Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes
In 30 Days is an independent documentary film
that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting
entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food
in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication.
In 30 Days is an independent documentary film
that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting
entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food
in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication.
Diabetes affects the body's ability to convert blood sugar into energy.
The reason behind this is either scarcity of insulin or the body's not accepting of insulin or both.
Diabetes has two variations, Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in children and young adults.
Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease where the body produces no insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common today.
In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin
or the cells ignore the insulin.
The reason behind this is either scarcity of insulin or the body's not accepting of insulin or both.
Diabetes has two variations, Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in children and young adults.
Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease where the body produces no insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common today.
In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin
or the cells ignore the insulin.
| Nutrition for Diabetes |
| Diet by Design |
Gabriel Cortez
http://www.TheBiggerPicture.org
http://www.twitter.com/BigPicCampaign
http://www.facebook.com/thebiggerpict...
http://www.TheBiggerPicture.org
http://www.twitter.com/BigPicCampaign
http://www.facebook.com/thebiggerpict...
Simply Raw:
Reversing Diabetes in 30 Day
Reversing Diabetes in 30 Day
Simply Raw:
Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication.
The six are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days.
The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change. We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse disease and change lives.
The film highlights each of the six before they begin the program and we first meet them in their home environment with their families. Each participant speaks candidly about their struggle to manage their diabetes and how it has affected every aspect of their life, from work to home to their relationships.
Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication.
The six are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days.
The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change. We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse disease and change lives.
The film highlights each of the six before they begin the program and we first meet them in their home environment with their families. Each participant speaks candidly about their struggle to manage their diabetes and how it has affected every aspect of their life, from work to home to their relationships.
A New Lifestyle for Diabetes
Try it ... Works
1. Drink two to three glasses of water upon Rising
2. Walk for at least an hour with empty stomach.
3. Eat two meals a day one at 8 AM and at 2 PM.
4. No drinking with the meal.
Half an hour before you eat or 2 hours after you eat .
5. Leisurely walk 15 minutes after every time you eat.
6. No snacking between meals.
7. No oil in your cooking and of course no animals or
by - products of animals. Goat Milk Kefir is the only allowed by product.
Home made is the best. / http://www.kindness2.com/how-to-make-kefir.html
Walk every spare minute you have.
Men can have four to five choices a meal.
Women three to four choices.
One choice is a half a cup of beans at every meal.
Most vegetables are not counted.
A slice of bread is one choice.
Most choices ...
are half a cup, of things like spaghetti, oatmeal, lasagna, vegetarian patty and soup.
Chinese dish with tofu. / Tofu is not the best, use it very sparingly.
Fruit is only eaten at breakfast and vegetables are only eaten at the 2 o'clock meal.
Half an apple or half a banana are one choice.
No liquid except water,
No vinegar, no green peppers they are not ripe,
no oil, not even olive oil or coconut oil, no soy isolate.
Lean proteins: nuts, seeds, legumes
Vegetables: any and all
Fruit: not too much due to its high sugar
Healthy fats: avocado, seeds and nuts sparingly
Dairy foods: None, except KEFIR.
Wholegrains: Brown rice, oat, quinoa, millet, buckwheat
Pure Water or herbal teas.
Try it ... Works
1. Drink two to three glasses of water upon Rising
2. Walk for at least an hour with empty stomach.
3. Eat two meals a day one at 8 AM and at 2 PM.
4. No drinking with the meal.
Half an hour before you eat or 2 hours after you eat .
5. Leisurely walk 15 minutes after every time you eat.
6. No snacking between meals.
7. No oil in your cooking and of course no animals or
by - products of animals. Goat Milk Kefir is the only allowed by product.
Home made is the best. / http://www.kindness2.com/how-to-make-kefir.html
Walk every spare minute you have.
Men can have four to five choices a meal.
Women three to four choices.
One choice is a half a cup of beans at every meal.
Most vegetables are not counted.
A slice of bread is one choice.
Most choices ...
are half a cup, of things like spaghetti, oatmeal, lasagna, vegetarian patty and soup.
Chinese dish with tofu. / Tofu is not the best, use it very sparingly.
Fruit is only eaten at breakfast and vegetables are only eaten at the 2 o'clock meal.
Half an apple or half a banana are one choice.
No liquid except water,
No vinegar, no green peppers they are not ripe,
no oil, not even olive oil or coconut oil, no soy isolate.
Lean proteins: nuts, seeds, legumes
Vegetables: any and all
Fruit: not too much due to its high sugar
Healthy fats: avocado, seeds and nuts sparingly
Dairy foods: None, except KEFIR.
Wholegrains: Brown rice, oat, quinoa, millet, buckwheat
Pure Water or herbal teas.
How our Body Process Sugar
From Dr. D. Graham / www.foodnsport.com
The sugars we eat travel a three-stage journey through our bodies:
Stage1: Sugars start out in the digestive tract when we eat them.
Stage2: They pass through the intestinal wall, into the bloodstream.
Stage3: They then move smoothly and easily out of the bloodstream into our cells.
This occurs rapidly, often in minutes.
When we eat a high-fat diet, the sugar gets trapped in stage 2, and the body works overtime, sometimes to the point of exhaustion and disease, in an effort to move the sugar out of the bloodstream. Meanwhile, the sugar backs up in the blood, creating sustained, elevated blood sugar that wreaks havoc on the body in the form of Candida, fatigue, diabetes, etc.
The Role of Insulin
What happens in the presence of fat that causes sugar to pile up in our bloodstream? It has to do with the pancreas. Under the direction of the brain, the pancreas is responsible for producing a hormone known as insulin. One of insulin’s roles is to attach it self to sugar molecules in the blood and then find an insulin receptor in the blood-vessel wall. The insulin can then transport the sugar molecule through the blood-vessel membrane to the interstitial fluid (the fluid between the cells) and continue to escort sugar across another barrier – the cell membrane – and into the cell itself.
Excess dietary fat in the bloodstream creates some negative insulating effects. When we eat too much fatty food, a thin coating of fat lines the blood-vessel walls, the cells’ insulin-receptor sites, the sugar molecules, as well as the insulin itself. These fats can take a full day or more to “clear” from the blood, all the while inhibiting normal metabolic activity, and preventing these various structures from communicating with each other.
Too much fat in the blood impedes the movement of sugar out of the bloodstream. This results in an overall rise in blood sugar, as sugars continue to travel from the digestive tract:
(Stage 1) into the blood (Stage 2) but cannot escape from the blood so they can be delivered to the cells (Stage 3) which await their fuel.
Sugar and Fat at the Same Meal
Raw-food experts give lectures, write books, videos that support their stance against fruit. Their “scientific” information seems conclusive: Fruit is clearly the culprit in blood-sugar problems for raw fooders. But let’s step back for a minute: Take a look at the high-fat recipes in the books, newsletters, and websites of those so quick to tell you to avoid fruit.
Note the fat-laden foods they serve guests at their institutes, retreats, and rejuvenation centers. Pay attention to the rich tasty morsels they serve up at food demos and festival booths. Nuts, seeds, and avocados all run 75% fat or more, as a percentage of their calories. Oils are 100% fat. It takes very little of these foods to push us way over the edge in terms of blood fat, and raw fooders do not eat “very little” of these foods.
Unfortunately, taking care to avoid sugar/fat combinations at the same meal is not sufficient to alleviate blood-sugar problems. Eating a high-fat diet creates elevated blood sugar whenever fruit and other sweets are eaten, regardless of timing.
Here’s why: Sugars require little time in the stomach. Immediately upon putting a simple sweet fruit into your mouth, some of the sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream from under the tongue.
Fruit eaten alone or in simple, well-chosen combination on an empty stomach requires only a few minutes in the stomach before passing to the small intestines, where the sugars can be quickly absorbed. Most of the sugar from fruit travels from the intestines, to the bloodstream, and then to the cells where they are needed within minutes of its consumption.
