A Type 2 Weighs in on our “Sugar Nation”
Diabetes is known by many sterotypes in the general media, and one of the favorites is that all diabetes is associated with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Many folks with Type 1 diabetes are plagued by this myopic view, and in particular, challeneged when they reveal their disease with the rebuttal of “you don’t look like you have diabetes.” You might be surprised to know though, that about 20% of people with Type 2 diabetes are not overweight, as was the case with fitness journalist Jeff O’Connell, who was of a normal weight and regularly exercising when he was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Although his father had suffered from Type 2, it wasn’t until his own diagnosis that Jeff began to search for a deeper understanding of what causes Type 2 diabetes and why it is affecting so many Americans. The result of his research is his fascinating new book: SUGAR NATION: The Hidden Truth Behind America’s Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It.
Jeff’s book is a deep dive into American food culture, the sugar obsession of our nation, and how all of this ties in to the massive epidemic of Type 2 diabetes that threatens to literally weigh down America and bleed our healthcare system dry. In addition to Jeff’s postulations about the role carbohydrates play in both this epidemic and his personal journey to controlling his diabetes, I was fascinated by how many of Jeff’s struggles mirrored my own: dealing with a silent disease, the profound influence of carbohydrates on controlling it, and the issues of having a disease that is synonemous with obesity. I am truly honored to have Jeff agree to answer to some tough questions here on I Run on Insulin. I’d encourage you, whether you havet Type 1 or Type 2, to check out Jeff’s book. He makes a compelling argument about what has caused America’s unfortunate state of health. And although the national trends point to the problem becoming worse before it gets better, Jeff’s story shows that any one person can truly turn their health around. Please, check out the interview with Jeff below, and check out his book, Sugar Nation, if you get a chance.
Q. Many people with Type 1 diabetes deal with the issue of diabetes having the stereotype of affecting only overweight, sedentary people, and must deal with other people’s reactions to their outward appearance not matching this stereotype. Did you also deal with this, being a lean Type 2? And how do you deal with people’s questions if so?
A.No one would ever know or even think that I had pre-diabetes from looking at me. Certainly not type-2, a disease thought to be of the overweight, although 10% to 15% of those with insulin resistance are actually of normal body weight. And I’m not just normal weight—I’m rail-thin by most people’s standards. Whereas the regimen of a type-diabetic 1 often makes the disease known to those around them, my particular pre-diabetes regimen can be remain quite invisible. When the issue does arise, it’s usually when I’m ordering low-carb meals in restaurants. If someone asks why I’m carb conscious, I usually just say, “For health reasons,” or perhaps, “Because I’m pre-diabetic.” Often that line of conversation ends there. If someone wants to know more about my experience, I’m happy to share knowledge. And, of course, I’ve written a Men’s Health feature and a book about the subject, which I hope has raised awareness about the risk of type-2 diabetes for those normal-weight people who remain inactive and eat poorly.
Q.Your book addresses carbohydrates and in particular refined carbohydrates as being directly linked to Type 2 diabetes. Many Type 1′s look at all carbs the same though, because they have to dose insulin for carbs whether they come from processed or unprocessed foods. How does the concept that “all carbs must be covered equally” when using artificial insulin fit in with your argument that it is specific carbs that cause Type 2?
A.That’s definitely a significant difference between types-1 and -2, although I think it would still behoove a type-1 to choose healthier carbs. Carbs that constitute snack foods, sodas, and the like are not only “empty” nutritionally and high on the Glycemic Index but also abundant and dense in a way that nature doesn’t replicate. And the massive influx of carbs from, say, a supersized soda and fries still has to managed by insulin, whether from the pancreas or an injection. The carbs from a small bowl of oatmeal or edamame still must be dealt with, just like the carbs from a candy bar and Coke, but you’ll likely end up eating fewer carbs from those whole foods—which also confer health benefits such as fiber, protein, and plant chemicals.
Q.Many people dealing with diabetes feel that because they don’t “look sick,” (e.g. you can’t outwardly see that someone has diabetes) that they don’t truly have a health issue. Did you struggle with this issue, in particular because you were lean? What made having diabetes feel real to you and force you to take care of your disease?
