# 47 and i got the diabetes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799 "2013-07-17T23:45:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/1 "2013-07-17T23:45:08Z")
Recently found out I’m diabetic. I have a rather long educational appointment tomorrow with a nutritionist. Please tell this broke-ass vegetarian diabetic with high cholesterol that I will still be able to enter flavor country. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/2 "2013-07-17T23:47:06Z")
Type I or type II? It makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/3 "2013-07-17T23:49:22Z")
Are you meeting with a nutritionist, or a registered dietitian? Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but RDs must be licensed, and most have master’s degrees. Yes, you can have tasty, healthy food even if you’re diabetic. That’s something you can discuss with your RD, and trust me, there’s no question (most likely) she hasn’t been asked. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/4 "2013-07-17T23:50:19Z")
II. Sorry. A1C of 8. My guess is I’m seeing a dietition as I’m going to the diabetes center run by a huge local health services provider. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/5 "2013-07-17T23:52:50Z")
If your A1C is 8, you’re doing well and controlling it will probably not be that challenging, at least for now. Again, further treatment is something that your doctor and dietitian will need to coordinate. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/6 "2013-07-17T23:55:05Z")
I thought vegetarians couldn’t be diabetic or have high cholesterol. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/7 "2013-07-17T23:57:15Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I thought vegetarians couldn’t be diabetic or have high cholesterol. Please don’t pull that here. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/8 "2013-07-17T23:58:03Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I thought vegetarians couldn’t be diabetic or have high cholesterol. You thought wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/9 "2013-07-17T23:59:23Z")
I’m Type II. I eat whatever I want, pretty much. Also, flavor depends on herbs and spices, not so much on the food being served. I would suggest keeping portion sizes down and limiting carb intake, particularly for things like white rice, which has a higher glycemic index. If you don’t exercise, start walking right away. It’s one of the best ways to help keep the numbers in range, both for glucose and cholesterol. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/10 "2013-07-18T04:29:58Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Type I or type II? It makes a difference. Actually, doesn’t Type I usually start in childhood? (Isn’t that why it’s called juvenile diabetes?) I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone ever developing it in middle age. (I could be wrong, of course) ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/11 "2013-07-18T04:33:27Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Actually, doesn’t Type I usually start in childhood? (Isn’t that why it’s called juvenile diabetes?) Type 1 does most commonly develop during childhood, but can present at any age. It’s an autoimmune disease, and we don’t yet understand what triggers it. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/12 "2013-07-18T09:29:41Z")
ditto Chefguy. All sorts of foods can be flavorful. It’ll be a problem only if what you meant was “sweet and greasy”. Be prepared for a real education. The main thing I learned is how “carbs make me hungry”. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/13 "2013-07-18T11:55:49Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Actually, doesn’t Type I usually start in childhood? (Isn’t that why it’s called juvenile diabetes?) I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone ever developing it in middle age. (I could be wrong, of course) Usually. I was diagnosed this year with what is essentially type I, in my late 30s. My case is a bit different, because my pancreas basically shriveled up and died, but functionally, it’s the same. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/14 "2013-07-18T12:27:57Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Actually, doesn’t Type I usually start in childhood? (Isn’t that why it’s called juvenile diabetes?) I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone ever developing it in middle age. (I could be wrong, of course) I got it at the grand age of 38. I went to Joslin Diabetes Center, one of the best/oldest diabetes treatment places in the US, and the Endo there told me they don’t really think of it as an age thing anymore at all. Sure, most people typically get it before age 20, but they diagnose people of all ages with it. She told me she’d diagnosed a man in his 80s with Type 1. So yeah, people think of it as “Juvenile” diabetes, but they’ve changed the name, and it’s really not something that you can’t get at any age. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/15 "2013-07-18T13:13:10Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > Type 1 does most commonly develop during childhood, but can present at any age. It’s an autoimmune disease, and we don’t yet understand what triggers it. No cite, but type II DM is now also becoming a disease of young(er) people. Diagnosis of type II DM in teens used to be rare, now it’s an everyday occurrence. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/16 "2013-07-18T13:24:29Z")
The first thing I would recommend, assuming you now have a test kit, is to use it to experiment with all the foods you love and see how they affect your blood sugar. Eat the meal, wait 2 hours, test your blood sugar. And I do recommend that you do this and not (just) listen to others, because different foods will affect you differently than they do others. In short order (ok, a month or two) you will have a pretty solid idea of what foods you can eat without issue, what foods you have to moderate, and what foods are spiking the hell out of your sugar levels. A1C of 8 isn’t bad at all and should be very easily controlled with only slight changes in diet and exersize. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/17 "2013-07-18T13:31:49Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Recently found out I’m diabetic. I have a rather long educational appointment tomorrow with a nutritionist. > > Please tell this broke-ass vegetarian diabetic with high cholesterol that I will still be able to enter flavor country. I don’t have diabetes yet but with my genetics it is only a matter of time. I can’t give you cooking advice but I can tell you this. a meal eaten with a protein shake or with meyamucil (which dissolves well in Oj as well as various diet drinks) can cut post prandial glucose by 20%. also for exercise, interval training is supposed to be the best for glucose control. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/18 "2013-07-18T14:09:55Z")
Are you overweight, in the sense that you have a BMI of 35 or higher? Then be advised that [Gastric Bypass Surgery](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=619485) is currently the best and fastest cure for [type 2 diabetes](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21717182). And that you should be qualified for surgery, insurance-wise, if your BMI is over 35 and you have diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/19 "2013-07-18T14:41:22Z")
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799/20 "2013-07-18T14:48:17Z")
For those who were diagnosed, made changes and got you diabetes under control, do you feel any different/better? I never had any of the classic symptoms but hope that making some changes will just help me feel better in general. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/47-and-i-got-the-diabetes/663799.md?page=2)