I was reading an article about diabetes and it said diabetics need to eat every 5 hours to keep their blood sugar levels lower. I was wondering if the LDS lifestyle makes it harder for diabetics to control their blood sugar. Every month Mormons are suppose to fast for 24 hours. Then every Sunday the 3 hour block would get in the way of eating on a 5 hour schedule. Of course there is the large Sunday meal and rushing to meetings. The peer pressure to fast is huge as well as no eating during Sunday meetings.

How do active TBM with diabetes manage their blood sugar?

Is the 3 hour block and Fast Sunday really examples of uninspired programs?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2013 10:32AM by themaster.

That and the Mormon predilection for junk food. As a never-Mo child, my parents had coffee in the house for guests, but did not drink coffee on a routine morning basis. They just didn't care for it. They had a liquor cabinet, again for guests, and maybe enjoyed one glass of wine at Sunday dinner once a month. They did not smoke, for health reasons.

As a result, growing up as a kid, I could see very little difference in lifestyle between my family and the family of my LDS best friend (this was in San Diego, they were the only LDS family in the entire school). The one main difference: the Mormons allowed junk food, my family did not (dad was a dentist). My friend's family wasn't too bad, but I attended a few church activities with them (mainly, Primary Movie nights on Fridays) and that's where I saw the red punch, Rice Krispies treats, and popcorn balls.

+1

Then on the flip side there are people like my cousin & her husband that take the WoW to the extreme, & practice veganism irresponsibly, with their kids being malnourished. (As opposed to studying about it more, & eating the appropriate foods so that you get all of your vitamins & protein.)

I also think the Mormon love of junk food does contribute, as does the cultural thing of jello salads and I think funeral potatoes is an appropriate name as the ingredients are enough to cause a funeral in some cases. Food is also the only really socially acceptable vice for Mormons, so if they feel the need to self medicate depression from never feeling "worthy" enough, many TBM's might eat for comfort.

They're also forbidden to drink coffee, which studies have shown that moderate coffee consumption reduces the risk of diabetes, or unsweetened tea which is one of the healthiest drinks out there besides water. Mormons are more likely to drink juice and sodas, which is basically sugar. I've even called sparkling cider, "Mormon champagne" as they drink that on occasions when non-Mormons would have the alcoholic stuff.

Please don't call sparkling juice "Mormon champagne". It's deeply insulting.

would "MORmON champagne" be an acceptable alternative ? .....

yes, MORmONISM does contribute to unhealthy living and medical conditions like diabetes, because MORmONS are conditioned to believe that any critical health information will be conveyed to them via the MORmON profit who is the voice of god, so who needs to be concerned about any other sources of information.

Basically if a MORmON member doesn't drink and /or smoke, then they have it made, or so they (MORmONS) think.

Then there is the HUGE lack of sleep that MORmONISM ends up imposing on its members due to it's staggering demands. Lack of sleep is a killer, including promoting diabetes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2013 09:52AM by lucky.

Mormon idiots ruin things for me. That's why I find it insulting. I drink sparkling juice because I like the taste & carbonation, & because there isn't junk in it. Mormon idiots drink it because they are being high & mighty pious assholes who won't drink alcohol.

I mix juice & non-sweet sparkling mineral water as well.

MORmON pretentiousness, phoniness, and arrogance can certainly be a downer, sucking the pleasure out of EVERYTHING.

I'm Mormon and have diabetes. If anything the following the word of wisdom has helped has helped me control my diabetes. The church would never want you to fast if it would make a health problem. I personally have been able to fast without incident but I'm sure many just don't fast and that's just fine.

Maridia Wrote:
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> The church would never
> want you to fast if it would make a health
> problem.

I am a nevermo (never Mormon), and my observations of over fifteen years have been that the Mormon church is now, and historically has been since its beginnings, a one-size-fits-all organization.

Can you cite any published books, articles, speeches (etc.) where Mormon church authorities have, in effect, given permission for church precepts to be modified or ignored for health reasons?

If they are habitually eating the recommended food storage trinity of wheat, milk, honey, they could be headed for trouble.

