From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…
Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: I DON’T EXERCISE!!!
Ya know, I DON'T exercise! I don’t have a gym membership, I don’t play pickle ball (nothing against it, I’m just not the “sports” type – I barely notice the teams I pay my taxes to Stadium Support for…I’m not sporty. I’m not gamey, either: I’ve learned to LIKE games, but except for my on-line “word search” and the occasional online Solitaire, I don’t play games as a first choice…)
So, I don’t “exercise”, either.
What I do is bike on the extensive bike trails around the city I live in. During the summer, I end up biking between fifteen to thirty miles a week. During winter, I go by hours – about 4-7 hours per week as trail bike is mounted on a trainer in the basement and I try and ride 30-45 minutes every-other-day. I don’t “exercise” though – I bike because I love to bike. I have four different trails of varying distance (between 4-14 miles) and variable difficulty: a five mile ride has a pedestrian bridge over an interstate that has a BRUTAL incline of about 20 degrees. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s quite a bit steeper than the automotive bridge I take on the return trip! A seven and a half mile ride is mostly on suburban streets and in the sense of difficulty, it’s pretty easy.
But, I don’t “exercise”.
I think I have stuck in my head the old Physical Education ideal of what exercise is – “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.” See, that part of biking is secondary to me. I bike because I love the sense of freedom. As we move into summer, I hit the trails earlier and earlier. When I do my “long ride (the seven mile one above), I have to cross over a heavily traveled county road. At THIS time, it's busy and I usually have to wait for the “perfect moment”. When I reach that same spot in the depth of summer, I can be there at four thirty in the morning – and I just drift across the same stretch of road without a care in the world.
But, I’m NOT exercising! I love the trails I’ve chosen to ride. The image today in place of the usual, is a shot I took on one of my rides; which I would never have seen if I wasn’t out on those trails! But I don’t ride to “exercise”; I ride to SEE things. It’s the same set of trails – about forty miles worth of trails, but the view changes every time I ride!
I don’t ride to exercise – I ride to LIVE. “Angiogenesis is the ability to form new blood vessels, and diabetes not only damages existing blood vessels, it hinders this innate ability to grow new ones in the face of disease and injury.”
This sounds horrific! But worse is yet to come! “SOD3 is an important natural antioxidant produced by muscle cells in the walls of blood vessels as well as skeletal muscle cells. These help maintain healthy levels of reactive oxygen species. We get these species whenever we breathe. The SOD3 tells our body what to do to clean too MANY of these reactive oxygen species out and stimulate the body to make proteins we need to stay healthy. In diabetics, high blood sugar levels result in high ROS levels that severely RESTRICT the making of these proteins.”
My diabetes not ONLY damages my veins, arteries, and capillaries; it also kills the ability of my own body to make proteins to keep me healthy! “SOD3 levels decrease with age and with some disease states like diabetes and hypertension.” What can I do? Do I have to join a gym and run ten miles a day? Do I have to get a weight set for my living room and workout while watching The Voice???
Nope: “…in the face of diabetes, even one 45-minute session of moderate intensity exercise enables more exosomes (submicroscopic packages filled with biologically active cargo, to deliver directly to those cells more of the protein, ATP7A) which can jumpstart angiogenesis.”
Just one session! And if I do more? It just continues the jumpstart! I bike because I LOVE it; but now I can rely on that body reaction to help repair the damage diabetes has done and IS DOING to the blood vessels in my body!
Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220426101747.htm
Image: https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/339932022_2120679281603971_5456611471299698496_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s206x206&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aee45a&_nc_ohc=OMsU-zLHY8AAX-n4chP&_nc_ad=z-m&_nc_cid=0&_nc_ht=scontent.xx&oh=03_AdQdAqhZ8500eGFZybzk2HPhIq634f7anL2Nbuy0Qqa86Q&oe=646A5155
For the first times since I started this column eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes two weeks ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. My wife is Type 2, as are several friends of ours. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. Since then, I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!
Yesterday, I had a 3 month check up for my diabetes. Besides blood pressure (good), weight (I’ve lost 7 pounds since I was last weighed!), and my blood sugars (almost always “high”, but there’s a chance I might just have something called “hyperglycemia”. I’ll deal with that later! (Not medically, as a blog post!)
