As the Allies were advancing in December of 1944, the Germans launched a massive counter-attack in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 101st Airborne Division was sent to hold the town of Bastogne, a vital transportation hub the Germans desperately wanted. The “Screaming Eagles” were surrounded, out-numbered, short on ammunition, and freezing in their summer uniforms. But when the German commander demanded their surrender, U.S. general Anthony McAuliffe sent a one-word reply: “Nuts!” The Screaming Eagles dug in and held the town.
The Grains-and-Drugs Axis is in full counter-attack mode. The USDA Dietary Guidelines call for greater restrictions on fat and more whole grains in our diets. The new My Plate tells us to fill 25% of our plates with grains. And now the dimwits at Diabetes Health magazine -– which reaches hundreds of thousands of diabetics -– are telling people with blood-sugar issues to eat even more carbohydrates.
That advice comes in the form of an article titled Type 2 Diabetes: From Old Dogmas to New Realities. There’s no subtitle, but there should be, and it should read: Just give up and take your drugs, dangit!
In the last decade, dramatic changes have occurred in our understanding of the onset and progression of prediabetes. Lightning speed changes have also occurred regarding the therapies available to achieve optimal blood glucose control. Even with all of this change, however, many old dogmas hang on. It’s time to be aware of the new realities. In this article, I focus on two common old dogmas and the new realities.
Old Dogma: Losing weight will make blood glucose levels plummet no matter how long you have had type 2 diabetes.
New Reality: Research shows that the greatest impact of weight loss on blood glucose is in the first few months and years after diagnosis… Once insulin production is on a dwindling course (particularly after 10 years with type 2), weight loss has less impact on glucose control.
The reality is that if blood glucose is out of control, it’s time to progress to blood glucose-lowering medication(s), because it’s doubtful that weight loss alone will get and keep blood glucose under control. Today, most experts, including the American Diabetes Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, agree that people with type 2 should start on a blood glucose-lowering medication that decreases insulin resistance–the core problem in type 2–at diagnosis.
Got that? The people whose livelihood depends on writing prescriptions for drugs agree that you need drugs, so take your drugs. I agree that weight loss alone won’t lower high blood sugar -– I’ve known some skinny type 2 diabetics –- but that doesn’t mean a change in diet can’t do the trick. It just has to be the right kind of diet, one that won’t jack up your blood sugar in the first place.
Speaking of diet …
Old Dogma: People with type 2 diabetes should follow a low carbohydrate diet.
New Reality: Nutrition recommendations for people with type 2 diabetes from the American Diabetes Association and other health authorities echo the recently unveiled U.S. 2010 Dietary Guidelines for carbohydrate: about 45 to 65 percent of calories. (Americans currently eat about 45 to 50 percent of calories as carbohydrate–not a “high carb” intake.)
Countless research studies do not show long term (greater than six months to a year) benefit of low carb diets on blood glucose, weight control, or blood fats. People with type 2 diabetes, like the general public, should lighten up on added sugars and sweets (yes, they’re carbohydrate). They should eat sufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy foods–all healthy sources of carbohydrate.
Well, there you have it: the USDA and other (ahem, ahem) health authorities recommend we get 45 to 65 percent of our calories from carbohydrates, so it must be true. We consume a higher proportion of carbohydrates now than we did 30 years ago, the rate of type 2 diabetes has skyrocketed during that same period, so what this proves is that we should eat even more carbohydrates.
As for those “countless studies” that didn’t show low-carb diets improving glucose control beyond six months to a year, there’s a reason for that: most dietary studies last six months to a year. So we can interpret that statement as “countless studies failed to show any benefit after the study ended and we stopped tracking the benefits.” Over and over, we see medical authorities warning that we don’t know the long-term effects of low-carbohydrate diets. Right … because the long-term clinical studies haven’t been conducted.
But there are plenty of doctors out there — Dr. Richard Bernstein, Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Steve Parker, Dr. James Carlson, to name just a few — who do know the long-term effects of a low-carbohydrate diet for their diabetic patients. Those effects include weight loss, lower fasting glucose, reduced reliance on drugs, and even a complete reversal of diabetic symptoms in some cases.
A few people commenting on the Diabetes Health article have had the same experience:
Respectfully, this column is not helpful to diabetics and probably dangerous. I am going on 6 years of eating 30-35 carbs/day. My A1c has been in the “non-diabetic” range ever since I went this route and I feel better than I have in years.
It was not until I started a low carbohydrate diet that my blood glucose numbers fell. They fell rapidly and have been easy to maintain under such a diet.
I had awful lipids and blood sugar control on a low fat/high carb diet. Now that I have switched to a lower carb diet – all my numbers are superb.
Ordinary people get it, even if the supposed experts don’t. As for the experts at the American Diabetes Association, here are a few points from their own literature:
- Your digestive system turns carbohydrates into sugar quickly and easily
- Carbohydrate is the food that most influences blood glucose levels
- The more carbs you eat, the higher your blood glucose goes
- The higher your blood glucose, the more insulin you need to move the sugar into your cells
- The Food Pyramid is an easy way to remember the healthiest way to eat.
