Your mother has been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She ...

[tfester]

Your mother has been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She is now afraid to eat anything with sugar in it. What advice would you give her to help her understand her condition?

Question 2

You read on the Internet that aspartame is very bad for people with PKU. What is PKU, and should this affect your decision to use this sweetener?

[debra928]

Answer to Question 1

The most common type of diabetes, type 2 diabetes, is usually diagnosed in people over the age of 40 . The incidence of type 2 diabetes is rising, mostly because the U.S. population is aging, sedentary, and gaining excess weight. Obesity is considered a major risk factor for this type of diabetes, especially when the excess fat is carried around the abdomen. Usually, eating a healthful diet, exercising, and losing weight can normalize blood glucose levels for people with type 2 diabetes. For others, oral medications and sometimes insulin shots are necessary.

Answer to Question 2

Numerous careful scientific investigations carried out both before and after aspartame first appeared on the market have indicated that the product brings about adverse health effects in only a small group of people with a rare metabolic disorder known as phenylketonuria, or PKU. People born with PKU must carefully control their consumption of phenylalanine (one of the two amino acids that make up aspartame) to prevent health problems as severe as mental retardation. The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and numerous other health organizations all consider the sweetener safe for use except by people with PKU

[tfester]

Thank you!

[debra928]

Always glad to help...