The solution to actually reversing diabetes is within anyone's reach but does require rigid commitment to a plan and seeing it through. It turns out, however, that Dr. Roy Taylor's method (see book title, image above) is simply too extreme and not likely to be followed by me, having already been provisionally diagnosed as diabetic, e.g.
To break Taylor's book down into its simplest formula:
- You need to remove a half gram of extra fat accumulated on the pancreas to re-activate beta cells and enable production of insulin again.
- This will require losing 33 pounds of weight and it matters not whether you are starting at 352 lbs. or 176 lbs.
- The best way for this to happen is quickly, taking in no more than 700 calories a day for at least 8 days.
- A special set of food choices are available - in the book- including for liquid diets and an onion-garlic casserole.
The main specialty of Taylor,
who is director of the Newcastle UK Magnetic Resonance Centre, is the use of MRI
techniques to see how organs are functioning. In particular, in the case of
diabetes, what happens to food in the body – in particular to the pancreas and
liver. Basically, it also involved
testing his ‘Twin Cycle hypothesis’ to verify that the best way to
achieve diabetes relief is drastic weight loss.
‘Twin’ refers to the role of liver and pancreas in tandem. As he puts it: “Your diabetes has been caused by less than half a gram of fat inside your pancreas.”
Why so bad? Because that tiny amount
inactivates the beta cells in the organ which produce the insulin that
regulates blood sugar. Disable that production and the blood sugar (glucose) increases and
next thing, you’re dealing with diabetes.
Fat is the ultimate enemy in
the case, or the crime, and Taylor’s MR investigations showed how. Also, why most obese people (72%) don’t have
diabetes. These have the fat on the outside, but are ‘thin’ in the key organs
on the inside. Meanwhile, the relative ‘thin’ like me and millions of others
now, have the fat on the inside – on the critical organs (liver, which shows up
as high triglycerides in the blood) and pancreas – which shows up as insulin
resistance.
His acronym is TOFI for
‘thin outside, fat inside’. Alas, whole
populations in the western developed nations have been TOFI’d with BMIs markedly increasing in the last 40 years, say from 27 to 30, or 30 to 35 –
putting these groups at diabetes risk.
His reason? We have become constant daytime (and night time) munchers: while reading papers, while web surfing, while watching TV, whatever. The point is we are altering our chemical
pathways in respect to liver and pancreas and slowly but surely bringing on
diabetes - even with one more ounce of food than we need each day. The one verdict you don’t want
to hear (p. 159):
“If your body
weight stays as high as it has become by the time Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed –
then the diabetes will not go away and will get worse.”
Hence, the need for drastic,
rapid weight loss – thirty three pounds - and then keeping the weight stable. Adding (p. 161):
“The aim is not the usual,
unfocused one of becoming on-obese. Obesity itself is not relevant. What is
important is to get yourself below the Personal Fat Threshold. And 33 pounds is the magic number.”
Which he does admit (ibid.) “works fine for most people but may be too much if you are not a big person.” His example? “Mrs. 132 pounds could easily lose 20 pounds.” (And yours truly at 177 lbs. can lose the full 33 lbs. taking me down to 144- which I haven't been since the age of 22.)
Ok, what is this Twin cycle
business anyway? Take the liver first.
By taking a mouthful or two more food than your body actually needs you
gradually increase your liver fat levels.
This makes the liver unable to properly respond to insulin- leading to
liver insulin resistance – and blood glucose levels to creep up.
This has been my case for the
past 30 years or so, especially since returning to the U.S. where food has been
plentiful and cheap. In Barbados, where I’d lived since 1971 (with the exception
of one year in Alaska, 1985-86) I’d kept an almost steady weight of 155-160
lbs. Food was expensive there, with
steak and pork chops at nearly $13 / lb. , bacon at $12.75 a pkg. and even a
Snickers bar at $4.50, so that you couldn’t eat that much without breaking your
budget. (Remember Barbados was and still is an overall food importer). The only few times a year I ‘pigged’ out were
when we went to an occasional buffet at the Hilton or Sandy Lane hotels.
The long and short is that my
liver and triglycerides stayed under control, as did the blood glucose level.
Fast forward to the U.S. – when we first lived in Maryland- and all that ended.
Not that we splurged on food excess, but our eating wasn’t the healthiest.
Think Tuna Helper and Hamburger Helper two or three times a week, Kraft
macaroni with pork chops, lots of Hillshire Farm beef sausage and broccoli “stews”—
with plenty of cream of broccoli soup- you get the idea. Point is we both put
on the pounds. Then going out on weekends
to local Columbia -area Maryland restaurants (like 'Clyde's') didn’t help.
Okay, so we covered the liver part of the Twin cycle, what about the pancreas? Basically, following several years of over eating whereupon liver insulin resistance is reached, the pancreas also is affected. Specifically the insulin-producing beta cells shut down, become inactive. They are basically almost like cellular ‘zombies’ and your job must be to revive them. The bad news? By then the cycles are reinforcing each other, i.e. “prolonged high glucose levels cause a rise of insulin levels in the blood, while in the liver this causes a further conversion of glucose into fat, e.g. triglycerides. Too much of this liver fat then drives the pancreas cycle and the high glucose levels eventually force up the insulin levels, driving the liver cycle."
The issue then becomes how to
break the cycle and the good doc’s research has shown the best and only way is
drastic 33 pound weight loss. (His recipes are at the back of the book).
I wish I was
willing to go that route, but look, it’s hard enough to keep up with the
intermittent fasting which I have been doing for going on 4 years now, e.g.
The best I can do, or have been
doing (on non-fast days), is what I described in my January 3rd post: cutting out farmhouse
bagels 3x a week, and trying to substitute mushrooms for carbs for breakfast, and cutting down on carb intake generally. I had mentioned
at the time Maitake mushrooms, but after one horrific bout of 'projectile' vomiting after eating them 2 weeks ago – I have gone
off them. Alas. I now substitute portobello mushrooms every now and then, along
with sweet potato fries. (about 6-7 ) eaten with the scrambled eggs, half
orange and sausages.
I plan to keep on doing what I
can along with the 140-150 mins. of walking during the week and hope that at least
staves off the most dire onset phase of diabetes. Including having to get insulin injections - which Dr. Taylor claims 50% of those diagnosed with the disease will have to get - if they don't follow his stringent 33 lb. weight loss plan! (Btw, those 33 lbs. have to stay off, not go back on.)
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/understanding-diabetes-symptoms
And:
Diabetes Information Leaflets | Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation (diabeteswellness.net)
No comments:
Post a Comment