Roughly half of Americans have prediabetes or diabetes, including an increasing number of children. High blood levels of glucose (sugar) whether, from prediabetes or diabetes, damage blood vessels and nerves, often eventually resulting in the following complications: eye problems that can lead to blindness; heart attacks and strokes; erectile dysfunction; kidney failure that can lead to dialysis; and neuralgia (nerve pain or numbness) that can lead to amputations.
The cause of Type 2 diabetes is INSULIN RESISTANCE. Cells that make up our body depend on glucose for energy. INSULIN is a hormone made by the beta cells of the pancreas, that enters the blood stream and is the key to the lock in cell walls that allows glucose to enter. People who have extra fat around their middle, called VISCERAL FAT, have fat in their cells, which gums up the lock, resulting in what is called “INSULIN RESISTANCE.” For genetic reasons this process sometimes occurs in people with just a mild amount of visceral fat.
The pancreas tries to compensate for insulin resistance by putting out more and more insulin, causing blood sugars levels to rise, and prediabetes or diabetes are diagnosed (or not—many people have these conditions but don’t know it). Eventually the pancreas wears out and insulin injections are needed. Traditionally, low carb diets were recommended to treat diabetes because carbohydrates are broken down by our body to glucose. However, low carb diets fail to reverse diabetes because they don’t treat the cause—fat in our cells.
Dr. Neal Barnard, a respected physician-researcher at George Washington University, has written several books, including “Reversing Diabetes.” Based on his research and that of others, he recommends the following three measures to “clean the gum” (fat) out of the locks in cell walls, thereby reversing diabetes. He recommends the following three measures:
1) setting aside all animal products
2) avoiding vegetable oils
3) avoiding carbohydrates with a high glycemic index. Today’s column will discuss the first two measures, and low glycemic index will be discussed in next week’s column.
AVOID ALL ANIMAL PRODUCTS, because they all contain fat, which is harmful saturated fat (a type of fat that is also in two plants: palm and coconut). By avoiding animal products, palm, and coconut, you will also be avoiding cholesterol, which will lower your risk of heart attacks—the main cause of death in diabetics as well as non-diabetics. So, set aside the following:
meat, including poultry
dairy, including cow’s milk, yogurt made from milk, cheese
eggs
seafood—all of which contains fat (including saturated fat), as well as cholesterol
AVOID ALL OILS INCLUDING VEGETABLE OILS, because:
1) fats are loaded with unwanted calories—120 in a tablespoonful of any kind of fat (including olive oil).
2) all oils contain some saturated fat, which makes your liver produce more LDL (bad cholesterol). Although nuts, seeds, and avocados contain primarily healthy fats, eat them in moderation — One handful a day of walnuts and a heaping tablespoon of flax meal. Avoid olives and more than 1/4 of an avocado.
THIS PLAN FOR REVERSING TYPE 2 DIABETES HAS BEEN PROVEN TO WORK IN MULTIPLE STUDIES. If you have had diabetes for years and are on large doses of insulin, complete resolution is unlikely because the pancreatic beta cells have destroyed, but even in that situation your medication requirements will diminish significantly. For less severe cases, complete reversal is common, and vision, nerve, kidney, artery, and erectile complications often resolve.
Following is a case study in Dr. Greger’s recently-released, updated version of “How Not to Die”: Tona was a 65 year-old Native American who had been on insulin for Type 2 diabetes for 27 years. He had poor quality of life due to excruciating nerve pain, three heart stents, and E.D. After watching Dr. Greger’s video “Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death” on nutritionfacts.org, Tona’s granddaughter convinced him to try a plant-based diet. In two weeks his nerve pain diminished dramatically, and no longer kept him awake at night. In a few months he lost 30 pounds, he was able to stop insulin, and he felt better than he had in years.
If you are on diabetic meds, especially insulin, don’t start this program without talking to your doctor, because your need for medications will decrease and you will likely experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar, which can be dangerous) if you don’t start tapering them. For more detailed information about reversing diabetes get Dr. Barnard’s book, available on Amazon and in book stores.
Dr. Greg Feinsinger is a retired family physician who started the non-profit Center For Prevention and Treatment of Disease Through Nutrition. For questions or to schedule a free consultation about nutrition or heart attack prevention contact him at gfmd41@gmail.com or 970-379-5718.