Your Doctor's Orders » diabetes

Paula Deen’s Diabetes – a Physicians Perspective

The Doc — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:26:41 +0000

Your Body Never Lies

Bourdain calls out Deen

Paula Deen who crafted a remarkable, high profile career with her Southern style of cooking, delivered with Southern style charm, announced her diagnosis of adult onset diabetes (type 2). Now the judgments are pouring in: her food and lifestyle led her to this diagnosis and the pundits are asking for her to “repent.”

As a physician let me be clear here:

Paula Deen’s diabetes is not a deserving fate for what she cooked, it is more a matter of genetics than anything else. For those who are unlucky enough to have the genetic code that predisposes them to diabetes, the odds are they will become its victim, as they get older. Even the most “in shape” individual, who eats “right” who has the genetics for diabetes can no more avoid that than you can avoid a car accident if someone misses a stop sign because they are texting.

Perhaps I am jaded – as someone who researches diets and performs weight loss surgery- I’m reminded that HL Mencken said that physicians are not suppose to offer repentance but absolution. But a body never lies, and while we don’t know the “right” diet, we do know that certain foods can kill you.

While the news enjoys the pseudo-feud going on between Deen and one of my favorite writers-chef Anthony Bourdain, we in medicine hope that Paula Deen is using her celebrity to benefit millions who are diagnosed with diabetes. She is also cashing in a check from a sponsoring company; isn’t that the American way?

The real quote from Bourdain is one anybody can respect, “Honestly, I have no ill will toward her personally. I respect anybody who’s had a trajectory like hers. But I don’t like the brand. If her shtick is food that’s going to rush you along your way to diabetes, then it’s not a brand I particularly like. I am the last person in the world to be advocating for any kind of healthy eating or lifestyle. The only distinction between us, actually, is that my show comes with a parental advisory and hers doesn’t.”

I won’t endorse Paula Deen’s cooking as “healthy” and most of it would cause blood sugar to rise higher than it should. Food can kill you, but it cannot cure you. Hopefully Paula Deen will use her celebrity to advocate for diabetes education and awareness. I also wouldn’t mind if she would come out with a few recipes that won’t raise the blood sugar as much as twinkie pie. And just to be fair– eating a little less of poison doesn’t mean it is being “moderate” it just means you are being less stupid. Besides- you can’t eat just one. So, Ms. Deen- lets see some new recipes.

Until then, I’ll be watching Bourdain eat camel cheeks in some far away place, wishing I was there with him.

: Wondering if Bourdain needs a doctor in his travels

More Reasons to Lose Weight

thedoc — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:25:13 +0000

A new study has found that weight loss can lead to improved sexual health for men, including giving them an increased libido. The study was published this month in the Journal of Sexual Medicine and consisted of 31 men struggling with both obesity and type 2 diabetes. The men were placed on a calorie restricted diet in an effort to lose weight. They were split into groups and provided one of two diet plans. The first group consumed two liquid meal-replacements each day, with sensible, balanced dinners and the second group was given meals made up of high-protein, lower fat & carb choices. The study found that erectile function, sexual desire, and urinary symptoms improved significantly for all the participants, who lost on average 5 to 10 percent of their body weight over the 8 weeks. In addition, the researchers noted overall improvements in insulin sensitivity, blood glucose, and lipid profile for the men, regardless of which of the diets they were following. When examining at the results by diet, the participants on the low-calorie diet with the liquid meal replacements saw higher weight loss. These men lost on average 10% of their body weight after eight weeks, while the men on the higher protein diet only lost an average of 5% of their body weight.

At the conclusion of the study, the low calorie diet group averaged weight loss of nearly 30 lbs and the higher-protein group lost about 12 lbs. The findings prompted the researchers to conclude that for diabetic obese men, quick diet-induced weight loss not only reduces systemic inflammation, but also improves sexual, urinary, and endothelial function. Dr. George Fielding, a leading bariatric surgeon in New York, commented that the study “highlights a very important, but not much talked about, issue for all obese patients, namely their sexual function. Many patients, even young people, hint at this problem, but it’s usually glossed over.”

What is Fiber?

Terry Simpson — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:57:44 +0000

For a while it seemed that everyone was talking about the importance of fiber, and its role in preventing a variety of diseases. After much speculation, we now have a few answers about what fiber really does, and what makes it an important component of good nutrition.

Fiber is simply things that humans cannot digest. Many vegetables and fruit have methylcellulose – the stringy stuff– and we, as humans cannot digest it. Cows can, horses can, deer can – but not humans. This is why it is better to cook vegetables – because by breaking down some of the fiber our bodies can get to the nutrients that are locked into the vegetables.

What we do with it is simply pass the material through our body. If you don’t have enough fiber you can become constipated – and develop things like hemorrhoids or diverticulosis. Fiber is also good if you have chronically loose bowel movements – it will help bulk up the stools.

Years ago a group of people thought increased fiber would lead to less colon cancer – -with the theory that fiber acts as a broom to sweep out the colon and thus keep the colon from being in contact with toxic stool. Well- that has been tested in a number of places and just isn’t the case. Even people with high fiber diets have no lower incidence of colon cancer than those with an average fiber diet.

Some thought fiber would increase the metabolism – so by taking more fiber in you would be able to loose weight. That was proved to be incorrect also.

What is known is that the more bulk fiber you have- from fruits and vegetables- with higher fiber — the longer the sense of feeling full is.

This is why we recommend to patients to increase green vegetables, or squash, or beans – to increase their fiber – and to keep them feeling full for a longer period of time.

So- if you want to lose weight- increase your fiber and decrease your processed food. If you suffer from chronic hemorrhoids – see your doctor- but before then start on a high fiber diet (I recommend to my patients they take a scoop of fiber in 12 ounces of water followed by 12 more ounces of water).

Find yourself hungry mid-afternoon — consider a high fiber snack – like fruits.

So fiber has a lot of advantages – and the best source of fiber — vegetables