Fats, however, require a much longer period of time, often twelve to twenty-four hours or more, before they reach their destination, the cells. In the stomach, fats are subjected to a digestive process that usually takes several hours. When they finally do proceed to the small intestine, they are absorbed into the lymphatic system, where they often spend twelve hours or more before passing to the bloodstream. Most important, fats linger in the bloodstream for many hours longer than do sugars.
On a high-fat diet, therefore, the bloodstream always contains an excessive quantity of fat, and more is coming in at almost every meal. Essentially, even when you eat a fruit meal alone and wait hours before eating fat, those sugars are likely to mix in your bloodstream with the fats you ate the day before.
Whether or not we eat fruit in the presence of such tremendously high levels of fat, we set ourselves up for health problems and inability to remain raw.
Sugar + Fat = High Blood Sugar
From Dr. D. Graham / www.foodnsport.com
The sugars we eat travel a three-stage journey through our bodies:
Stage1: Sugars start out in the digestive tract when we eat them.
Stage2: They pass through the intestinal wall, into the bloodstream.
Stage3: They then move smoothly and easily out of the bloodstream into our cells.
This occurs rapidly, often in minutes.
When we eat a high-fat diet, the sugar gets trapped in stage 2, and the body works overtime, sometimes to the point of exhaustion and disease, in an effort to move the sugar out of the bloodstream. Meanwhile, the sugar backs up in the blood, creating sustained, elevated blood sugar that wreaks havoc on the body in the form of Candida, fatigue, diabetes, etc.
The Role of Insulin
What happens in the presence of fat that causes sugar to pile up in our bloodstream? It has to do with the pancreas. Under the direction of the brain, the pancreas is responsible for producing a hormone known as insulin. One of insulin’s roles is to attach it self to sugar molecules in the blood and then find an insulin receptor in the blood-vessel wall. The insulin can then transport the sugar molecule through the blood-vessel membrane to the interstitial fluid (the fluid between the cells) and continue to escort sugar across another barrier – the cell membrane – and into the cell itself.
Excess dietary fat in the bloodstream creates some negative insulating effects. When we eat too much fatty food, a thin coating of fat lines the blood-vessel walls, the cells’ insulin-receptor sites, the sugar molecules, as well as the insulin itself. These fats can take a full day or more to “clear” from the blood, all the while inhibiting normal metabolic activity, and preventing these various structures from communicating with each other.
Too much fat in the blood impedes the movement of sugar out of the bloodstream. This results in an overall rise in blood sugar, as sugars continue to travel from the digestive tract:
(Stage 1) into the blood (Stage 2) but cannot escape from the blood so they can be delivered to the cells (Stage 3) which await their fuel.
Sugar and Fat at the Same Meal
Raw-food experts give lectures, write books, videos that support their stance against fruit. Their “scientific” information seems conclusive: Fruit is clearly the culprit in blood-sugar problems for raw fooders. But let’s step back for a minute: Take a look at the high-fat recipes in the books, newsletters, and websites of those so quick to tell you to avoid fruit.
Note the fat-laden foods they serve guests at their institutes, retreats, and rejuvenation centers. Pay attention to the rich tasty morsels they serve up at food demos and festival booths. Nuts, seeds, and avocados all run 75% fat or more, as a percentage of their calories. Oils are 100% fat. It takes very little of these foods to push us way over the edge in terms of blood fat, and raw fooders do not eat “very little” of these foods.
Unfortunately, taking care to avoid sugar/fat combinations at the same meal is not sufficient to alleviate blood-sugar problems. Eating a high-fat diet creates elevated blood sugar whenever fruit and other sweets are eaten, regardless of timing.
Here’s why: Sugars require little time in the stomach. Immediately upon putting a simple sweet fruit into your mouth, some of the sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream from under the tongue.
Fruit eaten alone or in simple, well-chosen combination on an empty stomach requires only a few minutes in the stomach before passing to the small intestines, where the sugars can be quickly absorbed. Most of the sugar from fruit travels from the intestines, to the bloodstream, and then to the cells where they are needed within minutes of its consumption.
