I'm starting something new on here. I love getting questions from friends about nutrition trends. I love reading and researching. So...
Have a nutrition-related question? Wondering whether those product health claims are really legit? Confused about supplements?
Ask me!
Email me at jjznutrition@gmail.com
I'll research your question and post about it. Your question may help other readers and vice versa. No names will be disclosed to ensure your privacy.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Interning, Butchering and Hope
The final step in becoming a registered dietitian (RD) - aside from passing the RD exam - involves completing an 11-month internship. I like to describe the internship as a 'residency for dietitians.' I suppose it's an apt comparison; we rotate our way through a variety of practice areas: clinical nutrition, community nutrition education, food service and an elective of our choosing.
Since September 2009, I've interned at seven locations:
Wrong. It was absolutely, totally, completely fascinating. We watched silently as Adam carried out an entire hindquarter of a cow, hung it on a hook and proceeded to carve it so quickly and precisely it took all the concentration I had to keep moving - following his packaging instructions - and not dumbly stare (in veneration mostly, but with a drop of horror too). I'll never say, "I butchered the job" to refer to a mistake again.
Good thing I'm not at all squeamish. As the first hindquarter was hooked, we noticed an organ hanging down. "What's that?" we asked. "Oh, a kidney..." My grandfather was a USDA meat inspector in the 1940s and 50s, and then a meat salesman in NYC's Meat Packing District through the early 1970s. Dickson's gave me a morsel of family history as well.
The NY Times recently mentioned Dickson's in this story on local meat.
Yesterday (my second time at Dickson's), I got to vacuum package goat while The Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) filmed Adam carving beef (too bad I didn't get to see the goat carving, for comparison's sake). Apparently there is a partnership-to-be between Dickson's and Sam Adams. I signed a release since they filmed me packaging, though I think my back was mostly to the camera. My identifying feature? A Christmasy combination of a light green headscarf and red clogs.
All of the above is a dreadfully superficial description of what is really going on here. The food system is changing. The resurgence of butchering, the staring customers, the filming - it all gives me hope. In the future, maybe we won't give 70% of our antibiotics to animals in feedlots. Maybe we'll have fewer strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fewer cases of foodborne illnesses. Maybe the Mississippi River won't be so polluted by CAFO* runoff and maybe the deoygenated "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico will shrink (if the oil spill is ever contained). Maybe our great-grandkids won't know what the global warming fuss was all about.
That's what's going on.
*CAFO = Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
Since September 2009, I've interned at seven locations:
- NY State Psychiatric Institute
- City Dialysis Center
- Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center
- Cornell University Cooperative Extension
- FreshDirect
- Food Bank for NYC
- The Cleaver Company and The Green Table
Wrong. It was absolutely, totally, completely fascinating. We watched silently as Adam carried out an entire hindquarter of a cow, hung it on a hook and proceeded to carve it so quickly and precisely it took all the concentration I had to keep moving - following his packaging instructions - and not dumbly stare (in veneration mostly, but with a drop of horror too). I'll never say, "I butchered the job" to refer to a mistake again.
Good thing I'm not at all squeamish. As the first hindquarter was hooked, we noticed an organ hanging down. "What's that?" we asked. "Oh, a kidney..." My grandfather was a USDA meat inspector in the 1940s and 50s, and then a meat salesman in NYC's Meat Packing District through the early 1970s. Dickson's gave me a morsel of family history as well.
The NY Times recently mentioned Dickson's in this story on local meat.
Yesterday (my second time at Dickson's), I got to vacuum package goat while The Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) filmed Adam carving beef (too bad I didn't get to see the goat carving, for comparison's sake). Apparently there is a partnership-to-be between Dickson's and Sam Adams. I signed a release since they filmed me packaging, though I think my back was mostly to the camera. My identifying feature? A Christmasy combination of a light green headscarf and red clogs.