My mom feels the LDS church caused her to get diabetes. When your money is going towards tithing, fast offerings, etc. you can't afford to buy healthy food. When all your free time is being taken by callings and church meetings you don't have extra time for exercise. At least we're out, but the damage has been done.

I know of some parents who made their kids fast! Even when I was a TBM my kids would get food as they are very young. When I was pregnant I would eat in church even on a fast Sunday. Yes I got some looks and a couple of people even asks me about it and I told them if I don't eat frequently I get nauseous.

I remember fasting at 4-5 years old. It was horrible! I wasn't even allowed to drink water, & would sneak water.

anon4this Wrote:
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> I know of some parents who made their kids fast!
> Even when I was a TBM my kids would get food as
> they are very young. When I was pregnant I would
> eat in church even on a fast Sunday. Yes I got
> some looks and a couple of people even asks me
> about it and I told them if I don't eat frequently
> I get nauseous.

I had an aunt and uncle who applied a rigid structure for fasting in their family. If I recall correctly, three year olds got dinner on Saturday night but nothing afterwards, and no breakfast on Sunday. Four-year-olds didn't even get dinner on Saturday. The oldest kid was a girl, and she used to buy granola bars and crackers and hide them in her room to give to her little brothers and sisters until she was caught and hit with a belt for it. My parents had a big argument with my aunt and uncle when they heard about the oldest daughter being punished for feeding her little brothers and sisters, and it's still a frosty relationship fifteen years later. The oldest daughter is no longer in the LDS church.

Did the duration of the fast increase somewhere along the way? When I was a kid we were supposed to skip breakfast (which I never did) but lunch and dinner were OK.

It depends on when you have church. If you have morning church, then yes, you get to each lunch. If you have church in afternoon or later (you know when you try to shove 3-4 wards into ward buildings, because other ward buildings are being remodeled), then you can't eat until dinner time.

I was only a small kid during the last years of split schedule, but my mom has told me that when she was growing up during split schedule, no one could eat until it was dinner time on fast Sunday, no matter what time you met for meetings.

My mom told me that back in the day, typically two meals were skipped. Depending upon meeting times, it was either Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast, or breakfast and mid-day meal on Sunday.

I feel like pretty much every aspect of the LDS lifestyle contributes to diabetes, obesity and pretty much every malady that can go along with obesity.

As mentioned previously on the thread - time schedules and mandatory fasting aren't good for regular blood sugar levels as well as the church demanding so much time from families (and encouraging families to have too many kids they can't afford) doesn't leave as much time and money for focusing on healthy food options.

It doesn't even bring into play that they are the most sugar obsessed subculture here in the US that I know of.

I love going to family reuinions. The LDS relatives can get pretty nasty and snide when they see one of us holding a beer or a starbucks cup, but they are the ones that (by and large) are severely obese and on lots of medication.

I agree -- TSCC predisposes its members to diabetes in many ways. Other posters have covered the no time/no money for healthy foods issue, lack of exercise, giant families, irregular eating schedules caused by fast Sunday and too many time commitments, cultural addiction to junk food, etc. I'd like to add a few more:

-- Heavy consumption of caffeinated sodas as a substitute for healthier beverages like tea and coffee

-- Church-produced food storage lists that emphasize gluten-based products, powdered milk, sugar, and other items that could promote diabetes

-- The Mormon cultural image of the mother as somebody who is always baking, cooking, and feeding her family and everyone else in the ward (usually carb-laden casseroles and sweets)

-- Cultural emphasis on a flour-based diet

-- Ice cream as a recreational activity

-- church activities, family night, and any LDS occasion that features treats

And a couple more I forgot:

-- RS institutionalizes reliance on processed foods by telling women to buy in bulk and make as few trips to the grocery store per month as possible in order to save money/time. That means few fresh fruits & veggies, since they are perishable.

-- Ward cookbooks and cookbooks published by Deseret Book spotlight sugar, white flour, and other diabetes-promoting ingredients.

-- Scout camping trips feature disgustingly unhealthy fare.

The worst I ever saw, though, was the very-TBM guy I knew who dumped sugar into his Tang because it wasn't sweet enough!

icedtea Wrote:
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>
>
> The worst I ever saw, though, was the very-TBM guy
> I knew who dumped sugar into his Tang because it
> wasn't sweet enough!