Fats, however, require a much longer period of time, often twelve to twenty-four hours or more, before they reach their destination, the cells. In the stomach, fats are subjected to a digestive process that usually takes several hours. When they finally do proceed to the small intestine, they are absorbed into the lymphatic system, where they often spend twelve hours or more before passing to the bloodstream. Most important, fats linger in the bloodstream for many hours longer than do sugars.
On a high-fat diet, therefore, the bloodstream always contains an excessive quantity of fat, and more is coming in at almost every meal. Essentially, even when you eat a fruit meal alone and wait hours before eating fat, those sugars are likely to mix in your bloodstream with the fats you ate the day before.
Whether or not we eat fruit in the presence of such tremendously high levels of fat, we set ourselves up for health problems and inability to remain raw.
Sugar + Fat = High Blood Sugar
What Causes Insulin Resistance?
If White Rice is Linked to Diabetes,
What About China?
What About China?
Dr. McDougall Answers the
Top 20 Questions
About the Starch Solution
Top 20 Questions
About the Starch Solution
Intense Workouts for Diabetes
By Dr. Mercola
Diabetes and Virgin Coconut Oil
By Bruce Fife, N.D.
One of the many plagues of modern society is diabetes ...
Why Coconut Oil Is Said To Be The Healthiest Oil On Earth
The incidence of diabetes has risen from almost nothing a century ago to a level of major concern today. It is now the sixth biggest killer in America. Diabetes not only can cause death but can lead to kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cataracts, nerve damage, hearing loss, and blindness. It is estimated that 45 percent of the population is at risk of developing diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is all about sugar - the sugar in our bodies known as blood sugar or blood glucose. Every cell in our bodies must have a constant source of glucose in order to fuel metabolism. Our cells use glucose to power processes such as growth and repair. When we eat a meal the digestive system converts much of our food into glucose which is released into the bloodstream.
The hormone insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas gland, moves glucose from the blood and funnels it into the cells so it can be used as fuel. If the cells are unable to get adequate amounts of glucose they can literally starve to death. As they do, tissues and organs begin to degenerate. This is what happens in diabetes.
There are two major forms of diabetes: Type I and Type II. Type I, also referred to as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes, usually begins in childhood and results from the inability of the pancreas to make adequate amounts of insulin. Type II diabetes is known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes because it usually appears in older adults. In Type II diabetes the pancreas may secrete a normal amount of insulin but the cells are unable to absorb it.
Insulin acts like a key to a lock. It goes to the cells and unlocks the door to allow glucose to enter. If the lock is made of cheap materials and breaks, the key no longer works and the door remains locked. This is essentially what happens with Type II diabetes. Insulin is generally available but it can no longer unlock the door because the lock is broken. In both types of diabetes the level of glucose in the blood is elevated while the cells are deprived.
In Type I the pancreas is incapable of producing enough insulin to adequately shuttle glucose to all the cells in the body. Treatment involves insulin injections one or more times a day along with adherence to a strict low - sugar diet. About 90 percent of diabetics are of Type II and 85 percent of them are overweight. Excess body weight is a very strong risk factor for Type II. Diet plays a key role in both onset of the disease and in its control. The types of foods we eat can either promote or protect us from diabetes.
In the Pacific islands diabetes is unheard of among those people who eat traditional diets. But when they abandon their native foods and adapt Western ways, disease of all types surface.
One of these new diseases is diabetes. An interesting example of this has occurred on the island of Nauru in the South Pacific.
For centuries the people, subsisted on a diet composed primarily of bananas, yams and coconuts, lived totally free from diabetes. Phosphate deposits discovered on the island brought an influx of wealth and a change in lifestyle. The islanders replaced the coconut and yams they had eaten for centuries with foods made from refined flour, sugar and processed vegetable oils. The result was the emergence of a never before seen disease - diabetes.
According to the World Health Organisation, up to one half of the urbanised Nauru population age 30 - 64 are now diabetic. Doctors have been able to help patients control diabetes by putting them on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
The diet restricts total fat intake to 30 percent or less of calories. Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and vegetables comprise 50 - 60 percent of calories. Simple carbohydrates such as refined flour and sugar are to be avoided. The reason for this is because simple carbohydrates can put undue strain on the pancreas and quickly raise blood sugar to dangerous levels.
