Order ‘Diabetes Unpacked’ To Learn … And To Stick It To The Anointed

      54 Comments on Order ‘Diabetes Unpacked’ To Learn … And To Stick It To The Anointed


The HPCSA (left) has informed Professor Tim Noakes (right) that the battle to shut him up will continue.

My daughter Sara recently asked to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail with me. She didn’t love it like I did when I first saw it, but she did laugh at the Black Knight scene. I thought of that scene while reading Marika Sboros’ latest article describing how the Health Professions Council of South Africa is continuing to go after Professor Tim Noakes.

As you may recall, the HPCSA filed charges of unprofessional conduct against Noakes because of a tweet – yes, a tweet – that annoyed an obese dietitian named Claire Julsing-Strydom. After a long, expensive, exhausting legal battle, the committee hearing the charges found Noakes not guilty by a vote of 4-1.

During the trial, the HPCSA had both arms cut off in a battle over the science. (Nina Teichholz and Zoe Harcombe were among those swinging swords for Noakes.) But as I mentioned in a recent post, The Anointed never, ever admit they’re wrong or give up trying to impose their Grand Plans on the rest of us. So now the HPCSA is standing there with blood squirting from both shoulder sockets and shouting, “Right! I’ll do you for that!”

They can’t possibly believe they’re continuing this battle to protect the public. They’re just furious that they lost to a guy who recommends a real-food, high-fat, grain-free diet not approved by them … or more accurately, not approved by Big Food, which funds them. And so, taking a page from Big Pharma, they’re going to keep conducting trials until they get the result they want. And what they want is for Professor Noakes to shut up and stop telling people their dietary advice is wrong.

When governments or agencies like the HPCSA prosecute you, they spend other people’s money on legal fees. Meanwhile, you have to spend your own money to defend yourself … or in this case, by relying on attorneys who are outraged enough to work pro bono.

I assume this ongoing witch-hunt makes you angry. So let me suggest a way to show your support for Professor Noakes while simultaneously benefitting yourself or someone you know: order a copy of a Diabetes Unpacked, which was produced by The Noakes Foundation. All proceeds go to the foundation, which will help Professor Noakes continue his important work.

I received a copy some months ago but only recently got around to finishing it. (I always seem to be behind on my reading, a hazard of juggling work, family, farm and multiple creative projects.) It’s an excellent read, and probably the most comprehensive book on diabetes out there, at least among those written for the general public.

The book consists of 14 chapters written by a variety of authors, many of whom you probably follow online. Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, for example, wrote the chapter titled What is diabetes? It’s informative, but also filled with his usual wit.

Before starting, I feel I must begin with one of my favourite quotes on the possible causes for diabetes. It comes, once again, from the NHS.

‘Your risk of developing type 2 diabetes is also increased if your blood glucose level is higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.’

Really! How amazing. If you have a high blood sugar level, you are more likely to end up with an even higher blood sugar level … we are surrounded by flipping geniuses.

Here are some other chapters, their authors and some quotes:

What causes type 2 diabetes? – Dr. Jason Fung

How does hyperinsulinemia lead to insulin resistance? Remember that insulin unlocks the gate that allows glucose to enter the cell. Under conditions of persistently and abnormally high insulin, glucose enters the cell far in excess of energy needs. There’s simply too much glucose going into the cell, so it overflows back out into the blood.

From the outside, it appears that the glucose cannot enter the cell and that insulin is not doing its job, so this is called ‘insulin resistance.’ The cell appears resistant to the effect of insulin. It is an overflow phenomenon, not a gummed-up lock and key one.

How did a LFHC dietitian become LCHF – Dr. Caryn Zinn

Suddenly, what I had always been taught and practiced didn’t seem logical to me. I had never actually thought about these issues, but naturally believed there must be a good reason for carbohydrates being as important as they’re made out to be in mainstream guidance systems and clinical practice … I figured the only thing to do was to go away and dig up the evidence that justified these concepts.

(You can probably guess what happened when she went looking for the actual scientific evidence supporting high-carb/low-fat diets as the key to health.)

Why do we eat so much carbohydrate? – Dr. Zoe Harcombe

In ideal research circumstances, epidemiological evidence would have established clear and consistent associations and then well designed randomized controlled trials (RTCs) would have followed and set out to test associations found. This did not happen with the development of the diet-heart hypothesis.

