.
The liver produces glucose from our diet. We have a number of hormones which normally regulate the level of glucose in our blood, one of which is insulin.
We have a small organ that produces insulin and other enzymes that help us digest our foods and extract the nutrients. This organ is the pancreas.
Without insulin the glucose has no access to the parts of our body that utilise fuel such as the liver, muscles and fat cells.

Type 2 diabetes has a strong genetic link and a great deal of research is currently going on to identify the exact gene. There are a number of lifestyle factors, which also increase the risk of getting Type 2 as we get older. Being overweight, not getting any exercise, taking in too much sugar in the diet, drinking too much and also ageing – the risk increases significantly over the age of 65. This is why this is more commonly called late onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is by far the most common and accounts for over 90% of diabetics.
The good news is that Type 2 responds very positively to diet and lifestyle changes and following some of the diet and lifestyle changes in this post will get you started. 

There is actually a third type of diabetes which is temporary and that occurs during pregnancy. That is called Gestational diabetes and is usually associated with larger than average babies. It usually rights itself after the birth but those women are more likely in later life to develop Type 2 diabetes and need to watch their diet.

QUESTION – Who Are The People Then Who Are At Most Risk?
Some of the risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes are also common to many of the age-related problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high fat diet, being overweight and not doing any exercise. These all put enormous pressure on the body systems -the pancreas being part of that system.
We have mentioned the genetic link; my father developed late onset diabetes in his mid seventies. He had a healthy diet although he did love his puddings. We don’t know if he inherited it from his parents as his father died in his mid 50’s and his mother as a result of a car accident. The other side is that millions have a condition called pre-diabetes where they have all the markers including high blood sugar but it has not become full-blown diabetes. It is only recently that diagnosis through blood tests have determined the condition and of course in my grandparents day these were not available and they could have been suffering from diabetes and not known it. Just put their symptoms down to getting older.
Many people have elevated sugar levels, which can lead to diabetes. This is where a healthy eating programme comes in, lowering sugar levels and therefore the strain on the network of organs whose job it is to deal with the food that we take in.
A combination of processed foods, drinking too much alcohol, taking no exercise and being two or three stone overweight can over time stretch your pancreas and its efficiency to breaking point.

QUESTION – What Sort Of Symptoms Should People Be Aware Of?

Type 2 Diabetes, which is the most common, can have subtle symptoms that we can miss for years. It may not be detected until a check up for blood pressure when eye problems may be noticed etc.
The most common symptoms for anyone to look out for are the following.
Extreme fatigue. weight loss. excessive thirst. going to the loo a lot is an indication that there might be something wrong. This leads to more dehydration as of course water leaves the body as well as sugar, this sends more signals to the brain to drink more and it becomes a vicious circle.
Although a person suffering from diabetes will usually lose weight, they will find that their hunger increases and making them eat far more than they would normally.
To try and deal with the excess sugar in the blood the pancreas will secrete more insulin – excess insulin stimulates hunger.
Fluctuating blood sugar levels cause a number of depressive states. Irritability, loss of memory, confusion and extreme lethargy can occur in varying degrees. If you think that you might have any of these symptoms then a quick chat to your doctor and a blood test will put your mind at rest or get you the help you need.

QUESTION – So Where Do We Start? And Can We Prevent This Happening?
The great thing is that it is never too late. Particularly with Type 2 diabetes. Even with Type 1, following a sensible diet can make a difference to your overall health.
Firstly it is a very simple thing to go and get your blood sugar levels tested.

If you have any worries that you might be at risk, then take a test and then at least you know where you stand. Many of us have elevated sugar levels that are not causing diabetes but are a nudge for us to take a look at our lifestyle and moderate it so that the risk factors are reduced.

A healthy diet and lifestyle can help prevent the onset of diabetes. Even if you do have diabetes, once under the care of a doctor and monitored medication, then a change in lifestyle can over a period of months result in a reduction of the medication and in some cases patients have been able to stop it altogether. Having said that of course: as always you must never change any medication that you have been prescribed if you have not first consulted your doctor.

QUESTION – What Type Of Diet Should A Diabetic Person Follow?
Type 2 Diabetes is more about weight management and eating healthily. At least 85% of sufferers of this type of diabetes are overweight and so reducing to a normal weight has a dramatic effect on the diabetes.
Here are some of the key foods that can help prevent problems with blood sugar levels.

Walnuts and Salmon with their high content of Omega 3 and B vitamins. One of the properties of Omega 3 is that it helps with high cholesterol – it lowers the lipoprotein in blood that causes platelets to clot and helps prevent erratic heart rhythms. All symptoms of diabetes. The B vitamins are vital for cell health and the processes that metabolise our foods such as carbohydrates and proteins.

In addition Walnuts contain manganese which is important for glucose metabolism so help to stabilise blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates such as brown rice and porridge oats which are low glycemic and therefore do not cause blood sugar levels to rise in the first place in the same way as refined sugars or carbohydrates do. The oats are also anti-bacterial so help with wound healing.

The green tea has so many benefits – from cholesterol reduction, thinning the blood and preventing blood clots and reducing blood pressure. It has also been linked to preventing and improving diabetes.

The banana helps control blood sugar levels. All vegetables and fruits that are fresh and unprocessed should be eaten every day, particularly carrots and dark green vegetables.
Lean protein is also very important and if you like a bit of butter on your bread then have a scrape of butter which is far better for you then highly processed margarine.

So the first step in preventing Diabetes in the future is to take a long hard look at your lifestyle. Adopt a healthy eating plan and a moderate exercise regime. Walking just 45 minutes briskly a day will be beneficial – you don’t have to run a marathon or go to the gym for three hours.

Remember that 90%of diabetes sufferers are Type 2 which means that it is almost always preventable by diet and if you are suffering from the disease, it can be improved dramatically by following a healthy lifestyle.