October 3, 2001
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Littleton, Colorado, USA:
My 35 year old husband, who is 40 pounds overweight, has been diagnosed with borderline diabetes, and he also has a cholesterol of 304 mg/dl. These conditions run in his family. How can I change his diet to help with the cholesterol and diabetes?
Answer:
It is unlikely you can help bring his cholesterol into the target range by changing his diet for him. Rather, he probably needs to be on a cholesterol-lowering medication.
I would be very skeptical of a diagnosis of “borderline diabetes.” Either you have diabetes or you don’t. If the sugars are intermittently high, that is still diabetes.
There is nothing you can do about your husband’s family history. However, he can treat his conditions and improve his prospects for better health. These changes in diet and lifestyle are made one step at a time. Please see his doctor and a dietitian for more treatment recommendations.
JTL
