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On Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:34:21 -0700, wrote:

>On Jun 23, 11:03 am, "Cougar" > wrote:
>> Just tried flaxseed. Bought whole kind. >
>
>Hi - I found out yesterday that I am right on the edge of type 2
>diabetes.

G'day G'day Pricklepig,

Right on the edge of type 2 diabetes???!!!.

That is a much worse diagnosis that being a confirmed T2 diabetic.

You see the official diagnosis point is set where to all intents and
purposes the condition is irreversible. Being on the edge suggests
that you aren't quite there yet. Don't you believe it.

You ARE there at the point where if you act promptly you might be able
to control the situation by heaps of exercise, diet and above all
knowing what is actually happening for your blood glucose day by day.

That said, there is much to congratulate you on.

Losing 15 pounds.

Getting serious about exercise.

Another thing I admire is that you are thinking about a Caveman Diet.

The caveman diet makes a good basis for building a diet that will work
for you personally. Cavemen of course DIDN'T have oatmeal or any
other grains for that matter as far as we know. Growing grain
requires agriculture. That came latter when people had moved on from
being Hunter Gatherers.

Perhaps it would help to think of being a Hunter Gatherer rather than
someone who lives in a cave. That means picking lots of young plants
before they've learnt to make nasty poisons to protect themselves.
Picking berries such as strawberries, blueberries. Eating fish,
shellfish, lean meat, eggs. Eggs are good sources of protein.

The sort of thing.

How will you know if you really are on the right track?

Well that is easier than you might think if you give up the notion
that you have some way to go before becoming a T2 diabetic.

Buy a blood glucose meter.

You've seen some of the symptoms such as lethargy after meals that
suggest blood glucose was WAY out of whack then.

Unfortunately when it comes to preserving important little things like
eyesight, toes, heart function, libido etc. one needs better control
than that.

> This runs in my family; the last four years I experienced
>the lethargy after meals, but they couldn't get a blood test to nail
>down type 2.

OK. I'm puzzled. THEY couldn't get a blood test to nail down T2.

>When I was working, my morning started early (4 am)

Early starts like that are a bugger. FWIIW, disruption of day night
rhythms is a contributing factor in the progression of T2 diabetes.

>and I
>had to be alert on my job, so I would skip breakfast and eat my first
>meal of the day around 10 am. This wasn't the best solution, but it
>worked at the time.
>
>Now that I no longer work, I have made changes - I have added
>breakfast. My morning meal is oatmeal with flaxseed meal cooked into
>it. I guess the ratio would be 1/2 cup flaxmeal to 2 cups rolled oats
>(uncooked). I eat about 3/4 of a cup, add raisins, cinnamon, and a
>tablespoon of brown sugar and a splash of milk. Not only are oats good
>for unclogging the arteries and are slower to break down in the
>digestion, the added flax meal has fiber and the good omega fatty
>acids I need.

I hear that you're proud of that meal. So would I have been about a
decade or so ago. OK, I'd never had added sugar even brown sugar which
these days is simply white sugar with some caramelized sugar added to
produce the brown colour. My point is your intentions are good.
The flaxseeds will contribute to the omega-3 fatty acids you need.

The problem is that is one hell of a glycemic load. To put it simply
by the time the meal arrives in your small intestine where absorption
takes place most of the lovely starches will be pure glucose, the
sugar that pushes up blood glucose. You might not believe this
because oats have a lower glycemic index than some other grains. Never
the less oats are a grain and this means they are CONCENTRATED sources
of starch. T2s simply don't take well to concentrated intakes of
starches or simple sugars.

To find out what is true for you at this particular moment on your
journey there is one certain way to find out and that is to
BUY A METER.

Get to read Jennifer's advice to newbies. She puts it more gently
than most of us and explains the issues simply. It will work for you
as it has for many others before you.

Any Google search will find it readily.

>Has it worked? I have been doing this now since my bad physical report
>card this March. My BP was 140+/90+ - it's down to about 120/85 with
>my used-to-be normal being around 110/75.

Well done. Blood pressure is one of the big three for T2s.

>I haven't checked my cholesterol levels yet, but exercise makes a great
>impact on that and I am making myself move.

Notice how you are guessing that what is generally true will be true
for you. For many people exercise is not sufficient.

We're not doctors and don't have your medical history.
What we are sure of is that doctors don't guess like that.
They test.

>I don't experience lethargy after eating. I
>am not so hungry because the oatmeal "sticks to my ribs" as my parents
>used to say. I have lost 15 lbs, and that is with that one simple
>change - Breakfast oatmeal with flax meal. I add flaxmeal to the
>pancake batter that I make with rice flour and not much wheat flour
>because I suspect I have some gluten intolerance as well. Other than
>that, I avoid wheat and eggs, which knocks out many bad options for me
>as it is in just about everything commercially produced.
>
>AK BeBe
>
>borderline 2 but no meds yet,
>fibromyalgia for 20 years
>BMI low 30's
>and trying to follow a A+ bloodtype

It is doubtful that following a blood type diet is as helpful as
getting down to the basics of eating a T2 friendly diet. To find out
what is T2 friendly you need a meter. IMHO it is more likely to be a
distraction that you can't afford.

>and the caveman diet as best I can

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin