Shocking: What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Diabetes

Look into the latest diabetes statistics, and you might be shocked. This disease is the 7^th leading cause of death in America, and it affects almost ten percent of all U.S. citizens. Making matters worse, there are about 1.5 million new cases diagnosed each year in America alone. Millions more go undiagnosed. Perhaps even more shocking are the tens of millions of people age 18 and up who have prediabetes. We’ll get into the shocking truth momentarily, but first let’s take a quick look at diabetes itself.

What Causes Diabetes?

You probably know that there are different types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes occurs as a result of the immune system attacking and destroying beta cells in the pancreas, reducing or eliminating the organ’s ability to produce insulin. While scientists are still searching for a cause, it’s possible that environmental and genetic factors are to blame.
Type 2 diabetes usually occurs when obesity and belly fat combine to create insulin resistance. As insulin resistance progresses, the body requires more and more insulin to move glucose from the bloodstream into cells. Eventually, the pancreas becomes overtaxed. It cannot keep up with demand and high blood sugar causes symptoms that range from unpleasant to life-threatening.
Gestational diabetes, which affects approximately 9.2 percent of pregnant women, and which begins when the pancreas cannot keep up with increased demand for insulin. Gestational diabetes occurs in late pregnancy and comes with risks for mother and child alike. Women who are overweight are at a greater risk of gestational diabetes than those who were at a normal weight at conception.

Genetic mutations including cystic fibrosis and hemochromatosis cause diabetes in a small number of patients. Hormonal diseases including Cushing’s syndrome and hyperthyroidism contribute to another small percentage. Pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and other diseases that affect the pancreas are responsible for another small percentage, as are certain drugs that can harm pancreatic beta cells.

Diabetes Symptoms

Here are some of the most common diabetes symptoms:

- Frequent, unquenchable thirst
- Frequent urination
- Frequent hunger even after eating
- Extreme fatigue
- Numbness, tingling, or pain in the extremities, usually beginning with hands and/or feet
- Minor injuries such as cuts and bruises take a long time to heal
- Blurry vision

What Your Doctor Might Not Be Telling You

If you have diabetes, you might think you’re stuck with the diagnosis forever. You’ve resigned yourself to new facts of life including daily blood tests and frequent prescription refills. You believe that you must spend plenty of time managing your illness, and you worry that it’s likely to kill you.

All of these things can be true. But many doctors don’t tell their patients that diabetes can be reversed and even put into remission in some cases. There are a few reasons for this:

Doctors do not have enough time to educate patients; appointments are crowded together and there’s very little time to spend discussing alternatives
Many doctors are not aware that type 2 diabetes remission is possible
Many patients are not willing to put forth the time and effort required to lose enough weight for diabetes reversal / remission
Some doctors worry that patients who are able to achieve diabetes remission will become diabetic again in the future, and that the problem won’t be properly diagnosed

There’s more. Accepted treatment protocols are profitable for the drug industry, and like it or not, pharmaceutical companies and drug prices often play a major role in healthcare outcomes. These companies aren’t inherently evil. They have research and development costs to cover, along with other costs associated with doing business. Just like other companies, those supplying pharmaceuticals need to make a profit.

While insulin’s inventor believed the drug was a gift to humanity and sold the patent for one dollar, it’s a multi-billion-dollar business these days. There are no generic versions on the market, and people with diabetes are often forced to decide between eating properly and paying bills or going without their prescriptions.

The bottom lines? Do just a little bit of research into drug company profits associated with diabetes, and you’ll find it is easy to come to a conclusion about whether patient health is a top priority. Diabetes is a profitable business and just like many other commodities, testing supplies and drugs come with a forecast to guide those who choose to invest in the companies that produce them. Worldwide, the diabetes “care devices and drugs market” is slated to reach a new high of USD $85.9 billion. Industry researchers call this an “opportunity” for profit.

Tips to Start Transforming Your Heath

Diabetes is a major moneymaker, since testing supplies and diabetes drugs are purchased on an ongoing basis. Do you think that the industry is interested in putting an end to this widespread disease?

In a TED talk, Dr. Sarah Hallberg, who specializes in obesity and diabetes, tells the truth. “There’s a lot of money to be made keeping you sick,” she says.

