I always read JFS, but I thought this was a particularly good column. This should be required reading for anyone with diabetes.

Well, true. Good luck with that!:)

Makes you wonder what you should eat if you have Type 2 diabetes. (Which I might have someday since Grandma had it.)

My anecdotal evidence is that you eat doesn't have nearly as much to do with your insulin levels as most people believe -- especially for people who have had T2 for a while. So yeah, paying attention to your insulin levels is more important. And the majority of T2s need to go on medications at some point...which I take to mean that it's a progressive disease, but some healthcare providers and laypeople will have you believe it means you have "failed" at controlling your T2 the "right" way.

You are right about many things. I'm sorry your day is trying to convince you otherwise. :(

I said "my anecdotal evidence," and you should have too, IMO, since you're talking about yourself.

The way it looks to me, the interaction between food and the conditions you mention varies a lot. (Which is probably part of the reason there's little evidence for a particular diet being good for T2s.)

This makes me wonder about the Conventional Wisdom about insulin resistance, which I believe is part and parcel of the PCOS I have. (Though I've never had this confirmed.) IR/PCOSers are constantly told to follow the low glycemic index thing, and are constantly told to lose weight (no matter how out of whack their hormones may be, and of course failure to lose weight is a personal willpower issue) and many doctors refuse to offer any sort of medication unless a patient is having difficulties trying to conceive, especially if they're deemed "noncompliant" in terms of diet. I don't get it. It seems like many with PCOS have to progress to full T2 diabetes before anyone is willing to treat the insulin related portion of the disease.

Oh there's no question that PCOS, generic IR, metabolic syndrome and the other related ailments all have factors which cause weight gain. It's why it's particularly galling to have something which is obviously being caused/aided by a goofed metabolic system being blamed on lack of willpower/poor choices/personal failure.

And yes, Metformin and Glucophage are very successful in helping women with PCOS feel better, have fewer symptoms, reduce unreasonable carb cravings (a friend has described waking up from sleep feeling like she needed mashed potatoes) and (sometimes in conjunction with birth control pills) regulate menstrual cycles. But many women are denied the drugs until they're actively trying to concieve or until they've proven that they're good little girls by losing a significant amount of weight first. It's frustrating that there's no set standard of care, but it's an interdisciplinary ailment and most women are under the care of a doctor that only focuses on one part of the equation.