OK, it's been a difficult week or two... My Dad almost died from yet another heart attack, only to recover in time to say farewell to my Mom who just died. She was suffering (for years) from the aftermath of several severe strokes, along with a terrible case of Alzheimer's. My oldest brother has diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. and my middle oldest brother has high cholesterol and now sleep-apnea. Bottom line, the family is not doing well at all...

I've seen this coming now for a while, which is why I've turned to Traineo and the gym. I have a child on the way, and figured I better get myself into shape and start taking care of myself.

So, I went to the Doctor today, had a complete physical and he reviewed my blood test results... Good news, my Cholesterol is fine, no anemia, my liver and kidney functions are fine as well as my blood chemistry, but...

My Glucose level is 108, which is considered within the "Pre-Diabetes" stage... So I got that going for me... The Doctor didn't give me much advice, other than keep hitting the gym and keep my waist size as small as possible... Has anyone else out there been diagnosed with "Pre-Diabetes"? Anyone have any tips?

This sucks... One hell of a week...

I'm pretty sure the normal range for blood sugar is like 70-120. I don't see how 108 would be anything to worry about.

I'm sorry to hear about your week. I hope things start looking up.

Hey, I'm so sorry to hear you are going through all that
Was your glucose test a fasting test? Normal blood glucose (fasting) should be between 70-99. If you had just eaten 108 is totally normal. If it was fasting it is on the high side, but on the low end. I would recomend you get it tested again, which is what your dr. should have told you.
And doctor's know NOTHING about nutrition which is what makes my job so invaluable. Cut down on the simple sugars (cakes, cookies, candies), eat more whole grains (whole wheat breads, pasta's). Even with the grains watch your portion sizes!! Focus your diet on fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low fat dairy. If you are pre-diabetic it is important to keep your sugars as stable as possible so eat breakfast w/in a few hours of waking up and eat small frequent meals every 3-4 hrs.
And you're right, it is important to take care of yourself now. You obviously have a strong family history of some unfortunate health conditions so the better you take care of yourself now, the better off you'll be for you and your family in the future.
Best of luck!

Um, NO! Most whole wheats, pastas, etc. have just as high of a GI as the typical "bad for you" simple sugars. You want to control your insulin levels by reducing your blood sugar. High Glycemic Index / Load carbohydrates, such as the vast, vast, vast majority of breads and pastas will shoot your blood sugar up too high too quickly. If you must eat those things, you'll realize it's quite a tiny quantity. 1/4 cup of pasta has as many carbs as a Snicker's bar, and your stomach doesn't know the difference. The glycemic load is basically the same, which means from an insulin resistance standpoint they are equals. Look it up if you're interested. Most people wouldn't dream of eating 4 Snickers bars in a row, but think nothing of eating a mere cup of pasta.

This is sound advice. Vegetables and most fruits are very low GI, and aren't quick to raise your insulin levels.

Your best bet is to educate yourself on Type II diabetes, and the underlying insulin resistance that is the precursor to the disease. You need to educate yourself and understand the glycemic load of the carbohydrates you eat and their effect on your body.

www.nutritiondata.com is an excellent source. It lists the complete nutrient profile of thousands of foods as well as the glycemic loads of a particular portion size. I just looked up 2 oz. of spaghetti and discovered it has MORE carbs and a higher GL than a Snicker's bar!

ouch... unfair generalization... I need help with TPN or coumadin counseling from time to time but definitely have taken enough nutrition courses over the years to counsel my patients in a standard heart healthy, consistent carb, or renal diet


bryon- it sounds like it's been quite a rough year for you, but it also sounds like you're really making something positive out of it by getting healthy for YOUR kids. exercise will be a great way to help keep your blood sugars under control, along with Elicia's diet tips- it helps move glucose receptors on to the surface of muscle cells, so glucose gets pulled out of the blood at a higher rate even after you're done exercising. not having as much sugar around is better for your kidneys, eyes, and blood vessels! plus, exercise could be a good way to help deal with stress- and it sounds like you have really had extra to go around.

here's some more information..... http://www.diabetes.org/pre-diabetes.jsp

good luck, and feel free to ask any questions you run into.

I think what she was getting at was choosing grains that have a higher fiber content, which helps delay absorption and smooth out glucose levels... a high fiber pasta won't have the same GI/glucose-insulin spike as your snickers bar.