Now that you know more about the diabetes industry, you may want to consider taking steps toward transforming your own health. It’s important to note that it takes time and persistence to change your status. You will need to continue medical supervision as you change your diet, so keep on testing, conversing with your health care provider, and taking prescriptions until you are told that they are no longer necessary.

Step 1: Look at the Way You Are Eating

Everything you eat falls into one of three categories: Protein, fat, or carbohydrate. Each type of macronutrient has a different type of effect on your body.

Carbohydrates – particularly those that are high on the glycemic index – trigger the rapid release of insulin, and your blood sugar spikes quickly when you consume them. Proteins trigger a smaller insulin response, and fats trigger no response at all.

With insulin release come three physical responses: hunger, cravings for more carbohydrates, and fat storage. The average type 2 diabetic is often advised to consume between 45 and 65 percent of their daily calorie allotment as carbohydrates. These numbers might be higher or lower for different individuals since people have different carbohydrate tolerance levels.

Step 2: Change the Way You Are Eating

Stop putting sugar into your body, in any form. This means eliminating all sources of sugar and refined starches such as breads, pastries, pastas, white rice, etc. from your diet. This is easily achieved with a ketogenic diet. Affectionately nicknamed “keto,” this is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat way of eating with a moderate or “adequate” protein intake. It can be adapted to suit people who prefer to follow a plant-based diet.

Don’t let the word “diet” fool you. Although you will want to consume the appropriate number of calories for your desired body weight, you will not be focusing on low-calorie or low-fat foods. Instead, you will be enjoying satisfying, high-fat foods that help keep your blood sugar and insulin levels down while encouraging your body to lose fat.

As you decide how to eat, consider a “clean” keto plan over a “dirty” keto plan. In clean keto, you are able to enjoy plenty of low-carbohydrate vegetables, the protein of your choice, and clean, healthy fats with a focus on unsaturated fats, Omega-3s and medium chain fatty acids (MCTs). Even though clean keto prioritizes the healthiest plant-based fats, it doesn’t call for the complete elimination of other types of fat.

There are many excellent keto guides available. It can feel tough to get started, but once the cravings have gone away, you’ll find that this way of eating is enjoyable and highly satisfying.

You can speed the process up by practicing intermittent fasting, so long as your doctor gives you the go-ahead.

Step 3: Add Intentional Movement to Most Days

If you have type 2 diabetes, then you may already know that exercise can play an important role in how your body performs; in many cases it can decrease insulin resistance. If you are not exercising, now is a great time to get started. Something as simple as walking will make a difference.

Begin where you are. If it has been a long time since you last tied on a pair of athletic shoes and moved your body, start with some stretching and deep breathing. Try walking for a few minutes at a time. It took you a long time to get to the place where you are now, and it can take some time to move toward a more active lifestyle. Doing too much too soon can set you up for an injury or lead to discomfort that will cause you to skip exercise. Little bits add up and you’ll soon find yourself enjoying longer walks or perhaps even considering different routines that appeal to you. Yoga, cycling, swimming, and easy weight training are a few “next steps” to consider as you transform your body inside and out.

Be sure to let your health care provider know that you are adding exercise to your routine. Once you hit your stride, aim for about 30 minutes of moderate activity each day.

Step 4: Continue an Active, Low-Carb Lifestyle

Once you have broken the insulin resistance cycle, it’s important to keep your diabetes in remission. Continue to stay away from refined sugars and starches that lead to those old cravings, weight gain, and carbohydrate-fueled binges. Try to eat little to no refined carbohydrates, and stick to natural, unprocessed whole foods instead.

Old trigger foods taste good for a few short moments. It’s important to recognize that by continuing to avoid them, you are also avoiding long-term harm. Regaining weight by consuming excess carbohydrates may also mean regaining diabetes. Your success depends on keeping your pancreas in tip-top shape and that means eating for good health and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Even if you’re not sure what to think, I encourage you to give a low-carb, high-fat diet a try, just for a few weeks. See what happens to you. See how you feel, notice if you lose weight. See what happens to your blood sugar levels.

Many people have reversed their diabetes with a lifestyle change, ending dependence on insulin and greatly reducing their risk for diabetes-related complications ranging from blindness to stroke to amputations. With a concentrated effort, you may join their ranks.