Why do people with diabetes die from heart disease? – Dr. Jeffrey Gerber and Ivor Cummins

There are many contributors to heart disease progression, but the insulin resistance syndrome best describes the state that accelerates vascular degeneration. It is essentially a state of metabolic mayhem. Many organs and biological pathways are involved, as the body struggles to maintain homeostasis. All the while, a system-wide fire is burning through one’s vascular network. What develops downstream is inflammation, oxidative stress and advanced glycation, which is ultimately damaging to multiple organ systems – especially the blood vessels.

Why are low carbohydrate high fat diets best for all persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and for almost all athletes? – Dr. Tim Noakes

For 33 years I personally ate and promoted a high carbohydrate diet for both health and athletic performance. So in the 4th edition of my book The Lore of Running, I wrote that “all athletes must be advised to eat high-carbohydrate diets both in training and especially before competition. This interpretation forms the central pillar of the profession of sports nutrition as high-carbohydrate diets are now considered ideal for both health and sport.”

I no longer believe that this statement is correct. In fact, I now think this advice is totally wrong and probably harmful to a majority of those who might choose to follow it.

And that’s why the HPSCA wants to silence Professor Noakes.

The politics of nutrition – Nina Teicholz

Given the global failure to make any meaningful progress to date in combating this type of diabetes, one has to ask why this new and promising approach has not been more enthusiastically embraced by health officials. In fact, we see quite the opposite, with authorities in quite a few countries attempting to shut down those practicing or promoting a low-carbohydrate approach.

These events cannot be described as routine disciplinary actions. They appear instead to be oppressive attempts to silence the science and practice of low-carbohydrate diets, motivated by a mixture of industry forces, institutional rigidities, longstanding biases and deeply entrenched interests – all of which are threatened by the success of a treatment that is the very opposite of what officials have espoused for decades.

“I have no quarrel with you, good sir knight. I merely want to pass along some dietary advice that actually works.”

“Then you shall die.”

[Draws his sword] “So be it!”

By the time you finish this book, you’ll understand what causes type 2 diabetes, how to prevent it, and what to do if you’ve already developed the condition. You won’t be surprised if I tell you the advice wouldn’t meet with the approval of the HPSCA or any number of obese dietitians who want Tim Noakes to shut up and go away.

But Noakes won’t shut up or go away, because he has a steel spine and refuses to be intimidated by bullies. And he’ll continue to win because, as Diabetes Unpacked demonstrates, the actual science is his Excalibur.

But for now, I suspect we’ll continue to see the HPSCA hopping around on one leg and screaming, “The Black Knight always triumphs! I’m invincible!”

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54 thoughts on “Order ‘Diabetes Unpacked’ To Learn … And To Stick It To The Anointed”

  1. Wayne Gage

    Your report clearly supports evidence that the private sector can self correct while government entities cannot. Hopefully government will eventually come around before any blood letting.

    1. Tom Naughton

      Living off the taxpayers allows governments to screw up big-time without going bust.

    2. Dana

      Right, because all private doctors tell their diabetic patients to eat low carb, all insurance companies set prescribing keto as the standard of care for diabetes, and only the government sells junk food.

  2. Wayne Gage

    Your report clearly supports evidence that the private sector can self correct while government entities cannot. Hopefully government will eventually come around before any blood letting.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Living off the taxpayers allows governments to screw up big-time without going bust.

    2. Dana

      Right, because all private doctors tell their diabetic patients to eat low carb, all insurance companies set prescribing keto as the standard of care for diabetes, and only the government sells junk food.

  3. Kathy in OK

    “Why do people with diabetes from heart disease? – Dr. Jeffrey Gerber and Ivor Cummins”

    Does the word die belong in there somewhere?

    How’s the back? And the research on pain meds?

    1. Tom Naughton

      Thanks for the catch.

      The back is better. Only a couple of positions are uncomfortable now.

      I have pre-surgery appointment coming up, and I’ll ask about pain meds then. Whatever they had me on after knee surgery didn’t produce any nasty side effects, so I’ll see if that’s an option.

  6. Kathy in OK

    “Why do people with diabetes from heart disease? – Dr. Jeffrey Gerber and Ivor Cummins”

    Does the word die belong in there somewhere?

    How’s the back? And the research on pain meds?

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Thanks for the catch.

      The back is better. Only a couple of positions are uncomfortable now.