The reason for reducing fat as well as sweets is to promote weight loss. Since overweight is of primary concern with diabetes, losing excess weight is a priority. Another reason for the low-fat diet is to reduce risk of heart disease which is a common consequence of diabetes.
Probably the best reason for keeping fat to a minimum is that some fats, particularly oxidised fats, not only promote diabetes but may actually cause it.
Researchers have discovered that the over consumption of refined vegetable oils leads to diabetes.
As far back as the 1920s Dr. S. Sweeney produced reversible diabetes in all of his medical school
students by feeding them a high vegetable oil diet for 48 hours. None of the students
had previously been diabetic. More recently researchers have been able to cause test animals to develop diabetes by feeding them diets high in polyunsaturated fat.8,9 Simply restricting fat intake
in diabetic animals has shown to reverse Type II diabetes.10,11
Likewise , clinical studies with humans on low fat diets also show reversal of the disease. Many studies have shown low-fat diets to be effective in controlling diabetes.12
The current recommendation is to limit all fats. Monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, don't seem to adversely affect diabetes and so are allowed in moderation, but because all fats, including olive oil, are high in calories, they are discouraged. Saturated fat is restricted because it is believed to increase risk of heart disease. The biggest culprit, however, seems to be polyunsaturated oil.
13 Studies have shown that when polyunsaturated fats from the diet are incorporated into cellular structure, the cell's ability to bind with insulin decreases, thus lowering their ability to get glucose. 14 In other words, the "locks" on the cells which open the door for glucose to enter degrade when too much polyunsaturated oil is consumed in the diet. Insulin is then unable to open the door.
Polyunsaturated oils are easily oxidised and damaged by free radicals. Fats of all types, including
polyunsaturated oils, are used as building blocks for cell membranes. Oxidised polyunsaturated fats in the cell membrane can adversely affect the cell's function, including its ability to allow hormones, glucose, and other substances to flow in and out of the cell. Therefore, a diet high in refined polyunsaturated vegetable oils promotes diabetes. A diet low in such oils helps to alleviate symptoms. Because all fats also promote weight gain, it's best to avoid them as much as possible.
Conclusion
There is one fat that diabetics can eat without fear. That fat is coconut oil. Not only does it not contribute to diabetes, but it helps regulate blood sugar, thus lessening the effects of the disease. The Nauru people consumed large amounts of coconut oil for generations without ever encountering diabetes, but when they abandoned it for other foods and oils the results were disastrous.
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, coconut oil puts less of a demand on the enzyme production of the pancreas. This lessens the stress on the pancreas during mealtime when insulin is produced most heavily, thus allowing the organ to function more efficiently.
Coconut Oil also helps supply energy to cells because it is easily absorbed without the need of enzymes or insulin. It has been shown to improve insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.15,16
Coconut oil in the diet enhances insulin action and improves binding affinity compared to other oils.17,18
The Journal of the Indian Medical Association has reported that Type II diabetes in India has
increased as the people have abandoned traditional oils, like coconut oil, in favour of polyunsaturated vegetable oils which have been promoted as "heart-friendly." The authors comment on the link between polyunsaturated oils and diabetes and recommend increasing coconut oil consumption as a means to prevent diabetes.19
One of the consequences of diabetes is a lack of energy.
This is due to the inability of cells to get needed glucose. Without the glucose to power cellular activity, metabolism slows down and the entire body becomes tired.
Exercise has been recommended as a means to help diabetics control blood sugar. One of the reasons exercise is beneficial is that it increases metabolism. A faster metabolic rate stimulates increased production of needed insulin and increases absorption of glucose into cells, thus helping both Type I and Type II diabetics.
Another advantage of increasing metabolism is that more calories are burned.
Coconut oil raises metabolic rate causing the body to burn up more calories and thus promote weight loss.
Yes, you can actually lose excess weight by adding coconut oil to your diet.
The MCFA in coconut oil are sent directly to the liver for conversion into energy
and not into body tissues as fat.
