For a person with Type II diabetes, the problem is that sugar (glucose) is not able to pass from the bloodstream into the cells.  Since the glucose cannot get into the cells, it ends up in the blood stream and removed from the body in urine.

It seems obvious that if you have too much sugar in your blood then you need to limit the amount of sugar and starch in your diet.  Starches are complex carbohydrates that consists of many glucose molecules.

The diet of people that live in countries that have low incidence of diabetes do not have a diet remotely like the standard diabetic diet.  They eat a diet that is high in complex carbohydrates.

In type II diabetes, insulin is created in the pancreas and is transported via the blood to each cell.  However, the insulin is unable to pass through the cell membrane – a condition known as insulin resistance.  This is due to a build up of fat (intramyocellular lipids) inside muscle cells.

Since there are only 3 major components of food – fats, proteins and carbohydrates, if you reduce carbohydrates then you will be increasing fats or proteins.  Any excess fat that you eat is the fat that you wear and excess protein does not build more muscles.  Excess protein is broken down into amino acids and eliminated by the kidneys.  This increases the renal acid load on a intricate filtration system that will eventually fail to perform at optimal levels.

Dr Barnard and his colleagues recommend the following diabetic diet.

The result of these changes can be dramatic.  Care needs to be taken if you are on medication to avoid the possibility of hypoglycemic reaction.

AND this diet is not only beneficial to type I diabetics but can be used to prevent and often reverse and often reverse the diseases of affluence that affect Western societies.

Dr Barnard’s books are available through the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine website.

Last updated on Tuesday 13 November 2018 at 21:56 by administrators