Grains with higher fiber content do have a lower GI, and therefore don't cause as huge of an insulin spike.

However, make sure you look at the nutrition labels. Most whole grain foods I've seen do not vary significantly in their fiber content compared to "regular" wheat foods. In fact, I find it difficult to find ANY pasta with a significant amount of fiber.

Hi Bryon
Sorry you have had such a bad year so far - congratulations to your baby on the way!! Thats great news...

I agree, the best thing you can keep doing is hitting the gym and keeping your waist size as small as possible and of course, watch the foods you chose to eat.

The prospect of diabetes is scary - I was diagnosed with gestational daibetes during my second pregnancy which was a huge blow to me (late onset diabetes is prevalent in my family) so I am trying to do everything within my power to prevent me getting this...

My Mother in Law recently passed on..she was an insulin dependant diabetic from birth..over the years, diabetes ravaged her body until eventually, she lost a leg to the disease and became a wheelchair bound amputee - all from stepping on a screw which caused an infection which never healed and turned septic.
She was on many medications for diabetes and high cholesterol..the cause of death?? Multiple drug toxicity..so the drugs which helped her, ironically built up in her system and poisoned her - causing her organs to shut down.

She was overweight and ate a very high diet in saturated fats - it is just so sad that it could have been prevented if she paid attention to her diet and maybe done some kind of exercise like water based activities or something..hydrotherapy..

Sorry for the novel - just wanted to share

Take care Bryon and this year is only going to better for you Onward and upward!

Barilla plus has 4 grams per 2 oz serving... Thomas English muffins have 8 grams per 100 calorie muffin... Double fiber or whole wheat potato bread have 4grams per 40-80 calorie slice of bread... Light hamburger rolls (not even advertised as wheat, etc) have 5 grams per 80 calorie roll, etc, etc.

The point is, for many people, cutting out bread and pasta is a huge barrier, and they (and I!) would crumble and go back to eating the stuff that tastes good if it were all or nothing. Comparing fiber content in grain products is a great way to IMPROVE eating, not perfect it. And everything I listed is freakin delish.

Sorry Meg! The many drs i have come accross don't know much.....or they just don't know how to relay the info I guess.

and if i'm not mistaken, exercise has a 24 hr effect on glucose, correct? so it will definitely help lower your blood glucose levels and keep them in control.
and i've never had anyone compare whole grain pasta with a snickers bar, but in terms of carb counting Angie makes a point. But Meg is right - the fiber will slow down stomach emptying and when people eat pasta its also usually at a meal with protein and vegetables so they'll be satiated and not hungry an hour later like they would be with a snickers bar.

a lot have no idea how to counsel patients on anything in general, and most don't have the time they really need to do teaching.

Hopefully your doctor did tell you to go back for a recheck. Make sure you do get checked again after a few months. You could look into seeing a specialist who can give you more applicable advice. Not to insult the great advice you've received here so far!

I would also suggest a consultation with a nutritionist, which is often covered by insurance in a case like this. It would be nice if you were close to Elicia, and you could just go see her!

Sorry to hear about your MIL, Sam! I work in a wound center, so we see a lot of diabetics and amputees. The good news is if you keep on top of your diabetes, you can live a long, full life, like my husband's grandmother (82)!

All of that fiber content is relatively low compared to the total carbohydrates, that's my point. Part of the reason for extremely high blood sugar is the quantity of carbohydrates consumed in one sitting, and it is extremely easy to overeat breads, grains, pastas, etc. For someone who is walking down the path towards diabetes, it is a dangerous game to play.

Sure fats and proteins help reduce the glycemic load of a meal, but at the end of the day you are still responsible for total caloric intake. A lower GL meal very high in calories isn't a good thing, either.

True, whole wheat products is a step in the right direction, but a very small step in the grand scheme of things.

I just re-read my post and it sounds a little snotty to me. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude or offend anyone.

I'm looking at things from my perspective. My grandfather was a type II diabetic and ended up dying from resulting complications. My dad also looks like he's headed down the same path. I've done quite a bit of research on the subject for my own health's sake. For me, it's easier to avoid high GI foods and replace them with vegetables. For one, I get to consume a larger volume of food, and secondly, the hunger control with low GI foods is outstanding.

I'm glad you found something that works for you.

Thanks everyone for all the advice...