(See Ch. 10 of "The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil" on the weight-loss effects of coconut oil).
If you are a diabetic or borderline diabetic, consumption of most fats should be avoided. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is different. Because it helps stabilise blood glucose levels and aids in shedding excess body weight, it is probably the only oil a diabetic should eat.
Adapted from Bruce Fife's book The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil.
http://www.cocoscience.com/pdf/diabetes_and_virgin_coconut_oil_dr_bruce_fife.pdf
References
8. Parekh, P.I., et al. 1998. Reversal of diet-induced obesity and diabetes in C57BL/6J mice. Metabolism47(9):1089
9. Oakes, N.D. et al. 1997. Diet-induced muscle insulin resistance in rats is ameliorated by acute dietary lipid withdrawal or a single bout of exercise:
parallel relationship between insulin stimulation of glucose uptake and suppression of long-chain fatty acyl-CoA. Diabetes 46(12):2022
10. Parekh, P.I. et al. 1998. Reversal of diet-induced obesity and diabetes in C57BL/6J mice. Metabolism47(9):1089
11. Anonymous, 1999. Low-fat diet alone reversed type 2 diabetes in mice. Compr. Ther. 25(1):60
12. Barnard, R.J., et al. 1983. Long-term use of a high-complex-carbohydrate, high-fiber, low-fat diet and exercise in the treatment of NIDDM patients. Diabetes Care 6(3):268
13. Berry, E.M. 1997. Dietary fatty acids in the management of diabetes mellitus. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 66 (suppl):991S
14. Ginsberg, B.H., et al. 1982. Efect of alterations in membrane lipid unsaturation on the properties of the insulin receptor of Ehrlich ascites cells. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 690(2):157
15. Thampan, P.K. 1994. Facts and Fallacies About Coconut Oil. Asian and Pacific Coconut Community.p.15
16. Garfinkel, M., et al. 1992. Insulinotropic potency of lauric acid: a metabolic rational for medium chain fatty acids (MCF) in TPN formulation. Journal of Surgical Research 52:328
17. Ginsberg, B.H., et al. 1982. Effect of alterations in membrane lipid unsaturation on the properties of the insulin receptor of Ehrlich ascites cells.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 690(2):15
18. Yost, T.J. and Eckel, R.H., 1989. Hypocaloric feeding in obese women: metabolic effects of medium-chain triglyceride substitution. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 49(2):326
19. Sircar, S. and Kansra, U. 1998. Choice of cooking oils - myths and realities. J. Indian Med. Assoc.96(10):304
By Bruce Fife, N.D.
One of the many plagues of modern society is diabetes ...
Why Coconut Oil Is Said To Be The Healthiest Oil On Earth
The incidence of diabetes has risen from almost nothing a century ago to a level of major concern today. It is now the sixth biggest killer in America. Diabetes not only can cause death but can lead to kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cataracts, nerve damage, hearing loss, and blindness. It is estimated that 45 percent of the population is at risk of developing diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is all about sugar - the sugar in our bodies known as blood sugar or blood glucose. Every cell in our bodies must have a constant source of glucose in order to fuel metabolism. Our cells use glucose to power processes such as growth and repair. When we eat a meal the digestive system converts much of our food into glucose which is released into the bloodstream.
The hormone insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas gland, moves glucose from the blood and funnels it into the cells so it can be used as fuel. If the cells are unable to get adequate amounts of glucose they can literally starve to death. As they do, tissues and organs begin to degenerate. This is what happens in diabetes.
There are two major forms of diabetes: Type I and Type II. Type I, also referred to as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes, usually begins in childhood and results from the inability of the pancreas to make adequate amounts of insulin. Type II diabetes is known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes because it usually appears in older adults. In Type II diabetes the pancreas may secrete a normal amount of insulin but the cells are unable to absorb it.
Insulin acts like a key to a lock. It goes to the cells and unlocks the door to allow glucose to enter. If the lock is made of cheap materials and breaks, the key no longer works and the door remains locked. This is essentially what happens with Type II diabetes. Insulin is generally available but it can no longer unlock the door because the lock is broken. In both types of diabetes the level of glucose in the blood is elevated while the cells are deprived.
