Diabetes Prevention – T2DM – Part 2

Part 2 of 2 Parts

Other factors in knowing you need to work to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life, yet this is often overlooked by doctors, and no warnings are given to these women. Generally, type 2 diabetes will occur in 40 percent of women in the 10 years following gestational diabetes. This number jumps to 50 percent in women that are obese following gestational diabetes.

Efforts are taking place to determine if women having had gestational diabetes can be treated using lifestyle changes and medications to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. This appears fruitful and further research is needed to identify women who will respond to this therapy.

Next, we come to the part that is surrounded in controversy. Diet as they term it, but better is food plans are a critical issue when exploring the disease processes. Is it the food itself or the age and lifestyle of those consuming the food that is the risk? Cinnamon, coffee, and fenugreek seeds are some of the food products many feel are associated with the development or prevention of diabetes; they have not been truly scientifically investigated. The foods talked about below have been studied, but even this is questionable, and the results are supposedly independent of weight, age, physical activity, and family history.

I will state that the foods are representative of the high carbohydrate – low fat way of thinking and are not necessarily healthy for everyone. They state that in a study involving more that 42,000 men, diets high in red meat, processed meat, high fat dairy products, and sweets, all were associated with an increased risk of diabetes. No definition of percentage of red meats was given to make this valid. Processed meat and sweets are quite likely culprits.

The data on dairy products varies, depending if the person is obese or not. In obese individuals, the more dairy consumed, the lower the risk for the metabolic syndrome. Those consuming more than 35 servings of dairy foods per week had a lower risk compared to those consuming less than 10 servings per week. This association is not as strong in lean individuals.

Sugar consumption alone has not been associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. Weight gain is associated with sugar consumption. However, after adjusting for weight gain and other variables, there appears to be a relationship between drinking sugar-laden beverages and the development of type 2 diabetes. Women who drink one or more of these drinks a day have almost twice the risk of developing diabetes than women who drink one a month or less.

No information was given for other meal plans or foods, just what they want us to exclude. Highly processed foods and foods high in carbohydrates with high glycemic values should be avoided.

I urge you to read all six pages of the article for more information.