Diabetes in NDN Country

[chazziff]

weelll, in my family we have no one who has diabetes - but two of my sisters' had gestational diabetes while pregnant. followed the diet and did not get diabetes afterwards. i always go get "tested" for diabetes and try to live healthy but those nachos and chicken wings keep callin ... lol. i don't drink as much pop as i used to and now have made a decision not to drink it anymore.

we watched "super size me" with the kids and now they don't like going out to eat as much as they used to ... we're down to once or twice a month as opposed to twice a week or more. but my spouse does still like to supersize and eat out alot at work ... i don't pick up fast food for him anymore - subs with no mayo, no fries - caesar or tossed salad instead, no pop - when he asks me to pick him up something. i pack a lunch but he seems to have trouble with time management - lol - can't seem to plan head enough to pack his lunch.

but as for my spouse's family who live in the US (we live in canada) - all his siblings have diabetes, his mother has it and his father died of diabetes complications (he lost limbs, fingers, toes, etc.). and he has said to me on numerous occasions - if i lived in the US - "i'd probably have diabetes right now if i still lived at home."

when we go down for visits i can see a marked difference in the dinner menus - pop everywhere, fried this and that, fry bread galore and lil debbie cakes in every corner. on our last visit - we were down for two weeks - we both gained ten pounds!! the drive up windows everywhere don't help either - you don't even have to get out of car for anything!!

education is key - if you don't know what to do, how can you do it? my hubby is always talkin to his sister bought how to eat better and they take his advice. they are getting better - they have lost weight, etc.

but what irks me is people who have diabetes and try use it as an excuse. i can't work - i have diabetes. i can't wait in line - i have diabetes. or don't follow their doctors advice and continue on eating bags of chips and bottles of pop. meanwhile their mothers are more or less stumps (no limps) with gangrene on their backs from bed sores, dying. or constantly being hauled off by the emt's becuz they didn't watch their sugar levels/insulin ...

[LoneWolfBunn]

Why should we pretend to be stupid?

"I assume its an acronym for something in your arsenal of complex educated registered dietician experience that you are trying to convey but I'm sorry to say: I don't know what the hell your talking about. Does anyone else?"


One observation I have made in my 30 years on this planet (with maybe 12 years spent on a rez) is that there seems to be a tendancy among us to make other ingins feel ashamed to be too highly educated or too scientific or for using "big" words. There is always one who will say someone is trying to be white. We speak english so what is wrong with mastering the language. Somethings can only be described with complex words. On my rez this attitude was so bad that I would find myself pretending I didn't know things in order to not sound like a "know it all".

This attidude among us will serve no purpose other than too hold our people back. We should embrace our knowledge rather than make each other feel shame for it. After all our people were great scientists and astronomers 1000's of years before the white man even knew the earth was round. We knew the exact lenth of time it took the earth to revolve around the sun right down to a one hundred thousandth of a day while the current gregorian calender is still very inaccurate. Over a thousand years ago most of us knew the layout of the solar system. The white man just this decade discovered one of the planets on our ancient intricately carved stone charts.

Somewhere down the line white men have beat the idea into our heads that they are more advanced than us "stupid" indians and some of us have bought into it.

Now I am going to be posting some things on here and at the cost of "trying to sound white" I will not be finding simple words to replace the words that most easily get the information across. I do not assume that my people will not understand what intricately or molecular structure means.
I am going to be talking about wild plants and it does not mean I am trying to be a medicine man either.

[butterflynwind]

Yes please send me some info.My mom has daibetes.I know it runs in the family .I would like to prevent my kids from getting it.Any info you send will be apprecaited.

[ndnMSW]

There is a new program in Indian Country right now called the "Diabetes Prevention Program." The sites that competed and received the grant are in their first year of implementation. The program is based on a nationwide clinical study that showed that diabetes could be prevented in people 18 years and older that were "pre-diabetic." I work for that program at my service unit. I can give out some more information if anyone is interested, such as listing some of the areas that have the grant program, how you qualify for participation, what the program does and how it works, etc. We are getting ready to start our own program next month and have been working on the marketing, recruitment, and getting our staff hired.

