2) TYPE 2 DIABETES CONTROL
c, Current Expectations for a Person with Type 2 Diabetes
Current data indicates that a staggering 30% of people diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes are not take the diabetes medications their doctor is prescribing. Of all type 2 diabetics an even more staggering 60% are not following even the rudimentary guidelines as far as blood cholesterol control, weight loss, exercise, heart disease medications and diet. And only about 30% are doing a "little bit" of following of guidelines. Naturally this has huge effect on the statistics and life expectancy for a type 2 diabetic. The 30% who are not taking their medications and the 60% of the diabetics who are not losing weight, who are not exercising, and who are not following a good diet are all dieing at a much younger age than they need to die at and pulling down the life expectancy statistics for the group as a whole. It appears individuals with type 2 diabetes don't follow guidelines for a host of reasons:
1. Even some physicians are not aware that heart disease kills more individuals with diabetes than does the actual diabetes. In individuals with type 2 diabetes medications to control cholesterol are much more important than medications to control blood sugar levels. And yet only a small proportion of individuals with type 2 diabetes are taking cholesterol lowering medications.
2. A huge number of people simply haven't been given any guidelines by their physicians! The ADA is trying to do something about this but it is an uphill battle. Physicians are not paid to be dieticians or advice givers; they are paid to dispense the proper medications. And unfortunately most insurance companies do not pay for dieticians or advice giving.
3. Denial (much like the denial so prevalent in alcoholism) is a very common reaction to life crises. The thinking goes: "My diabetes isn't serious; so I don't need to follow the recommendations of anyone". The same mental mechanisms occur with alcoholism. Indeed type 2 diabetes and alcoholism have many points in common:
3.1. Denial is very common in both diseases
3.2. Both diseases can be overcome with an awful lot of self control and will power (much easier said than done in both cases)
3.3. Both diseases also have very strong genetic underpinnings (For instance, compared to the average Caucasian American, the Pima Indians are six times more likely be alcoholic and three times more likely to have type 2 diabetes)
3.4. Both diseases create all sorts of related health problems
3.5. Both diseases ultimately kill in a manner where the disease itself isn't listed as the cause of death
3.6. Both diseases have "enablers", in the case of diabetes an "enabler" is a person who bring "treats" and lots of "just this once" foods to the diabetic
3.7 Both diseases are caused by intense cravings (some might term it "addiction") for a substance, in one case alcohol and in the other case food4. The statistics themselves have a tendency to feed on themselves in a cruel loop effect. Because the statistics on the average survival and life expectancy for someone with type 2 diabetes are not good, individuals newly diagnosed with diabetes look at the "prognosis" and just give up (or go into denial). So the statistics on average survival and life expectancy for someone with type 2 diabetes remains bad. In actuality, if the individual with diabetes buckles down and seriously follows the advice of their doctor and the advice contained here-in, the prognosis for that particular individual is excellent. It is absolutely imperative that anyone with type 2 diabetes not look at statistics and give up the fight, the statistics are very misleading.
5. Many individuals with type 2 diabetes depend on diabetes medication alone and the "miracles if modern medicine" to get them through the course of the disease. And this typically doesn't work! Weight loss, exercise and diet are much more important to life expectancy than diabetes medications (with the notable exception of insulin), for reasons we will go into.
If an individual with type 2 diabetes follows the recommendations that good solid research have uncovered, then type 2 diabetes can be managed and overcome. The statistics say that on the over-all average a middle aged person with type 2 diabetes has 5 to 10 years shorter life expectancy and double the chance of dying in the next year than an individual without diabetes. But if a middle aged person follows the recommendations which have come from the research of the past twenty years, then this change in life expectancy can be completely erased. Indeed, some individuals with type 2 diabetes can actually improve their life expectancy. This book gives all those recommendations that are supported by that research. Remember, being an obese couch potato in and by itself is a huge risk factor for premature death. High blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and obesity increase the risk of death by about 60% for a "normal" individual. High blood lipids and obesity increase the risk of death by about 100% for an individual with diabetes, i.e. these three factors put together almost double the risk of death. But it is posssible to reverse that prognosis with permanent lifestyle changes.
This chapter: 2) TYPE 2 DIABETES CONTROL
a) Introduction
b) The Range of Severity of Diabetes
c) Current Expectations for a Person with Type 2 Diabetes
d) Summary of How a Person with Severe Type 2 Diabetes can Live Long
e) Specifics of How a Person with Severe Type 2 Diabetes can Live Long
f) A Fatal Error: Relying on Diabetes Medication
g) The Consequences of not Controlling the Disease
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