- At the bottom of the pyramid are bread, cereal, rice and pasta. These foods contain mostly carbohydrates.
- You need six to eight servings of these foods per day
Head. Bang. On. Desk.
You’d think someone writing up those guidelines might spot the contradiction. But the contradiction is less surprising when you look at a short list of who provides the ADA with its funding:
- Abbott Pharmaceuticals
- Amylin Pharmaceuticals
- AstraZeneca
- Eli Lilly and Company
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Merck & Co.
- Pfizer Inc.
- Cadbury Schweppes (candy/soda maker)
- Kraft Foods
- J.D. Smucker Company
- General Mills
From what I read online, the publisher of Diabetes Health also sells medical devices and started the magazine to promote its products. Like I always say, follow the money.
It’s time for those of us who don’t want more diabetics to be killed by bad advice to stand up and say “Nuts!” to the commanders of the Grains-and-Drugs Axis. If you know a diabetic, give him or her a copy of Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution or Dr. Steve Parker’s Conquer Diabetes and Prediabetes. Point your family and friends to books and blogs that educate people about what causes type 2 diabetes and how to avoid it.
Then join the Nutrition and Metabolism Society, one of the few organizations dedicated to fighting bad nutrition science with good nutrition science. By joining NMS at any membership level — from $10 on up — you will be supporting the kind of research that’s necessary to overcome years of misinformation promoted by the USDA and ADA.
Think of it as providing badly-needed weapons for the Screaming Eagles of nutrition research. They’re surrounded, but they won’t give up. And they will win the battle.
If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
Another Dr. Sears, not Al Sears, says:
“Sugar, like fat, gets a lot of sour press, some deserved, some not. Babies are born with a sweet tooth. Human milk is quite sweet, so a child begins life making the connection between eating, drinking, and pleasure. Sugars are one form of carbohydrates and carbohydrates are good for you, as long as you eat the right kinds in the right amounts. Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. You couldn’t live or work without them. Your body needs a lot of carbohydrates – around 60 to 70 percent of your total calories should be in the form of carbs. But before you reach for the carbs in a candy bar, take some time to learn about sugar and other kinds of carbs. Over-processed, factory-made sugars and starches have given carbohydrates a bad reputation. Once you understand which carbs are best for your body, including which sugars are good for you, you can indulge a sweet tooth and still enjoy sweet health.” This I found at
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/family-nutrition/sugar/sweet-facts-you-should-know-about-sugar
Of course they are popular with Oprah and many other shows of that ilk AND they have their own line of snacks that they sell. Here is the ingredient list for Popumz Chocolate:
Multi Grain (Whole Corn Flour, Rice Flour, Whole Grain Oat Flour, Whole Grain Wheat Flour, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Salt), Soy (Low Fat Soy Flour, Rice Flour, Salt), Natural Compound Coating (Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder Processed with Alkali, Whey Powser, Soya Lecithin, Salt), Meg 3 Powder (Refined Fish Oil (Anchovy and Sardines), Gelatin, Sodium Polyphosphate, Sodium Acsorbate, Canola Oil, Natural Flavor, Tocopherols, Sunflower Oil, Citric Acid).
Yum.
Yikes. Definitely not Dr. Al Sears. He wouldn’t touch that garbage.
My husband faithfully took his insulin and every other prescription (about 15) handed to him by his doctors and would never ever question any advice for fear of insulting the almighty docs. This was the main source of conflict between us but he would not consider changing doctors or looking for alternatives despite his continuing deterioration (At least one doctor had blamed his “bad” genes.)
The outcome.. 18 years of suffering from most of the diseases of civilization and I became a widow a month after I turned 47.
Wow, I’m sorry to hear about your husband. That’s why we have to keep fighting this nonsense. Lives are literally at stake.
People worship their doctors, they must be made to give the right advice.. not the deadly yet profitable advice.
Saw the movie this weekend. Absolutely fantastic – I actually had the same idea of creating documentary about loosing weight on a fast food diet. Only problem is I don’t know the first thing about making a documentary and I’m about as funny as an eggplant. Bravo and well done.
I’m a long term calorie counter, meaning I track pretty much exactly how many calories I consume each day and my weight + body composition changes (all daily for a couple of years). By monitoring changes in body fat and muscle, I can tell exactly how many calories I’m burning – on average as daily numbers fluctuate greatly.
I’ve tinkered with macro nutrient combinations over time and I can assure you the calories in/calories out is absolutely true. Saying that – I do generally eat low carb because years ago I found out what you did regarding the insulin spigot and fat storage. I’ve been eating eggs cooked in butter every day for years and have great cholesterol readings. When I up or lower my carb intake, there is no discernable difference in how many calories I can consume daily and maintain weight. the primary difference is that by eating plenty of animal protein + fat, I feel 200% better and under weight loss conditions I’m able to maintain more muscle while loosing fat.
Just some of my personal experience to share. While I think you’re right on about decreasing our sugar intake and not fearing saturated fats – I think you might have prematurely jumped to a conclusion about the calorie in-calorie out hypothesis not being true.
PS – There are many other hormones in play which convert fats or proteins into either glucose or will store them as fat – without insulin in play. This is why you can store plenty of fat without eating carbs. Insulin is, however, the largest player in this game for the average person.
I’m not actually denying that when you gain weight you’re taking in more calories than you burn, or that to lose weight you must burn more than you consume. It’s a matter of causality. If my toilet overflows, saying it’s taking in more water than it’s releasing doesn’t really explain the cause. Same goes if I say someone is an alcoholic because he drinks too much — that doesn’t tell us why he craves excess alcohol. However, if we say a hormonal imbalance causes our bodies to disproportionately store calories as fat and creates an energy shortage that ramps up our appetites, now we’re getting at the cause.
I found out a few months ago that my brother-in-law was diagnosed with diabetes. I called my sister and asked her what sort of dietary advice they had been given. They pretty much hadn’t been given any, and they were both pretty confused about how to handle the diagnosis.
I sent them a copy of “Why We Get Fat” and “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution”. I don’t know if they read them (they are both pretty conservative and trust doctors implicitly, and I was straightforward about how these books go against the grain – er, no pun intended!), but I certainly felt better. They’ll at least have some information, written by experts, that contradicts whatever SAD advice they get from his doctors or a dietitian.
You did your part. It’s up to them now to decide if they’re willing to try Dr. Bernstein’s advice.
I checked out the article and the comments were wonderful. They all pretty much blasted Ms. Warshaw for endangering the lives of diabetics with her advice. Don’t know if you know, but the publisher/editor in chief/founder of the magazine was apparently disturbed by the vehemence of the comments and wrote a reply. You can check out her answer (and the resulting comments) here: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2011/07/06/7219/righteous-about-a-diabetes-diet/?isComment=1#comments
Kate, good luck with your trip to the endo and don’t let him bully or scare you into doing what you know is best–for you and your baby. As to your morning fasting blood sugars, I’m not sure what is going on and hopefully your endo can help you, but I do know the liver produces some glucose pretty much all the time. Hence, my type 1 son has to take a shot of long acting insulin every day (in addition to the short acting boluses he takes with meals.) Perhaps it does more of this at night when no food is coming in?
Interesting bit of backpedaling by the publisher. Her excuse seems to be that since they gave Dr. Bernstein a voice, it’s now okay to tell diabetics to forget about diet and take their drugs.
Kate,Sorry I meant don’t let the endo bully you OUT OF doing what you know is best for your and your baby!
This, from one of the most popular doctors in the UK at the moment…..oh dear.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/health/article-23967635-we-cant-all-shun-gluten.do
We can’t all shun gluten? Why the heck not? Amazing that he think giving up gluten foods will lead to nutrition deficiencies.
Nadia Al-Samarrie, Publisher/Editor in Chief/Founder
of Diabetes Health Magazine, wrote a reply to the numerous people who pointed out the lunacy of this article. Her response can be found here:
http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2011/07/06/7219/righteous-about-a-diabetes-diet/
Pretty weak.
“Science progresses one funeral at a time”
New t-shirt?
Not a bad idea. I was quoting Max Planck.
“Some people would happily take the drugs so they can continue eating pasta and bread,…”
Yes, and many are doing so simply because they believe they can, with no consequences. They’ve been duped! My mother was in heaven when she was first diagnosed with diabetes because the hospital (emergency trip with BG over 700) was feeding her foods that she had been shunning for years for dieting purposes: corn, potatoes, cherry pie, white flour rolls, and brownies! “All I have to do is take insulin!” she exclaimed. And the brain-dead nurses couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t get her BG to drop below 300. My sister and I were shocked, but we were assured that it was a big myth that diabetics can’t eat sugar. It’s insane.
Good lord …
There is a reason a Dr.’s business is called a “Practice”. Unfortunately, most of them stop practicing.
LOL.
This is not just an American problem. I checked the web sites of the Canadian, British, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, and French diabetes associations, and they all gave basically the same dietary advice as the American one. (The French are very slightly less fat-phobic.)
I suspect that the leaders in these organisations probably read the same journals and go to the same conferences and so on. How much of this is due to pressure from corporate sponsors, and how much is due to simple group-think?
It’s probably a bit of both. At least they’ve wised up in Sweden.
Those people are a mix between annoying and frustrating.
My husband faithfully took his insulin and every other prescription (about 15) handed to him by his doctors and would never ever question any advice for fear of insulting the almighty docs. This was the main source of conflict between us but he would not consider changing doctors or looking for alternatives despite his continuing deterioration (At least one doctor had blamed his “bad” genes.)
The outcome.. 18 years of suffering from most of the diseases of civilization and I became a widow a month after I turned 47.