All of the above is a dreadfully superficial description of what is really going on here. The food system is changing. The resurgence of butchering, the staring customers, the filming - it all gives me hope. In the future, maybe we won't give 70% of our antibiotics to animals in feedlots. Maybe we'll have fewer strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fewer cases of foodborne illnesses. Maybe the Mississippi River won't be so polluted by CAFO* runoff and maybe the deoygenated "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico will shrink (if the oil spill is ever contained). Maybe our great-grandkids won't know what the global warming fuss was all about.
That's what's going on.
*CAFO = Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
Garden Update
Approximately 2 weeks later, things have certainly grown. Please ignore the half-done leaf mulching job - it's on the list to finish! Think I might pick some of the romaine for dinner.
Friday, June 4, 2010
FTC Cracks Down on Kellogg's Health Claims
Yesterday, the FTC took some of the 'snap, crackle and pop' out of Rice Krispies. As part of a settlement between Kellogg and the FTC, no longer will boxes of Rice Krispies proclaim: “Now helps support your child’s immunity,” with “25 percent Daily Value of Antioxidants and Nutrients – Vitamins A, B, C, and E.” and “Kellogg’s Rice Krispies has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy.”
Read the release here, and a NY Times article covering the topic here.
Kellogg has been in the hot seat with the FTC since last year's dispute over the claim that Frosted-Mini Wheat cereal was, "clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%.” (Remember the TV ad with the talking Frosted Mini-Wheat square helping the kid with schoolwork? You won't see those anymore either.)
Ok, so Rice Krispies isn't exactly high on my health-offender list, which is why this is such a good example. Who really thinks of Rice Krispies as unhealthy? In truth, without the vitamin-fortification, Rice Krispies is an exceedingly average source of simple carbohydrates with a dollop of sodium (299mg in 1 1/4 cup). That's it. All it needs is a little vitamin-fortification here, some antioxidants there, some health claims and ta-da! Healthy food!
Health claims exist to get people to buy stuff. They annoy me for many reasons. In this case, it's because they are especially effective on something as benign as Rice Krispies. (I hope that most people have a clue about some other products...how about 7 Up with Antioxidants?)
With that said, I'll leave off with the words of FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz:
“We expect more from a great American company than making dubious claims – not once, but twice – that its cereals improve children’s health. Next time, Kellogg needs to stop and think twice about the claims it’s making before rolling out a new ad campaign, so parents can make the best choices for their children.”
Read the release here, and a NY Times article covering the topic here.
Kellogg has been in the hot seat with the FTC since last year's dispute over the claim that Frosted-Mini Wheat cereal was, "clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%.” (Remember the TV ad with the talking Frosted Mini-Wheat square helping the kid with schoolwork? You won't see those anymore either.)Ok, so Rice Krispies isn't exactly high on my health-offender list, which is why this is such a good example. Who really thinks of Rice Krispies as unhealthy? In truth, without the vitamin-fortification, Rice Krispies is an exceedingly average source of simple carbohydrates with a dollop of sodium (299mg in 1 1/4 cup). That's it. All it needs is a little vitamin-fortification here, some antioxidants there, some health claims and ta-da! Healthy food!
Health claims exist to get people to buy stuff. They annoy me for many reasons. In this case, it's because they are especially effective on something as benign as Rice Krispies. (I hope that most people have a clue about some other products...how about 7 Up with Antioxidants?)
With that said, I'll leave off with the words of FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz:
“We expect more from a great American company than making dubious claims – not once, but twice – that its cereals improve children’s health. Next time, Kellogg needs to stop and think twice about the claims it’s making before rolling out a new ad campaign, so parents can make the best choices for their children.”
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Garden, Take 1
This year we decided to forgo the CSA we have belonged to for the past two years. The reason? We've finally gone as local as local can get and planted our own vegetable garden! My husband and I have been wanting to grow something more than tomatoes for quite a while, but the summer always seemed to slip away. And with our CSA, we always had plenty of local, organic vegetables. However, this year we were determined to make it on our own.
[Don't get me wrong: I loved our CSA. But it was a bit far for us to travel (opposite side of the county) and I felt that now that I have an honest-to-goodness yard, it should be used for more than growing patchy grass.]
