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Dear Reader, America is facing a diabetes crisis. According to recent numbers nearly 1 in 2 Americans will soon be facing one form of diabetes. So in response, the American Diabetes Association wants the media to focus on the causes and cures of all forms of diabetes. Particularly type 2 diabetes - that’s the kind that’s largely due to lifestyle factors, especially diet. Fair enough. So let’s begin by being clear about the true, scientifically irrefutable cause and cure of type 2 diabetes. In a landmark, comprehensive research review published in January of this year in the journal Nutrition, a distinguished group of 26 physicians and nutrition researchers minced no words. "Diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate intolerance," said Barbara Gower, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for research in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Nutrition Sciences and one of the study authors, quoted at the website Science Daily. "Reducing carbohydrates is the obvious treatment…. The resistance of government and private health agencies is very hard to understand." Gower’s study summarized decades of research, all of which hammered home her assertion that excessive carbs definitively cause diabetes. Now, I’d like to show that, as she suggested, the government is indeed “resistant” to this fact. Consider these official dietary recommendations from the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP). NDEP is a partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations. In other words, what follows is officially sanctioned diabetes management advice from the U.S. government. Each bolded point is straight from the NDEP’s web page, followed by my take, and then by my recommendation in italics. 1. Eat a variety of colorful vegetables and fruits This is one of the few pieces of advice from the NDEP that makes sense. Now, I’m radical enough to point out that eating colorful fruits and vegetables isn’t essential for preventing, treating or curing type 2 diabetes. For example, native American tribes ate relatively little vegetable matter, instead relying on animal meat, fat, and nutrient-rich organs for most of their calories. Researchers found that type 2 diabetes among these people prior to the introduction of western diets was “almost unknown.”1 But no need to be too curmudgeonly here. Vegetables in particular are high in nutrients and low in carbohydrates. This one is a good idea. Yes indeed, eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. [Editor's Note: Okay… Eating fruits and vegetables seems kind of obvious. But new research suggests another health secret that’s far more shocking -- and it’s actually inspired by the Bible. Click here for the full story.] 2. Choose whole grain foods—whole wheat bread and crackers, oatmeal, brown rice, and cereals The most vigorous myth in American nutrition - perhaps because it gets exercised daily by groups like the NDEP - is that there is a vast difference between the healthfulness of whole-grain foods and those made from white flour or white rice. It’s just not true. According to Harvard Medical School’s website, the glycemic index -- a measure of the ability of a given food to raise blood sugar -- of a piece of “white wheat flour bread” is rather high at 71. That’s precisely the same as the index of whole wheat bread. Both of these are not far from the GI of white sugar, which is 80. Generally, the difference in glycemic index between whole and milled versions of grain-based products is either nonexistent or inconsequential. Eat as little grain-based food as you possibly can, preferably none. Instead, along with abundant vegetables and fruits, eat grass-fed, grass-finished beef; organ meats such as liver; free-range pork; free-range chicken and pastured eggs. 3. Lower fat intake—broil or bake poultry, meats, and fish instead of frying There are three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrate, and fat. As Dr. Gower noted, type 2 diabetes is almost entirely a consequence of eating too much carbohydrate. Conversely, as the Nutrition article made clear, diets high in protein and, especially, fat are protective. So which macronutrient has the NDEP chosen to demonize? You guessed it -- fat. Dietary fat is not the cause of type 2 diabetes, it is the solution. Increase fat intake, especially of saturated fat such as coconut oil, lard, butter and olive oil. These will help satisfy hunger without spiking insulin. 4. Lighten your recipes by using nonfat or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, or mayonnaise. Use cooking spray instead of oil More fat-bashing! The nutrient that can save you is blamed for killing you! Avoid processed food generally, especially if the processing consists of removing fat . If you can tolerate dairy products, always choose full-fat versions. 5. Avoid getting too hungry by eating a healthy snack between meals Not just wrong, but precisely backward. As a recent Swedish study2 made clear, an exceptionally effective therapy for type 2 diabetes is intermittent fasting; allowing yourself to get hungry at least a couple of times a week. Snacking between meals keeps insulin levels consistently elevated so that cell-receptors lock it out (a condition called insulin resistance). This is an excellent way to get and worsen diabetes. Get hungry by missing a meal at least twice a week, and by avoiding snacks between meals. I know this one seems counter intuitive. But hey… So is the idea that Christians -- not scientists -- have discovered a cure for diabetes. And according to this research that may be the case. 6. Do not keep chips, cookies, or candy in your home. Instead, for snacks have raw vegetables, fruit, low-fat or nonfat yogurt, or a handful of nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds The first sentence makes sense - though one wonders why the NIH now seems to be worried about sugary cookies and candy, when every other bullet point in the list focused on fat. The second sentence, however, is the same protein-and-fat-phobic idiocy listed in the points above, expressed in a slightly different way. 7. Choose water to drink Great idea, but it would have been useful to point out that drinking coffee has consistently been shown to lower diabetes risk.3 Drink water and, if you find the effects agreeable, unsweetened green tea and/or coffee. Bottom line: On the whole, the NDEP’s recommendations are good for those odd souls who wish to develop type 2 diabetes. If your aim is to prevent, treat or cure it… not so much. They are yet another manifestation -- as if we needed one -- of Big Food’s lobbying efforts to keep Americans eating cheap, high-profit commodity grains. Don’t fall for it. Spend your time extracting grains from your pantry, and filling your freezer and refrigerator with healthful, nutrient-dense vegetables, animal-based foods, and some high-fat nuts such as macadamias or almonds. Click Here for more information on getting rid of diabetes one and for all. Sincerely, Jim Gray P.S. I mentioned it a few times above, but in case you missed it, there’s a recent breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes and it was actually inspired by the bible. Although atheist’s hate it, it’s already healed thousands of people and been verified by leading medical institutions. Click here for this biblical solution. Citations
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