Wow, I’m sorry to hear about your husband. That’s why we have to keep fighting this nonsense. Lives are literally at stake.
People worship their doctors, they must be made to give the right advice.. not the deadly yet profitable advice.
Re: Nadia Al-Samarrie’s response– she erroneously claims that the protesters of the article want everyone to be on a low carb diet and that Hope was only trying to present “options.” I got the sense that those commenting were presenting their own personal success/failures with low carb/higher carb diets, sort of like the truth revealed in The Emperor’s New Clothes.
And she states that “No one argues the merits of low carb [what??], but it is not for everyone. And giving a stage to one diet does not exclude the merits of the other.” It does when that’s precisely what Ms. Warshaw intended. There was no discussion of “options.” What does Ms. Al-Samarrie think “reality” means here?:
“New Reality: Nutrition recommendations for people with type 2 diabetes from the American Diabetes Association and other health authorities echo the recently unveiled U.S. 2010 Dietary Guidelines (1/31/11) for carbohydrate: about 45 to 65 percent of calories. (Americans currently eat about 45 to 50 percent of calories as carbohydrate–not a “high carb” intake.)”
So, diabetics should eat even MORE carbohydrates than what Americans are currently eating. Yes, indeed, NUTS!!
The publisher is backpedaling, but it’s not working. Ms. Warshaw specifically tried to steer people away from low-carb diets, not offer options.
Saw the movie this weekend. Absolutely fantastic – I actually had the same idea of creating documentary about loosing weight on a fast food diet. Only problem is I don’t know the first thing about making a documentary and I’m about as funny as an eggplant. Bravo and well done.
I’m a long term calorie counter, meaning I track pretty much exactly how many calories I consume each day and my weight + body composition changes (all daily for a couple of years). By monitoring changes in body fat and muscle, I can tell exactly how many calories I’m burning – on average as daily numbers fluctuate greatly.
I’ve tinkered with macro nutrient combinations over time and I can assure you the calories in/calories out is absolutely true. Saying that – I do generally eat low carb because years ago I found out what you did regarding the insulin spigot and fat storage. I’ve been eating eggs cooked in butter every day for years and have great cholesterol readings. When I up or lower my carb intake, there is no discernable difference in how many calories I can consume daily and maintain weight. the primary difference is that by eating plenty of animal protein + fat, I feel 200% better and under weight loss conditions I’m able to maintain more muscle while loosing fat.
Just some of my personal experience to share. While I think you’re right on about decreasing our sugar intake and not fearing saturated fats – I think you might have prematurely jumped to a conclusion about the calorie in-calorie out hypothesis not being true.
PS – There are many other hormones in play which convert fats or proteins into either glucose or will store them as fat – without insulin in play. This is why you can store plenty of fat without eating carbs. Insulin is, however, the largest player in this game for the average person.
I’m not actually denying that when you gain weight you’re taking in more calories than you burn, or that to lose weight you must burn more than you consume. It’s a matter of causality. If my toilet overflows, saying it’s taking in more water than it’s releasing doesn’t really explain the cause. Same goes if I say someone is an alcoholic because he drinks too much — that doesn’t tell us why he craves excess alcohol. However, if we say a hormonal imbalance causes our bodies to disproportionately store calories as fat and creates an energy shortage that ramps up our appetites, now we’re getting at the cause.
I checked out the article and the comments were wonderful. They all pretty much blasted Ms. Warshaw for endangering the lives of diabetics with her advice. Don’t know if you know, but the publisher/editor in chief/founder of the magazine was apparently disturbed by the vehemence of the comments and wrote a reply. You can check out her answer (and the resulting comments) here: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2011/07/06/7219/righteous-about-a-diabetes-diet/?isComment=1#comments
Kate, good luck with your trip to the endo and don’t let him bully or scare you into doing what you know is best–for you and your baby. As to your morning fasting blood sugars, I’m not sure what is going on and hopefully your endo can help you, but I do know the liver produces some glucose pretty much all the time. Hence, my type 1 son has to take a shot of long acting insulin every day (in addition to the short acting boluses he takes with meals.) Perhaps it does more of this at night when no food is coming in?
Interesting bit of backpedaling by the publisher. Her excuse seems to be that since they gave Dr. Bernstein a voice, it’s now okay to tell diabetics to forget about diet and take their drugs.
Kate,Sorry I meant don’t let the endo bully you OUT OF doing what you know is best for your and your baby!
“Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. You couldn’t live or work without them.’ Wow!!!!! I am so glad to know this. So I wonder what you would call what I have been doing this past year. (driving a school bus, homeschooling a five-year old, doing copious amounts of research, helping my husband with CAD become healthier through low-carbing, adopting a pit bull someone tied to a tree in the middle of the woods and left, trying to cope with an incredibly difficult 17-year old , etc., etc.) If anyone knows pit bulls,you know they are very energetic and require lots of exercise. So yes, I am in the backyard several times a day playing fetch with Zeus. Oh, the only carbs I eat are green, leafy veggies. So, have I not been living and working? Am I dead?
