Diabetes and your health (and alcohol)

You mean cognac, whiskey etc? Well the stories on the internet are (as so many medical studies) different from eachother.
One says beer and wine is best while others swear at cognac and whiskey, i think personally because of the high % and you always buy them in big bottles, and when i drink, trying to keep that moderation it might not be the best thing for me personally.

I like (and am okay with) beer and a mojito (we used to have 4 euro bottles at the lidl, but i am fine with a bacardi variant) it might be sugary maybe, but it's "only" 3/4 liter and 15%.

How old are you, and how much do you smoke/drink? Do you feel healthy?

Offcourse it's an average but apparently currently the oldest person with diabetes type 2 is 90 something years, but he seems like a person that exercises a lot.

Thing is when you ask a doctor offcourse their natural response is almost always just stop drinking, when you don't know if it's really something you shouldn't be doing, or it's just something they always say.

Because my level is just 8 and i call it borderline diabetes, i really question how much it could hurt or not, if my levels were a constant 10-15 offcourse it's a total different situation, but maybe you are right, it's a hard choice.

But thank you, and same to you.

Friend of mine keeps a human skull on his desk at work.
Coworker: Why do you keep such a creepy thing on your desk?
Friend: To remind myself that I am mortal and that I will die one day.
Coworker: Is that some sort of Satanic thing?
Friend: Haha. No, I'm Catholic.
Coworker:
Friend: You know, memento mori?
Coworker: Are you putting a spell on me right now? [backing away slowly]
Friend: No, I'm not! It's Latin.
Coworker: [runs to HR]
Friend: [sighs and hangs head in hands]

Thank you, you too.

But the thing is doctors will always say don't drink. :p

I am not putting a whole weight of a decision based on the internet, but i am just curious how others do it, i am surprised many voted no, considering the statistics.

I am taking metformin too yes, first 1000mg a day and then suddenly the diabetic nurse decided she found that odd and why not split it to twice 500mg per day. My blood pressure always been good (weird considering the stress). The first years it was actually treated really casual, like you got diabetes, you take these pills, visit the nurse every 3 months (which always gave good results so i shifted it to 6 months), and that's it, i have been drinking alcohol all that time and noone that ever said anything.

7 isn't good, but it isn't that extreme either? I mean i had a few occasions i had 11 in the morning after breakfast time, even 15 once in the hospital (right after i ate a snack and drank coke, they said i didnt had to test for blood sugars but they included it anyway).
One doctor said it shouldn't have been in your blood yet and should check with the nurse, another doctor said that it was the snack/coke.. Even they got different views.

And here i am finding +5c cold, jeez -20c :p I really hope you can find a way back to a diet, and especially can keep your blood pressure in check, best to you. What and how much did you drink? And aren't there certain drinks your body can handle better?

but apparently fruit sugars break down in the body differently than processed sugars.

The fruit pulp/fiber acts like a buffer, or a speed bump - it slows down and moderates the speed of absorption.

Processed sugar is saccharine, which is mad up from a fructose and glucose, and it breaks down super easily, even our saliva can start the progress. The real problem with it is the sheer amount we (can) eat, and how often it's just sugar alone, like with candies, chocolate, sweet tea or soda. Both glucose's and fructose's absorption is really fast in this case, as they are present in the digestive system as a solution, and water travels through the digestive track really, really fast. This is why while it may sounds healthy, fruit juices are awful alternatives to the fruit themselves - a lot more sugar and calories as one can drink more of the liquid easily, and it has none of the fiber that would be otherwise really good for them.

I wish good health for your father, cutting down on pasta must have been hard!l for him!

That's a nice age to reach, guessing with how he takes his diet seriously he tries for 100. ;)

I was also very much under the assumption (i even talked to a doctor about it.. and didn't tell me what adam said below) that fruit is full of sugar, and sugar is sugar. Learned something today.

Thank you, and indeed moderation is key.

Be careful with that, very bad for your heart (plus it's full of sugars).
Once saw on tv (and not trying to scare) a story about how a girl seemingly healthy had 3 energy drinks and now has a permanent heart condition).
Very good you can stop drinking alcohol though, and best to you in getting off the energy drinks.

Thank you. Going the whole making hooch thing is a step to far for me personally i think.
Spirits do have sugars, vodka is dryest, but i dunno how much it compares to a beer or wine or mixed drink, but the higher alcohol level even 40% compared to 5-10% on beer or 15% on wine i don't think that's helpful either.