[jones]

[QUOTE=Desiree]someone posted about the effect it has on your eyes. i am going blind in one eye. i used to have 20/10 vision now i cant see the first hour i wake. Does anyone know if you can loose your sight completly from diabetes?[/QUO

yes, diabetes can lead to blindness

[ndnMSW]

Yes, I'm over 30, and I was overweight. I'm 37 now, but was 33 when I decided I needed to change my habits. Like I said, my weight has gone up and down, and I was on a big upswing. I was about 30 pounds overweight. It's so weird how it just seems to "sneak up" on you......I just didn't notice how big I was getting until it started affecting my powwow dancing and how my clothes fit. It happens so gradually over a period of time that you don't notice how tired you get and how low your energy has become, and by the time that happens you're kind of in a vicious cycle, where you know you need to work out, but you're too tired, so you just keep gaining weight.

I had to go back to the basics that I knew about healthy eating, and find a plan that would work for me. I had to go back to measuring portion sizes and keeping a journal where I could see where I was getting my 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day, drinking my 8 cups of water, and making sure I had my lean protein, complex carbs. etc. I switched to baked chips and lowfat versions of my favorite foods. I refused to eat anything that tasted like "diet" foods because I wanted to enjoy what I did eat (and there's no way my husband would eat anything that tasted like diet food). My biggest source of support came from my husband. He ate what I ate, we encouraged each other to stay on track, and we worked out together (he's a college instructor and coach).

I think what ultimately worked for me was that I either shopped and found food, or I cooked food, that I really enjoyed, was healthy, was easy to fix, and that tasted good. Life is too short to not enjoy the basics. What kept me going was that I noticed the big difference in my energy level and mood right away and that was the biggest benefit.

I had to find something new that worked for me because I was older, and what I was trying to do to lose weight wasn't working. Your body changes as you get older and you have to do new things to get the same results.

Hope that helps someone out there. I've maintained a healthy weight since March of 2002, and kept it during and after my baby. My motivation during my pregnancy was that I didn't want to develop gestational diabetes, so I kept working out all through my pregnancy and watched what I ate. Luckily I never had any really bad food cravings, and I lost my taste for fast food while I was pregnant.

It takes work to develop new habits, but it's so worth it.

ndnMSW

[lexmar]

I should explain that I'm Indian, both my parents are Indian, and diabetes runs of both sides of my family. I'm in good health, but I have to work at it. I've gone into periods where my weight hasn't been controlled very well, then lost it, then regained it, but have since made permanent lifestyle changes where my weight has been in a healthy range for over 3 years, even during and after my pregnancy. I've had to work hard at keeping my health in control, and I try to live what I teach to my students and clients. It's hard to get people to make changes if you can't do those things yourself. I really believe in modeling the types of behavior I'm trying to promote, not only for my clients, but for my family and children as well. I want the lifestyle we live to be "normal" for my children, where they have a good foundation to make healthy choices later when they are on their own. I want healthy eating, exercise, and healthy beliefs about food, to be a normal part of my children's upbringing. My baby and my husband's children are huge motivators for us.

Just wanted to let you know where I was coming from as I write about this subject.

ndnMSW

what kind of changes did you make in your lifestyle? where you overweight? What type of changes did you make in your diet that created a weight loss? Did you completely cut out fast food? Are you over 30?

sorry for all the questions. Soooo curious.

[lexmar]

Holy cow, that's great!!!!

