Diabetes not always caused by excess weight

October 3, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Can you please discuss lifestyle risks for diabetes other than weight? I have three friends who are thin and have all developed type 2 diabetes.

Although they are not overweight, they have terrible eating habits. I went to the supermarket with one of them and watched as she loaded her cart with pancake mix, syrup, diet soda and several boxes of processed frozen dinners that were advertised as healthy but contained huge amounts of sodium.

Her concession to the fact that she has diabetes was buying light syrup and some bananas. She did not have a single vegetable other than what was included in her frozen meals. She also leads a sedentary life.
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Fighting oral cancer

September 16, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I follow your column in our local paper religiously, and your “No Flour-No Sugar” plan has made a big difference in the hypoglycemia condition that I seem to be prone to. Sadly, I don’t stick to it nearly often enough.

More specifically, I am 65 and probably an alcoholic — the result of a lifetime of bad choices and a couple of bad marriages. I live (by choice) in a fairly remote part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where medical advice is hard to come by. I also have a history of oral cancer, despite not having smoked for more than 20 years. The only ENT doc available to me has decided that the “cut it out and biopsy it” approach every three months or so is the proper one.
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Making excuses for obesity

September 3, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My 38-year-old granddaughter is convinced that because she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), she cannot lose weight. She is grossly overweight, and I am concerned about her future. She sees an endocrinologist about once a year, and takes thyroid medication and niacin for cholesterol. Can she be helped? Thank you for your consideration of this serious problem.

DEAR READER: PCOS is a hormonal disorder that commonly begins when a female begins menstruation; however, it can develop later in life.
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