You, and everyone with diabetes, should seriously read the first chapter of this book [1]. The author discovered he could treat his wife and son's diabetes with a major diet change, by eliminating all foods that cause a blood sugar (and resulting insulin) spike - sugar, HFCS, grains, most processed food, etc.
His assertion is that he current method of treating diabetes is based on classical mechanics, 1-in-1-out, etc., where you measure your blood sugar and try to manually maintain it at a certain level with sugar and insulin.
But ...
1) the human body is a complex, non-linear, dynamic system. It is based on and responds to signalling, genetic triggers, etc., and ...
2) you don't need to micromanage your body, it will take care of itself as long as you don't essentially poison it.
3) the old method presumes there is something wrong with your body, when in actuality, the problem is with the way your body reacts to 'modern' (post-agricultural) foods. Diabetes is a symptom of that, so cut those foods out, and diabetes goes away.
It may not apply to all types of diabetes, IANAE, but seriously, stop by a bookstore and spend 20m reading just the first chapter (maybe 2, can't recall exactly), and figure out if it's something worth looking into further.
First of all, the distinction needs to be made between type 1 and type 2, these are two different things.
If you respect Ray Kurzweil's ideas, which I think a fair number of people here do, then I would suggest anyone with diabetes concerns (at risk, got it, etc) read his book "Transcend."
Direct quote:
"Largely because of excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates and sugary foods, the number of people with type 2 diabetes in the United States has increased tenfold in the past 35 years, and as of 2008, type 2 diabetes affected over 21 million Americans. In just the 10 years between 1997 and 2007, the incidence of type 2 diabetes nearly doubled in the United States, from 4.8 to 9.1 per 1,000 people."
The reason why Paleo is recommended is because high glycemic index carbohydrates are virtually eliminated. That certainly is not the only diet that accomplishes this. In Transcend, a low calorie somewhat Japanese diet is encouraged. That is something that is extremely difficult, behaviorally, for Westerners to strictly adapt. In my own experience it took about 3-4 years of behavior modification to do that, and I ended up medically underweight. "Paleo", at least for males from what I've seen, is fairly easy.
If you disagree with Kurzweil, well then I can't say much else, he certainly knows more about this than I do.
I went from >12% to <6% A1C by cutting out carbs, taking a low dose of metformin (750mg slow release per day) and throwing in a bit more light to moderate exercise.
Credit to Dr. Bernstein (http://www.diabetes-book.com/) who is a type I diabetic himself, but really we're now hearing the same things from Taubes, Lustig, the Paleo folks and many others.
Obviously low carb diets alone aren't the whole solution. Berstein's book contains a wealth of information on living with diabetes well into old age. It's a great read for diabetics or for anyone caring for a diabetic.
Just to clarify, I'm not selling notions of curing type 1 diabetes through diet. If you're type 1 you will need insulin. Even type 2 may require insulin.
The point I'm trying to make is that in both diseases (type 1 and 2) control of blood sugar is key to reducing mortality. Reducing carb intake will result in lower blood sugar rises which will require less insulin to counter. Less insulin means less chance of hypoglycemic events. By minimizing these control inputs you can balance your blood sugar in the normal range and prevent and even reverse the damage to your body from diabetes.
Yeah, but I have the type 1 diabetes, which is btw. the national disease in Finland.
One of the things that started the disease was an influenza back when I was kid. I also have the genes from my family, so suddenly I didn't have insulin in my body anymore. It has nothing to do with my lifestyles.
I've been taking care of my disease since I was a kid and believe me, I need my daily shots of insulin.
Yep, totally. I do Paleo and while it but reduced my daily insulin in half, I still use a total 20U a day. It's definitely needed. Type 1 is NOT Type 2. It's a shame, frankly, that they are both called "Diabetes."
> ... the old method presumes there is something wrong with your body ...
The comment you replied to is presumably about type 1 diabetes, an inflammatory disease that destroys the body's ability to produce insulin. You are referring to type 2 diabetes.
His assertion is that he current method of treating diabetes is based on classical mechanics, 1-in-1-out, etc., where you measure your blood sugar and try to manually maintain it at a certain level with sugar and insulin.
But ...
1) the human body is a complex, non-linear, dynamic system. It is based on and responds to signalling, genetic triggers, etc., and ...
2) you don't need to micromanage your body, it will take care of itself as long as you don't essentially poison it.
3) the old method presumes there is something wrong with your body, when in actuality, the problem is with the way your body reacts to 'modern' (post-agricultural) foods. Diabetes is a symptom of that, so cut those foods out, and diabetes goes away.
It may not apply to all types of diabetes, IANAE, but seriously, stop by a bookstore and spend 20m reading just the first chapter (maybe 2, can't recall exactly), and figure out if it's something worth looking into further.
1. http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Evolution-Diet-Paleolithic/dp/...