When I loaded up on that “main source of energy,” I was tired half the time.
Thanks to years of awful dietary advice, my precious aunt, a type II diabetic, is losing her eyesight. She’s now progressed to the stage that she’s bleeding behind her eyes and surgery is necessary to save what sight she has left. It truly angers me when I see such blatant disregard for the truth pushed aside so a self-serving agenda can take it’s place. Shame on Warshaw and her cronies for what they are doing to diabetics everywhere. If they truly wanted to help, they’d be more open about the options and take the positive experiences of low-carbing diabetics seriously.
I don’t know if she’s misguided or just a flack for pharmaceutical companies. Either way, her advice sucks.
Hey Tom….again…thanks for posting!
If you read through all of the bashing on the Diabetes Health website, you will see that this “flaming” produced a counter article…..which basically said “Hey Low carbers…we are happy that this diet works for you, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work for everyone”…..
Really….DUH! But that’s not what you said….it appears that the public is finally catching on, and with the internet, we get the ability to “shoot back” YEAH!
Unfortunately, I was unable to give the article a rating. I tried to give it one star, but it refused to accept my rating….apparently, the game is still rigged!
Keep up the Great Work Tom! Looking forward to seeing you again on next year’s cruise!
Looking forward to seeing on the cruise as well, Nick. We’ll have to try some new songs on karaoke night.
Nadia Al-Samarrie, Publisher/Editor in Chief/Founder of Diabetes Health Magazine, wrote a reply to the numerous people who pointed out the lunacy of this article. Her response can be found here:
http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2011/07/06/7219/righteous-about-a-diabetes-diet/
Pretty weak.
“Some people would happily take the drugs so they can continue eating pasta and bread,…”
Yes, and many are doing so simply because they believe they can, with no consequences. They’ve been duped! My mother was in heaven when she was first diagnosed with diabetes because the hospital (emergency trip with BG over 700) was feeding her foods that she had been shunning for years for dieting purposes: corn, potatoes, cherry pie, white flour rolls, and brownies! “All I have to do is take insulin!” she exclaimed. And the brain-dead nurses couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t get her BG to drop below 300. My sister and I were shocked, but we were assured that it was a big myth that diabetics can’t eat sugar. It’s insane.
Good lord …
There is a reason a Dr.’s business is called a “Practice”. Unfortunately, most of them stop practicing.
LOL.
I went to another class today on nutrition and it was good, but most of the information presented wasn’t new (to me!), but they did give a couple of good, low carb recipes.
Anyway, just wanted you to know that I advocated for everyone there–including the instructor–to watch “Fathead” & to check out this blog. Hopefully they’ll get as much out of it as I do!
Thanks for all you do to educate the masses!
I hope they do that. Thanks for the plug.
This is not just an American problem. I checked the web sites of the Canadian, British, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, and French diabetes associations, and they all gave basically the same dietary advice as the American one. (The French are very slightly less fat-phobic.)
I suspect that the leaders in these organisations probably read the same journals and go to the same conferences and so on. How much of this is due to pressure from corporate sponsors, and how much is due to simple group-think?
It’s probably a bit of both. At least they’ve wised up in Sweden.
Those people are a mix between annoying and frustrating.
Yup- follow the money. There isn’t any money in keeping people healthy. And the willing media follows…
The media moguls are hesitant to tick off their advertisers.
Re: Nadia Al-Samarrie’s response– she erroneously claims that the protesters of the article want everyone to be on a low carb diet and that Hope was only trying to present “options.” I got the sense that those commenting were presenting their own personal success/failures with low carb/higher carb diets, sort of like the truth revealed in The Emperor’s New Clothes.
And she states that “No one argues the merits of low carb [what??], but it is not for everyone. And giving a stage to one diet does not exclude the merits of the other.” It does when that’s precisely what Ms. Warshaw intended. There was no discussion of “options.” What does Ms. Al-Samarrie think “reality” means here?:
“New Reality: Nutrition recommendations for people with type 2 diabetes from the American Diabetes Association and other health authorities echo the recently unveiled U.S. 2010 Dietary Guidelines (1/31/11) for carbohydrate: about 45 to 65 percent of calories. (Americans currently eat about 45 to 50 percent of calories as carbohydrate–not a “high carb” intake.)”
So, diabetics should eat even MORE carbohydrates than what Americans are currently eating. Yes, indeed, NUTS!!
The publisher is backpedaling, but it’s not working. Ms. Warshaw specifically tried to steer people away from low-carb diets, not offer options.
Every time I read “carbohydrates are your main source of energy” or “carbohydrates are your primary energy source”, I picture a reporter in the 1880s misinterpreting results of a study that says “primary fuel”.
Primary has lots of meanings. In this case, it means “first”. It does not mean “preferred”.
There’s one catch: Alcohol is the primary fuel source. Your body disposes of the poison by using it for fuel.
I wonder if the major brewers, vintners and distillers would be on board with manipulating the various alphabet action committees and government agencies to start a campaign to convince the American public to get at least 50% of their calories from alcohol.