I just did a diabetes ed class this morning to a class of Indian students. One of them had a 20 oz bottle of Pepsi (full-strength). I read the label to them and told them in the whole bottle there was 250 calories and 67.5 grams of sugar (the label said 100 calories and 27 grams of sugar per serving, and the serving size said 8 oz.). I told them if they are on a 1,200 calorie per day diet, they would have used up all their calories if they drank 5 bottles of Pepsi in a day, which some people do without even thinking that they are drinking that many calories. I also showed them how 4 grams of sugar on a label equals 1 teaspoon of table sugar, and that there was about 17 teaspoons of table sugar in that one 20 oz bottle. I showed them on the bottle about how high the sugar would be sitting on the bottom of the bottle and it grossed them out.

I also had to warn them that they had to really read labels, because alot of fruit drinks were also that high in sugar or even higher. That really surprised them also. Diet soda and water, V-8 juice or diet V-8 Splash, or soda and juice in moderation are the ways to go. I only drink water myself, with the occasional Minute Maid Lite or diet Ginger Ale. I love that diet V-8 Splash.

I was watching that movie "Supersize Me" and they were interviewing a man who was about to undergo gastric bypass surgery. He was saying how he tried "everything" to lose weight and it was impossible. He then explained to the interviewer how he drank about a gallon of Mountain Dew EVERY DAY. For some reason he did not associate his soda consumption with his weight, or else he was heavy into denial.

I've read some of the information on the internet about Splenda, and I have to point out that what I've read are not clinical studies, they haven't been published in a "peer reviewed" medical journal, so I'm a bit skeptical about the information those sites are providing on the dangers of Splenda. It's something to keep an eye on though, because it seems like they are always coming out with something new that turns out later to be bad for your health. So I'll wait and see on that. Until then, I'll still enjoy my splenda in my diet V-8 splash, in my lemonade, and in my coffee or tea, and on my high fiber cereal in the mornings.........lol.

oh my gosh, I love that splenda... and as for "Supersize Me" *ew* that movie just grossed me out. I'll never eat another chicken nugget or whatever you want to call those chicken flavored blobs....thank you for the info!

[lexmar]

i stopped drinking soda and lost 30 pounds

just from drinking pop?????? WOWIE!

[Desiree]

someone posted about the effect it has on your eyes. i am going blind in one eye. i used to have 20/10 vision now i cant see the first hour i wake. Does anyone know if you can loose your sight completly from diabetes?

[ndnMSW]

I should explain that I'm Indian, both my parents are Indian, and diabetes runs of both sides of my family. I'm in good health, but I have to work at it. I've gone into periods where my weight hasn't been controlled very well, then lost it, then regained it, but have since made permanent lifestyle changes where my weight has been in a healthy range for over 3 years, even during and after my pregnancy. I've had to work hard at keeping my health in control, and I try to live what I teach to my students and clients. It's hard to get people to make changes if you can't do those things yourself. I really believe in modeling the types of behavior I'm trying to promote, not only for my clients, but for my family and children as well. I want the lifestyle we live to be "normal" for my children, where they have a good foundation to make healthy choices later when they are on their own. I want healthy eating, exercise, and healthy beliefs about food, to be a normal part of my children's upbringing. My baby and my husband's children are huge motivators for us.

Just wanted to let you know where I was coming from as I write about this subject.

ndnMSW

[ndnMSW]

i stopped drinking soda and lost 30 pounds

Holy cow, that's great!!!!

I just did a diabetes ed class this morning to a class of Indian students. One of them had a 20 oz bottle of Pepsi (full-strength). I read the label to them and told them in the whole bottle there was 250 calories and 67.5 grams of sugar (the label said 100 calories and 27 grams of sugar per serving, and the serving size said 8 oz.). I told them if they are on a 1,200 calorie per day diet, they would have used up all their calories if they drank 5 bottles of Pepsi in a day, which some people do without even thinking that they are drinking that many calories. I also showed them how 4 grams of sugar on a label equals 1 teaspoon of table sugar, and that there was about 17 teaspoons of table sugar in that one 20 oz bottle. I showed them on the bottle about how high the sugar would be sitting on the bottom of the bottle and it grossed them out.