In our garden we planted: broccoli, cabbage, collards, eggplant, cucumbers, romaine and red leaf lettuce, bell peppers and tomatoes. I'm looking forward to eating my first salad completely from the garden! I'm already planning for next year. I'd love to include some squash and potatoes...mmm.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, a farmer will sell shares of his or her crops to consumers for the growing season. Instead of grocery shopping, you receive distributions of crops once a week or so, depending on your CSA arrangement. By doing this, the consumer shares in the risks inherent to farming - there are no guarantees. Farmers feed us, after all - why should they be the only ones taking on the risk? This arrangement benefits both consumer and farmer alike. The farmer has a steady income and can plan for future seasons. The consumer receives a greater quantity of vegetables when the crop prospers and a lesser quantity when it doesn't. For example, last year's late blight decimated the tomato crop, and we received virtually no tomatoes. In contrast, the year before had us nearly sick of tomatoes they were so plentiful. (Sick of tomatoes? I know, it sounds impossible...but trust me, I couldn't use them fast enough!)
In closing, let me say how great our CSA was/is. We belonged to Restoration Farm located in Old Bethpage, NY. The farm is beautiful and the growers, Caroline and Dan, are amazing. I highly recommend it if you live in Nassau County or even western Suffolk County. The farm is on the grounds of Old Bethpage Village Restoration, a recreation of a mid-19th-century American village. The majority of the buildings are genuine - they were moved to the site from their previous locations and arranged to represent a typical rural Long Island farm village of that time period. Each season the village holds Civil War reenactments, the Long Island agricultural fair and other events. Both the farm and the village are fantastic places to visit if you are in the area.
[Don't get me wrong: I loved our CSA. But it was a bit far for us to travel (opposite side of the county) and I felt that now that I have an honest-to-goodness yard, it should be used for more than growing patchy grass.]
In our garden we planted: broccoli, cabbage, collards, eggplant, cucumbers, romaine and red leaf lettuce, bell peppers and tomatoes. I'm looking forward to eating my first salad completely from the garden! I'm already planning for next year. I'd love to include some squash and potatoes...mmm.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, a farmer will sell shares of his or her crops to consumers for the growing season. Instead of grocery shopping, you receive distributions of crops once a week or so, depending on your CSA arrangement. By doing this, the consumer shares in the risks inherent to farming - there are no guarantees. Farmers feed us, after all - why should they be the only ones taking on the risk? This arrangement benefits both consumer and farmer alike. The farmer has a steady income and can plan for future seasons. The consumer receives a greater quantity of vegetables when the crop prospers and a lesser quantity when it doesn't. For example, last year's late blight decimated the tomato crop, and we received virtually no tomatoes. In contrast, the year before had us nearly sick of tomatoes they were so plentiful. (Sick of tomatoes? I know, it sounds impossible...but trust me, I couldn't use them fast enough!)
In closing, let me say how great our CSA was/is. We belonged to Restoration Farm located in Old Bethpage, NY. The farm is beautiful and the growers, Caroline and Dan, are amazing. I highly recommend it if you live in Nassau County or even western Suffolk County. The farm is on the grounds of Old Bethpage Village Restoration, a recreation of a mid-19th-century American village. The majority of the buildings are genuine - they were moved to the site from their previous locations and arranged to represent a typical rural Long Island farm village of that time period. Each season the village holds Civil War reenactments, the Long Island agricultural fair and other events. Both the farm and the village are fantastic places to visit if you are in the area.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Have we Traded Trans Fat for Saturated Fat?
According to an article published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the answer is no. Read the article here. The investigation was conducted by a researcher from Harvard Medical School and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), one of my favorite organizations and publisher of the Nutrition Action Healthletter.
Trans fats have similar characteristics to saturated fats. With the trans fat labeling requirement in effect since 2006, and the NYC ban on trans fats, many were concerned that manufacturers and chefs would simply replace the trans fat in their products and recipes with saturated fat. If this were the case, would we really be accomplishing anything to improve our overall health?