After all, it is your primary fuel source.
Taking it full circle: convince big pharma to sell “drive home kits” and the food companies to sell “hangover helper” meals.
I can picture the new MyPlate, with a glass of whiskey sitting where the milk is now.
“Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. You couldn’t live or work without them.’ Wow!!!!! I am so glad to know this. So I wonder what you would call what I have been doing this past year. (driving a school bus, homeschooling a five-year old, doing copious amounts of research, helping my husband with CAD become healthier through low-carbing, adopting a pit bull someone tied to a tree in the middle of the woods and left, trying to cope with an incredibly difficult 17-year old , etc., etc.) If anyone knows pit bulls,you know they are very energetic and require lots of exercise. So yes, I am in the backyard several times a day playing fetch with Zeus. Oh, the only carbs I eat are green, leafy veggies. So, have I not been living and working? Am I dead?
When I loaded up on that “main source of energy,” I was tired half the time.
Thanks to years of awful dietary advice, my precious aunt, a type II diabetic, is losing her eyesight. She’s now progressed to the stage that she’s bleeding behind her eyes and surgery is necessary to save what sight she has left. It truly angers me when I see such blatant disregard for the truth pushed aside so a self-serving agenda can take it’s place. Shame on Warshaw and her cronies for what they are doing to diabetics everywhere. If they truly wanted to help, they’d be more open about the options and take the positive experiences of low-carbing diabetics seriously.
I don’t know if she’s misguided or just a flack for pharmaceutical companies. Either way, her advice sucks.
Hey Tom….again…thanks for posting!
If you read through all of the bashing on the Diabetes Health website, you will see that this “flaming” produced a counter article…..which basically said “Hey Low carbers…we are happy that this diet works for you, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work for everyone”…..
Really….DUH! But that’s not what you said….it appears that the public is finally catching on, and with the internet, we get the ability to “shoot back” YEAH!
Unfortunately, I was unable to give the article a rating. I tried to give it one star, but it refused to accept my rating….apparently, the game is still rigged!
Keep up the Great Work Tom! Looking forward to seeing you again on next year’s cruise!
Looking forward to seeing on the cruise as well, Nick. We’ll have to try some new songs on karaoke night.
I went to another class today on nutrition and it was good, but most of the information presented wasn’t new (to me!), but they did give a couple of good, low carb recipes.
Anyway, just wanted you to know that I advocated for everyone there–including the instructor–to watch “Fathead” & to check out this blog. Hopefully they’ll get as much out of it as I do!
Thanks for all you do to educate the masses!
I hope they do that. Thanks for the plug.
Gits. At least some people get it. When my sister began showing signs of insulin resistance, my mom immediately moved all grains, sugar, and starch out of the house and told her to eat mostly meat, eggs, and vegetables. My sister took that information and decided to become a carnivore. Fascinatingly enough, the brown marks on her neck, which are signs of serious carbohydrate intolerance, have now basically vanished
TAKE THAT, YOU MORONIC “AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION”
A.k.a., “American money-making association with no interest in general health”.
Btw…if that’s not enough proof for you, “American money-making association with no interest in general health”, she has lost a TON of weight and is now trying out for sports, which she has never done before.
Good for your mom!
@Bex
Thanks for posting that link. I needed to scream at someone about bad nutrition info. I feel kinda bad about taking it out on that guy though…and I feel bad for my poor keyboard.
Yup- follow the money. There isn’t any money in keeping people healthy. And the willing media follows…
The media moguls are hesitant to tick off their advertisers.
Every time I read “carbohydrates are your main source of energy” or “carbohydrates are your primary energy source”, I picture a reporter in the 1880s misinterpreting results of a study that says “primary fuel”.
Primary has lots of meanings. In this case, it means “first”. It does not mean “preferred”.
There’s one catch: Alcohol is the primary fuel source. Your body disposes of the poison by using it for fuel.
I wonder if the major brewers, vintners and distillers would be on board with manipulating the various alphabet action committees and government agencies to start a campaign to convince the American public to get at least 50% of their calories from alcohol.
After all, it is your primary fuel source.
Taking it full circle: convince big pharma to sell “drive home kits” and the food companies to sell “hangover helper” meals.
I can picture the new MyPlate, with a glass of whiskey sitting where the milk is now.
Kate, I’m a Type II diabetic who’s pregnant. If your endo is like mine, they’ll recommend that you go to “diabetes counseling”, which is complete crap. If you can skip it, do. Otherwise, just smile and nod your way through their stupid presentation. This time, I was told by my guy that he was “obligated” to tell me about the counseling and give me their number. I replied that I’d done the counseling. His answer? “I’m obligated to TELL you about it.” (little smile). I responded that I’d be happy to smile and nod at his recommendation. He’s fairly good about not bugging me about my diet.