A.No. Most people who hear I’m pre-diabetic would not think much of the situation looking at a tall, lean, healthy-looking man. Which doesn’t matter. It’s my body, my life, and my responsibility. I need only recall seeing my father without his right leg to realize the threat of inaction. Hearing about my estranged father’s plight only a week before my diagnosis made it hard to ignore. So did working as executive writer at Men’s Health magazine. In fact, when I returned from the doctor that day, there was a manuscript about lifestyle cures for type-2 diabetes sitting in my in-box. It was full of great advice, none of which my doctor had told me 45 minutes prior. I reacted quickly and aggressively because of those two coincidences, really.
Q. Have you noticed that people treat you differently when you say that you have diabetes? How so?
A. By and large, no. Then again, I almost never bring it up. Of course, I went from telling virtually no one to telling potentially everyone by writing a health-based prescriptive memoir, so…
Q. Though your diabetes is now under control, how do you stay motivated to maintain your health in the long term?
A.The specter of my father’s demise reinforces the need to stay the course with my lifestyle strategies. Having written about the disease, I feel a responsibility to “walk the walk” and continue taking good care of myself. The big thing, though, is that I look better and feel better when I’m controlling my carbs, working out every day, and so on. That’s my real motivation.
Q. Is there a most important lesson you learned about your own health in the process of writing this book? (or a few “most important”.)
A. The most important thing I learned is how interrelated and interconnected our health measures are. The steps I took to reign in my blood glucose readings also helped normalize my HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and who knows what else. Insulin resistance has the potential to make you unhealthy in a lot of different ways, so by addressing that underlying cause of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and many other maladies, you fix a lot of problems all at once.
Q. What is the most frustrating thing that you hear people say about diabetes (e.g. “I hate needles,” or “do you have the bad kind of diabetes?”)
A. The apathy is the most frustrating aspect. One in three adult Americans now has prediabetes or diabetes. That’s INSANE. Diet-related chronic disease is by far our biggest health crisis, yet it doesn’t make for good headlines, so it’s ignored. Whereas if three people on an airplane tomorrow pick up an exotic infection, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX will cover it round the clock. This might seem like a strange analogy, but it reminds me very much of the current deficit crisis. It’s invisible, boring, and not really conducive to sound-bites-until we wake up one day and realize we’re in a very, very difficult predicament, albeit public health rather than fiscal related. It’s a bad modus operandi for our nation and our world.
Thank you Jeff, for sharing your story here on I Run on Insulin, and congrats to you for taking control of your health!
A little more about Jeff: Jeff O’Connell is editor-in-chief at Bodybuilding.com, the Internet’s largest fitness site. He was formerly editor-in-chief at Muscle & Fitness and executive writer at Men’s Health. His service journalism has been nominated for a Maggie Award, and his feature writing has earned honorable mention in both The Best American Sports Writing and The Best American Science & Nature Writing anthologies. O’Connell has also co-authored four books, most recently KNOCKOUT BODY, with Mario Lopez; and the New York Times Bestseller LL COOL J’s PLATINUM WORKOUT, with LL Cool J. His new book, SUGAR NATION, releases in July 2011 with Hyperion books.
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Comments
I only found out very recently that not only is the incidence of Type 2 Diabetes increasing, Type 1 is as well. Over the past thirty years, the incidence of Type 1 has doubled. And scientists don’t know why. For Type 2, it has more than doubled. I don’t think enough people have really HEARD those statistics and how they will affect everyone’s lives. I can say that in forty (40) years, the incidence of Type 1 has doubled in MY family.
Tim - I’ve heard that too about Type 1. The frustrating thing is that even though its increasing - they have no idea why and it hasn’t led us any closer to the causes of Type 1. I can’t believe it’s doubled in your family in the past 40 years. That’s shocking actually.
Awesome interview Lex!! He hit it spot on about the food and its overall effect based on processing and others. Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been positively linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a Pandora’s box of disease(mainly Type -2 Diabetes) and disability. Putting foods in your body that require high amounts of insulin to break them all down is what is killing people by the slow death of Type-2 and other physiological dis-orders. Bottom line, clean up the diet, you clean up your blood and stop taxing your body outside its made capabilities!! Thanks for Sharing Jeff and Alexis.