The researchers conducted two evaluations of 83 reformulated supermarket and restaurant foods (from 1993-2006 and 2008-2009) and discovered that the majority of reformulated foods had less than 0.5g trans fat per serving (the level at which a manufacturer can claim "0g trans fat") and the average amount of saturated fat was " lower, unchanged, or only slightly higher (<0.5 g per serving) than before reformulation."
Keep in mind there are thousands and thousands of products out there and this analysis only closely examined 83 reformulated products...but I still hope this is an indicator of things moving in the right direction - or at least not a wrong one.
Trans fats have similar characteristics to saturated fats. With the trans fat labeling requirement in effect since 2006, and the NYC ban on trans fats, many were concerned that manufacturers and chefs would simply replace the trans fat in their products and recipes with saturated fat. If this were the case, would we really be accomplishing anything to improve our overall health?
The researchers conducted two evaluations of 83 reformulated supermarket and restaurant foods (from 1993-2006 and 2008-2009) and discovered that the majority of reformulated foods had less than 0.5g trans fat per serving (the level at which a manufacturer can claim "0g trans fat") and the average amount of saturated fat was " lower, unchanged, or only slightly higher (<0.5 g per serving) than before reformulation."
Keep in mind there are thousands and thousands of products out there and this analysis only closely examined 83 reformulated products...but I still hope this is an indicator of things moving in the right direction - or at least not a wrong one.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Gluten Intolerance?
Here is a question I recently received from FOODPICKER.org:
Jan A. asks: I have type 2 diabetes and just found out I have gluten intolerance. I haven’t been able to figure out what I can eat. I have been leaving grains out of my diet. What should I do?
Answer: I am so glad to answer this question, as gluten has become a hot issue lately! First, I would like to explain that gluten is not inherently a poison. Gluten is a protein found in wheat. Gluten is strong and stringy, and is responsible for bread's ability to rise without breaking apart and collapsing. You cannot make yeast-rising bread with flour that does not contain gluten.
Gluten contains two fractions, gliadin and glutenin, both of which evoke an autoimmune response in people with Celiac disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disease resulting in an inflammatory condition in the small intestine. The protein fractions of barley and rye (hordeins and secalins, respectively) are closely related to those in gluten, and will also initiate autoimmune activity (although oats are gluten free, they have been suspect in the past due to contamination during processing). People with Celiac disease must eliminate all sources of wheat, barley and rye - and their derivatives - completely from their diets or risk serious damage to their GI tract and a host of other issues. There is no established threshold for immune response initiation, so complete elimination is paramount.
It is possible that a larger number of people than previously thought are sensitive to gluten. Type 1 diabetes (another autoimmune condition) has been linked to Celiac disease with increasing frequency. However, while there are specific antibody and biopsy tests to help diagnose Celiac disease, tests for gluten sensitivity are generally unreliable. The easiest thing to do is to try a gluten-elimination diet and see if whatever symptoms you are experiencing improve.
Avoiding gluten sounds simple but is actually quite tricky, as gluten is ubiquitous in the average American diet. Keep in mind that "wheat-free" does not mean "gluten-free" and there are many non-food products that must be avoided.
For example, sources of gluten include:
Ok, so at this point you are probably wondering: “is there anything I can eat?” The answer is yes!
Naturally gluten-free foods include:
At home, be aware of possible cross-contamination with foods containing gluten. Wash cutting boards and utensils thoroughly. Use squeeze bottles of condiments whenever possible to avoid contaminating the condiment jar by inserting a utensil that previously contacted gluten-containing foods. Bread crumbs may stick to the insides of toasters (or the toaster oven rack) and may contaminate gluten-free items. Of course, always read the ingredients list when buying packaged food!
There are many gluten-free products out there (breads, cookies, snack bars, etc.). These products may come in handy at times, but are not necessary. Focus on naturally gluten-free foods, especially since many gluten-free products are highly processed and have a higher fat content.
