Hi - I am struggling at the moment - my son was diagnosed two weeks ago, with t1 and was in hospital 8 days, very ill. When we got home, a "well meaning" friend sent an email telling me I had to read a book by some guy called Dr Cousens, saying you could cure diabetes with a 21 day raw vegan diet. I told this woman that it was not helpful to me at this time to be told there was a) a cure and b) that if I'd fed my son raw vegan food or "kept his spiritual aura clean" that he would not have diabetes. I feel torn up and heartbroken as it is. I have not taken on board the advice, but it has got u dder my radar as she sent a follow up letter saying that she thought I would care enough to be open minded enough to try his approach. I am not prepared to either play with my son's health or subject him to any more invasive behaviours than he is already having to endure, but darn it, she has left me feeling an even worse mother. So, basically, I was wondering if anyone here had heard more about this guys theory and work and if anyone has anything to share about it, or advice on what I can say to this person to stop the thread she is on. Or am I indeed being a bad mother for not trying the diet?
Dr Cousens work
- Thread starter Blissfool
- Start Date
Hi
Having never heard of Dr Couzens I cannot comment. However I do know there is no cure for type 1 diabetes, and even if your son had eaten raw vegan food all his early years he would still have type 1 diabetes today.
When my son was diagnosed I lost count of the uneducated quotes and advice I endured.
Love to you and your son xx
Having never heard of Dr Couzens I cannot comment. However I do know there is no cure for type 1 diabetes, and even if your son had eaten raw vegan food all his early years he would still have type 1 diabetes today.
When my son was diagnosed I lost count of the uneducated quotes and advice I endured.
Love to you and your son xx
Hi Bliss and big ((((hugs)))) for you.
Whilst your friend may have meant well, I can understand why you are feeling upset.
There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes although there is lots of research going on and you are NOT a bad mother, just a bewildered one. Most parents here will tell you that they feel very guilty when their children are diagnosed and wonder if they could have done something differently. They couldn't have done anything, it is an autoimmune disease. A raw vegan diet is not going to reverse this condition.
It is early days for you and there is a lot to take in, I hope some parents will be aong to allay your fears. The best advice you will get on how to manage this disease is by parents in your situation and HCP's.
If you google "the quackometer" and put Dr. Cousens in there you will see that he scores the highest possible number as a quack.
If there is anything you are not sure of or if you just need some encouragment then please do not hesitate to post here, someone will pick up on it.
Take care, Catherine.
Whilst your friend may have meant well, I can understand why you are feeling upset.
There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes although there is lots of research going on and you are NOT a bad mother, just a bewildered one. Most parents here will tell you that they feel very guilty when their children are diagnosed and wonder if they could have done something differently. They couldn't have done anything, it is an autoimmune disease. A raw vegan diet is not going to reverse this condition.
It is early days for you and there is a lot to take in, I hope some parents will be aong to allay your fears. The best advice you will get on how to manage this disease is by parents in your situation and HCP's.
If you google "the quackometer" and put Dr. Cousens in there you will see that he scores the highest possible number as a quack.
If there is anything you are not sure of or if you just need some encouragment then please do not hesitate to post here, someone will pick up on it.
Take care, Catherine.
Hey Bliss. I'm an alternative healer and I think your well meaning 'friend' needs a quick kick in the pants. One of the first things you learn is not to place blame. It's unfair, unreasonable and often untrue. I prefer the adage, sh*t happens :twisted: Tell her that you prefer to find your own path and will look at everything before making a decision. If that doesn't work, just tell her to 'back off', she's not helping. Good luck for the future and remember to make some time for yourself in all the madness.
All that the others have said ! 'Dr / Sir' Cousens is a quack ! Just a guy out to make a shedload of money from gullible people. Avoid ANY so called 'cures'.
For your childs sake listen to your HCP's and the Mom's on here who will have your childs best interests to heart. There is no quick fix.
Ken
For your childs sake listen to your HCP's and the Mom's on here who will have your childs best interests to heart. There is no quick fix.
Ken
That is insane, I certainly hope you have no intention of taking on board the recommendation of your well meaning friend. I would politely tell her that you have made the decision to follow the advice of your son's diabetic team and it would be helpful if she would no longer offer contradictory advice.
Sounds like a quack !
I went to a raw food seminar a few years ago - the 2 presenting it were barking mad and encouraging people not to have al kinds of screeing tests , stop medication.
It is not your fault honestly and kens advice is quite right.
It is tough for parents as we get the blame for everything - put the book in the bin where it belongs!
When you next see the diabetic team ask them about groups for parents and kids - that is often very useful.
I went to a raw food seminar a few years ago - the 2 presenting it were barking mad and encouraging people not to have al kinds of screeing tests , stop medication.
