Drug pushers

My sister recently got the same news that I got less than a year ago: She is insulin resistant, and prediabetic. The doctor told her to eat the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association: A diet low in fat, but high in carbohydrates. This is a diet that is recommending that you take in more of the substance that is killing you. Doctors are so afraid of heart disease and cholesterol, that they are recommending a diet that is increasing the incidence of diabetes, and instead prescribing medication to control the disease as it advances.

IMO, that is ridiculous. There is an excellent article that explains the situation, found here. The ADA is recommending that diabetics set four goals:

1. Normal blood glucose, blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides), and blood pressure -- or as close as possible to these.
2. Prevention of complications associated with diabetes
3. "To address individual nutrition needs," according to such factors as motivation and cultural preferences.
4. "To maintain the pleasure of eating by only limiting food choices when indicated by scientific evidence."

This was the subject of my graduate study.During the data collection portion of my study, I spent a year tracking blood chemistry of a diabetic. The diabetic followed a low carb/high fat diet, and went from a BMI of 43 to a BMI of 32. During that period, fasting blood glucose fell from 120 to 102, and A1C fell from 6.7 to 5.8. Cholesterol went from 209 to 185, with triglycerides falling from 359 to 155. There was no change in HDL or LDL levels, but VLDL levels fell dramatically, from 72 to 32. What do all of these numbers mean? It means that blood glucose levels saw a significant improvement, while cholesterol levels remained relatively stable, and even showed a slight improvement.

The results I was seeing mimicked other studies that are beginning to indicate that the medical community has gotten it wrong on treating diabetes, and on the effects of diet on cholesterol and blood sugar. The problem is that there is little profit to be made by telling people to eat different foods in today's drug pushing medical community: so we tell them to eat a balanced meal and take a pill.

Let's hope my sister can see the improvements that I saw, instead of eating the diet the doctor is pushing.