Diabetes - Myths and Prevention

The condition of diabetes is often regarded as self-inflicted. In an era of zero tolerance some patients are receiving little help for serious and potentially fatal medical conditions on the grounds that they are self harming. Smoking and cancer maybe? Alcoholism and liver failure perhaps? No, genetically predetermined conditions: impaired fasting glycaemia and metabolic syndrome!

Why? Because all overweight people are deemed to be to blame for their state! However, impaired fasting glycaemia and metabolic syndrome hit the slightly overweight and the morbidly obese alike! For the slightly overweight person who is already eating less than the recommended daily allowance of calories and whose weight remains an absolute constant for years the constant carping of health gurus about diet and exercise is a cruel joke! Add this to the exhaustion that accompanies such a regime of pointless diet and frantic exercise to no avail and it becomes an irritation too....

This might be a controversial view, but it needs stating publicly. Patients with these conditions deserve proper medical treatment before they become seriously ill, not nagging about a problem they may not be able to solve with diet and exercise alone! What is true of the 25 stone glutton is not true of the 13 stone sufferer of a genetic disorder! Whilst Type 2 diabetes CAN be caused by the kind of extreme gluttony that IS accompanied by rapid and easy weight loss on a diet it can also be caused by genes passed on from parents!

Too many people are ignorant of the real causes of Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes and prefer to perpetuate blame myths about sufferers. If the same amount of blame were thrown at non-smoking lung cancer victims or non-drinking liver failure patients there would be uproar! It is time the blame culture was recognised for the damaging and unprofessional set of myths it is. It is time that doctors focused on early treatment instead of hiding behind these myths. These are myths which can hide potentially lethal illnesses at worst and cause unhappiness at best. The necessity of treatment should be decided by patient symptoms, not numbers and targets. It is time to end inaction and suffering!


I can't say this strongly enough for medical professionals to hear. People with borderline diabetes are not to blame for their illness! Impaired fasting glycaemia and metabolic disorder have a genetic basis, not just a lifestyle component, PCOS and sub-clinical thyroid problems can cause these symptoms too. Actual treatment should be offered, not JUST lifestyle advice! Patients: if medical treatment is refused or denied, you could consider naturopathic medicine, herbal medicine or Ayurvedic treatment. These do help regulate metabolism and help lifestyle changes make an actual positive difference instead of just slowing the inevitable.

See Speak Hear No Diabetes 3 by awarenessgifts

In addition there are several serious medical conditions that can go dangerously untreated without that definite diagnosis. The assumption that the patient is "pre-diabetic" and can be cured with "lifestyle changes" is itself dangerous. It is like refusing to treat angina because it could be indigestion.

Living with metabolic disorder is no picnic. The treatment for metabolic disorder, PCOS and Type 2 diabetes are exactly the same drugs. The three conditions are so linked as to be nearly indistinguishable but the treatment options are not equal. In Type 2 diabetes you will be offered drug treatments after three months of lifestyle change has failed, in PCOS you will be offered those exact same drugs pre-menopause if you are attempting to get pregnant.

However, if you have metabolic disorder you will be offered treatment for blood pressure and elevated cholesterol but the basic cause - impaired fasting glycaemia - will almost certainly be untreated for years until the full onset of Type 2 diabetes inevitably kicks in. If you are a woman post-menopause the exact same symptoms are likely to go completely untreated although you might be offered HRT! This is not a level playing field. A little bit of help with the identical medication would save so much anguish....

Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas that breaks down glucose. It does this so the glucose can enter the cell and be converted into energy by the mitochondria. If you are insulin resistant the cells react slowly and this slows the rate of glucose use. The glucose level in the blood increases leading to pre diabetes. The free glucose in the blood goes to the liver where it is turned to lipids and some is stored as fat. The pancreas struggles to make more insulin and this insulin in the blood stream stimulates the liver to produce more lipids and cholesterol - a viscious circle which makes you more prone to arterial disease and heart attacks.

Type 1 diabetes is usually due to pancreatic failure, is more frequent in young people and is often a consequence of a severe viral illness. It is thought to be caused by an auto-immune reaction.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by failure of the pancreas and increased insulin resistance over time. It may be due in part to an unhealthy lifestyle and is more common in the elderly and obese. Diet and exercise can sometimes delay the onset if started early enough.

Metabolic disorder is a syndrome characterized by high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. There is a genetic predisposition to diabetes and the patient is not necessarily morbidly obese or leading an unhealthy lifestyle.