In Type I the pancreas is incapable of producing enough insulin to adequately shuttle glucose to all the cells in the body. Treatment involves insulin injections one or more times a day along with adherence to a strict low - sugar diet. About 90 percent of diabetics are of Type II and 85 percent of them are overweight. Excess body weight is a very strong risk factor for Type II. Diet plays a key role in both onset of the disease and in its control. The types of foods we eat can either promote or protect us from diabetes.
In the Pacific islands diabetes is unheard of among those people who eat traditional diets. But when they abandon their native foods and adapt Western ways, disease of all types surface.
One of these new diseases is diabetes. An interesting example of this has occurred on the island of Nauru in the South Pacific.
For centuries the people, subsisted on a diet composed primarily of bananas, yams and coconuts, lived totally free from diabetes. Phosphate deposits discovered on the island brought an influx of wealth and a change in lifestyle. The islanders replaced the coconut and yams they had eaten for centuries with foods made from refined flour, sugar and processed vegetable oils. The result was the emergence of a never before seen disease - diabetes.
According to the World Health Organisation, up to one half of the urbanised Nauru population age 30 - 64 are now diabetic. Doctors have been able to help patients control diabetes by putting them on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
The diet restricts total fat intake to 30 percent or less of calories. Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and vegetables comprise 50 - 60 percent of calories. Simple carbohydrates such as refined flour and sugar are to be avoided. The reason for this is because simple carbohydrates can put undue strain on the pancreas and quickly raise blood sugar to dangerous levels.
The reason for reducing fat as well as sweets is to promote weight loss. Since overweight is of primary concern with diabetes, losing excess weight is a priority. Another reason for the low-fat diet is to reduce risk of heart disease which is a common consequence of diabetes.
Probably the best reason for keeping fat to a minimum is that some fats, particularly oxidised fats, not only promote diabetes but may actually cause it.
Researchers have discovered that the over consumption of refined vegetable oils leads to diabetes.
As far back as the 1920s Dr. S. Sweeney produced reversible diabetes in all of his medical school
students by feeding them a high vegetable oil diet for 48 hours. None of the students
had previously been diabetic. More recently researchers have been able to cause test animals to develop diabetes by feeding them diets high in polyunsaturated fat.8,9 Simply restricting fat intake
in diabetic animals has shown to reverse Type II diabetes.10,11
Likewise , clinical studies with humans on low fat diets also show reversal of the disease. Many studies have shown low-fat diets to be effective in controlling diabetes.12
The current recommendation is to limit all fats. Monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, don't seem to adversely affect diabetes and so are allowed in moderation, but because all fats, including olive oil, are high in calories, they are discouraged. Saturated fat is restricted because it is believed to increase risk of heart disease. The biggest culprit, however, seems to be polyunsaturated oil.
13 Studies have shown that when polyunsaturated fats from the diet are incorporated into cellular structure, the cell's ability to bind with insulin decreases, thus lowering their ability to get glucose. 14 In other words, the "locks" on the cells which open the door for glucose to enter degrade when too much polyunsaturated oil is consumed in the diet. Insulin is then unable to open the door.
Polyunsaturated oils are easily oxidised and damaged by free radicals. Fats of all types, including
polyunsaturated oils, are used as building blocks for cell membranes. Oxidised polyunsaturated fats in the cell membrane can adversely affect the cell's function, including its ability to allow hormones, glucose, and other substances to flow in and out of the cell. Therefore, a diet high in refined polyunsaturated vegetable oils promotes diabetes. A diet low in such oils helps to alleviate symptoms. Because all fats also promote weight gain, it's best to avoid them as much as possible.
Conclusion
There is one fat that diabetics can eat without fear. That fat is coconut oil. Not only does it not contribute to diabetes, but it helps regulate blood sugar, thus lessening the effects of the disease. The Nauru people consumed large amounts of coconut oil for generations without ever encountering diabetes, but when they abandoned it for other foods and oils the results were disastrous.