It is not your fault honestly and kens advice is quite right.
It is tough for parents as we get the blame for everything - put the book in the bin where it belongs!
When you next see the diabetic team ask them about groups for parents and kids - that is often very useful.
In fact, having seen the difficulty my vegan sister-in-law had bringing up my nieces healthy, [not always successfully. Both have had serious health issues at times] I would say you were more likely to injure a child on a raw vegan diet, than to help. I'm sure it's possible, but very difficult to keep children healthy on such a diet.
All you can do is your best for your child as any caring parent would want to. T1 makes it a LOT more difficult.
Hana
All you can do is your best for your child as any caring parent would want to. T1 makes it a LOT more difficult.
Hana
Thanks everyone. To reassure, I have no intention of subjecting my son to anything that could endanger or cause any unnecessary or avoidable distress, whether that be in the mainstream care or otherwise. His welfare and happiness are my only concern and I am a fierce wolf momma! But my roots have been shaken by all this and I feel scared. And helpless. But not willing to experiment on my baby. I'm still confused by the diet stuff but not intending radical action.
Dr Cousens is indeed out to make shed loads of money, and his spiritual take on things is pure mumbo jumbo. HOWEVER, his treatment of diabetes really does work. It's based on simple diet and exercise with food supplements. A raw food diet really is healthy, because the human body is highly adapted to it. Moreover, toxins and steroids in meat are not helpful.
My advice to you would be to research this more thoroughly and 'keep it under your hat'. When your son is older and more mature, he may appreciate a move towards the Cousens regime because it will liberate him from diabetic complications and possibly even insulin injections.
It's your call. May God give you wisdom.
My advice to you would be to research this more thoroughly and 'keep it under your hat'. When your son is older and more mature, he may appreciate a move towards the Cousens regime because it will liberate him from diabetic complications and possibly even insulin injections.
It's your call. May God give you wisdom.
Hi
Samphire you are suggesting that Type 1 can be controlled with no insulin. Your very wrong and on that quote of not needing insulin you should be ignored.
Emma
Samphire you are suggesting that Type 1 can be controlled with no insulin. Your very wrong and on that quote of not needing insulin you should be ignored.
Emma
samphire.
As Emma states, 'you should be ignored.' To suggest to a Mother that her son may be able to get off Insulin by following this 'quack's' advice is irresponsible and could be dangerous.......
As you are a Type 2, it may be that you are not aware that a Type 1 has no option but to use Insulin for the rest of their life. There is no cure at present and until there is the advice from 'Dr' Cousen's should be disregarded, especially in one so young.
Please do more research in future before posting such bad advice here.
cugila
Forum Monitor
As Emma states, 'you should be ignored.' To suggest to a Mother that her son may be able to get off Insulin by following this 'quack's' advice is irresponsible and could be dangerous.......
As you are a Type 2, it may be that you are not aware that a Type 1 has no option but to use Insulin for the rest of their life. There is no cure at present and until there is the advice from 'Dr' Cousen's should be disregarded, especially in one so young.
Please do more research in future before posting such bad advice here.
cugila
Forum Monitor
What a lot of utter rot.
This Dr. "Sir" Gabriel Cousens M.D. should be taken out back and beaten with a stick.
This Dr. "Sir" Gabriel Cousens M.D. should be taken out back and beaten with a stick.
Hello...my first post. Couldn't keep quiet although is past midnight.
I have to admit that Dr. Cousens looks weird with his hat and don't swallow many of his theories...but....there are good elements of what he says that are working in our case. My son (5 yo) was diagnosed with T1 5 months ago, was found to be over the scale in the glucose meter at the hospital (34+) and his HbA1c were higher than 9%.
Ok, diabetes cannot be cured but can be managed much better than feeding rice krispies and cereal bars to our little loved ones.
Now, after changing our whole family's diet to something closer to a vegetarian diet we managed to get a 5.5% HbA1c (same as a non-diabetic person) in his last appointment, and he is more energetic than ever (who knows for how long my little boy was fading with this disease), practising judo and competing with his older brother. His normal insulin intake now is of 2 units of lantus per day and during the summer holidays, with a very close monitoring from us, he didn't use any insulin for 10 days in a row. (I am not recommending anybody to try this...first talk to your doctor...just explaining our case, please don't burn me).
What are we doing? First of all, bye bye to all refined and processed food. We don't need them at all. Human beings went through thousands of years without refined cane sugar, McDonalds and all that rubbish. Where possible, we have reeducated our children to eat raw vegetables...a good and varied salad. Not everything is raw, but not made of "empty" carbohydrates, having cooked pulses of many kinds as a staple in our diet. No red meat or chicken, but we have eggs and blue fish. We have plenty of raw nuts and seeds of many kinds, and my wife prepares delicious cakes replacing wheat flour with almond flour and we use Xylitol and (Banned UK product reference removed) as sweeteners. We also prepare "green smoothies" to our kids, mixing greens with fruit. We tend to use fruits with low GI, like berries, etc.
We are not alone in our approach...We took some inspiration from the Boutenko family (Blog link removed) and many othe parents that do not want to leave medicine all the load of keeping diabetes controlled (Blog link removed) (Blog link removed).
The most fantastic thing is that we have no hypos and no highs, we go out with some healthy snacks and that's it...don't live in fear. It is hard work, all the cooking and the researching, but it is worth it. And not only has benefited him but the whole family (we have lost weight!).
I wish you the best and I hope that sharing my experience can give you a different perspective.
I have to admit that Dr. Cousens looks weird with his hat and don't swallow many of his theories...but....there are good elements of what he says that are working in our case. My son (5 yo) was diagnosed with T1 5 months ago, was found to be over the scale in the glucose meter at the hospital (34+) and his HbA1c were higher than 9%.
Ok, diabetes cannot be cured but can be managed much better than feeding rice krispies and cereal bars to our little loved ones.
Now, after changing our whole family's diet to something closer to a vegetarian diet we managed to get a 5.5% HbA1c (same as a non-diabetic person) in his last appointment, and he is more energetic than ever (who knows for how long my little boy was fading with this disease), practising judo and competing with his older brother. His normal insulin intake now is of 2 units of lantus per day and during the summer holidays, with a very close monitoring from us, he didn't use any insulin for 10 days in a row. (I am not recommending anybody to try this...first talk to your doctor...just explaining our case, please don't burn me).
What are we doing? First of all, bye bye to all refined and processed food. We don't need them at all. Human beings went through thousands of years without refined cane sugar, McDonalds and all that rubbish. Where possible, we have reeducated our children to eat raw vegetables...a good and varied salad. Not everything is raw, but not made of "empty" carbohydrates, having cooked pulses of many kinds as a staple in our diet. No red meat or chicken, but we have eggs and blue fish. We have plenty of raw nuts and seeds of many kinds, and my wife prepares delicious cakes replacing wheat flour with almond flour and we use Xylitol and (Banned UK product reference removed) as sweeteners. We also prepare "green smoothies" to our kids, mixing greens with fruit. We tend to use fruits with low GI, like berries, etc.
We are not alone in our approach...We took some inspiration from the Boutenko family (Blog link removed) and many othe parents that do not want to leave medicine all the load of keeping diabetes controlled (Blog link removed) (Blog link removed).
The most fantastic thing is that we have no hypos and no highs, we go out with some healthy snacks and that's it...don't live in fear. It is hard work, all the cooking and the researching, but it is worth it. And not only has benefited him but the whole family (we have lost weight!).
I wish you the best and I hope that sharing my experience can give you a different perspective.
Thanks for sharing. Ironically, up until a few weeks before this diagnosis my son rarely ate any processed, wheat based or sugar added food. His diet had been largely gluten free (my diet), minimal dairy, mostly vegetarian with some fish, high in fresh fruit and homegrown veg, 100% organic and supplemented by long term breastfeeding. The first time he had a sweet was post diagnosis in a hypo when out, and not prepared and he didn't know how to eat it! Just prior to diagnosis, well meaning relatives kept feeding him ice-cream and biscuits and such because they were "worried about how thin he was". And in hospital he got hooked on rice crispies, sliced bread and spaghetti hoops!
Trying. Now to get back to to normal but even with it, we have the low low readings and the inexplicable highs without any food involved!
I don't object to the diet just the pseudo religion and the cultishness of it all.
Good luck!
Trying. Now to get back to to normal but even with it, we have the low low readings and the inexplicable highs without any food involved!
I don't object to the diet just the pseudo religion and the cultishness of it all.
Good luck!
Hi
Blissfool
Read Dr Gabriel Cousens book "There is a Cure for Diabetes, The Tree of Life 21-Day+Program"
as they say "Don't judge a book by its cover" then make an informed educated choice.
All the best with your Son.
Regards
Jay
Blissfool
Read Dr Gabriel Cousens book "There is a Cure for Diabetes, The Tree of Life 21-Day+Program"
as they say "Don't judge a book by its cover" then make an informed educated choice.
All the best with your Son.
Regards
Jay
Hey,
His work is amazing. I suggest reading 80/10/10 by Dr Doug Graham. For more info on raw veganism i strongly suggest the website 30bananasaday.com
being high carb, low fat raw vegan is the best diet/lifestyle you can be on, as a diabetic or not.
I was raw vegan for 6 month, but high fat and low sugar, i averaged my injections to less than once a day (knowing now that i should really have injected Background once a day) BUT high fat is not the best for your health. Low fat high carb makes for amazing health results, but requires more BG testing as i found i needed less than half of my normal dose for the same grams of carbs.
remember that Drs and nurses are educated by the government which is funded by the meat and dairy industry and so it is compulsery for them to teach a 'blanced diet' of dead animal and milk designed for baby cows. This diet seems extreme to most people, but if you do indepentant, NON BIASED research, i think you will be more shocked about the **** you are actually being taught as 'normal'.
Hope this helps
His work is amazing. I suggest reading 80/10/10 by Dr Doug Graham. For more info on raw veganism i strongly suggest the website 30bananasaday.com
being high carb, low fat raw vegan is the best diet/lifestyle you can be on, as a diabetic or not.
I was raw vegan for 6 month, but high fat and low sugar, i averaged my injections to less than once a day (knowing now that i should really have injected Background once a day) BUT high fat is not the best for your health. Low fat high carb makes for amazing health results, but requires more BG testing as i found i needed less than half of my normal dose for the same grams of carbs.
remember that Drs and nurses are educated by the government which is funded by the meat and dairy industry and so it is compulsery for them to teach a 'blanced diet' of dead animal and milk designed for baby cows. This diet seems extreme to most people, but if you do indepentant, NON BIASED research, i think you will be more shocked about the **** you are actually being taught as 'normal'.
Hope this helps
phoenix
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I wonder why we have had 3 posts about this diet in a few days?
Do you have diabetes Vegan girl?
I'm not sure that Durian rider who you link to has much expertise in diabetes of any sort. I would have thought it would make more sense to refer to Dr N Barnard if discussing vegan diets and diabetes.
As was discussed earlier in the thread (which is now very old)
Cousens, the author of this diet makes potentially dangerous claims of it's efficacy for people with T1 diabetes.
Here's a review of his film
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ind ... ood-diets/
NB with the caveat that I don''t agree with the 'very very rare statement' in the review. I can't think of any case when a T1 would need no insulin (except just possibly in the honeymoon but even then the link below suggests it would be counter productive)
Neither T1 (nor T2) goes away.
http://www.joslin.org/info/will_diabetes_go_away.html
Do you have diabetes Vegan girl?
I'm not sure that Durian rider who you link to has much expertise in diabetes of any sort. I would have thought it would make more sense to refer to Dr N Barnard if discussing vegan diets and diabetes.
As was discussed earlier in the thread (which is now very old)
Cousens, the author of this diet makes potentially dangerous claims of it's efficacy for people with T1 diabetes.
Here's a review of his film
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ind ... ood-diets/
NB with the caveat that I don''t agree with the 'very very rare statement' in the review. I can't think of any case when a T1 would need no insulin (except just possibly in the honeymoon but even then the link below suggests it would be counter productive)
Neither T1 (nor T2) goes away.
http://www.joslin.org/info/will_diabetes_go_away.html
Indy51
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- 5,540
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
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Hmnn, we're expected to take "non-biased research" from that tool Durian Rider, well known plagiarist who makes an idiot of himself all over Youtube? I don't think so.
http://30bananasadaysucks.com/2012/10/h ... se-minger/
In some of those ranting videos of his where he's wearing a baseball cap, he looks like Charlie Sheen on a bad day.
http://30bananasadaysucks.com/2012/10/h ... se-minger/
In some of those ranting videos of his where he's wearing a baseball cap, he looks like Charlie Sheen on a bad day.
My husband is a lifelong T1[ grew up in the deep countryside in post war era, so had GOOD food]. As far as anyone can figure out, T1 is a statistical accident. It isn't even strongly genetic. Nothing you did could have prevented it.
Mow you have the difficult task of tearing your child to a healthy life sometimes against the advice of Healthcare professionals and through the hormone changes of puberty. the closer you keep blood sugar to normal, the better. I would recommend the book DR. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. Dr. Bernstein is Well respected and certainly not any kind of quack. you'll learn as much as is known from him. and on an upbeat note, he's a T1 since childhood and still in good health looking afterr patients in his 70s.
Hana
Mow you have the difficult task of tearing your child to a healthy life sometimes against the advice of Healthcare professionals and through the hormone changes of puberty. the closer you keep blood sugar to normal, the better. I would recommend the book DR. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. Dr. Bernstein is Well respected and certainly not any kind of quack. you'll learn as much as is known from him. and on an upbeat note, he's a T1 since childhood and still in good health looking afterr patients in his 70s.
Hana
