This morning I got an email from an acquaintance who has just been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. I really try not to read email first thing in the morning, because if I run across a good story like this one, I forget the time and don't get on to other things.
John loves to eat and loves to drink beer. He is in his mid-fifties and weighs about 20-25 pounds more than he should, so he's not exactly fat, but he's certainly not thin either. With this new diagnosis of Type II Diabetes, he is going to have to make some lifestyle changes, if he knows what's good for him.
John weighs about 225-230 and is 6'1" His email said that his family practitioner recommended a nutritionist for him after she diagnosed him with diabetes. I think John could get back into shape in about three months.
John took his doctor's advice and made an appointment with the nutritionist. Upon arriving for his appointment he was checked-in by a receptionist who really could be called obese -- she was probably 250 pounds and maybe 5'5"
John was surprised to see someone of that weight manning the front desk at a nutrition clinic, but he thought that maybe it was an anti-discrimination thing.
He waited for about twenty minutes, before his name was called and he was ushered into a big office. Then the nutrionist arrived, and John was stunned. She was about 5'10", but she weighed 300 pounds and not an ounce less, according to his story.
She started into her routine, and talked and talked, but John couldn't hear anything. His mind kept asking him, "Why are the two people I have seen in this nutrition clinic so fat?"
The nutritionist got to the part where she was displaying plastic food to show John about correct portion sizes, but John could not keep silent. Finally he blurted out, "If you know so much about nutrition and the rules of dieting, why are you so overweight?"
The nutritionist stopped talking and looked stunned. Finally she said, as if she had not heard him, "What did you just say?"
So he repeated what he said, "If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?"
At this point the nutritionist flew off the handle, and started screaming at him, telling him to get out of her office immediately. He obliged, but didn't think his question was out of line. The receptionist asked him if there was a problem, on his way out, and he said that someone apparently couldn't handle her own advice.
When he went back to his own doctor and told her the story, the doctor tried to keep her composure, but broke up laughing after a minute or two.
What followed were some rules that John knew he had to stick to.
I recommended pharmaceutical grade fish oil, because Type II diabetes immediately moves you into a cardiac high risk category. John doesn't have any heart problems now, but diabetes can accelerate many problems with your heart, and pharmaceutical grade fish oil can help in controlling lipid levels, which are often elevated in diabetes, especially triglycerides.
Not only that, but pharmaceutical grade fish oil has been linked to wide range of other health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, improved joint health, and improved behavior and mood.
This last benefit is particularly helpful to Type II diabetics, who often suffer from depression caused by the disease.
I think John was absolutely within his rights to ask that question of his nutritionist. How is his situation different from taking health advice from a pulmonologist who thought nothing of smoking?
Nutritionists need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
John had mentioned to me that the nutritionist had cases of Diet Coke in her office. Did you know that more fat people drink Diet Coke than any other form of beverage?
Don't hesitate to get another opinion, especially in a situation like this, where you have reason to doubt the validity of what your practitioner is telling you, based on his or her own habits.
John loves to eat and loves to drink beer. He is in his mid-fifties and weighs about 20-25 pounds more than he should, so he's not exactly fat, but he's certainly not thin either. With this new diagnosis of Type II Diabetes, he is going to have to make some lifestyle changes, if he knows what's good for him.
John weighs about 225-230 and is 6'1" His email said that his family practitioner recommended a nutritionist for him after she diagnosed him with diabetes. I think John could get back into shape in about three months.
John took his doctor's advice and made an appointment with the nutritionist. Upon arriving for his appointment he was checked-in by a receptionist who really could be called obese -- she was probably 250 pounds and maybe 5'5"
John was surprised to see someone of that weight manning the front desk at a nutrition clinic, but he thought that maybe it was an anti-discrimination thing.
He waited for about twenty minutes, before his name was called and he was ushered into a big office. Then the nutrionist arrived, and John was stunned. She was about 5'10", but she weighed 300 pounds and not an ounce less, according to his story.
She started into her routine, and talked and talked, but John couldn't hear anything. His mind kept asking him, "Why are the two people I have seen in this nutrition clinic so fat?"
The nutritionist got to the part where she was displaying plastic food to show John about correct portion sizes, but John could not keep silent. Finally he blurted out, "If you know so much about nutrition and the rules of dieting, why are you so overweight?"
The nutritionist stopped talking and looked stunned. Finally she said, as if she had not heard him, "What did you just say?"
So he repeated what he said, "If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?"
At this point the nutritionist flew off the handle, and started screaming at him, telling him to get out of her office immediately. He obliged, but didn't think his question was out of line. The receptionist asked him if there was a problem, on his way out, and he said that someone apparently couldn't handle her own advice.
When he went back to his own doctor and told her the story, the doctor tried to keep her composure, but broke up laughing after a minute or two.
What followed were some rules that John knew he had to stick to.
I recommended pharmaceutical grade fish oil, because Type II diabetes immediately moves you into a cardiac high risk category. John doesn't have any heart problems now, but diabetes can accelerate many problems with your heart, and pharmaceutical grade fish oil can help in controlling lipid levels, which are often elevated in diabetes, especially triglycerides.
Not only that, but pharmaceutical grade fish oil has been linked to wide range of other health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, improved joint health, and improved behavior and mood.
This last benefit is particularly helpful to Type II diabetics, who often suffer from depression caused by the disease.
I think John was absolutely within his rights to ask that question of his nutritionist. How is his situation different from taking health advice from a pulmonologist who thought nothing of smoking?
Nutritionists need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
John had mentioned to me that the nutritionist had cases of Diet Coke in her office. Did you know that more fat people drink Diet Coke than any other form of beverage?
Don't hesitate to get another opinion, especially in a situation like this, where you have reason to doubt the validity of what your practitioner is telling you, based on his or her own habits.
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