Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
You inherit a susceptibility to Type II diabetes; you do not
inherit diabetes. A study in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (October 8, 2003) shows that one of three Americans
will become diabetic, with women more likely to develop diabetes
than men. The authors showed that the average person who is
diagnosed with diabetes at age 40 will die 11.6 year earlier than
a non-diabetic and he or she will be severely incapacitated with
one or more side effects of diabetes 18.6 years before a non-
diabetic.
Risk factors for developing diabetes:include: a family
history of diabetes; storing fat primarily in the belly; high
triglycerides; low HDL (good) cholesterol; blood sugar higher
than 200 thirty minutes after a meal; fasting blood sugar above
110; excess hair on the face or body (in women); or diabetes
during pregnancy. A person with any of these warning signs
should immediately make lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes:
avoid refined carbohydrates (foods made with flour, white rice,
milled corn; all added sugars and drinks that contain sugar),
exercise regularly, lose weight if you are overweight, and keep
your weight controlled for the rest of your life. If you do this you
will be at low risk for developing diabetes, even if you have the
genes that make you susceptible.
March 1, 2006