Need help lowering sugar and fat intake; increasing iron

Sugar doesn't cause diabetes.

http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-myths/

Eat collard greens, they have iron, also most cereals have iron added. I eat a bowl of collards a day, as I have been working out alot lately, and they are also loaded in Potassium (Spinach is also an option)

Hi, I am also clinically anaemic and the iron supplements my doctor has put me on give me terrible stomach cramps and consupation. However i had tried for a year to increase my iron levels through diet only and it didnt work, the doctor told me that unless you are relgious with high iron food you'll be able to do it. By this the doctor suggested Beetroot Juice- which is gross, and lots of dark green vegetables such as spinach and watercress. But to have more than 5-6 portions aday. Although the supplements make me feel dreadful it isnt half as bad as when my iron levels were low. I hope that this helps. Also iron supplements take months to be absorbed into the body so you must keep taking them before you will see any effect.

Karen

Many vitamins can only be absorbed in the presence of fat. You probably don't need to cut fat at all, maybe just alter the types of fat.

I believe that taking your calcium at a different time of day should be sufficient for keeping the calcium supplements from interfering with your iron intake.

Also, I don't know what is accessible to you, but you may want to consider seeing a dietician. A lot of general practitioners only have, well, general knowledge of a lot of issues, and if you're having this many nutrition-related problems (multiple bone breaks! eeep!) a dietician might be be better able to help you. There are lots of nutrients that play into bone strength, not just calcium, like vitamin D and potassium.

Sugar doesn't cause diabetes.

She said Diabetes runs rampant in her family. She is smart to watch her sugar levels. If she has a genetic link to Diabetes, then high sugar levels can definitely be a problem.

OP, don't worry about the fats in nuts and seeds. They are healthy fats and can actually help keep your sugar levels in line. As far as sugars themselves, whole fruits that have fiber still in them are much healthier than fruit juices or processed sugars. Look for carbs that are high fiber, and if you generally keep your carbs within 30-40% of your cals, you should be ok. Fiber helps slow the breakdown of carbs into sugar.

I know you don't like sugar substitutes, but have you tried Stevia? Stevia is a natural, no calorie sugar substitute. You can find it in Truvia or Stevia in the Raw at most grocery stores. Agave is also a natural, honey-like sugar that is sweeter than sugar so you use less. However, it does have around the same cals as sugar, but again you need less of it.

Do you have your blood tested regularly for high blood sugar? How are your triglycerides? A high triglyceride level is a precursor to diabetes, even if your blood sugar level is still in the normal range. So if your tri is high, then you need to start eating like someone who has diabetes, i.e. lower carb, to get that number down. Not everyone knows that connection, but luckily my dr told me 4 yrs ago when mine were over 600. My sugar levels were still fine, but with my mother having T2D, it got my attention, and I lowered my carbs which lowered my triglycerides. My mom passed away last Summer, so I know first hand how serious Diabetes is, and it is NOT something to take lightly.
So good for you for being concerned about it.

Please do not read that linked article and think it says that sugar is NOT linked to Diabetes. Sugar does not cause Type 1 Diabetes, but it is definitely linked to Type 2. It says-

"Myth: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.

Fact: The answer is not so simple. Type 1 diabetes is caused by genetics and unknown factors that trigger the onset of the disease; type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors.

Being overweight does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and a diet high in calories from any source contributes to weight gain. Research has shown that drinking sugary drinks is linked to type 2 diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people should limit their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages to help prevent diabetes. Sugar-sweetened beverages include beverages like:

regular soda
fruit punch
fruit drinks
energy drinks
sports drinks
sweet tea
other sugary drinks.

These will raise blood glucose and can provide several hundred calories in just one serving!

See for yourself:

Just one 12-ounce can of regular soda has about 150 calories and 40 grams of carbohydrate. This is the same amount of carbohydrate in 10 teaspoons of sugar!
One cup of fruit punch and other sugary fruit drinks have about 100 calories (or more) and 30 grams of carbohydrate."

The article goes on to say that you can have sugar in your diet, BUT you have to watch your portions and carb levels.

I am not a Big Pharma conspiracy theorists, but I do know that Diabetes medications are a HUGE industry right now, and the wording of some of this article smells of a possible connection between the ADA and Drug companies.

Every doctor I have worked with over the past several years thru my mother's illness have all stressed the connection between simple carbs, i.e.sugar and processed grains and starches, and high blood sugar levels. Type 2 Diabetes IS a serious problem in America and is growing rampantly every year. Children are being diagnosed at earlier ages than ever before. And the greatest causes for this is a huge increase in sugar/simple carb consumption combined with too little exercise.

Go spend an day with someone at a Dialysis clinic and see all the people lined up in chairs, hooked up to a machine for 4 hrs a day, 3 days a week, to have their blood filtered. Many of them are missing feet or legs. Many of them are blind. The doctors there told me that 90% of the people there were in kidney failure due to Type 2 Diabetes. And that the vast majority of people with T2D were overweight.

And they all agreed that in most cases, T2D is preventable and even reversible, if caught early, by changing your diet.

You don't have to be obese to get it. Not everyone that is obese WILL get it, but you are at a greater risk of developing it if you are.
If you have family members who have it, you are at greater risk.
If you carry your extra weight around your midsection, you are at greater risk.

It really bothers me when someone defends high sugar consumption and declares that it isn't linked to Diabetes.

Too many people will hear that "sugar doesn't cause Diabetes" and think, "great, I don't have to worry about it now, I can eat whatever I want" They don't fully grasp moderation. Most of us don't, otherwise we wouldn't ever become overweight. So making a blanket statement like that can be very dangerous.

It would be liken to me saying "eating 500 calories a day is perfectly healthy" without adding disclaimers, like, "if under a doctor's care" or "for short periods of time". Yes, one day of eating 500 cals won't kill you, but for someone already underweight, eating 500 cals for a year, might.

So moderate, or even higher amounts of sugar in a healthy, active individual shouldn't cause them to get Diabetes.
But for those who are overweight, and have other risk factors for developing Diabetes, then even what they might consider 'moderate' amounts of sugar and carbs, can increase their blood sugar, stress their pancreas, and can cause them to become insulin resistant and eventually insulin dependent. Diabetes can be developing for many years without knowing it. For many people, they get their diagnosis after kidney failure, or a stroke, or some other catastrophic medical issue, and then it is often too late to repair the damage.

We don't know every exact detail of what causes Diabetes, but we do know how to control it. Medications can help, but if you rely solely on medications to do the work, you will eventually need higher and higher doses of insulin to counteract the sugar in your blood. And all the time, there is damage being done to your organs. You CAN control it and possibly even reverse it, by frequent testing and keeping your sugar and simple carb intake down. Choose higher fiber carbs. Get plenty of protein and adequate healthy fats. And get regular exercise. Total calorie level is important, but watching your macros is equally as important.

Contrary to what that article says, having to take Insulin is NOT a good thing. Not when you can most likely control your blood sugar by diet and exercise instead.

And yes, I am very passionate about this subject. Watching your mother slowly die in front of you from a disease that she didn't have to have, tends to make me that way.