I’ve ended up taking insulin and eating a few more carbs than I would normally just to balance things out (mostly rice, avoiding gluten). I’m still eating low-ish carb, but not as low carb as I would without the insulin. My numbers were really messed up at the beginning of the pregnancy, but my latest A1c, with insulin, was 5.1. That made the doctors VERY happy, and I don’t think they cared HOW I did it, as long as the number was good.
If you keep your numbers low, you won’t need much insulin, and they’re mostly happy to see those blood sugar numbers and may not ask too many questions. Once a week I e-mail them a spreadsheet I created that lists my numbers. Then they call me if the doc wants to change anything. When I’m asked, I say that I’m avoiding gluten and eating “real food”. They tend not to question that. If they want a food log, do it, but make sure the numbers speak for themselves. I’m not afraid to tell my doctors that I feel better when I eat this way, and it’s working, so what’s the problem?
On a happy, updated note, I’ve made it to 22 weeks without ending up in the hospital or going into labor, so that’s two of my previous records broken! When I get to 24 weeks, I’ll be further than I’ve ever been. This time, I’m not eating carbage like the last two times, which can’t hurt. Hang in there. 🙂
Congratulations and best of luck with the pregnancy.
Gits. At least some people get it. When my sister began showing signs of insulin resistance, my mom immediately moved all grains, sugar, and starch out of the house and told her to eat mostly meat, eggs, and vegetables. My sister took that information and decided to become a carnivore. Fascinatingly enough, the brown marks on her neck, which are signs of serious carbohydrate intolerance, have now basically vanished
TAKE THAT, YOU MORONIC “AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION”
A.k.a., “American money-making association with no interest in general health”.
Btw…if that’s not enough proof for you, “American money-making association with no interest in general health”, she has lost a TON of weight and is now trying out for sports, which she has never done before.
Good for your mom!
@Bex
Thanks for posting that link. I needed to scream at someone about bad nutrition info. I feel kinda bad about taking it out on that guy though…and I feel bad for my poor keyboard.
Kate, I’m a Type II diabetic who’s pregnant. If your endo is like mine, they’ll recommend that you go to “diabetes counseling”, which is complete crap. If you can skip it, do. Otherwise, just smile and nod your way through their stupid presentation. This time, I was told by my guy that he was “obligated” to tell me about the counseling and give me their number. I replied that I’d done the counseling. His answer? “I’m obligated to TELL you about it.” (little smile). I responded that I’d be happy to smile and nod at his recommendation. He’s fairly good about not bugging me about my diet.
I’ve ended up taking insulin and eating a few more carbs than I would normally just to balance things out (mostly rice, avoiding gluten). I’m still eating low-ish carb, but not as low carb as I would without the insulin. My numbers were really messed up at the beginning of the pregnancy, but my latest A1c, with insulin, was 5.1. That made the doctors VERY happy, and I don’t think they cared HOW I did it, as long as the number was good.
If you keep your numbers low, you won’t need much insulin, and they’re mostly happy to see those blood sugar numbers and may not ask too many questions. Once a week I e-mail them a spreadsheet I created that lists my numbers. Then they call me if the doc wants to change anything. When I’m asked, I say that I’m avoiding gluten and eating “real food”. They tend not to question that. If they want a food log, do it, but make sure the numbers speak for themselves. I’m not afraid to tell my doctors that I feel better when I eat this way, and it’s working, so what’s the problem?
On a happy, updated note, I’ve made it to 22 weeks without ending up in the hospital or going into labor, so that’s two of my previous records broken! When I get to 24 weeks, I’ll be further than I’ve ever been. This time, I’m not eating carbage like the last two times, which can’t hurt. Hang in there. 🙂
Congratulations and best of luck with the pregnancy.
Wow! Just…WOW! Why is it that when a person recounts their personal low-carb success story the high-carb pushers just write it off as ‘hard to stick to’ and ‘not for everyone’? How many of us out there tried–with little success–to stick to a low-cal/fat high-carb diet to control weight/health…for years? I know I did just as the USDA told me to do and I still kept gaining weight and having high blood sugars and I was akways craving fat and sweets. I’d say HFLC is infinitely easier to stick with than anything else and anyone that doesn’t believe that has an agenda to push. I sometimes think it’s hard to believe how hard people like Hope and Nadia fight for their way to be the correct one, in spite of the fact that there are obviously thousands of people just like us that have success with this way of eating. But somehow LCHF supporters’ comments get dismissed as dogmatic. What are Hope’s and Nadia’s articles if not dogmatic in favor of their chosen beliefs? I didn’t read any comments from the high-carb camp on Hope’s article sharing how great her recommended diet works for them.
Hmm…wonder why??
There’s nothing logical about Ms. Warshaw’s advice. “Hard to stick to” doesn’t mean a diet isn’t effective. And if anything is hard to stick to, it’s a tasteless lowfat diet.
“Some people just don’t want to change. All you can do is wish them well and let them go.”
