pre-diabetes

[ntonkin]

Hope several folks will jump in and give me some feedback on our vexing and worrying dilemma. We have been in the total protein power life for two and a half years now. We have no stomach ailments, our blotchy skin has cleared up, my guy's sleep apnea is history, the list goes on and on, not to mention the grand total of 60 pounds we have lost between us, and we were not "fat". The total life means home-made food including salad dressings, etc, high quality fish oil each day, healthy meats, only low carb veggies, all the vitamins and supplements the Eades recommend, I mean, we have been dedicated. All my values are great, my guy's are great except for--- his glucose. He has been classified as "pre-diabetic". What are we doing wrong? He gave up all alcohol including red wine, but he has been having splenda/acesulfame K sodas at one or two per day, and having a modest serving of low carb ice cream just about every day. Is this the problem? His last labs were good, including a triglyceride of 77. His HCL is always right at 40, his LDL this time was 128. But before PP, and now, we have never been able to budge the glucose from being in the 103-113 range. His A1C was just over the top of the normal range this time, which is not good. All his doc and the websites say is that he is "fat" (he has a very small amount of truncal obesity,) and that he needs to exercise. This guy built a pole shed and a house last summer, and he is a weight lifter and runner, which accounts for his heavy weight, which is mostly muscle. Any thoughts anyone? thanks. robyn

[Mitra]

I'm glad to hear you're both feeling so much better.

There are a couple of points:

- if someone is particularly muscular, the BMI might not give a good indication of whether they are overweight. A body fat estimate (there are some on-line calculators in the resources section, or a doctor or gym could do a caliper skin-fold measurement, or Tanita scales, or the calc in the original Protein Power book) would give a better indication.

- No diet can cure all disorders. Some of us were born with certain weaknesses, some acquired them in the course of our lives, but, while PP is better for diabetics and the insulin-resistant than eating high carb, they can't necessarily cure every case. Having said that, if you don't do it regularly, it might be worth keeping a food journal for a while, just to make sure the carbs haven't crept up. The remaining "truncal obesity" hints at some degree of problem with sugar metabolism. as well as the medical tests.

[ntonkin]

thank you so much Mitra. Your points are thought provoking and are greatly appreciated. robyn

[Ottawa]

I would trust the results (your own health) more than the doctor until you find one that can support you or suggest other ways to change his blood sugar.

I was diagnosed pre-diabatic just over three years ago. Our numbers are different in Canada (mmol/L) but 6.2 is the crossover point and I was 8.0. I just kept running out of energy and finally went to a doctor. My numbers are now between 5.5 and 6.0 but they will never be the lower numbers I had in my teens and 20's.
My wife is in the same predicament as your husband. She is always slightly over the limit, even when close to a 24 hour carb fast. She exercised more than I did and still could not bring it down. Mine dropped through eating this way, although I have not noticed a further drop with the increased strength training and exercise.

Several factors can put you at a higher risk for diabetes and pre-diabetes ...

Youare older than 45 years of age
You have excess body weight – especially around the waist
Low activity level
Family history of diabetes
High blood pressure
High blood levels of triglycerides
HDL cholesterol of less than 35
You are African-American, Latino, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander.

and for women if ...
You gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds or had gestational diabetes while pregnant
====================================

This WoE helps correct several of these points but not all. Exercise (Aerobic) helps lower blood pressure and any exercise increases HDL.

Some of us just remain very prone to pre-diabetis conditions just from who we are. I would have had the 7 conditions listed above in blue. My siblings are all overweight, all diagnosed pre-diabetic, and our parents were overweight and both died early, one from diabetis related organ damage.

I read in another post that the two most important events affecting longevity are "Who your parents were." (genetics) and your Insulin Sensitivity (how quickly you get rid of excess glucose in the blood stream).

You already are on a program that helps you both by eating this way, and regular exercise would be another way.

Hang in and get him to join us in one of the exercise threads.

[LisaS]

You said he is running 'just high' on both his measured BG and his H1Ac.

It might be worthwhile to get a BG monitor (they're relatively inexpensive) and a supply of strips (where they make the $$) and thru some dedicated measuring and record keeping / food trials for a couple of weeks try to see if there is something that you can identify that triggers his higher BG readings and then try avoiding those trigger foods over the next 3 months. Maybe it is portions/ECC per meal rather than the foods themselves.

How many ECC per meal is he averaging? Maybe montior several times a day for a week (before meals and several times post-prandial) w/out changes to his eating to establish his patterns - and then try intervention levels/purist approach and see if you can see a BG difference?

[Belfrybat]

I too am pre-diabetic and since I'm not perfect in eating consistently very low LC (but I keep getting back on that horse!), I decided to try a round of Metaformin at the recommendation of the nurse practitioner. Being one with a cast iron stomach, I've had no gastric problems with it and it has actually helped not only with BS levels but also with cutting appetite some. I don't like to take meds on a regular basis but sometimes that is the way to go. My last tests showed a remarkable drop in BS as well as appropriate changes in cholesterol levels.