      I have pre-surgery appointment coming up, and I’ll ask about pain meds then. Whatever they had me on after knee surgery didn’t produce any nasty side effects, so I’ll see if that’s an option.

      1. Emily

        Personally I was fine with muscle relaxants (flexoril in my case.) The only side effect was tiredness, and I didn’t get addicted after years of taking them. But that’s me; I’ve seen people who had bad experiences with them. Steroids for just a week or so are usually okay too, from what I’ve found, but the side effect there is being easily enraged for that week, which of course can be pretty bad for everyone around you. Do you have medical marijuana in your state? It seems to be the least-bad option.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          I’d hate to be enraged with a bad shoulder. Or maybe that would be better because I’d have to just sit there and be enraged. I don’t believe we have medical marijuana yet in Tennessee.

      2. chris c

        Good plan! When you find something that actually works without side effects, best to stick with it.

  7. The Older Brother

    Damn. Another book review, another book in my library.

    Does The Noakes Foundation make more off of the Kindle or paperback version? I’ll click whichever version sticks it to the HPCSA harder.

    Cheers

    1. Tom Naughton

      My guess is that it’s about the same. Chareva did some research on the subject for Fat Head Kids. No printing or shipping costs for Kindle books, obviously.

    2. Taeauna

      To get the most back to The Noakes Foundation, http://diabetesunpacked.com/ looks to be the best choice. Buy the book direct from the source. As they say “Buying direct supports The Noakes Foundation, instead of Amazon”

  10. The Older Brother

    Damn. Another book review, another book in my library.

    Does The Noakes Foundation make more off of the Kindle or paperback version? I’ll click whichever version sticks it to the HPCSA harder.

    Cheers

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      My guess is that it’s about the same. Chareva did some research on the subject for Fat Head Kids. No printing or shipping costs for Kindle books, obviously.

      1. The Older Brother

        Taeauna,

        Thanks, but the price plus shipping costs (converted from pounds) comes out over $33 US! $9 with (Prime) free delivery from Amazon. Gonna have to give this round to Bezos.

        Cheers!

  12. Dianne

    The longer they argue against the mounting evidence, the sillier they look and the more they make people like Tim Noakes and Gary Fettke look like heroes. But you know, there may be a good side to this idiocy — maybe as these stories hit the mainstream media, more people will be curious enough to check into LCHF just to see what the fuss was about, and will discover how much this different way of eating can do for them.

  14. Dianne

    The longer they argue against the mounting evidence, the sillier they look and the more they make people like Tim Noakes and Gary Fettke look like heroes. But you know, there may be a good side to this idiocy — maybe as these stories hit the mainstream media, more people will be curious enough to check into LCHF just to see what the fuss was about, and will discover how much this different way of eating can do for them.

      1. chris c

        The Streisand Effect. Actually if you look there’s been not very much at all about Noakes, Fettke, Dahlqvist etc. in the mainstream media. Can anyone say “press embargo”?

        The most interesting fact about this book – while there have been competent books about Type 1 written by doctors I can’t recall ANY about Type 2, all the previous good books on the subject were written by diabetics themselves – Gretchen Becker, Jenny (Janet) Ruhl, Alan Shanley etc.

        Meanwhile, here are 64 billion reasons for the Black Knight to fight back

        http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/type_2_diabetes_market_set_to_soar,_says_globaldata_1202514

          1. Dianne

            You can learn a LOT about T2D from Dr. Jason Fung’s Intensive Dietary Management website. https://idmprogram.com/. Click on “Blog” then look for Type 2 Diabetes under “Tags” at the lower right. Lots of good advice about weight loss and other topics, including some interesting articles about Cancer as an endocrine disease. I keep expecting somebody to go after him, and hope it doesn’t happen.

          1. Tom Naughton Post author

            Yup, Bernard Goldberg (a former CBS reporter) wrote about that in his book “Bias.” I was a journalism major in college, and even in the 1980s the field attracted mostly people with a similar worldview. I referred to them as “I want to save the world!” types. Much more interested in being activists than neutral observers who report.

  15. Orvan Taurus

    Done been did.
    And finally ordered a copy of Undoctored, whilst I was at it.
    Yeah, yeah, I know, I know… but, well, you see… ox slow.

  16. Orvan Taurus

    Done been did.
    And finally ordered a copy of Undoctored, whilst I was at it.
    Yeah, yeah, I know, I know… but, well, you see… ox slow.

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