So true, and I know you’re correct, but it is hard to follow. My neighbor came to me a few months ago, burst into tears because she had just come from another medical appointment and had weighed in at over 300 lbs. She’s about 5’5″ or so. I told her about the LCHF WOE, suggested she look into it, do some research, get off of the carbs, start food diaries and keeping track of her carb intake in order to determine what her body can and cannot tolerate. She listened politely but I would bet the whole idea has already been dropped. She still thinks fat is bad, hates eggs, is still eating those frozen Lean Cuisine frozen meals, etc. Breaks my heart.
I know, it’s tough. You want to help, but you’re battling years of misinformation.
@Tom
“I’m glad your friend is doing better, but something is wrong when patients have to educate their doctors.”
That’s not the part that saddens me. I let people slide on being wrong, because they have the rest of their lives to become right. However, Dr’s turn into arrogant know-it-all’s when a patient comes armed with facts. It threatens their usefulness, so I can’t really expect different.
Your family Dr. is two things, a repository of medical information and an inference engine. Their info function is now largely obsolete, the internet is way better, and they are mad about it. Just like how the MPAA is mad about downloads.
I have a degree in CS, and in my AI class we had a lesson on “expert systems”. There was a computer built sometime in the 80s that could out diagnose a newly minted Dr. Well seasoned Drs still beat the computer.
What does that say for the profession of family Dr eh?
I’ve met good doctors and bad ones. The good ones are worth their weight in gold. The bad ones mean well but don’t have the knowledge.
Apparently there are a lot more comments than you’re being allowed to see.
http://talk.news-medical.net/profiles/blogs/is-diabetes-health-magazine
I wrote to Ms. Warshaw myself. We’ll see if she responds.
Nadia talks about “options” but if you go to the ADA website and search “low carb,” the first result is a recipe for low fat corn bread made with fake eggs and skim milk! And then the cognitive dissonance continues:
“A key message for people with diabetes is “Carbs Count.” Foods high in carbs (carbohydrates) — bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt, potatoes, corn, peas, sweets — raise your blood glucose levels the most. [Yep!]
For many people, having 3 or 4 servings of a carb choice at each meal and 1 or 2 servings at snacks is about right. [WHAT??] Keep an eye on your total number of servings. For example, if you choose to have dessert, cut back on potatoes.”
HOW can anyone make any sense out of this advice?
That’s an impossible task. We can’t make the illogical logical.
Wow! Just…WOW! Why is it that when a person recounts their personal low-carb success story the high-carb pushers just write it off as ‘hard to stick to’ and ‘not for everyone’? How many of us out there tried–with little success–to stick to a low-cal/fat high-carb diet to control weight/health…for years? I know I did just as the USDA told me to do and I still kept gaining weight and having high blood sugars and I was akways craving fat and sweets. I’d say HFLC is infinitely easier to stick with than anything else and anyone that doesn’t believe that has an agenda to push. I sometimes think it’s hard to believe how hard people like Hope and Nadia fight for their way to be the correct one, in spite of the fact that there are obviously thousands of people just like us that have success with this way of eating. But somehow LCHF supporters’ comments get dismissed as dogmatic. What are Hope’s and Nadia’s articles if not dogmatic in favor of their chosen beliefs? I didn’t read any comments from the high-carb camp on Hope’s article sharing how great her recommended diet works for them.
Hmm…wonder why??
There’s nothing logical about Ms. Warshaw’s advice. “Hard to stick to” doesn’t mean a diet isn’t effective. And if anything is hard to stick to, it’s a tasteless lowfat diet.
“Some people just don’t want to change. All you can do is wish them well and let them go.”
So true, and I know you’re correct, but it is hard to follow. My neighbor came to me a few months ago, burst into tears because she had just come from another medical appointment and had weighed in at over 300 lbs. She’s about 5’5″ or so. I told her about the LCHF WOE, suggested she look into it, do some research, get off of the carbs, start food diaries and keeping track of her carb intake in order to determine what her body can and cannot tolerate. She listened politely but I would bet the whole idea has already been dropped. She still thinks fat is bad, hates eggs, is still eating those frozen Lean Cuisine frozen meals, etc. Breaks my heart.
I know, it’s tough. You want to help, but you’re battling years of misinformation.
@Tom
“I’m glad your friend is doing better, but something is wrong when patients have to educate their doctors.”
That’s not the part that saddens me. I let people slide on being wrong, because they have the rest of their lives to become right. However, Dr’s turn into arrogant know-it-all’s when a patient comes armed with facts. It threatens their usefulness, so I can’t really expect different.
Your family Dr. is two things, a repository of medical information and an inference engine. Their info function is now largely obsolete, the internet is way better, and they are mad about it. Just like how the MPAA is mad about downloads.
I have a degree in CS, and in my AI class we had a lesson on “expert systems”. There was a computer built sometime in the 80s that could out diagnose a newly minted Dr. Well seasoned Drs still beat the computer.
What does that say for the profession of family Dr eh?
I’ve met good doctors and bad ones. The good ones are worth their weight in gold. The bad ones mean well but don’t have the knowledge.