Medicare will have to begin cutting back on it's spending by 2028, and will continue to drastically decrease spending in the years to come, if we as the United States keep
at the rate that we are going. This health care crisis isn't (completely) due to greedy pharmaceutical companies or corrupt doctors. No, what we are losing the most money to is something known as chronic
metabolic disease or insulin resistance. Basically, 250 billion dollars a year is spent on
diabetes.
And as a country, we NEED to put the blame somewhere. Somebody must be responsible for this massive amount of money being spent. Where do we put the blame? On you,
the individual. We say if only people could eat less and exercise more,
everything would be fine. It’s YOUR fault. Well let me tell you, I have people of
all ages, mid twenties into their sixties and even one seventy year old, coming into
my practice to lose weight. Many of these people are eating less than 1,000
calories a day and some are exercising as much as 2 hours 5-6 days a week. And
they aren’t losing any weight.
How is that their fault? They are doing
everything they are supposed to do and more, in order to bring their blood
sugar down and lose weight, and it's still not happening. So whose fault is it?
It’s our fault. It
is the fault of the healthcare industry and the practitioners and the American Diabetic
Association’s fault. Because we are giving terrible advice when it comes to
blood sugar control and diabetes!
For most people, when they think about the best way to control diabetes, complex carbohydrates automatically comes to mind. This is because for a long time now, general recommendations from the American Diabetic Association tell patients
with type II diabetes to consume 40-65 grams of carbohydrates per meal plus
more at snacks. That is a lot of carbs!
Let's look at what carbs do to our blood sugar.
The right side of the graph indicates the effect either carbohydrates, proteins, or fats have on blood sugar (or blood glucose) levels. The bottom of the graph indicates how much time has passed. Can you see which one spikes our blood sugar and then plummets back down, sending our blood sugar levels on a whirlwind roller coaster ride? Carbohydrates!
In the 1950's, we began learning to fear fats. It was a fear that has only grown with time. In a blog last year, I wrote about where this fear came from. Could Cholesterol Actually Be Healthy? When we stopped eating fats, we started adding in carbs, and lots of them. Our current low-fat dietary guidelines are leading to a diabetes epidemic.
And guess what? We don't even need carbohydrates to be healthy! There are essential fats and essential amino acids, but no essential carbohydrates. We are able to make our own glucose in the body through a process called gluconeogenesis.
So what do we need to do?
Cut the carbs! A meta-analysis of 53 different randomized controlled trials on the result of low-fat vs low-carb diets was completed. Here's what they found. "In weight loss trials, low-carbohydrate interventions led to significantly greater weight loss than did low-fat interventions. Low-fat interventions did not lead to differences in weight change compared with other higher-fat weight loss interventions, and led to a greater weight decrease only when compared with a usual diet. "(1) Basically, when people were placed on low-carb diets, they lost weight. When people were placed on low-fat diets, they only lost weight if they also reduced calories. This weight loss also ties in closely with blood sugar levels.
A study done by Sarah Hallberg and her office shows just how much of an impact low-carb diets can have on helping blood sugar control. The study consisted of 50
type 2 diabetic patients who were treated with the low-carb program
(< 55 grams per day) and then
compared to 50 type 2 diabetic patients treated with ADA guidelines. After 6 months, the
low carb group was able to decrease their insulin treatment by 493 units, whereas the
group on the ADA guidelines INCREASED their insulin treatment by 349 units. The first group was able to lessen their diabetic medication while the second group had to increase their diabetic medication.
Which
group do you want to belong in?
In conclusion, to control blood sugar, consume less than 55 grams of carbohydrates a day. Keep fats in the diet and avoid products that use the phrases reduced or low fat. Avoid processed and boxed foods. Nearly all of them contain added sugar!
1) The Lancet Journal of Diabetes and Endocrinology. Effect of low-fat diet intervention versus other diet interventions on long-term weight change in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Tobias D, Chen M, Manson J, Ludwig D, Willet W, Hu F. On-line. Oct 29, 2015.
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yours in health,
dr damantha boldt
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