General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Big Pharma Sells Risky Meds We Don’t Need for Disorders It Made Up That We Don’t Have [View all]Ms. Toad
(33,992 posts)Diabetes is real, and the damage starts when blood glucose levels are in the pre-diabetes range - so lowering the criteria for earlier diagnosis is appropriate - and critical to truly address the epidemic.
BUT - lowering the threshold, without an attitude adjustment by the ADA also supports Big Pharma, with minimal to no decrease in the consequences of diabetes. The ADA, unfortunately, has bought hook, line, and sinker into a diet that increases ineffective dependency on medications feeds, rather than pulling its head out of the sand and recommending steps that actually address the symptom of diabetes that causes the damage - the high blood glucose levels.
I was diagnosed with diabetes in October. Within 3 days I had my blood glucose within normal ranges (below 140 virtually all the time) except for morning fasting levels (which should be below 100, but continued to be as high as 126 for a few weeks). My last A1C was 5.6.
Had I followed the advice of the ADA (which suggests eating a steady diet of carbohydrates including approximately 50 grams of carbs per meal), I would still not have normal blood glucose. My maximum carb tolerance is 20 grams in a 3 hour period. Rather than wake up and realize that for most people - at least in the early stages of Type 2 diabetes diabetes - blood glucose (and the harmful consequences thereof) are entirely controllable with a strict, carb-limited diet, the ADA continues to recommend eating quantities of carbohydrates that most people with Type 2 diabetes cannot handle. (The management of Type 1 diabetes - or insulin dependent Type 2 diabetes - is different, but can also significantly benefit from eating a much lower (but relatively stable) quantity of carbs). For people with Type 2 diabetes, following the ADA recommendations leads quickly to maximum doses of Metformin (which isn't terribly effective), followed by sulfonylureas (that temporarily or permanently exhaust the beta cells), and ultimately to insulin dependency - and all of the consequences that accompany chronically elevated blood glucose levels.