At this point, you may notice that following a gluten-free diet also eliminates many sources of whole grains. For this reason, I do no generally advise anyone to follow a gluten-free diet unless there is a particular reason for doing so – i.e. symptoms related to suspected gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy or a diagnosis of Celiac disease. "Gluten-free" does not automatically mean "healthy." But with some experimentation and practice, it is possible to eat a delicious and healthful gluten-free diet.
Good luck!
Jan A. asks: I have type 2 diabetes and just found out I have gluten intolerance. I haven’t been able to figure out what I can eat. I have been leaving grains out of my diet. What should I do?
Answer: I am so glad to answer this question, as gluten has become a hot issue lately! First, I would like to explain that gluten is not inherently a poison. Gluten is a protein found in wheat. Gluten is strong and stringy, and is responsible for bread's ability to rise without breaking apart and collapsing. You cannot make yeast-rising bread with flour that does not contain gluten.
Gluten contains two fractions, gliadin and glutenin, both of which evoke an autoimmune response in people with Celiac disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disease resulting in an inflammatory condition in the small intestine. The protein fractions of barley and rye (hordeins and secalins, respectively) are closely related to those in gluten, and will also initiate autoimmune activity (although oats are gluten free, they have been suspect in the past due to contamination during processing). People with Celiac disease must eliminate all sources of wheat, barley and rye - and their derivatives - completely from their diets or risk serious damage to their GI tract and a host of other issues. There is no established threshold for immune response initiation, so complete elimination is paramount.
It is possible that a larger number of people than previously thought are sensitive to gluten. Type 1 diabetes (another autoimmune condition) has been linked to Celiac disease with increasing frequency. However, while there are specific antibody and biopsy tests to help diagnose Celiac disease, tests for gluten sensitivity are generally unreliable. The easiest thing to do is to try a gluten-elimination diet and see if whatever symptoms you are experiencing improve.
Avoiding gluten sounds simple but is actually quite tricky, as gluten is ubiquitous in the average American diet. Keep in mind that "wheat-free" does not mean "gluten-free" and there are many non-food products that must be avoided.
For example, sources of gluten include:
- Bread, pasta and any products made from barley, rye, wheat and any of their derivatives, including kamut, triticale, spelt, graham, semolina and durum.
- Vinegars made from fermented wheat, rye or barley (malt vinegar)
- Beer, made from fermented barley
- Soy sauce, made from fermented wheat or barley
- Gravies, sauces, jellies thickened with flour or starch
- Emulsifiers in some toothpastes contain gluten
- Modified food starch, found in many packaged foods and processed cheeses (and even Twizzlers!)
- Hydrolyzed or Texturized vegetable protein, may use wheat, rye or barley proteins
- Dextrin
- Malt syrup and malt flavoring (derived from barley; found in some soy and rice milk products)
- Vegetable gum
- Glue on envelopes
- Prescription and OTC medications may contain wheat starch as a filler
- Lipstick may also contain wheat starch as a dispersing agent/filler
- Natural and artificial flavorings - may contain gluten.
Ok, so at this point you are probably wondering: “is there anything I can eat?” The answer is yes!
Naturally gluten-free foods include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Meat, poultry, seafood
- Beans and legumes
- Gluten-Free Grains (corn, quinoa, rice, oats, millet, amaranth, teff, buckwheat, soybeans, arrowroot)
- Dairy (milk, yogurt and most cheeses)
- Oils and fats
- Alcohol, except beer
At home, be aware of possible cross-contamination with foods containing gluten. Wash cutting boards and utensils thoroughly. Use squeeze bottles of condiments whenever possible to avoid contaminating the condiment jar by inserting a utensil that previously contacted gluten-containing foods. Bread crumbs may stick to the insides of toasters (or the toaster oven rack) and may contaminate gluten-free items. Of course, always read the ingredients list when buying packaged food!
There are many gluten-free products out there (breads, cookies, snack bars, etc.). These products may come in handy at times, but are not necessary. Focus on naturally gluten-free foods, especially since many gluten-free products are highly processed and have a higher fat content.