Today, I want to delve more into what exactly my A1c IS.
We’ll start with the “official” definition (aka Wikipedia): “Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, glycohemoglobin, hemoglobin, A1C or A1c) is a form of hemoglobin (Hb) that is chemically linked to a sugar. Most monosaccharides, including glucose, galactose and fructose, spontaneously (i.e. non-enzymatically) bond with hemoglobin when present in the bloodstream. However, glucose is less likely to do so than galactose and fructose (13% that of fructose and 21% that of galactose), which may explain why glucose is used as the primary metabolic fuel in humans.”
OK – that’s not terribly helpful. How about someone else? The site EVERYDAY HEALTH, puts it this way: “[The A1c] measures your average blood sugar level over the past three months. Called hemoglobin A1C, or A1C, this test can show you how well your type 2 diabetes management plan is working.”
That seems pretty clear, but HOW does it measure my average blood sugar level? It’s one blood draw! How can it tell how my blood sugars have been for the past THREE MONTHS???
“‘Glycation’ of [many] proteins happens often. When blood glucose levels are high, the glucose attaches to the hemoglobin in red blood cells. When there’s too much glucose in the blood, the more glucose hooks on to hemoglobin in the red blood cells and the higher the glycated hemoglobin.
“Once this happens, it stays that way. When there’s a more than usual amount of this in the red cell, it shows that the cell has been exposed to too much glucose during its life-cycle. A1c is an average of glucose levels during the life of the red blood cells.”
OK. I get how this happens now! But so what? So what if there’s too much glucose attached to the red blood cells in my body? Banner Health has this to say, “High A1c levels mean your diabetes isn’t controlled very well. That can increase your risk for complications, so you may need to be screened for kidney damage, nerve damage, eye damage, and heart disease. Additionally, according to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. “It’s worth mentioning that the top six causes of death are all influenced and/or worsened by diabetes, too,” Dr. Bridenstine said.
So what can I do? A1c levels improved significantly after 20 days from start or intensification of glucose-lowering treatment. What are some of those glucose-lowering treatments? We’ll start with natural ways to lower your A1c.
1) Probiotics CAN make a significant reduction in glycated hemoglobin in type 2 diabetics. What are probiotics? Yogurt (avoid ones that are LOADED with sugar! That tradeoff isn’t a good one! Us can sweeten your yogurt with fruit. Unsweetened applesauce is an effective “mixer” for plain yogurt.) Other probiotics (check the labels o make sure the culture is still active/alive!) Different varieties of cheese, kefir, sourdough bread, kimchi, and kombucha. Check the computer for others!
2) Entertain the idea of low carb/high protein meals. Things like lean meats or fish paired with vegetables NOT like peas, beans, carrots, corn, and potatoes. It’s NOT that you CAN’T have them, but you can’t binge on baked potatoes/sweet potatoes and sour cream/maple syrup! By the way, “French fries are NOT potatoes! They are FORMERLY potatoes drowned in boiling oil (used to be an execution sentence! Oh, wait, it is for potatoes. Kills any good the potato had to start with).
3) Water. It’s your friend. Even if you hate it. People my age and my dad’s age didn’t drink water unless they had to. We’d buy Dad a case of bottled water and it would stay unopened for months at a time. I force myself to drink a 1 liter bottle of water (minimal) plus sodas and coffee. Sometimes I drink more water. USUALLY not less.
4) Try to love salads. My wife does NOT. I happen to. HOWEVER, avoid the urge to drown your salad in creamy dressings, then sprinkling with raisins, crumbled taco chips, crushed candied peanuts and walnuts…those are NOT salad! Also, try this: instead of dumping the bag of dressing (or a quarter of a bottle) on your bagged salads, put it in a container and DIP THE FORK into the dressing, then spear your mouthful of lettuce ands… It cuts down on the amount of high calorie, non-food dressings you end up eating, and you might actually taste the mix of lettuce and veggies! Also, try eating different mixes of salads – the grocery store makes it convenient.
