Diabetes

[PhysAssist]

And Peanuts are legumes (not nuts). 24 grams of carb per cup.

See above.

 

[RandyT]

Hi Dan,

Well, now at least I understand to what you are referring, but ALT, like AST is a liver enzyme level, and while it can be released in many circumstances, elevated refined carbohydrate intake isn't one of them.

Elevated liver enzymes - Mayo Clinic

Many diseases and conditions can contribute to elevated liver enzymes.

Your doctor determines the specific cause of your elevated liver enzymes by reviewing your medications, your signs and symptoms and, in some cases, other tests and procedures.

More common causes of elevated liver enzymes include:

Certain prescription medications, including statin drugs used to control cholesterol
Drinking alcohol
Heart failure
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Obesity
Over-the-counter pain medications, particularly acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)

Other causes of elevated liver enzymes may include:
Alcoholic hepatitis*(severe liver inflammation caused by excessive alcohol consumption)
Autoimmune hepatitis*(liver inflammation caused by an autoimmune disorder)
Celiac disease*(small intestine damage caused by gluten)
Cirrhosis*(early stages of liver scarring)
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
Dermatomyositis*(inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness and skin rash)
Epstein-Barr virus
Gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis)
Heart attack
Hemochromatosis*(too much iron stored in your body)
Hypothyroidism
Liver cancer
Mononucleosis
Pancreatitis*(pancreas inflammation)
Polymyositis*(inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness)
Toxic hepatitis*(liver inflammation caused by drugs or toxins)
Wilson's disease*(too much copper stored in your body)

I recently had an elevated ALT level, and although it was minor, it remained elevated when a non-fasting level was taken (my PCP felt that because I was fasting for the first labs, I might have been a little dehydrated, and that had caused the elevation), now I am getting scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound and more labs.

I have fought abnormal high liver enzymes for years. All other liver function test come back normal. After experimenting in cooperation with my doctor. We have found that high fructose corn syrup elevated my liver enzymes.

 

[daugen]

Now this is a post I am very, very happy to make. Just got back from pcp and they tested my AIC and it was 5.8
I'm told that's normal and not high, so it look like, maybe, my efforts in the last month or two to cut back on carbs and sugar
helped. But I didn't have a prior reading so who knows. But a real yippee in leaving the office.
My doc suggested a little honey in my coffee and she is doing the same thing, trying to find "better" sweeteners and she has
chosen the Trevia-sugar blend. I've been using the Splenda-sugar blend, and liked it but will now try the other. Boy they really rip you off on the
price of this stuff, 7 bucks for a little bag of the Splenda blend, I'm sure the Trevia is even more. I don't use sugar in anything but coffee and baking, and I give most of what I bake away.

Geez, I think I'm going to bake a pie tonight in celebration.
But for sure, I'm going to keep avoiding most sugars and processed food.
I aim for "quality" calories and carbs.

Would it be "better" to be lower than 5.8?

update: I did my homework, figured one of you smart people had already said it and you did:
An A1C of 5.7-6.4 is pre-diabetes.

So I'm still pre-diabetic and have to watch myself. Makes sense.
But at least I'm on the lower end of the yellow range.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I could use some advice before I get an earful from a specialist.
Since many of us are older, the frequency of diabetes among our members has to be significant.
I'm concerned...

for decades my blood sugar was stuck at 99. Just under what I thought was the 100 threshold.
I've now bounced around 102-103. Next blood studies in a month.

At what point does one have negative health effects? Am I already in that category at 102?
I'm 65, pear shaped, and 20 pounds overweight, all nice risk factors by themselves, and horrible arthritis.
And I love fruit and breads. More risk factors. Otherwise I mostly eat healthy unprocessed food and have stopped drinking
diet soda or any sugary drink. Though I do use the yellow stuff in my coffee. And I drink very little alcohol of any kind.
Stopped eating ice cream at night, switched to an occasional bowl of high fiber cereal or an apple.

When did you all start getting treated and what worked the best for you?
thanks. I hope this sharing will help to educate us all.
Definitely a disease I want to avoid if I can.

