father in law has type 2 diabetes

[June012]

Hello - my father in law has type 2 diabetes. He's in his early 70's. He does eat surgary foods and always carries biscuits with him to stave off hunger pangs. I know very little about type 2 diabetes, in fact very little about diabetes in general, and jsut wondering if this is the right way for him to look after himself. Or is there anything else he could/should be doing to ensure things don't get worse for him?

Any advice would be welcome.

[Denise Kennedy]

Hi June - type 2 diabetes is where the body still produces the hormone insulin, but either not enough is being produced or the body is not able to use it properly. The result is that the sugar in the blood is not controlled as tightly as normal and can then go too high. It is these high blood sugars that can cause the complications of diabetes in the long term.

You do not say whether your father in law is on any medication for his diabetes - it can be controlled with diet/activity alone, with diet/activity and tablets or with diet/activity and insulin. You also don't mention his weight - is he a healthy weight?

The key elements of diet for type 2 diabetes is to be a healthy weight - if you are overweight you should try to lose weight. It is then to eat a low sugar, healthy diet comprised of regular meals. Choose some of the starchy carbohydrate foods to eat at each meal (bread, cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes) along with lean meat, fish or pulses and plenty of fruit and vegetables. You should try to avoid too many high sugar foods as sugar gets absorbed into the blood quickly and can lead to high blood sugar levels. Does your father in law test his blood sugar himself? Are the levels within target range? If he is being treated with diet alone or with tablets it is probably strictly not necessary to eat biscuits inbetween meals, but if he is a healthy weight and his blood sugars are controlled then it should not do him any harm.

It is on-going high blood sugars that you really want to avoid, so if this is a concern check it out with his diabetes specialist nurse. Also make sure that he attends his check-ups as they will be on the lookout for complications at an early stage.

There is lots of information on the Diabetes UK website on type 2 diabetes - see www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Type-2-diabetes/ for more information.