The New Epidemic: Double Diabetes
Double Diabetes
I read an article some time ago about "Double Diabetes" (aka Type 3 Diabetes aka Type 1.5 Diabetes). Then a couple days ago I came across this one. Basically a person with Double Diabetes has both Type 1 (insulin deficient) Diabetes and Type 2 (insulin resistant) Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes, a category which 5-10% of diabetics fall into, is typically an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks the pancreas' insulin producing cells such that they don't function anymore, hence insulin deficiency. Type 2 Diabetes is a disease of lifestyle. It is characterized by obesity and high blood sugar. It is termed "insulin resistance" because the muscles have closed down their insulin receptors due to overstimulation (i.e., too many carbs creating too much insulin). Once the muscles shut down, the body shuttles everything into fat to protect itself against high blood sugar.
What happens in Double Diabetes is that a person with Type 1 may overuse their insulin to cover a poor diet, such as that pushed by the ADA, resulting in obesity and resistance to the action of their injections. Or a Type 2 diabetic may continue to eat a poor diet (the same diet that caused their diabetes in the first place) and cause their body to secrete ever-increasing amounts of insulin in an effort to force nutrients into the muscles, eventually resulting in pancreatic burnout.
The scary part:
For instance, recent studies suggest that as many as 30 percent of newly diagnosed diabetes cases among children involve youngsters with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
30%!!! Three of every ten kids diagnosed as diabetic are being diagnosed with both diseases. Unless steps are taken to change the direction of obesity in this country, today's kids are going to live shorter lives with a lower quality of life than their parents. The fix is simple: eat a diet based on whole, natural foods that can be killed with a stick or picked from the ground, namely meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar.
