Dr Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes

[Borbuster]

Low fat is an odd thing to suggest. Where are you supposed to get energy from? Have you seen this excellent talk: watch?v=FSeSTq-N4U4

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo you've said repeatedly that 'Fats in your muscles block insulin...' ... but you don't seem to realize they're talking about BODY FAT, not dietary fat.

Body fat is accumulated when excess carbohydrate meets excess insulin. Low-Carbohydrate and High-Fat diets reduce body fat, thus helping reduce body fat and thus improving insulin response. Simple science.

Even, yes, ANIMAL FAT is healthy. People can choose vegan if they like, but animal fat isn't bad...

[KessaJo]

That's really good. You should be proud of yourself.

[KessaJo]

I personally do take it as fact, not because I just trust it, but because I was an uncontrolled diabetic - nothing was working. I ate like the Diabetic Clinic told me to & took my medicines as instructed. I was waking up with glucose levels in the 300's & 400's.

I decided that I had nothing to lose. It took about 5 days, but my glucose levels started coming down. About a week and a half into it, I started waking up w/ glucose levels between 103 & 105. 

[notjustapples]

@KessaJo that's amazing! i am experiencing really great results with eating more vegan foods, though i haven't gone 100%, i am almost about 90%... and i've been really amazed by the results.

[notjustapples]

@jaimster12345 his choice of recommending a vegan diet - sorry i wasn't so clear... :)

[KessaJo]

I am unsure that you understood

1. Why the no animal products.

Fats in your muscles block Insulin from getting into the muscles.

2. That B12, is the only "Vitamin" that you would need to supplement (and if you know where you are getting it from if you eat meat or that B12 is fungus & not actually a vitamin).

3. The milk theory is only for Type 1 diabetes, not Type 2 - fat in the muscles is the reason for Type 2 - not stomach fat, but fat that is in the muscle. Rereading the book might help.

[notjustapples]

@KessaJo I did understand all of this, but perhaps not quite as clearly as you've put it here. I wanted to get across my overall impression of the book - and try to be discerning about his claims, rather than take it as fact. It's also important for each person to read for themselves and decide on their course of action afterward, I think :)

[KessaJo]

@notjustapples I would be interested in your experience with the diet. I am assuming that your review was based on whether it worked for you or not and not just based on whether you think it would work for you.

[notjustapples]

@KessaJo i'll be sure to do an update about my vegan journey soon, to let everyone know how it's going :)

[KessaJo]

@notjustapples I would be most interested. Thanks! =)

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo The theory of fat causing insulin-resistance was tested on RATS using what the researchers call a "high-fat diet"... However it's also very high in sugar...

Standard High Fat diet for research rats: 45% fat, 24% protein, 35% carbohydrate (17% sucrose)

So HALF of the carbs (35% isn't low-carb either) come from SUGAR.

Ketogenic high fat diets (high fat, no carb, a little protein) in rats show NONE of the same issues.

So I doubt the issue is the fat. It's the carbs/sugar.

[preservid]

Low GI Diet? Can you go into details?

[notjustapples]

@preservid low GI, is low glycaemic index, and that's foods that release sugar slowly into your blood stream... i must do a video about it!

[AlbertaBeefy]

My biggest issue with this is not only is he vegan, he and his business are funded by PETA, etc., and so he pushes only vegan.

And vegan isn't the best diet for diabetes, not by a long shot.

I truly believe diabetes is better controlled by eating real, organic, natural foods including meat, eggs, cheese, etc. Most of a diabetics carbs should come from non-starchy veggies and limited amounts of fruit - preferably low GI fruit.

[notjustapples]

@AlbertaBeefy interesting - i agree with you to a significant degree! i didn't realise he was funded by PETA, though it doesn't surprise me - no-one in the diabetes world is completely self-funded and genuine it seems!

[KessaJo]

@AlbertaBeefy I do not like PETA, myself. I know something they did that caused a lot of harm, near where I live. Have you tried the diet to see if it helps or are you just going by what you have been taught? It goes against everything I was ever taught, but I know it works, so all the research in the world isn't going to get me to change my mind. Seeing 1rst hand is believing.

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo No, I haven't ... and won't try the diet. I have researched it though, and for many diabetics, especially Type 2, it should be better than the standard diet pushed by the USDA or other government agencies...

That being said, it's certainly not as healthy as eating LCHF, especially very low-carb,high fat ... and if you eat vegan, you cannot get many nutrients and will need shots for them. Nature intended for us to eat meat, else we wouldn't need extra shots for it... Just my thoughts

[KessaJo]

@AlbertaBeefy I am so confused. Why would anybody need shots if they eat a vegan diet? The only 2 "Vitamins" that you can not get from a vegan diet are B12 & D. You can't D from a meat diet either, it is not made by animals or plants, but it is foods that have been fortified with it. B12 is not made by animals or plants either, but by bacteria & other single-celled organisms. Traces of the bacteria in an animal's intestinal tract end up in the meat & that is how you get it from animals.

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo Shots or supplements. Most vegans are also deficient in Iron and Zinc. And wouldn't you think it's better to get all those nutrients from 'natural' sources? Like .. say ... beef? =)

Even Zoe Harcombe, a trained nutrition expert, WHO WAS A VEGGIE stated "I could not think how I could get vitamin A, B12, D, iron, zinc etc in anywhere close to sufficient amounts without supplements and it never felt right to be taking nutrients in a tablet when food could provide them."

Google her.

[KessaJo]

@AlbertaBeefy Sorry, it only allows so many characters. I would be highly concerned about what these people, that you know, are eating. Sounds like they don't know how to eat a healthy vegan diet. I am also wondering why you think a high fat diet for a diabetic would be good, since one of the complications of Diabetes is High Cholesterol & since you can only get cholesterol from animal fat...? Wouldn't it make more sense to avoid it, so that you lower your risk?

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo I'm starting to think you drank the vegan kool-aid :)

High Cholesterol is not a complication of diabetes. There is an association, as many people with Type 2 diabetes do have 'high cholesterol' ... but many don't. Most Type 2 diabetics, if they have cardiovascular disease or high levels of 'bad' cholesterol are eating too many carbs.

[KessaJo]

@AlbertaBeefy I'm starting to think they you have no idea what you are talking about. Of course, I should have guessed that when you reviewed a book w/o even trying it. Like you know more than the doctors that have seen it work.

Carbs DO NOT raise your cholesterol. Look at the nutritional data - it has NO cholesterol!

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo I know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. It's been proven repeatedly that carbohydrate raises cholesterol levels - every bit of research done on the subject concludes this. What do you think raises it?

Regardless of whether carbohydrate-items CONTAIN cholesterol doesn't mean they don't RAISE it. Good heavens.

Do a youtube search for "How Bad Science and Big Business Created the Obesity Epidemic" and watch the research David M. Diamond provides on the matter. Try to disprove it.

[AlbertaBeefy]

@KessaJo Also, you don't "only get cholesterol from animal fat" ... your liver produces it.

All properly done research has proven that saturated fats / red meats improves your cholesterol profile. It's refined carbs / sugar, etc., that worsen them.

[AlbertaBeefy]

... oh and further to the cholesterol thing... Even Ancel Keys, the father of the lipid hypothesis (now proven incorrect by every study done over 40 years) stated that dietary cholesterol does not affect serum cholesterol...

[frecklefacesue]

I agree I get so frustrated when something says the cure for diabetes...and it is for type 2. Thanks for the book review!

[notjustapples]

@frecklefacesue you are welcome!