I’ve been having all the symptoms of type 1 diabetes and I’ve always had low-blood sugar and faint sometimes but I assumed it was from my anemia. but lately, i’ve been having hunger pains even when i’ve just got done eating and drinking a lot of water. i checked my blood sugar one day it was 79. Is that normal?

To answer your question.. yes you can. I work with a woman who got it at 24. However, what you describe is the OPPOSITE of diabetes. Diabetes = hyperglycemic. What you describe is Hypoglycemia. Your blood sugar is low, not high. In a diabetic, it is high. I used to deal with that when I was younger and the best thing I did was stop eating sugar and sugary drinks. Started using long lasting complex carbs instead like whole wheat breat, oatmeal, etc. If you start your day with a big bowl of oatmeal, then you won’t get low nearly so often. 79 is not super low. It is low enough you don’t feel your best.. but right around 80 or so is a great blood sugar. If you feel really bad when it is in the 70s eat something with protein + carbs like peanut butter or rice and beans. A cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread, etc.

doctors diagnosis my mom as diabetes type 2. sometimes she gets low blood sugar, where she feels weak and dizzy. is that possible?

Absolutely. Is your mom on medication for her diabetes? Some of the meds for type 2 diabetes can cause hypoglycemia – ie. low blood sugars. In particular, Glipizide and glyburide can cause hypoglycemia. The drug metformin (brand name Glucophage) cannot.

Symptoms of hypoglycemia include dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating, shaking, feelings of hunger, changes in vision, loss of consciousness. It can be very dangerous, so when she has these symptoms it is important for her to check her blood sugar immediately. If it is low (less than, say, 70 or so) then she should drink some orange juice, eat some crackers with peanut butter, suck on a piece of candy, etc.

If she isn’t on medicines, and she is still having low blood sugars, she should talk to her doctor. It is possible that she has something more complicated that just type 2 diabetes going on.

This video is the second half of the Atkins Diet Misconception: Diabetes series. If you have not seen Part 1, please watch it here:

The last video dealt with case damning the existing treatment or recommendations to follow a high carb diet managed with ever increasing doses of insulin. This video deals with the evidence for rather managing it with a low carb lifestyle. There are two great studies for advocating this method.

1:) Dietary carbohydrate restriction in type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome: time for a critical appraisal
Nutrition and Metabolism(Lond) 2008; 5: 9.
Numerous authors including Richard Bertstein, Mary Vernon, Jeff Volek, Eric Westman

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2359752&tool=pmcentrez

Conducted Multi-center trial in which 63 obese men and women were randomly assigned to either diet, 21 Low Carb, 21 Control, 21 High Carb for a one year study.
This discussion focuses on type 2 diabetes but many of the principles will apply to metabolic syndrome and possibly to type 1 as well[6,7].
1. Carbohydrate restriction improves glycemic control, the primary target of nutritional therapy and reduces insulin fluctuations.
2. Carbohydrate-restricted diets are at least as effective for weight loss as low-fat diets.
3. Substitution of fat for carbohydrate is generally beneficial for markers for and incidence of CVD.
4. Carbohydrate restriction improves the features of metabolic syndrome.
An important idea guiding current medical thinking is that clustering of seemingly disparate physiologic states, obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and hypertension, termed metabolic syndrome (MetS) suggests a common underlying cause. A recent review showed that carbohydrate restriction improves all of these markers[24].
5. Beneficial effects of carbohydrate restriction do not require weight loss. It’s not simply a weight loss argument or due to people losing weight do they achieve the benefits.

2.) Low-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes: stable improvement of bodyweight and glycemic control during 44 months follow-up
Jörgen V Nielsen email and Eva A Joensson email

http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/14

Conclusion:
There is now little evidence for the claim that a fat-reduced diet for weight reduction has any particular value beyond caloric counting [10]. Current dietary recommendations seem to be a major part of their problem rather than being part of the solution. Carbohydrate restriction, however, reverses or neutralises all aspects of the metabolic syndrome [20,21].

Duration : 0:12:56

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This video comes out of another myth that gets propagated out by Atkins Diet bashers that somehow we are more likely to get diabetes by following low carb. Certainly there is no shortage of misinformation on the web:

http://www.atkinsexposed.org/atkins/122/Nutritionists_Warn_Diabetics_to_be_Wary_of_Atkins_Diet.htm

http://www.diabetesuffolk.com/LivingWithDiabetes/The%20Atkins%20diet.htm

Some say we are dangerous for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Some just type 1 diabetics, but it really couldn’t be further from the truth. As all people, ESPECIALLY diabetics, could benefit from controlling blood glucose levels by carbohydrate monitoring or restriction.

There are two major proponents for Low Carb for diabetics:
Richard Bernstein, Type 1 Diabetic since 1946

http://www.diabetes911.net/about.php

Author of THE DIABETES DIET and Diabetes Solution

Mary Ross Vernon
Chairman of the board, American Society of Bariatric Physicians
Co-Author of Atkins Diabetes Revolution with Robert Atkins

http://tinyurl.com/cbjk76

2007 and 2008 Runner Up for Diabetic Educator of the Year Award

Mary Ross Vernon has been controlling diabetes with an Very Low Carb Diet (similar to Atkins Diet) for many years. She says both her Type 1 and Type 2 patients have benefited from carbohydrate restriction. She also notes that seeking quality physicians to handle the dramatic decrease in insulin requirements is paramount as some patients could be medication free in 3 days! See the attached quote (http://rjr10036.typepad.com/askdrvernon/2007/05/ron_of_sarasota.html).

Recently a number of studies have been released to support this position as well. One of the most notable for describing the failure of the existing recommendation of high carb and regulating with increasing doses of insulin is the study released in 2005 Nutrition and Metabolism magazine, “The case for low carbohydrate diets in diabetes management.” (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1188071&tool=pmcentrez) They detail that the high carbohydrate diet has lead to worse glycemic control, dislipidemia, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). They noted in their review of studies that the low carb followers showed dramatic improvement in comparison to the high carb followers.

(Part 2 to be released later)

Duration : 0:11:8

1 in 5 or over 73.3 million North Americans are at risk for health issues caused by poor blood glucose control. The standard treatments are not working. The webmaster of www.Diabetic-Diet-Secrets.com wants to share what will work for most type 2 diabetics

Duration : 0:5:55

Treatments for type I and type II diabetes differ. Learn how diet and insulin are regulated for the different types of diabetes in this free video from a nutritionist specializing in diabetic diets.

Expert: Heidi Kaufman
Bio: Heidi Kaufman is a nutritionist that focuses on disorder prevention through diet. She gives lectures and teaches class at the local hospital about how to live with diabetes.
Filmmaker: Reggie Hayes

Duration : 0:1:23