Tag Archive for: type 2 diabetes

The Cause of Obesity: The Beliefs

Fried food. Refined carbohydrates. Soft drinks. High fructose corn syrup. All of these have been independently examined and implicated in causing the obesity epidemic and associated conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Just last week, Dr. Robert Lustig and his research group published a study on children and sugar intake. The researchers lowered the sugars in the diet to 10%; they continually adjusted the kids’ food intake to give them the same number of calories but with starchy carbohydrates such as pizza, baked potato chips, and other starchy processed foods. The researchers found improvement in factors associated . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Type 2 Diabetes: The Only Cure

In this week’s messages, I’ve looked at medications and bariatric surgery as cures for type 2 diabetes. They’re treatments that can help with the symptoms, but they’re not cures. Considering the expense and the side effects of both, they’re not even very desirable treatments.

Let me be clear: they’re both effective, but effective and desirable are two different things. Reducing blood sugar and HbA1c are critical to slow the damage to the body caused by type 2 diabetes; we’re lucky those options are available. If your doctor wants you to do either, especially . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Type 2 Diabetes: Is Surgery the Cure?

About 20 years ago, I attended a conference on obesity convened by the National Institutes of Health. Every weight loss expert who was anybody was there and every approach to weight loss was discussed. The conclusion of the ending panel discussion was that while the concept for weight loss is simple, it’s not easy to sustain weight loss. At that point, a physician summarized the conference something like this: “What you’re saying is that after all the data presented this week, bariatric surgery is the most successful way to lose weight and maintain it?” It didn’t really . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Type 2 Diabetes: Is Medication the Cure?

When I work out on the elliptical trainer in the fitness center, I wear ear plugs so I can think without the loud music but I can see the television monitors. A commercial came on that showed people having a wonderful time. Out for a walk. In the pool. Grooving at work. Pictures with family. It took a while to figure out that it was a commercial for a type 2 diabetes medication. I can understand why people might find the medication appealing. Everyone was having a ball!

The best that type 2 diabetes medication can do is to keep . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Prediabetes: What Now?

The messages this week have talked about the risk factors for prediabetes and how many people don’t know what they are. It’s time to change that, at least in those of you who read the messages. Please feel free to pass them along to anyone you feel might also be unaware.

How do you know if you’re actually prediabetic? It requires a blood test for a specific protein called HbA1c. This protein indicates the amount of sugar that’s been in your blood stream for the past 90 days. The number for your blood sugar might be . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Diabetes: Are You in the Dark?

As I was doing intervals at the middle school running track last week, several trucks from the town showed up and began to erect a tent, most likely for the 4th of July festivities the following day. As they began to erect the tent, a woman who appeared to be their supervisor showed up with what looked like a dozen donuts, based on the box. It’s a nice gesture and seemed to be appreciated, but in my opinion, it was not the best choice.

I can’t stop myself from watching and evaluating people as I go about my . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Low Carb vs. High Carb: The Bottom Line

Today we finish the review of the latest study on the potential health benefits of low carb vs. high carb. We know what the researchers suggested are the beneficial effects of a low-carb diet and the potential problems of a high-carb diet. Were they correct? Let’s take a look.

I’m going to say this upfront because as you read on, you might get the impression I didn’t think much of this study, but that’s not really my viewpoint. This was a monumental effort by many different people. Think about it: they prepared every meal . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Low Carb vs. High Carb: The Results

In today’s message, we’re going to continue the review of a recent study that compared a low-carb to high-carb diet (1). Today I’ll focus on the results the researchers emphasized.

The researchers measured just about every variable associated with the development of type 2 diabetes including anthropomorphic measurements, insulin levels, and the complete breakdown of all the types of fatty acids found in triglycerides.

Let’s start with the basics. All subjects lost weight even though that wasn’t the intent of the study. The number of calories per day was decreased by an average . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.