Too much starch and diabetes is another new thing i am learning here.

I am in a situation i don't have such someone and actually people are in the way of me going to a healthier lifestyle, i sometimes don't even have the energy to cook and thus easily stick to bread, was in the progress of going to being on my own and thus can go for such a lifestyle but corona puts a halt to that for now). But not sure what that lifestyle includes and excludes, i do wanna live a little and have a pack of chips or whatever sometimes. :p

I can imagine it being very hard for your dad, and to anyone, most of the products in a supermarket aren't healthy and full of sugars or salt, and usually what they put on discount and people with lesser income buy, sometimes it is even hard to tell what's in something.

Lol :p

Yeah a supermarket is full of products that are full of sugars and salt too. What you say about cereal, how much commercials didn't exist for kids how it's not "healthy" for them? Yet that is full of sugars..

It certainly can sneak up to anyone like cancer, and the odds unfortunately are also high these days.

So she was overweight you would say?

Well they say 1 or 2 can't hurt, some studies will say it's even good (and others don't), it even varies on drinks some say beer is best, some say wine is best. I know alcohol is not good, it's not rocket science, but stress isn't either, so which choice would you make?

8mmol is the average when i get my blood tested for the blood sugar, for type 2 testing strips aren't insured so i can't constantly go test, unless i am with the diabetes nurse (and then it's always satisfactory to her) same with blood pressures.
I do have spikes though see here

I had several doctors, my usual one died a few months ago in his late 40's, the diabetes nurses (on my third now) not one ever told me this isn't good maybe we should see to alter your medication a bit, i found it they been rather casual about it always.
Maybe you are right and i should not be so casual too and adress it more, but i was under an assumption my average was always atleast 7 , but for atleast 2 years it's been 8 mmol. (i can't see my results back from further dates).

The French Paradox debunked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxBk_76Q8BU

I was fortunate i can easily stay off alcohol if i want, but i can imagine the habit it has formed for others and for you it's even double with smoking and the drinking and that it can be very hard to kick off from that.

I hope you find the strength and maybe some help from someone that can help you with it all, it's hard if you don't got support (and stress which most people result to such things to get a bit stress off). Neuropathy is one of the scary parts about it all.

How old are you now if i can ask, how much do you drink now and then? And do you feel physical consequences from it?
I mean for me it usually was the weekends, playing tf2, 90's house and 70cl of mojito spread over 2 days and 4 bottles of beers both days each (which turned into 6 in the end) although if you hear about students and how many shots they take, i think my intake would be considered moderate compared to it, but doctors will go say that's a lot..

Yeah exactly that's the whole inward struggle, what choice you make and is "better" your mental health or the physical problems you might or not get. I did have medicine like Oxazepam, and plenty of other things tried, even herbal ones but they (and the whole benzo family) seemed to do not much anymore lately, therefor i am debating the whole alcohol way again (especially with corona which causes stress on a personal level too) I never got drunk or tipsy either, i think it's a physical thing too, but i been given 7 bloodtests now without any other test, i want to get tests done, but again with the corona that's also impossible now.

And you are right about not thinking about a life expectency although you can take measures to live longer (and with my backlog i have to become 100 atleast :p) but there is a saying you can live on fruits and vegetables f.e , don't smoke, don't drink and get hit by a bus tommorow...

I went to a 20% decrease of eyesight in my right eye within 6 years, while before i could read subtitles barely laying on my bed, now standing front of the tv the subtitles are a bit of a blur without glasses. I asked if it could have been due the diabetes but the optician said no and it was due age, bad luck and my eyes (something with prisma's).

I am like your mother, not fat and actually skinny (76kg at 193cm), same as my mother also skinny i think we got a fast metabolism, doesn't mean i eat healthy though.or it doesn't mean much, if you are skinny but have a (beer) belly or flaps on the side, it's also bad apparently.
But don't most people got such one anyway?

Good luck for your results.

That i heard yeah i should definitely walk more, and witih the whole corona i am kinda locked mysel in too, the whole mouth mask thing (nice if you got bad breath) just to get some lottery tickets, i am like well i just do it online now.
I used to jog but then we had extreme summers (30c+) and cold winters (under 10c with clouds i easily find it cold (i am skinny) but if it would be 5c and sunny it's totally doable but because of climate change these days winters are 5c with wind / storm and rain and then i started this job experience program, and i was like i get some movement from there and quit the whole jogging thing.