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, coconut oil puts less of a demand on the enzyme production of the pancreas. This lessens the stress on the pancreas during mealtime when insulin is produced most heavily, thus allowing the organ to function more efficiently.
Coconut Oil also helps supply energy to cells because it is easily absorbed without the need of enzymes or insulin. It has been shown to improve insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.15,16
Coconut oil in the diet enhances insulin action and improves binding affinity compared to other oils.17,18
The Journal of the Indian Medical Association has reported that Type II diabetes in India has
increased as the people have abandoned traditional oils, like coconut oil, in favour of polyunsaturated vegetable oils which have been promoted as "heart-friendly." The authors comment on the link between polyunsaturated oils and diabetes and recommend increasing coconut oil consumption as a means to prevent diabetes.19
One of the consequences of diabetes is a lack of energy.
This is due to the inability of cells to get needed glucose. Without the glucose to power cellular activity, metabolism slows down and the entire body becomes tired.
Exercise has been recommended as a means to help diabetics control blood sugar. One of the reasons exercise is beneficial is that it increases metabolism. A faster metabolic rate stimulates increased production of needed insulin and increases absorption of glucose into cells, thus helping both Type I and Type II diabetics.
Another advantage of increasing metabolism is that more calories are burned.
Coconut oil raises metabolic rate causing the body to burn up more calories and thus promote weight loss.
Yes, you can actually lose excess weight by adding coconut oil to your diet.
The MCFA in coconut oil are sent directly to the liver for conversion into energy
and not into body tissues as fat.
(See Ch. 10 of "The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil" on the weight-loss effects of coconut oil).
If you are a diabetic or borderline diabetic, consumption of most fats should be avoided. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is different. Because it helps stabilise blood glucose levels and aids in shedding excess body weight, it is probably the only oil a diabetic should eat.
Adapted from Bruce Fife's book The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil.
http://www.cocoscience.com/pdf/diabetes_and_virgin_coconut_oil_dr_bruce_fife.pdf
References
8. Parekh, P.I., et al. 1998. Reversal of diet-induced obesity and diabetes in C57BL/6J mice. Metabolism47(9):1089
9. Oakes, N.D. et al. 1997. Diet-induced muscle insulin resistance in rats is ameliorated by acute dietary lipid withdrawal or a single bout of exercise:
parallel relationship between insulin stimulation of glucose uptake and suppression of long-chain fatty acyl-CoA. Diabetes 46(12):2022
10. Parekh, P.I. et al. 1998. Reversal of diet-induced obesity and diabetes in C57BL/6J mice. Metabolism47(9):1089
11. Anonymous, 1999. Low-fat diet alone reversed type 2 diabetes in mice. Compr. Ther. 25(1):60
12. Barnard, R.J., et al. 1983. Long-term use of a high-complex-carbohydrate, high-fiber, low-fat diet and exercise in the treatment of NIDDM patients. Diabetes Care 6(3):268
13. Berry, E.M. 1997. Dietary fatty acids in the management of diabetes mellitus. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 66 (suppl):991S
14. Ginsberg, B.H., et al. 1982. Efect of alterations in membrane lipid unsaturation on the properties of the insulin receptor of Ehrlich ascites cells. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 690(2):157
15. Thampan, P.K. 1994. Facts and Fallacies About Coconut Oil. Asian and Pacific Coconut Community.p.15
16. Garfinkel, M., et al. 1992. Insulinotropic potency of lauric acid: a metabolic rational for medium chain fatty acids (MCF) in TPN formulation. Journal of Surgical Research 52:328
17. Ginsberg, B.H., et al. 1982. Effect of alterations in membrane lipid unsaturation on the properties of the insulin receptor of Ehrlich ascites cells.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 690(2):15
18. Yost, T.J. and Eckel, R.H., 1989. Hypocaloric feeding in obese women: metabolic effects of medium-chain triglyceride substitution. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 49(2):326
19. Sircar, S. and Kansra, U. 1998. Choice of cooking oils - myths and realities. J. Indian Med. Assoc.96(10):304
