It is not uncommon to hear a diabetic who really doesn’t understand the gravity of their condition mentioned something about eating the cake, but just upping their insulin dose to compensate. Let me state this so there is no mistake.
There is NO physiological state that is more devastating in every way to the human body than the diabetic spectrum. Notice that I did not say just diabetes, but rather the spectrum that includes the progression to diabetes as well as life after the diabetic diagnosis. This definition encompasses arguably 2/3 of the population of the United States. While these numbers should make pharmaceutical manufacturers salivate, to the rest of us it should once again ring that wake up bell.
This list of conditions that the diabetes spectrum contributes to reads like a Who’s Who of chronic disease:
- Multiple types of nerve pain (diabetic neuropathy)
- Many types of cancers, including pancreatic
- Infertility
- Erectile dysfunction (seriously–do we NEED a better reason to take care of ourselves?)
- Sleep apnea
- Fatty liver
- Kidney stones
Ok. So the list can go on and on. But before we end the list, we need to add this particular study to the group. Researchers looked at diabetes and how it affected bone density and the risk of fractures of the head of the femur (hip). The results should make us take notice.
The presence of diabetes and prediabetes actually INCREASED bone density. However, consistent with the fact that bone density does not always equal lower fracture risk, despite the higher bone density the bones were weaker and more likely to fracture.
The bottom line is, if you are diabetic, merely relying on bone density testing rather than lifestyle to support bone health, will likely leave you with a false sense of security.