--- Marilyn Harris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
> As I see it this basically means that he suffers
> from insulin resistence?


That's right.

 On
> the positive side, from what he tells me, his
> pancreas is still making
> insulin. However, from a little research on the net,
> I gather that continued
> insulin resistance will or could damage the islets
> of Langerhans, and I am
> guessing lead to Type 1 diabetes?

Well, no.  Type 2 does not turn into Type 1.  It can,
however, become Type 2 requiring insulin.  And it is
not insulin resistance per se which damages the
pancreas (and other organs) but elevated blood
glucose.  Studies have shown that controlling bg can
prevent or ameliorate most complications.


 Is anybody here an
> expert on the disease?

I'm not an expert, just a diabetic with a reading
addiction.
>
> However his doctor tells him that there is no cure
> although I would tend to
> disagree since he need only to get his
> diet/lifestyle in order and
> eliminate/lower the insulin resistance.

There is not a cure, no, because although a diabetic
can keep his bg normal through diet, exercise, and
medication if appropriate (not all Type 2's can
necessarily control their condition by lifestyle
changes alone) if he eats "normally" his bg will rise
to diabetic levels. The closest thing to a cure is
through weight loss, which may in *some* cases reverse
insulin resistance enough to ber considered a cure.
But chances are most diabetics will only be able to
control their condition.


 From what I
> gather from one of Liz's
> posts, higher fat should be incorporated into a diet
> in order to lower
> insulin response.

Wellll...it's more a  question of lowering carbs to a
point where the bg is within normal limits.  And since
increasing protein over a certain limit will also
raise bg, the only thing left to add sufficient
calories may be more fat.  On the other hand, since
weight loss can only improve insulin response, you
don't want to add too much fat.  It's a balancing act.
 I don't have it right yet....but since being
diagnosed with diabetes two and a half years ago, I
have avoided medication - gotten off of blood pressure
and allergy medication I had been taking - reduced
cholesterol and triglycerides, and kept my A1c (a test
of blood glucose control over the previous 3 months or
so) at a normal level.

 Unfortunately for Denis, he also
> has a severe cholesterol
> problem and is taking drugs for that so it's
> doubtful he will eat more fat.

Well, if he still believes dietary fat causes high
cholesterol, he probably also believes that
monounsaturated fats are good for  you, n'est-ce pas?
Olive oil and nuts could help here.  Also fish oils -
everyone knows salmon is healthy.

>
> His doctor also said it was okay to eat fruit
> because fructose does not
> supposedly elevate insulin levels - is that true?

Wish it was.  One of my goals right now is to lose
enough weight (I've regained a lot of what I had lost)
that I can have more fruit than an occasional  token
strawberry, without raising my bg.

I recommend you or he get a copy of Dr. Bernstein's
Diabetes Solution.  I have not read it myself, only
excerpts, but he advocates a carb-restricted diet
along with exercise to control both Type 1 (generally,
I think with an eye to reducing insulin dosage and
complications) and Type 2.

Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions - if I
don't know the answers, I'll make something up....:-)

Andrea




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