I also had to warn them that they had to really read labels, because alot of fruit drinks were also that high in sugar or even higher. That really surprised them also. Diet soda and water, V-8 juice or diet V-8 Splash, or soda and juice in moderation are the ways to go. I only drink water myself, with the occasional Minute Maid Lite or diet Ginger Ale. I love that diet V-8 Splash.

I was watching that movie "Supersize Me" and they were interviewing a man who was about to undergo gastric bypass surgery. He was saying how he tried "everything" to lose weight and it was impossible. He then explained to the interviewer how he drank about a gallon of Mountain Dew EVERY DAY. For some reason he did not associate his soda consumption with his weight, or else he was heavy into denial.

I've read some of the information on the internet about Splenda, and I have to point out that what I've read are not clinical studies, they haven't been published in a "peer reviewed" medical journal, so I'm a bit skeptical about the information those sites are providing on the dangers of Splenda. It's something to keep an eye on though, because it seems like they are always coming out with something new that turns out later to be bad for your health. So I'll wait and see on that. Until then, I'll still enjoy my splenda in my diet V-8 splash, in my lemonade, and in my coffee or tea, and on my high fiber cereal in the mornings.........lol.

[Gache]

i stopped drinking soda and lost 30 pounds

[Pvt Butter]

,
I do alot of education with young people, and they've asked what is the best thing they can do to prevent diabetes. I tell them right off to stay on top of their blood sugar STARTING NOW, to stop drinking full-sugar pop and drink more water (I do a demonstation that shows how much table sugar is in one 8 oz cup of soda and it usually grosses them out), learn how to become label readers, and be active (walking is one of the best exercises that almost anyone can do).


ndnMSW

WOW!!! I saw what 10 pounds of fat looks like in the form of lard - NOW sugar in pop...that's a reality check.

Everything that gives you a quick tasty high is bad for you. I gave up french fries last year after not eating french fries for almost 10 years (I fell off the wagon after being preggers). I had diabetes during my pregnancy. I couldn't even control the cravings I had when I was pregnant. It was crazy, like something else living inside me wanting all that fried food....it's the kid. Already wanting junk.

[ndnMSW]

I work right in the area of type 2 diabetes (DM-2) prevention with American Indians. I do alot of diabetes education about prevention and this is some of the information I share.

All American Indians should have their blood sugar checked annually. Everyone. Starting now. Especially if you have one or more risk factors for diabetes which are:
- a parent or sibling with diabetes
- had a baby weighing 9 lbs or more
- are overweight
- are inactive

What most people don't know about diabetes is that by the time you start having symptoms, your blood sugar has already been high for years and you've been diabetic for years. People can have high blood sugar and not feel any different. Which is why I stress getting your blood sugar checked annually no matter what age you are and no matter how healthy you feel. If you do a fingerprick test and have high blood sugar and are referred for a fasting blood glucose test and it's normal, you don't have diabetes but need to make some changes to your eating habits and activity habits in order to prevent it.

It may alot more work for some with a strong family history, but diabetes can be prevented. The bad thing is that the education about this isn't out there or available to the people that really need it.

I do alot of education with young people, and they've asked what is the best thing they can do to prevent diabetes. I tell them right off to stay on top of their blood sugar STARTING NOW, to stop drinking full-sugar pop and drink more water (I do a demonstation that shows how much table sugar is in one 8 oz cup of soda and it usually grosses them out), learn how to become label readers, and be active (walking is one of the best exercises that almost anyone can do).

I've lost family members to complications of diabetes, which is why I decided to go into this field. I truly believe it can be prevented if people learn what they need to know, and have it taught to them in a way they can understand, and where they have support in all areas to make the lifestyle changes needed. I also believe the whole family needs to be involved because we as Indian people are family-oriented. But it takes alot of persistence, alot of patience, alot of learning how to approach people, and finding different ways to communicate information, to do this.

I can write more later, but the weekend is here!

ndnMSW