That the GP should give some advice on prediabetes

[Pebbles16]

My DMIL has a genetic heart disease problem BUT when she was diagnosed with high cholesterol she responded very well to lifestyle advice. She has (we found out last week) been diagnosed as prediabetic. Has been given no lifestyle advice. We went round yesterday (ironically to help them with their will) and were offered a cupcake from a tray of 12. She is an adult and I don't believe in telling grown ups what to do. But I don't think she's been given the correct information to be able to make the right choices. Any advice?

As the OP says, her mum's an adult and she doesn't believe in telling grownups what to do.

If they're anything like mine, they don't listen anyway. My father will only do what the doctors tell him, so if the info doesn't come from them it doesn't exist. Hasn't the remotest idea or the inclination to find out for himself particularly not online.

I find it difficult to believe that the dr said "you are borderline diabetic" and then just stopped talking. It just doesn't sound logical at all. And she just said, ok. Not a single question asked by her, not a single fact offered by the dr? Complete silence and she left? Not likely, is it? More likely she didn't really remember what the dr said, or isnt accuratley telling you.

The info may be out there but it's extremely conflicting. BHF emphasises grains et al but some diabetes sites criticise NHS Info's emphasis on eating starches as being harmful and promote low carb high fat. I was diagnosed last week too and also got no advice and feel confused. I don't have high cholesterol or BP though.

Yes the advice is very conflicting. The standard NHS advice is relatively high carb, yet other sources including doctors and diabetic patients recommend low carb as very effective at getting blood glucose down.

Dr Lefanu in the Telegraph wrote an excellent piece on the outdated principles behind the current standard NHS line.

I found my way through by trial and error. If I eat too much protein I feel sick, so I balance a slight increase in protein with watching my intake of complex carbs.

Janet. Sorry for radio silence. English is not my MIL's first language. She is of the generation that believes "what the dr says". Sadly I think this is more common (not necessarily the language barrier) than you would believe

Yes Yseulte you got it in one!

Sorry for delay. Have been dealing with mil health issues!
Arethereanyleftall you are projecting a level of connectivity that many people don't have. And and as yseulte has mentioned, unless it comes from the dr's mouth, IT IS NOT REAL. Genuinely I could buy books, send website links. I do not want my MIL to rely on Dr Google (not would she). My argument is not with people on here. I just think we seem to have missed a link between the spoon feeding NHS of my grandparents' generation (not a bad thing in this case) and the "you can google, but don't google too much and ask too many qs" of ours.

Jesus people this is not complicated and doesn't need bloody specialist advice!! Eat less, exercise more, cut out the cupcakes!! Unless of course you want to be on tablets followed by more tablets followed by insulin which makes you put on more weight. Oh yes and complications include blindness, kidney failure, foot ulcers, nerve damage, heart attacks, strokes, death. It's not a disease yet, it's a lifestyle choice and you can choose to stop it now, like the PP said.

That's simplistic and based on assumption ArgyMargy

First of all, the OP does not say MIL is overweight. She has heart disease with high cholesterol. Some types of heart disease cause arteries to collect cholesterol as a response to damage rather than dietary excess. She may be overweight as well but it's not a given. Either way, heart disease makes you more prone to diabetes.

I am not overweight, far from it. I am 7 stone 12, with very little body fat. I cannot afford to lose weight. Nor do I have much sugar in my diet to start with. In my case I have been told it's likely to be autoimmune as I already have illness that affects my immune system.

The debate with regard to diet is which type of diet is best at getting blood glucose levels down. The old NHS advice is, as I said fairly heavy in carbs, which as I'm sure you know produce sugar. Newer developments indicate that restricting carbs and increasing protein may be more successful at lowering blood sugar levels. On the other hand, too much protein can cause kidney problems and osteoporosis.

For me, I can figure it all out myself from books, Google and medical advice. But from OP's account of MIL, she's not going to do that. By the sound of it dietary advice has to come from a medical professional otherwise she won't take it seriously.

As someone who has been diabetic most of my life, my dietary advice to anyone with diabetes or pre dieabets would be as follows:
Restrict refined sugar and complex carbs including bread pasta rice potatoes cereals and pastry
Base meals around protein/fat and vegetables. Don't be afraid of fat, it's not bad for you.

Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. It therefore makes sense not to eat too much carbohydrate.

Why the NHS can't get its head around this simple fact, heaven only knows.

Pastry is normally refined carb...