1. Pre diabetes is a condition with no physical symptoms

2. Diabetes and pre-diabetes are caused by sedentary lifestyle, obesity, insulin resistance, smoking, too many cakes and sweets, alcoholic abuse and an unhealthy lifestyle

3. Standard blood and urine tests are effective in diagnosis and prevention

4. Insulin resistance is reversible simply by losing weight and living a more active, healthy lifestyle.

5. Pre diabetes symptoms are due to obesity.

If the definition of obesity also includes a range between 20 pounds underweight and 20 pounds overweight perhaps.....

6. "A marked weight loss is observed in spite of an increase in appetite for the reason that the body cannot utilize the food, specifically the carbohydrates, into energy and fat, so it cannot be stored and you lose weight."

This myth is only true once the pancreas has completely failed as inType 1!

7. " resistance to insulin and being overweight, which can be corrected by changing to a balanced regular exercise a nutritious diet and support to encourage healthier lifestyle changes".

When the patient has already made those changes this is very unhelpful advice and support indeed!

8. Being overweight is the main cause of insulin resistance which causes the development of diabetes.

No, diabetes is a condition that is predominantly hereditary. Thin people may also have it if they have a genetic predisposition. Some people can be morbidly overweight, yet still not develop the condition because good genes protect them!.

9. "Other conditions and symptoms like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels that may arise because of pre diabetes should ...... be treated with medications until weight is controlled and lowered to normal levels. As soon as the diet affects insulin production into normal, cholesterol and blood pressure will also normalize."

Not only bad grammar, but also untrue! Blood pressure caused or aggravated by insulin resistance and hormone imbalance is often entrenched by the time insulin resistance is discovered. Unless the patient is actually morbidly obese through overeating, these changes will not reduce the need for a lifetime of medication!

10. One size fits all. Lose weight, exercise and give up unhealthy habits and you will either cure yourself of or prevent diabetes.

So you too were told there is no such thing as Pre-diabetic symptoms?

Think again! This is the most deadly myth of all!

Interestingly, the medical profession in the UK now no longer acknowledges "pre-diabetes" as a medical condition at all. It is now called "Impaired fasting glycaemia". What this means, is that the short term first insulin response is adequate, but the long term continual one is impaired. This is why you have no energy, put on weight despite dietary control, and have elevated cortisol levels in the blood. This condition is a major stressor and when it affects cholesterol levels and blood pressure you will be offered statins and blood pressure tablets - but nothing to help your basic metabolic problem.

The symptoms of this condition are real and frightening. In the UK, diagnosed diabetics receive free medical treatment for life. I may be called cynical but I believe early diabetics are kept untreated to avoid costing the NHS money. In the USA "impaired fasting glycaemia", metabolic syndrome and PCOS are treated with Metformin and relief from symptoms is quick. Not so in the UK where drugs are reserved for those already in much more serious trouble. It is a false economy! The consequence of serious untreated illness makes a mockery of prevention. The symptoms can and do poison the lives of sufferers and their families and also undermine earning (and tax!) potential!

If you suffer from any of the symptoms listed below and your vision is blurred at times, please visit your optician and ask for diabetic screening. The first damage is often caused to the eye and you could be well on the way to blindness due to AMD, cataract or diabetic retinopathy before your diabetes is treated! Diabetic retinopathy screening is offered, but only to those who have been formally diagnosed. A good eye examination will show up any changes due to elevated blood sugar and you will be referred to a proper specialist at the hospital. Many people are diagnosed this way on the advice of kindly doctors, nurses and diabetic acquaintances!

1. Polyuria, or increase in urination, the body is trying to flush out the excessive glucose in its cells with water.

2. An increased feeling of thirst is due to dehydration caused by polyuria

3. Tiredness occurs because glucose is not being utilized by the cells, this is not normal tiredness and can be accompanied by mood swings and fiery temper.

4. A feeling of being ill headaches, nausea or dizziness may occur due to decrease in energy production by the cells.

5. Blurred vision occurs when high glucose levels cause water to deform the lens of the eye making vision unfocused, it may also be caused by cataracts due to high steroid levels in those with metabolic syndrome.

6. Thrush is caused by the drying up of skin due to increased blood sugar.

7. Insulin resistance causes cardiovascular disorders and polycystic ovarian syndrome, a disorder that may lead to infertility.

8. Related to 6, skin rashes and fungal infections may also occur on scalp and nails posing as psoriasis.

9. Decreased sensation, numbness, pins and needles in extremities. Can eventially lead to gangrene if untreated!

10. Pain in region of pancreas, a dull ache obviously indicates all is not well!