I like sugar (in moderation) as much as the average person does, but sugar added to Tang sounds positively revolting.

The thought of sugar in Tang just turned my stomach. That stuff was so sweet I could never down an entire glass. Then again I was never a fan of Kool-Aid either.

themaster Wrote:
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Then every Sunday
> the 3 hour block would get in the way of eating on
> a 5 hour schedule. Of course there is the large
> Sunday meal and rushing to meetings. The peer
> pressure to fast is huge as well as no eating
> during Sunday meetings.

>
> Is the 3 hour block and Fast Sunday really
> examples of uninspired programs?

The three-hour block is nasty, but by itself, it doesn't keep anyone from eating every five hours. A bishop or someone else who has meetings for most of the day on Sunday might need to keep healthy snacks available, but it is feasible to eat every five hours even with the 3-hour block.

I always hated the three-hour block because it was the only LDS church schedule I ever knew, but my oldest siblings told me that showing up for seventy-five to ninety minutes of Sunday School, then going home, then coming back again later in the day or in the evening for Sacrament Meeting was every bit as bad as the three-hour block if not more so. It would be saner still to cut it back to an hour-and-a-half or two hours total, but I've heard that the old schedule was even more torturous than is the block schedule.

I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and I'm only in my forties. My parents are converts and I didn't grow up on the traditional Mormon diet of Kool-aid, Jello salad and funeral potatoes. I never developed much of a taste for what might be considered typical Mormon recipes. I'm not overweight and I've always exercised regularly and eaten a healthy diet. No family history either.

My doctor said that high cortisol levels from chronic stress can be a contributing factor to diabetes. I think I can blame Mormonism for that. I was stressed while in the church and leaving the church has really only made it worse because I live in Utah and have a very TBM spouse and family. I just can't get away from the church.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2018 02:33PM by want2bx.

It's pretty clear that Type 2 diabetic inherit a number of genes that if present without other genes that cancel their effects that you will develop Type 2 diabetes. Our diet that has extra calories provided by unnatural high carbohydrate sources, high levels of stress in modern jobs, lack of sleep connected with the same contribute to the high rate of T2 in the modern western world. Not all type 2 diabetics are fat slobs who don't exercise, folks should educate themselves since many people around you may be Type 2 diabetics. Choosing the wrong parents in the pre-existence probably has more to do with being a T2 than most other factors.

My home ward in the country always published a ward cook book. I still have it and once in a while will make one of my favorites. However reading through it, instead of it being called the "M...." Ward Cookbook, it should be called A Mormon's Guide to Diabetes.

The section on Jello is the longest but the dessert section is also dictionary-esque as is the carb loaded casserole section where crumbled potato chips garnish everything like manna falling from heaven. Maybe manna was potato chips. Or would that be latkes in those days of yore?

I can't say it wasn't all delicious though.

It contributes to all types of suffering, dogma, and death.

I posted an essay on my blog about this. Let us see if it goes into this slot. Obese? Just call it fat.
9/08/18

Recently the discussion on a bulletin board has raised the subject of over weight people in religion.
Not only does the social activities and diet restrictions lead to fat people, but the increase of diabetes is also rising.
In my family of numerous cousins, there is the hippo pool crowd and the elephant wallow tribe.
I belong to neither, but my doctor still nags me about weight gain.
My older brother died from complications of diabetes and fought against his appetite all his life.
My granddaughters are in the hippo range, but the in laws from Utah are beyond that- into the forklift category.
It is so sad to see on Facebook my cousins’ children and grandchildren gradually grow heavier down the years. The only normal weight person is the one who had diabetes from 1957 on and had to have his food weighed out, never ate sugar but used to sneak a beer.
Like church life, they have celebrated family re-unions over the years with lots of eating.
When your life is restricted on so many fronts like income and religion, eating becomes the mainstay of emotional comfort, and results in early demise.
I guess that is Mother Nature’s way of balancing the population.

the WOW is incredibly shallow.

the info / advice about tobacco is good, even if not in ispired.

the rest is bunk/'common knowlege'

Why not? It gets blamed for everything else! (that is OK with me)