You might not know this from listening to the American Diabetes Association or Paula Deen, the new face of the disease, but the first line of defense against type 2 diabetes is weight loss.
So many comments came in to my post on Paula Deen's diabetes announcement, "Weighing in on Paula Deen," that I thought it was worth revisiting a related column. The question came from a reader:
I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and am very confused about insulin resistance, and what carbohydrates I can and cannot eat. So much of what I read is contradictory.
The first line of defense against type 2 diabetes is weight loss, but you would never know it from listening to Paula Deen, the celebrity Southern cook who recently announced that she has this disease, or even to the American Diabetes Association.
Having diabetes is no joke. It is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, leg and foot amputations, and premature death.
The disease comes in two forms -- type 1 and type 2 -- but type 2 accounts for 95 percent of cases. In both, levels of blood sugar are too high as a result of problems with insulin, a hormone that enables the body to use blood sugar for energy. But the reasons differ.
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease. It causes the pancreas to stop making insulin or not make enough. Type 1 is not yet preventable and requires insulin treatment. In type 2, insulin may be available, but body tissues resist its use.