MARTIN SHANNON, DIABETES COACH AND HIMSELF A DIABETIC

• I read across a lot of diabetic forums and face book pages and the thing I hear the most is everyone is different you got to find what works for you. To a certain extent this is true; we are all a little different biologically. What needs to be said is that we are all human beings with basically the same biology, if this wasn’t true, vaccines, immunizations, pharmaceutical drugs all would have to be individually tailored to fits everyone’s needs and we all know that isn’t the case. Yes there are outliers to this rule; some will have a greater degree of side effects than others.
  
  A few basic facts when it comes to diabetes and a glucose metabolism that is malfunctioning. Carbohydrates are carbohydrates it doesn’t matter the source, carbohydrates will affect your glucose levels, some quicker than others but all will have an effect. The biggest source of glucose you are seeing in your blood is coming from the carbohydrates you are eating; the second source is proteins that are being eaten in excess of your metabolic needs for tissue repair. When you hear someone say you have to find out what works for you, I interpret that as find out what is acceptable to you, which still may not be what is necessary for long term health. People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus all have a varying degree of insulin available to modulate their glucose levels, what this leads to is a varying degree in the amount of carbohydrates you can consume. This is where the statement you have to find out what works for you. Knowingly or unknowingly what they are referring to is your carbohydrate budget, in reality they are referring to your available insulin. If you are taking medications that affect your insulin directly your carbohydrate budget will increase, is that a good thing or bad thing. Having to increase insulin to cover a food source that is easily removed from your diet and not necessary for human health or longevity doesn’t make sense to me. Don’t misunderstand, there are plenty of people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus that require medication even under strict carbohydrate reduction and there is nothing wrong or defeating about that. The end game here is to be healthy regardless of the path you need to take.
  
  The question now becomes for a newly diagnosed person with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, how far am I willing to push the envelope in regards to my insulin supply. Most people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus have a finite amount of insulin available and the majority of that insulin is phase II insulin or newly manufactured insulin. If you consume carbohydrates below your budget your body will once again start to store insulin as Phase I insulin. Phase I insulin is stored insulin and is used in response to consuming carbohydrates. In my opinion now that you have been diagnosed with Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus the wise thing to do is always consume carbohydrates below your available insulin supply. The less demand you put on your pancreas to supply insulin the quicker your path to health will be. Now that you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus your pancreas (Beta Mass), the insulin producing cells have been working overtime to keep up with the demand of your insulin resistance. It could use a break.