Age, diet, type 2 diabetes and you.

[marauding mullet]

Alright fcukers listen up, we might all learn something important here.
It's supposed to be a discussion, so call BS on me, be my guest, correct me, question me, I'm happy to be straightened out on anything. On the face of it, at first at least it seems complicated, but it need not be.

I was at my doctors about 6 years ago for something minor, when he asked me how old I was, the answer was 50.
He then asked me when was the last time I had a full check-up, the answer was never.
He said look at your age you should do it, we'll do a full blood work-up, test for prostate cancer, heart condition and god knows what else.
The blood results came back indicating high cholesterol and sugar.
A sugar load test confirmed I had type 2 diabetes.

I had no symptoms at all, so really I was just lucky I had a good doctor who actually gave a fcuk about my wellbeing.
At first I was alarmed and confused, and had an element of "woe is me" but in a strange way it was a positive turn in my life.

The doc explained that diabetes simply means you have sugar in your blood.
That's bad because sugar is very corrosive to blood vessels, it causes long term irreversible damage to tiny blood vessels in the extremities (lower legs, feet) and also in the eyes and internal organs.
You see old people getting around with big dark red blotches around their lower legs and feet, that is their blood vessels actually leaking blood out through he walls of the vessels. You also see them in wheelchairs, missing legs because of diabetes.

So why is there sugar in the blood? Your stomach produces insulin, which (here's where it gets murky for me) deals with the sugar in your diet and allows the body to use the sugar effectively so it doesn't end up in your blood.
In some people like me, the stomach is worn out, it no longer produces enough insulin, or the insulin that is produced is not effective, or a combination of both.

What causes this to happen? Being overweight is the big risk factor, also age and lack of exercise.
And sometimes, as in my case as I was never overweight or had a sweet tooth, it's just genetic.

So off to a dietician to have the whole thing explained to me.
Basically, diabetes can't be cured, its a progressive disease so there is no going back..BUT..you can stop it in it's tracks so it doesn't get worse…..IF you can control it.

The controlling it part is where you normal healthy people may be interested, because the dietician explained I would only be doing what everybody else should be doing anyway.

In a nutshell, it involves 2 aspects..diet and exercise. To have any hope of controlling diabetes I have to do at least one hour of exercise, 5 times a week. That doesn't mean walking the fkn dogs around the block either, it has to be hard exercise for a full hour. At first I protested that my ankle was bung, my knee was fucked, the public pool was too cold etc. etc. etc.
The dietician said look, I can't tell you what to do, you have to find some way to exercise hard for an hour, 5 times a week. It had me fcuked at first, I hate gyms with a passion, I wasn't surfing at the time and even if I was still surfing it would't be often enough.
Then I discovered boxing, it's fun, I love it and it's perfect. A one hour training session is intense and just about all I can handle.

The diet…here's where it gets kinda complicated, but here's my take on it, bearing in mind it's only what everybody should be doing.
Instead of gagging out on one or two huge meals a day, you are supposed to eat 4 or 5 small meals a day.
The portions….split the plate into 3 equal portions….protein, carbs and salads, each portion no bigger than the palm of your hand.

The body converts carbs into sugar, to give us energy. That's why things like rice, bread, pasta, spuds etc. keep us going all day. If you eat too much carbs, you have energy that will not get used and gets stored as fat. Or in my case the sugar ends up in the blood if I don't burn it up with exercise.
That's why alcohol is not good, people think it's the carbs or whatever in beer, but alcohol is fuel. If you get fuel from alcohol, you won't burn up the fuel from your food. Puts a new spin on the term "alcohol fuelled violence"

This is getting kinda long already so I'll leave it at that for now.
I think it's relevant to just about everybody to understand how your body deals with the food you put in it, and the importance of exercise particularly as you get older.
I doubt if there's too many people on this forum lucky enough to be able to surf often enough to keep entirely fit.

[Beanpole]

Good stuff mention however I've lost over 10 kilos in a year by calorie restrictions 2 times a week and have significantly lowered my blood insulin levels and cholesterol and blood pressure in the process. This is with moderate exercise.

One thing with diabetes that's always puzzled me is what the actual symptoms are. Not as in the losing a leg when you get old but the actual everyday symptoms. Not the convulsing on the ground and needing sugar type symptoms either. Just the signs that you may have it. The doctors never seem to mention this.

[marauding mullet]

One thing with diabetes that's always puzzled me is what the actual symptoms are. Not as in the losing a leg when you get old but the actual everyday symptoms. Not the convulsing on the ground and needing sugar type symptoms either. Just the signs that you may have it. The doctors never seem to mention this.

You're probably thinking of Type 1 Beanpole. I don't know much about that.
I've never had symptoms, and probably had it for years before I found out.
That's what makes it such an insidious disease.
I could eat whatever I want, whenever I want and not feel any different, but the consequences of doing that are long term. By the time the damage becomes obvious it's too late.