At this point, you may notice that following a gluten-free diet also eliminates many sources of whole grains. For this reason, I do no generally advise anyone to follow a gluten-free diet unless there is a particular reason for doing so – i.e. symptoms related to suspected gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy or a diagnosis of Celiac disease. "Gluten-free" does not automatically mean "healthy." But with some experimentation and practice, it is possible to eat a delicious and healthful gluten-free diet.
Good luck!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sugarless Candy (and sugar alcohols)
Here is this week's question I received from FOODPICKER.org:
Jeff W. asks: My doctor recently diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes. I know it is important to watch my sugar intake. Is sugarless candy really sugarless?
Answer: While sugarless candy will not contain sugar, be aware that it may contain other sources of carbohydrate. All carbohydrates will affect blood sugar, be it candy, potatoes or bread. (Really, all food will affect blood sugar, but carbohydrates have the greatest effect.) In the past, people diagnosed with diabetes were told they were not allowed to eat sugar. This is no longer true. People with diabetes can eat any foods but must pay closer attention to portion sizes and combination of foods.
Candy sweetened with sugar is a source of concentrated carbohydrate. You may choose to substitute with sugarless candy, but be sure to read the label and note the amount of carbohydrate in each serving - and the serving size! I would also suggest reading the ingredients listing and noting which artificial sweetener is used in the product.
Sugarless candy is often sweetened with sugar alcohols. The names of sugar alcohols usually end in -ol; some common ones are sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol, mannitol and lactitol. Sugar alcohols are metabolized differently than sugar, so they will not raise you blood glucose quite as much as sugar and they have slightly fewer calories. However, ingestion of large amounts of sugar alcohols may cause diarrhea. This occurs because sugar alcohols are usually not fully digested. The presence of undigested carbohydrate in the intestine alters the osmotic pressure, thus causing water to be drawn into the intestine, resulting in diarrhea. This reaction to sugar alcohols varies from person to person, so keep this in mind when trying out sugarless candy made with sugar alcohols.
Everyone is different - sugarless candy may affect your blood glucose differently than someone else with type 2 diabetes. As with incorporating any new food into your diet, the only way to know for sure is to try a small amount and test your blood glucose.
Jeff W. asks: My doctor recently diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes. I know it is important to watch my sugar intake. Is sugarless candy really sugarless?
Answer: While sugarless candy will not contain sugar, be aware that it may contain other sources of carbohydrate. All carbohydrates will affect blood sugar, be it candy, potatoes or bread. (Really, all food will affect blood sugar, but carbohydrates have the greatest effect.) In the past, people diagnosed with diabetes were told they were not allowed to eat sugar. This is no longer true. People with diabetes can eat any foods but must pay closer attention to portion sizes and combination of foods.
Candy sweetened with sugar is a source of concentrated carbohydrate. You may choose to substitute with sugarless candy, but be sure to read the label and note the amount of carbohydrate in each serving - and the serving size! I would also suggest reading the ingredients listing and noting which artificial sweetener is used in the product.
Sugarless candy is often sweetened with sugar alcohols. The names of sugar alcohols usually end in -ol; some common ones are sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol, mannitol and lactitol. Sugar alcohols are metabolized differently than sugar, so they will not raise you blood glucose quite as much as sugar and they have slightly fewer calories. However, ingestion of large amounts of sugar alcohols may cause diarrhea. This occurs because sugar alcohols are usually not fully digested. The presence of undigested carbohydrate in the intestine alters the osmotic pressure, thus causing water to be drawn into the intestine, resulting in diarrhea. This reaction to sugar alcohols varies from person to person, so keep this in mind when trying out sugarless candy made with sugar alcohols.
Everyone is different - sugarless candy may affect your blood glucose differently than someone else with type 2 diabetes. As with incorporating any new food into your diet, the only way to know for sure is to try a small amount and test your blood glucose.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Reversing diabetes?
Here is this week's question from FOODPICKER.org:
Tammy S. asks: My 45 year-old husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few months ago. Is it true that you can reverse diabetes?