As to walking yeah i should but not very motivated unless it's atleast 15c and sunny, and we started very late with the whole mandatory mask thing, heck we only now start talking about an evening clock (so you can't go outside after xx hours).
And many didn't give a damn about keeping distance so why i didn't try either, there is still a large group which gets larger protesting about these things our goverment implement thinking it's all mind control. But now when it's warmer i will definitely think about it, .

It's weitrd with drinking and smoking, for some it's a killer but take for example betty white, she drinks a vodka every day and is now like what? in her nineties? And the rolling stones how much they didn't take on drugs, booze etc?

Thank you, i will read about it.

Well you can try to live healthier by just cutting down (processed) meats, less sugar, salt etc, more vegetables definitely want to go that way atleast, but offcourse rigoursly and just measure everything you eat, not being able to eat a bag of chips, not sure if i want to go that far, we are supposed to live a little when i say it again, while you could just get run over by a bus tommorow. :p

Also a Group 1 Carcinogen (known to cause cancer in humans). Primarily causes female breast, colorectal, larynx, liver, and esophageal cancer. Even light to moderate intake will increase your risk of cancer.

WARNING: Contains graphic pictures of tumors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_and_cancer

Maybe that's absolutely right, and not as to find an excuse but it can be said about other things too in many foods, like processed meat etc not to mention many are too full of sugars and salt.

If your body (liver) is healthy it could just process it fine though, but i doubt mine is.

It's a medical study and with as so many, there is always one saying this, and the other the opposite, it sure sounds positive if it is, like someone above whose dad is 90 and been diagnosed 10 years ago, what about someone f.e in his 30's would he still have a good chance to become 90 really, or even hit 100? I have no clue how long metformin even exist, and is being prescribed?
It would also atleast matter if you take certain change in life style, like exercize, eat healthier food and maybe not drink alcohol, you can't just simply take metformine and go on with an unhealthy lifestyle.

Interesting stuff... Might be because metformin does provide some kind of protection, or might be because people who aren't diagnosed with diabetes might still actually have a pretty borderline glycemia. It's terrible how doctors will totally ignore a glycemia that's barely under the maximum limit while someone just above will be declared a diabetic and treated.

The thing is I don't know how bad drinking is for me physically (i do get toilet issues like you), and as i replied to someone above, for some it's a struggle that stress isn't also good, so what in such case would you decide for is better, physical or mental health.

And possibly if it wasn't for the whole corona thing and so much stress altogether i wouldn't even come to this decision, Or had meds that could calm me down too, too much stress isn't good either, so you get a struggle less stress (and drink) or not and better for your body.
If i get children i do strongly urge them to never start drinking and say it's crap for your body, i know.. And i would even say if i could do it all over again to also not have started.

I tried the alcohol free ones but it's just lemonade, and i did feel that in my body too, i don't know which ingredient would be the cause.

I have also no troubles in quitting, as said i had many months i did quit, and longest being a year, and now again since january 1, so right now i am not, but it's the question of going back to it or not.
When corona kicked in and i started again, i don't even have to drink each day, mostly i had my friday/saturday with 90's music, playing tf2 and shared a 70cl mojito over 2 days and 4 bottles of beer each day (later became 6), some will say it's a lot, too much, when i drink it's easy for me to just say one more.
Was never planning to go back to that, but for atleast till corona gets it's butt kicked, my life being a bit better, maybe such a mojito and maybe 1 or 2 beers, 1 day a week, or maybe per 2 weeks.

Be careful with those energy drinks, they can be very bad for your heart , plus with the cola you cold risk the whole diabetes thing yourself. The best to you too.

Yeah it's an average but a disease that eventually does seem to destroy things in your body, and if you are 70 and then diagnosed, offcourse you could easily reach that 80, maybe 90.
But how would that work if you are diagnosed at f.e 30 years.

I dont see many statistics on how many became 90 with diabetes diagnosed at an early age, or anyone that became a 100 with diabetes, is that even possible at all? And as someone else said thinking about the whole possible life expectency causes stress too, and we can all get hit by a bus tommorow anyway.
But when did the real diagnose of diabetes started, and when did proper medication like metformin started, if it's like 40-50 years ago then yeah there might not be all the results.