That is why it's important for people to get a check-up, especially when you get a bit older.
Cholesterol levels are another silent one, a check up will tell you.

[Beanpole]

I've usually had elevated blood sugar levels but since I've been doing the 5:2 thing the levels have stabilised to a normal level. This is one of the main supposed benefits of the regime. It's like giving your metabolism a kick up the arse and reminding it of what it's supposed to function like. As in: this is what hungry actually feels like. Cholesterol and blood pressure are extra good too. Although they had been pretty good anyway.

[Beanpole]

Due to hereditary factors I've been on blood pressure and cholesterol tablets for 10 years or something now. Part of that is getting biannual blood tests. They also check blood sugar and psi or whatever you're prostate thingo is.

As far as 5:2 goes I usually have a bowl of porridge with yoghurt and banana, some celery and carrots plus an apple for lunch and sushi or a bit of chicken or fish for dinner. Just has to add up to under 600 calories. Pretty easy really.

[marauding mullet]

Matt I use a glucometer, a thing about the size of a stopwatch. Prick the finger and it tells you in seconds.
I used to check myself every morning before eating, but don't worry too much anymore as my eating habits are fairly stable now.
Every 6 months I get a Hb1ac blood test, which tells a bigger picture of what has happened over the past few months.

[marauding mullet]

I'm assuming everyone here over 50 has had the free government bowel cancer screening test kit sent out to them?
I got another one sent to me when I turned 55.

[Trev]

I'm assuming everyone here over 50 has had the free government bowel cancer screening test kit sent out to them?
I got another one sent to me when I turned 55.

You're supposed to get them every 5 years, however, the last one I got (over 65) was the first.

[Elmako]

Mate one word for you: Paleo

Go google Robb Wolf Paleo, the original human diet. Lots of examples there with people with diabetes and got rid of it. Low carbs and non processed food, too simple.

Buy the book ASAP read it and give it the 30 day trial, assuming you are over 50, 30 days of your life represent an investment of 0.0000000001 of your life, I say worth the while.

Staying healthy with Low insulin takes 90% nutrition, 10% percent exercise. You could exercise 5 times per week and eat the nasty breads/cakes/pasta and stuff and your insulin levels will be over the roof.

Dont think of Paleo as a diet, its a choice, you will be surprised how much food you will be eating, just clean food.

Start reading the labels on the products you buy, you will realise how much sugar most of them have, scary.

Drop all diet drinks, sugar is bad, artificial sugar is just as bad, it triggers the insulin the same way as a normal coke.

What do you hink Kelly Slater + Joel + Taj (Jonny Gannon) + Shane Dorian have in common ? Paleo principles on their nutrition. Big list in our surfing community of Paleo nutrition followers.

Have you seen Martin Potter lately, went Paleo and is looking like a teenager.

cheers

J

[steve shearer]

there are also potential problems with Paleo.

and it's debatable whether it is the original human diet.

[Elmako]

Hi Steve, saying there are problems with Paleo and not outline them from reputable sources is kinda lame. Perhaps you are referring to Food Freaks, then yes, extremes can cause issues.

What issues could you get from eating non processed foods like:

Protein: eggs, grass fed meats (beef, pork), and fish like salmon (high in Omega 9).
Vegetables: all of them
Carbs: sweet potatoes + fruits
Nuts, I also eat a lot of them: cashews, almonds, etc, etc

Which items above were not found 4 millions of years ago in any region of the world, yes, bananas for the cave man on the tropical weather and berries for the cave man on higher altitudes. Some would find/hunt bison meat other would find salmons on their backyards, and so on.

I am a Paleo follower however I will have a burger with chips every now and then, I am not a food freak. However 90% of what I eat is non processed. I also have a few beers over the weekend, no radical approaches here. I can now afford it as all my blood levels are perfect at 45 years old.

What has all this brought me, and Steve, I had blood samples taken before going Paleo and 6 months after and 1 year after. My doctor was blown away, my higher blood pressure is gone,and my blood levels are spot on.

In the first 6 months I lost 12 kgs and 1 year later I still kept the weight off with no counting calories or meal reductions, I don't measure what I eat, I just eat a lot of clean food.

My waist has gone from 36 inches to 32 inches and my energy levels are amazing.

Also I was suffering from tendonitis on my elbows and chronic knee pain, those symptoms are also gonsky. Simple carbs like pasta, rice, etc cause inflammation, very simple. Wheat causes inflammation.

I am all for whatever works for you, and Paleo works great for me, these days I will still eat cake right, but made out of Almond mill, cocoa powder. My pasta is sweet potatoes cut like pasta (noodles) with a bolognese home made sauce. On weekends I will have treats like gluten free bread with my eggs or I will go out sometimes and eat a Pizza, again no extremes. Once every moon vs every second day.

