1. How glucose works

Every cell in your body needs energy to work. When you eat, chemical energy is extracted from the digested food, usually in the form of a sugar called glucose. Glucose is dissolved in your blood and gets pumped to every cell, to be used as fuel.

2. Consumption vs storage

Your cells need fuel 24 hours a day. But you don't eat 24 hours a day. When you eat, lots of glucose is generated. The body removes the excess glucose from the bloodstream and converts it into fat for later use (e.g. while you sleep).

3. Dangers of high blood glucose

Excess blood glucose risks clogging up the blood vessels. This impedes blood circulation. Cells that are no longer supplied with blood cannot function and eventually die. If it happened to the capillaries in my eyes, I might go blind. Not good.

4. Insulin as the regulator

The body has a remedy: insulin, a hormone that tells cells to soak up glucose from the blood. (It also tells fat cells NOT to convert fat back into glucose.) Eating food that is quickly converted to glucose stimulates the production of insulin.

5. Diabetes

In Type 2 Diabetes, cells become insensitive to insulin: they no longer soak up glucose when told. To compensate, the body secretes more insulin. But this locks up even more glucose into fat. Both blood glucose and insulin remain elevated. A terrible vicious circle.

6. If you have it?

The main goal is to lower blood glucose. Medicines might help. Even better, we might avoid foods that are easily converted into glucose. When you ask me "why don't you eat carbohydrates?", that's why. That's how I put t2d into remission.

7. How does one get it?

Modern medical science doesn't know for sure what causes Type 2 diabetes, but some of the probable causes include:

• a family history of t2d (sorry!)

• fat around your internal organs

• a sedentary lifestyle

Which leads us to...

I'm so sorry for raising your risk profile through point 1 (family history), and that's why I'm telling you all this to compensate.

You don't have to get t2d just because I got it.

In fact, let's make a promise TODAY that you'll never get it.

I'm with you all the way on this.

NEVER FORGET THIS:

There's little point in exercising in order to stay fit. It just won't work long term. You'll give up.

Instead, find a physically intense activity you LOVE (for me it's kendo, as you know), and you'll stay fit IN ORDER to be able to continue doing it.

As you grow, keep an eye on your waistline. Do not obsess about it, especially at your age, but be aware you are at risk because of me. (Again, sorry. Not on purpose, obviously.)

If your waistline does expand, understand it's primarily a physiological and metabolic issue, not a psychological one.

Never blame yourself for it.

I struggled with fat for many years, but you don't have to. I now know what works. We can talk about that some other time.

...and that's what I would tell her—what I WILL tell her in due course.

TLDR:

1. glucose

2. energy consumption vs storage

3. dangers of elevated glucose

4. insulin

5. diabetes

6. what do to if you have it

7. how does one get it

+ supporting her so that she will NOT get it

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