Answer: Confusion abounds regarding whether or not type 2 diabetes can be reversed! The short answer is no. Diabetes is a chronic condition that cannot be cured - it can, however, be managed. There is a distinct difference.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas either does not produce enough insulin, or the body's cells do not respond to insulin properly (insulin resistance). In either case, the not enough glucose is moved from the bloodstream into the body's tissues, and you are left with high blood glucose levels.
Let's look at an example: 2 hours after a meal, blood glucose should be below 140 mg/dl. When your blood glucose is over 140 for longer than 2 hours, other constituents of blood are skewed: triglyceride levels increase, fibrinogen (used in clotting) decreases. Over time (in terms of years) this will increase your chances of damaging the tiny blood vessels in eyes, kidneys and nerves - leading to a host of other problems.
A person without diabetes can eat chocolate cake or a salad for lunch - in either case, 2 hours after a meal his/her blood glucose will be below 140 (probably more like 120). The pancreas will compensate depending on what is eaten. In a person with type 2 diabetes, like your husband, eating chocolate cake for lunch (and nothing else) puts a huge glucose load on his bloodstream. His pancreas kicks into overdrive to compensate, but it just can't keep up. Two hours later his pancreas is still trying to clear all the blood of the sugar from lunch. It's like using a spork to eat soup - it sort of works, but is not totally efficient! Now, if your husband had eaten a salad and maybe some broiled fish or chicken followed by a smaller portion of chocolate cake, his blood glucose might be within a normal range 2 hours later.
Does that mean his diabetes is cured? No! If he goes back to eating cake for lunch, his diabetes manifests again.
However, diabetes complications should not be considered manifest destiny! This does not mean that you cannot live a healthy, long life with diabetes. Treatment of type 2 diabetes includes a healthful diet, physical activity, blood sugar monitoring and medication.
The most successful person with type 2 diabetes takes control of their treatment by:
Tammy S. asks: My 45 year-old husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few months ago. Is it true that you can reverse diabetes?
Answer: Confusion abounds regarding whether or not type 2 diabetes can be reversed! The short answer is no. Diabetes is a chronic condition that cannot be cured - it can, however, be managed. There is a distinct difference.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas either does not produce enough insulin, or the body's cells do not respond to insulin properly (insulin resistance). In either case, the not enough glucose is moved from the bloodstream into the body's tissues, and you are left with high blood glucose levels.
Let's look at an example: 2 hours after a meal, blood glucose should be below 140 mg/dl. When your blood glucose is over 140 for longer than 2 hours, other constituents of blood are skewed: triglyceride levels increase, fibrinogen (used in clotting) decreases. Over time (in terms of years) this will increase your chances of damaging the tiny blood vessels in eyes, kidneys and nerves - leading to a host of other problems.
A person without diabetes can eat chocolate cake or a salad for lunch - in either case, 2 hours after a meal his/her blood glucose will be below 140 (probably more like 120). The pancreas will compensate depending on what is eaten. In a person with type 2 diabetes, like your husband, eating chocolate cake for lunch (and nothing else) puts a huge glucose load on his bloodstream. His pancreas kicks into overdrive to compensate, but it just can't keep up. Two hours later his pancreas is still trying to clear all the blood of the sugar from lunch. It's like using a spork to eat soup - it sort of works, but is not totally efficient! Now, if your husband had eaten a salad and maybe some broiled fish or chicken followed by a smaller portion of chocolate cake, his blood glucose might be within a normal range 2 hours later.
Does that mean his diabetes is cured? No! If he goes back to eating cake for lunch, his diabetes manifests again.
However, diabetes complications should not be considered manifest destiny! This does not mean that you cannot live a healthy, long life with diabetes. Treatment of type 2 diabetes includes a healthful diet, physical activity, blood sugar monitoring and medication.
The most successful person with type 2 diabetes takes control of their treatment by:
- testing blood sugar as recommended
- following a meal plan to control blood sugar
- exercising on a regular basis
- taking medications as prescribed
- maintaining a healthy body weight (or losing weight, if needed)
- visiting healthcare providers on a regular basis - endocrinologist, dietitian, CDE, etc.)
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