In fact you feel so great that your body and brain changes and starts loving all that stuff that makes it feel good.

With a bit of creativity you can combine all the paleo friendly foods (non processed, no secrets here) and have real variety of meals that will make you feel like you are having the real deal.

Another thing that I learned form paleo and Robb Wolf is that I cant say that something does not work if I have not tried it. This is critical for making progress in anything you want to change in your life, giving a Paleo diet 30 days could be the best thing you will do in your life for your health. I am 45 years old, I invested the first 30 days and this represented an investment of 0.0018% of my whole life, on those 30 days I lost 7kgs and eat so much food I could not believe it, the book will have recipes, shopping lists, all there for you.

it takes making sacrifices like anything in life so I can see why some people will bag Paleo,as much as they will bag anything that requires an effort, the brain is wired to seek gratification and avoid pain and that dictates the majority of our moves.

Ahh almost forgot, at 45 still ride a high performance short board that fits in the boot of my car.

Cheers
J

[ctd]

How do you know if someone is on a paleo diet?

They will tell you....


Ok, as part of my job I get interested in diets and there is no doubt that paleo (or, really, high protein/medium fat/low carb) is excellent for weight loss and associated problems - diabetes, joint pain etc. I'm suspicious of the claims about inflammation (it might just be reduction in weight on joints) and I'm also suspicious about the claim that the 'food pyramid' causes people to put on weight. I dont think it does; but if you have put on the weight through not following the food pyramid, then the paleo diet is definitely the best way to lose that weight in the long term.

It can be practically hard, however - what do you eat for lunch (no sandwich). What about breakfast (no bowl of cereal).

As a start, replace cereal/toast with eggs (made any way you like it) or a protein shake (protein powder, milk, some fibre, a banana if you are just maintaining or maybe some coconut or kale if you want to lose weight). Of itself this will give you a good kick start.

There are a number of good sites around discussing these issues.

Paleo is a stupid name however, there is no evidence that the paleo diet is what we 'traditionally' ate nor any reason why
non traditional eating should suddenly be the cause of so many health problems (when it wasnt only 30 years ago). It just distracts from the real issues, because people make the argument I just made and then dismiss the diet out of hand.

[alakaboo]

I tried not having carbs at breakfast, by about 8:45 I am murderously hungry.
I reckon if I went full paleo I'd have to ride a pig around and just carve bits off when I got hungry.

[marauding mullet]

I have had no trouble keeping my blood sugar levels in check, staying fit and healthy and keeping to my "ideal" weight by eating a pretty normal diet.
Using the accepted standard medical formula to determine my ideal weight, the dietician worked out that I should be 89Kg, but she said I'm not gonna look right at that weight and used her discretion to adjust it to 92Kg.

The thing I had most trouble coming to terms with in my "new" diet 6 years ago was educating myself about different foods.
Things I just assumed I could eat as much as I wanted, were not necessarily so.
Avocados for example, I love them, used to eat one nearly every day on toast. NO…a quarter of one is all I'm supposed to have. Fruit, full of sugar. Nuts, very fattening. Coconuts, extremely high in cholesterol.
As a general rule of thumb I've just stuck by the rule "everything in moderation" which seems to work.

One of the hardest things to work around has been managing 4 or 5 small meals a day while working.
My last few jobs have involved 10 hour shifts, with 2 very short (20 and 10 minute) meal breaks (young blokesbargaining away things for a few extra bucks, don't get me started).

I've noticed recently a trend for people to claim new "miracle" cures for type 2 diabetes.
Tracy Grimshaw and her advertorial ilk have been promoting these fly-by-night shonks lately.
It's all over the internet too, special diets that miraculously cured type 2 diabetes.
There IS NO cure. You can get it under control i.e. manage it so that you have normal healthy blood sugar levels, they twist this to sound like they have "cured" diabetes, they have not.
As yet there is no known way to make the pancreas start producing normal levels of effective insulin again.

[Spoon]

My dilemma is lunch. I tend to have a tuna, tomato and lettuce sandwich most days but if grains and bread is no good then what. Salad gets a bit monotonous and at work I really only have time for a quick bite. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Beanpole]

Well at the risk of enflaming some people around the joint/joints.
5:2 works very well particularly if you aren't ridiculous about it.

You can talk about prehistoric diets but one reality is that people didn't eat exactly the same quantity of food seven days a week 52 weeks a year.

[still here]

This 5:2 business ...... Is it preferable to:
- group the 2 "starvation days" together ,
-split them into a routine eg. Monday and Thursday or Tuesday an Thursday , or
- randomly throw the starvation days around ( averaging 5:2 over a month ) to keep the body guessing ?

[alakaboo]

Do you really think your stomach knows what day of the week it is?