So first of all, at what number should one be concerned, and what number should open our eyes and frankly scare us?

Damage starts about 90. Cutting out Carbs is one fix for some. Best of success

 

[merlebo02]

no reason to be worried about a blood sugar of 102. 120 is the max side of normal in most labs.. Do you have a strong family hx of diabetes and this has you on edge?? You should have no concern with a blood sugar of 102.. If it makes you feel better tell them to do a HGA1C and that is a better indicator of your overall blood sugar levels..

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My dr keeps saying, plenty of exercise and a low fat diet.

Can i sue for malpractice? Lol

 

[Gale Hawkins]

How to Reverse Your Diabetes Type 2 - Diet Doctor
This links to a lot of other info about people resolving diabetes by the way they eat and live. I eat LCHF because it manages my joint and muscle pain. In my case it had side effects like it cured 40 years of life defining IBS, cut my pain level from a subjective 7-8 to 2-3 in 30 days, lowered both my sugar and blood pressure levels, cleared up fuzzy thinking, lead to a 50 pound weight loss over time and it has remained off for the past 12 months in part because food cravings left after about 30 days, health markers like lipid panel improvement, etc.

90%+ of Type 2 diabetes I expect is diet induced so if not too far advanced that is why it can be reversed by diet often.

Some doctors still are stuck giving eating advice that can make diabetes worse. After I learned carbs are NOT a food group we require for max health 18 months ago I eat <50 grams of carbs daily. My health markers are better at 65 than at 45 as my general health seems to be.

There is NO magic out there but there is known facts if we will apply them may help our health. Social media like this and other websites is not the place to get medical advice. What is good advice for one may kill another. Google is a good way to find and read medical studies that our doctors may never read. The knowledge base on how to eat to live longer and stay in better health at the same time is growing daily.



Research Connecting Organ Damage with Blood Sugar Level

A ton of links to research findings about blood sugar levels and related diseases.

Controlling blood sugar in diabetes: How low should you go? - Harvard Health

Carbs, Carbs and Carbs
Diabetes management: How lifestyle, daily routine affect blood sugar - Mayo Clinic

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Red meat is a no no for me sugar levels prove it at least mine spike when eating red meat chicken not so much. With my job just hard to eat at right times

Buppies it is not red meat per say but the protein. About half of the protein that we eat gets converted to glucose and is why we do not need to eat carbs to make glucose. This why the risk of cancer increases the most from eating carbohydrates, so so from eating protein with no cancer risk increase when eating fats. We die without fats and protein after a time so protein and fats are required for good health but not carbs.

 

[Turbys_1700]

This is a great thread.

I stated earlier that I am trying to lose weight for a hip and knee replacement. In the process I have been swimming typically 5 days a week in 1 hour sessions. Nothing fancy just front crawls. Well I can attest that in 2 months I have pulled 30 pounds. My last cortisone shot in the knee my doctor told me "you've lost weight". My BP was also at 124/74. Prior to the swimming my BP would typically run in the 130 to 140 over 85 to 90 range. I am fortunate that my blood sugar has always been normal and last checked in at 101 in December of 2015. My total HDL and LDL count was 151 in December also. These numbers were before I started the exercise program so it will be interesting to see where these numbers will go with the my next blood work. I am sure that the weight loss will slow down some but that is OK. I realize that this is what I am going to have to do the rest of my life to live actively and healthy. I do feel much better. Just dropping those pounds has eased the pain in my hip and knee considerably and getting up and down now is much easier.

I am currently eating between 1200 to 1500 calories per day consisting of high protein and low carbs. Carbs always consist of some type of salad or green beans. If it is fast food I go to KFC for grilled chicken breast and green beans. The skin doesn't bother me because the fat is good for you even though it does add some calories. I did purchase a Polar Loop and while it worked I tracked my calories burned per day. On days that I swim and bowl reaching my activity goals are easily reached but on off days I was under. Since I have lost some weight I hope to add some walking on off swim days.

As an aside I did purchase the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Tabules on the advise of Eric. Great read and can be had on the cheap from Amazon. Thanks Eric.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Thanks Eric.