5) Exercise. Yeah, I know, me, too: HATE to exercise. I use a trainer for my bike during the Minnesota Winter (usually 4-6 months of snow. Currently, I stopped outdoor biking on November 7, 2022. I started riding again last week on March 27, 2023. (five months of trainer-ing.) BUT, I also did thirteen squats before getting on the trainer (every other day); I also spent a few moments on a balancing disk. I also set up my trainer so I can read while pedaling.
So, the prescription is probiotics, low carb/high protein meals, water, salads/veggies, exercise. I haven’t gotten my most recent A1c back yet, but I’ll add it in when I do!
Source: https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/7-ways-to-lower-your-a1c-level-even-if-you-dont-have-diabetes, https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/teach-me/why-a1c-is-so-significant, https://8fit.com/nutrition/high-carb-vegetables-your-comprehensive-guide/
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg
For the first time since I started this column eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes two weeks ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. My wife is Type 2, as are several friends of ours. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s called Type 1 diabetes. Since then, I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me! Today: What does Metformin do?
“…metformin reduces blood glucose through inhibition of complex IV activity which in turn leads to inhibition of glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase activity and reductions in glycerol conversion to glucose”.
OK – I need to translate this…honestly, even for me (BS – Biology, MS – Counseling), it seems a bit language heavy!
Metformin – I take four Tylenol-shaped tablets a day. To be honest, it has NEVER brought my blood sugars down to what they are “supposed to be”. They range from the highest overnight fasting I’ve ever had of 205; to the lowest overnight fasting I’ve ever had of 143. The literature indicates that I should be 130 or less. So, is the Metformin doing what it’s supposed to? I don’t know – I’ll be talking with the doctor in April.
“inhibition of complex IV” – This complex is involved with taking energy that’s stored in cells in a sort of “stable” package, and changing it into an active package that the cell can use. The HECK?!?!?!? OK – I’ll break it down. According to Wikipedia: “The molecular mechanism of metformin is not completely understood.” Why does that make me nervous? In addition to a lot of other things, it works on “complex IV (or 4) –mediated inhibition of the GPD2 variant of mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (thereby reducing glycerol-derived hepatic gluconeogenesis)” SIMPLIFIED translation: it interferes with how the body makes sugar in the liver to dump into the blood. IOW, it slows down the release of glucose from the liver into the blood. Metformin decreases gluconeogenesis (glucose production) in the liver…The average patient with type 2 diabetes produces three times the normal rate of glucose! Metformin treatment reduces this by over one-third.”
Glipizide: “Glipizide sensitizes the beta cells of the pancreas’ insulin response”…
And that means, WHAT? OK, everyone reading this has a pancreas. It sits on top of the stomach and helps you digest food – and it makes insulin. Insulin allows your body to break down “real food” into its pieces, that is into GLUCOSE. “Glipizide makes the pancreas release more insulin to pick up the glucose and either use it or store it. than would be without glipizide ingestion. Glipizide acts by partially blocking potassium channels in the pancreas. The cell depolarizes, opens calcium channels, which encourages insulin release from beta cells (the cells that MAKE insulin in the pancreas.”
Insulin: If you’re a Type 2 diabetic, then by this point, you likely know what insulin is. If you’re new to this, insulin is a hormone (like testosterone, estrogen, adrenaline, melatonin…the list is very long…). If you missed the definition above: “Insulin allows your body to break down “real food” into its pieces, that is GLUCOSE”.
Ozempic®, etc: a HUGE group of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes, particularly those of us who are overweight (ie: FAT). Some of the brand names besides Ozempic®: Trulicity®, Farxiga®, Bydureon®, Victoza®, Adlyxin®, Jardiance®, and a host of others – all work in ways similar to Glipizide.
They all are designed to do the following: help the pancreas release insulin when blood sugar levels are high; help move sugar out of the blood and into other body tissues where it is used for energy; and slow the movement of food through the stomach in order to decrease appetite and promote weight loss. (See my post two weeks ago regarding the circus THAT has turned into!)
This gave me a better point of view to what’s happening in my own body as I continue to try and being my blood sugars under control. Hope it helped you, too.
Source: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/how-a-widely-used-diabetes-medication-actually-works/
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg
