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What do you think about Michael Greger says about Diabetes?

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JenniferG

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I started to read his chapter on "How to not Die of Diabetes" in his "How to Not Die" book and I had to stop because I immediately got confused. He has an entirely different model I haven't heard from anywhere else, on what causes diabetes etc. E.g. he said animal fat causes it.

What do you all think of his book? I like his advice on berries, that's the only fruit I eat. I am currently on a low carb, high fat diet and have lost 3 stone in the past three months and lightest I've been in years. I am currently 27 stone. Also got my blood sugars under control in that 2 months, went from A1C of 11 to projected A1C of 5.6. Dropped all insulin, was injecting 120 units a day.

McGreger says being obese is like constantly eating bacon and eggs & sausages 24/7. I'm 27 stone, so I guess I really am not his target audience for the book.

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I have not heard of him. I don't think anyone knows 100% what causes diabetes so I would not take his claims to heart. Now diagnosed, we can only look to the future and strive for good control. Looks like you have cracked it so well done on your weight loss and great results!
 
Dr Greger is behind the website nutritionfacts.org
His approach to diabetes type 2 is similar to the approach of other medical doctors like Dr Barnard or Dr McDougall.. It is a plant based very low fat approach.

High carb low fat is indeed a different way to treat your diabetes and I wish more people would talk about it.. because it works.. and because when I was diagnosed, I was a vegan and I was desperate till I found out about it..

Let me know if you want more information on my experience doing high carb low fat for diabetes control..
 
Hi Tatterzombie, it would be great if you could create a topic discussing this. I, for one, would loveto know more about what you have done and how your numbers have progressed.
 
@JenniferG well done on your achievements! You seem to have found a winning formula, and I wouldn't mess with it unless it stops working for you!

@tatterzombie - thanks for the explanation. We have had a few threads on the Barnard/McDougall way of eating before. They usually end badly, on account of many people round here having found that their bodies won't tolerate that amount of carbs, and do better on higher fat. But then, lots of us are also enthusiastic omnivores who lean to the carnivorous side, which creates an instant conflict of ideologies.

As for Gregor, I have to say that anyone who thinks that being obese is due to eating bacon, eggs and sausages all day is extremely ill informed. That level of ignorance from Gregor would make me suspect anything else he says...
 
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Bacon, eggs, sausages, - certainly on the list on items that made me obese!
 
Funnily enough, they were also on my list of items before diagnosis when I became obese, but so were vast amounts of carbs. Dropping the carbs but keeping the bacon, sausage and eggs reduced me from obese to normal and lowered my BS levels to normal.
 

I tend to agree with Banting, George F. Cahill, Jr., Gary Taubes and Dr. Jason Fung, etc.. that carbs cause insulin resistance which causes obesity & diabetes (not to mention Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease). A quote from George F. Cahill, Jr, former professor of medicine and Harvard Medical School : "Carbohydrate is driving insulin is driving fat". I believe it is predominantly refined carbs that causes obesity. And that's why obesity is so prevalent in poorer areas of the world and country. Because carb products are cheap to make and store and sell. They are addictive and cheap. My BF and I just went shopping at the grocery store and every single aisle was carbs, carbs, carbs... except for the canned pickled stuff and maybe some canned veggies. Only on the outer edges of the store are the whole foods like fresh veggies, meats and dairy.. I rarely buy anything in the inner aisles of the store. We walked through the entire store and just shook our heads and said "carbs" after passing each and every aisle.

Anyways I wouldn't mind trying a high fat, low carb vegetarian approach if that is possible. Like I could have some vegetarian days to maybe have some variety. Maybe some Mediteranian days as well. Is it possible to get enough protein on vegetarian diet without consuming too many carbs? I guess I'd have to throw some cheese in and maybe some fish. I dunno. I can't tolerate carbs... I am very insulin resistant. One unit of regular insulin only covers 2 mg/dL of blood sugar. In a normal non-overweight non-diabetic person, 1 unit of insulin covers 40 mg/dL of blood sugar. So I am twenty times more insulin resistant than a normal person. The smallest amount of carbs shoot my blood sugar up. I ate some black beans the other day and they brought the sugar up pretty high. Was a moderate amount too. I thought black beans were one of the best because there is so much fiber in them.
 

I don't think the poor are in fact, that obese.
I would think it seems to be the fate of the richer parts of the world to be able to afford to overeat.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Funnily enough, they were also on my list of items before diagnosis when I became obese, but so were vast amounts of carbs. Dropping the carbs but keeping the bacon, sausage and eggs reduced me from obese to normal and lowered my BS levels to normal.
Click to expand...

Dropping the lot is the only thing that works for me.
Overeating the fat, and the weight is straight back on.
Can't comment on high blood pressure, I've never had it.
But dropping the saturated fat did decrease my bad cholesterol.
 
@Avocado Sevenfold is doing fantastically on a LCHF vegan diet, so yes, it is possible, and I agree with you. Insulin resistance is my bane too.

Sometimes feel that meat as the centre of meals is uncomfortable (on many levels). But my body objected strongly to vegetarianism, so I am stuck with animal/fish protein.
 
SunnyExpat said:
Bacon, eggs, sausages, - certainly on the list on items that made me obese!
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I now eat more of those and lost three stone without counting calories. I also cut out the Tennants beer. That would also account for the fat loss.
 
bobrobert said:
I now eat more of those and lost three stone without counting calories. I also cut out the Tennants beer. That would also account for the fat loss.
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Amazing how different folk are.
I still can't consider 8 sausages are ever going to be a light snack again though, regardless of others being able to wolf them down without limit.
I'll always have to count calories.
 
SunnyExpat said:
Amazing how different folk are.
I still can't consider 8 sausages are ever going to be a light snack again though, regardless of others being able to wolf them down without limit.
I'll always have to count calories.
Click to expand...
8 sausages really? That's a huge amount of food.
 
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