My pleasure.

 

[daugen]

I find that breakfast is the hardest meal to avoid carbs and sugars. We seem to want a jump start in the morning and I suppose caffeine and sugar does that. And if you don't keep drinking the coffee, and perhaps the sugar too, you crash later and of course feel even more tired. A somewhat addictive cycle that I now believe the food industry has promoted. Like cigarettes...

Eggs are my new friend I guess. Now eat them three or four times a week, not just on Sunday morning. I would love to find a whole grain fiber cereal that actually kept me from being hungry for four hours. Normal cereal toppings are loaded with sugar...bananas, raisins, fruit
The only way I don't get hungry for four or five hours is by eating meat or cheese. Yogurt's only good for an hour or two, though I suppose I could doctor up a custom breakfast drink that would be good for me. My sister has been doing this for decades. I seem to have a need to chew...

I keep coming back to square one and I want to collect the $200 by eating my way out of what I ate my way in to. For two months several years ago I tracked my sugar readings on a medical health program, looking for trends or a learning moment. I wasn't far out of range, so my primary doc just gave me the "watch it" advice, and I did, sort of. But nowhere near enough.

There are several obviously learned folk in this thread. Could someone recap the various sugar/diabetes tests available and what they tell us? I get a comprehensive blood test once a year and have been getting several more often. The primary doc I'm sure will now ratchet me back to annual AIC testing.
The insurance companies don't want to pay for excessive testing but if AIC goes back three months, would it be smart to have it done more often? I wonder what Medicare/supplement pays for. Likely once a year at most. Of course I could pay for the test myself but then you put a bullseye on your back for a list price ripoff.

 

[Buppies]

Buppies it is not red meat per say but the protein. About half of the protein that we eat gets converted to glucose and is why we do not need to eat carbs to make glucose. This why the risk of cancer increases the most from eating carbohydrates, so so from eating protein with no cancer risk increase when eating fats. We die without fats and protein after a time so protein and fats are required for good health but not carbs.

Everyone's body does not react the same to different types of food mine for one chicken no blood sugar spike red meat yes coffee good for 30 point spike others no. Eggs are good But causes rise in bad colestral sp. each person is different so not one magic bullet. Counting carbs and watching what I eat is the key for me. Others should do what works for them

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Everyone's body does not react the same to different types of food mine for one chicken no blood sugar spike red meat yes coffee good for 30 point spike others no. Eggs are good But causes rise in bad colestral sp. each person is different so not one magic bullet. Counting carbs and watching what I eat is the key for me. Others should do what works for them

That is true about we all can be different.

Read up on eggs because someone has giving you information that is not medically correct today it sounds. Well on eggs they can lead to a short term bump in cholesterol until the body stops making so much. Only 25% of our cholesterol comes from the food we eat but is make by our bodies so we do not die from the lack of cholesterol.

What do you put in your coffee to cause a spike. I put 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 oz of heavy whipping cream in my first cup of coffee but since they are fats there is no spike in blood sugar because there are basically no carbs or protein in either.

 

[Buppies]

Nothing black only but now no longer drink it don't miss it.

I also fight the gout double edge sword about what I can and cannot eat but so far happy what we are doing to treat issues health wise. Breakfast bagel water , lunch smart pop pop corn, pimento cheese sandwich low carb bread, snack afternoon yogurt. Dinner salad chicken corn or green beans. Vary some but not much , tomato soup varying types of chicken every two weeks or so tacos but in limited quantities

 

[daugen]

Received comprehensive lab tests in the mail today. Happy that my AIC was 5.8, supposedly a three month average,
then why did I flunk the glucose with a 112 after fasting since the night before? Maybe the normal ups and downs.
Total cholesterol without statins was 166, that was ok, but I flunked triglycerides with a 197. LDL 65, HDL 62 (someone want to educate
us all on what those represent and how important?
I think most of us are learning something here.

And thankfully my PSA hasn't moved from 2.7
Heart was 120/80

all in all, I think I'll live but I sure had better continue to reduce my consumption of sugar and carbs.
And if my triglycerides are high, that means cut out what?