Yes, my Dr wants me to check back in around the 6 month mark. And to be fair he gave me some diet tips to increase my HDL, although he said it's pretty good already. He said with the family history he wants it really good. It was at 45... He just didn't have much to offer regarding the glucose. I'll start reading up and will start with the links provided above.

And yes, the glucose level was after fasting from midnight to about 9 or 10 AM when I got into the blood place to give my sample.

What common fruits are lower in GI? I love apples, but apparently they are high in sugar... I suppose I need to keep tabs on my beer intake even more so now too...

Thanks again...

http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/fruitsgi.html

apples are actually on the lower end of the scale, but you might start thinking of fruits more as a sweet treat and loading up on veggies for the whole "5-7 a day" thing.

Most fruits, with the exception of a banana and mangoes (only ones coming to mind right now) are low GI - VERY low compared to most breads, pastas, and starches.

But like Megan said, the majority of vegetables are even lower GI and also less carbohydrate dense, which means larger volumes to obtain a given calorie count as well as an even slower IV-like drip of blood sugar into your bloodstream, which means stable blood sugar levels and lower insulin response.

It is also worth noting that the ADA still hasn't recognized the importance of glycemic load in their diet plan (as of the last time I read up on it a couple of years ago). I've read a couple of articles that indicate some diabetics following the ADA diet have actually gotten worse. I guess they're slow to respond to more recent studies involving the glycemic response of foods. There have been several studies showing that reducing the glycemic load of your meal can actually begin to reverse insulin resistance.

Keeping your the blood sugar stable is a great way to keep your waist size down, since large bellies are often associated with insulin resistance and a higher than average amount of visceral fat.

The thing is, my gut is about as low as it will get with my frame and the requirements of day to day life. I flux between 34 and 33 inches...

I need to start eating carrots or something for snacks on the run at work rather than apples and such I guess...

I'm thinking I may need to adjust my goals and stop focusing on building muscle mass and switch to a reduced body fat %... Which is a shame because I've started making progress in building muscle and strength. Would increased muscle mass have much of an effect on the "pre-diabetes"???

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on the effect MRI's supplements: NO2 (hemo dialator) and CE2 (creatine) would have on this condition? I WAS taking those up until recently...

Go to nutritiondata.com and compare snacks there - there is a glycemic load number for most foods if you scroll down. An apple isn't bad at all; it just has a few more calories than a carrot.

Eating protein and fat with your carbs also helps lower the glycemic load.

Another approach, which is a relatively new science that's getting a lot of buzz lately, is to take fish oil. The active ingredients in fish oil is EPA and DHA, so buy the capsules with the highest levels of EPA and DHA per serving. I currently take 800 mg of DHA and 1600 mg of EPA daily using a very highly concentrated fish oil - better than what you can find in most retail stores. EPA and DHA (Omega 3 fatty acids) help to reduce inflammation in your body. High levels of inflammation can also cause increased insulin levels. Don't take my word for it though - do your own research before you make a decision.

Another thing you should inquire about is getting the more expensive insulin test. I forget the proper name. Basically, you had elevated blood glucose, which usually triggers an insulin response in order to drive the sugar out of your blood. Over time your cells become less responsive to insulin and your body has to produce more and more of it to get the same effects (kind of like a tolerance one builds for alcohol - you have to drink more and more in order to become drunk.) At some point, type II diabetes occurs when your body can't produce enough insulin to get the job done.

Sooooo, if you're heading towards diabetes, it's a sure bet that you also have elevated insulin levels. Usually high blood sugar means high insulin, but it might not always be the case. Checking your insulin could help confirm or dispute the "pre-diabetic" status.

Just need to disagree on this. I think you're referring to a c-peptide level (which can diagnose insulin-secreting tumors, and help distinguish between type I and type II diabetes) but there is really no utility for this test in Bryon's case- with that strong family history, a second elevated fasting blood glucose should be all he needs to be proactive about making changes to improve his health in the future.

You're the doc!

Thanks guys... Any thoughts on those supplements I mentioned?

NO2 (hemo dialator) and CE2 (creatine)

I was using NO2 and Creatine for a few months last year. Got the runs and stopped after my supply was done. I am making BETTER gains and fat losses without the stuff.

Snake oil in my opinion...

DJ

It's worked well for me, but I'm more concerned about side effects, specifically related to glucose.