It's funny, at dinner out several nights ago, bread basket came, it was run of the mill supermarket rolls.
Not what I would call a quality carb so it stayed in the basket. Didn't make the cut. But if it was homemade, or multigrain, or or or...
breads are hard to turn down. Particularly if one is eating high fibre breads.
But I figure I've already cut down my consumption of sugar considerably, so making progress.
No family history of diabetes whatsoever.

Every other test result in normal range.
No family history of internal disease other than cancer. Cancer killed them all, every member of my family,
So I also have to be thinking of eating things that are anti oxidants, etc.
This is why folks who can afford it hire dieticians I suppose. I need this and this, but not that...

 

[brown40]

There are some introductory nutrition classes/texts available that have programs included to analyze your intake over time and give you a +/- on dietary allowances. In long-term care there were dozens of diets and strategies for helping restore/maintain/improve health. Do a little browsing for therapeutic diets and intro nutrition and you'll likely find one with software that gives you front-end data, so lab testing feels less chancy and becomes a confirmation that your choices are the right ones. The longer a period you study, the better the result. Kind of surprising to see what nutrients our habitual diets lack. Congratulations on the results!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Received comprehensive lab tests in the mail today. Happy that my AIC was 5.8, supposedly a three month average,
then why did I flunk the glucose with a 112 after fasting since the night before? Maybe the normal ups and downs.
Total cholesterol without statins was 166, that was ok, but I flunked triglycerides with a 197. LDL 65, HDL 62 (someone want to educate
us all on what those represent and how important?
I think most of us are learning something here.

And thankfully my PSA hasn't moved from 2.7
Heart was 120/80

all in all, I think I'll live but I sure had better continue to reduce my consumption of sugar and carbs.
And if my triglycerides are high, that means cut out what?

It's funny, at dinner out several nights ago, bread basket came, it was run of the mill supermarket rolls.
Not what I would call a quality carb so it stayed in the basket. Didn't make the cut. But if it was homemade, or multigrain, or or or...
breads are hard to turn down. Particularly if one is eating high fibre breads.
But I figure I've already cut down my consumption of sugar considerably, so making progress.
No family history of diabetes whatsoever.

Every other test result in normal range.
No family history of internal disease other than cancer. Cancer killed them all, every member of my family,
So I also have to be thinking of eating things that are anti oxidants, etc.
This is why folks who can afford it hire dieticians I suppose. I need this and this, but not that...

Daugen you numbers look pretty fair but the triglycerides. On BG 112 fasting is over 100 but my is 10 points higher fasting than 1 hour after I eat. Cutting out/reducing sugar/carbs should do the trick based on my results. I cut them out and got rid of most of my joint and muscle pain and all of my IBS problems of 40 year duration. Oh and lost 50 pounds and maintained at 200 for past 12 months at 2500 calories daily.

On lipids by cutting out sugar and all forms of grains over a period of one year Trig went from 209 to 52, Total Chol 404 to 310, HDL 38 to 72, LDL 323 to 228

This change gave me the results I was looking for which is only the Triglycerides/HDL.

I want my Total Cholesterol >200 to protect from premature death.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Doing the LCHF thing and you wake up with higher fasting numbers?

Read this:

Reversing Diabetes- My Ketogenic Journey To Health!: Glucagon, The Forgotten Hormone In Diabetes.

 

[daugen]

Doing the LCHF thing and you wake up with higher fasting numbers?

Read this:

Reversing Diabetes- My Ketogenic Journey To Health!: Glucagon, The Forgotten Hormone In Diabetes.

thanks Eric, very helpful, plus it reiterates the impact of large protein intake as well as carbs

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Doing the LCHF thing and you wake up with higher fasting numbers?

Read this:

Reversing Diabetes- My Ketogenic Journey To Health!: Glucagon, The Forgotten Hormone In Diabetes.

Eric thanks for the link. I was taught Diabetes is not reversible. Thankful for many that was just false info. Finding the right diet can seem to fix many health problems.