McDougall diet and diabetes

[Randrews]

New to the board, My wife is a life long vegetarian and I have been mostly a vegetarian for the last year or so. I decided to go all the way with the vegan diet. and probably McDougall's . However I am pre diabetic if not full blown. I am concerned with the percentage of carbs that seem to be a part of it. 80 percent? isn't that a bit high for a diabetic?

[SactoBob]

Assuming that you are looking for science backed advice, You should check this link.
http://drmcdougall.com/med_diabetes.html

You might also research for a video lecture or book by Dr. Neal Barnard. Dr. Barnard has shown that this plan reverses diabetes and is better than the diet recommended by the ADA. He has also written a book on reversing diabetes. Dr. McDougall has written extensively about diabetes. You could also check the Star McDougallers section on the main website. Many people, including me, have reversed their diabetes with this plan, and you will find their stories there.

It seems counter intuitive to be following this diet for diabetes, but it does work. This program deals with the root cause - insulin resistance, and it reverses that quite well. Other plans accept the insulin resistance and look to limit the amount of sugar that you take in. Then you get more insulin resistance over time and are in a cycle.

[JeffN]

New to the board, My wife is a life long vegetarian and I have been mostly a vegetarian for the last year or so. I decided to go all the way with the vegan diet. and probably McDougall's . However I am pre diabetic if not full blown. I am concerned with the percentage of carbs that seem to be a part of it. 80 percent? isn't that a bit high for a diabetic?

Greetings and welcome.

The most important point in getting your situation under control is to understand the principles, guidelines and recommendations of the program, all of which are explained in detail at the main website and in this forum. This will take some time in going through the readings and there is no short-cut to that.

It is also important to realize that while many choose to become Vegan, being vegan is not in and of itself, a solution for diabetes. Following the principles of the program is. So, I would recommend you "go all the way with the program and probably vegan" if you want.

I would also recommend you consider adopting the Maximum Weight Loss program regardless of whether you need to lose any weight. The reason is, it is the program that has the clearest and simplest definition and will produce the best results the quickest.

Supplements may lower blood sugar, but they do not address the underlying cause of, or reverse, the disease. It is better to address the causes of the disease, then to "treat the numbers."

There are many threads on these topics, which might be beneficial for you to review, many of which are linked in the "Hot Topic" thread above and can be found on the main website also.

Besides the valuable link provided above, the following is a good start

Diabetes
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6321
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10136
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6969
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7671
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8615
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9455

Intact Whole Grains vs Refined Processed Grains
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6045
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6512
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6122

McDougalling vs Veganism (from my perspective)
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10733
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7342
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5071
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10164
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12896
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6302

Variety vs Simplicity: The Key to Success
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8179


In Health
Jeff

[SactoBob]

Jeff has provided you with some great advice. But another thing which he is too modest to mention is that he has some dvds which you can purchase that are not expensive and worth far, far, more than the minimal cost. You could contact him by email or pm here.

In particular, Jeff does a presentation on label reading that I think is required for anybody to convert to this way of eating. Without the knowledge in that dvd, it is easy to consume things that you think are healthy and fat free when they are neither.

I also recommend highly all of the dvds that Dr. McDougall sells here. I think I have almost all of them, and they are all extremely excellent.

[Randrews]

Thanks for all the replies, a little more background information, I have never been actually, definitively, pronounced a diabetic. I was at a clinic for a checkup to renew my b12 prescription and the doctor called a day later saying my blood glucose was 400! Since then I gave up all processed food, bread,and sugar.( with a bunch of backsliding along the way of course!) I exercise at the YMCA now and I thought I could get away with some junk food, but when I went to a clinic to get my cholesterol checked they told me my blood sugar was 280, (this was after eating fast food biscuits and a soft drink) My cholesterol was 152. A few weeks later I went to a clinic to try to get in a diabetes study and they gave me an A1c test and they told me I didn't qualify because my test numbers weren't high enough at 5.9. My glucose meter is broken so I bought a new one last night. Four hours after eating it was 90. What I don't understand is that I checked it this morning having eaten nothing and it was 107. Why would the number go up?

[Gweithgar]

Hi, Randrews,
Part of the "secret" of why McDougall works so well against Type 2 Diabetes is that it is a very low fat diet, only about 10% of total calories should come from fat. Too much fat circulating in the blood will coat everything including glucose molecules and insulin molecules. This coating keeps the insulin from doing its job, so blood glucose levels rise. That's the layman's version of what is going on internally. Basically, if the fats are kept low enough and the carbs are kept in a whole food form (not syrups or refined sugars, flours, starches) your blood glucose readings should normalize. That has, indeed, been my experience so far.

[JeffN]

I appreciate your response and experience, however, it is important to clarify the issue. We do not recommend the use of the supplements you discussed nor do we use them at all at the program and are able to get dramatic results quickly.

At the 10-Day program, we usually take most diabetics off of all medications immediately upon starting the program and we often see dramatic results in regard to blood sugar in as little as 2-5 days. We just had a diabetic at a 10-Day program whose blood sugar dropped over 80 points in the first 3 days and over 115 by the end of the program. This was also while eliminating all their medications.

Now, these patients are under constant medical supervision and strict adherence to the program, so I am not recommending this for everyone at home to do on their own. However, strict adherence to the program while working with your healthcare professional in regard to your personal situation is recommended but supplements are not.

Cinnamon as a spice/flavoring is allowed though its value for lowering blood sugar is questionable at best

It is not recommended as a supplement.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10289

Chromium has no real evidence for its support as a an adjunct for a healthy low fat plant based diet.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9490

The best was to see faster results, is by strict adherence to the program over time.

Again, thanks.

In Health
Jeff

[brannach]

JeffN said "The most important point in getting your situation under control is to understand the principles, guidelines and recommendations of the program, all of which are explained in detail at the main website and in this forum. This will take some time in going through the readings and there is no short-cut to that".

Thanks Jeff - I was in need of inspiration and you've given it to me.

I also have PCOS and Type 2 diabetes and I've been finding it a struggle for the last couple of years (since my Dad died). I've hit menopause and I'm frustrated because my experience seems different to my sister and even the doctor's can't tell me what to expect (even broadly). I'm stressed, depressed and feeling a tad out of control.

THEN your great words - when I think back to how great this program was for me when I first started it 5 years ago I remember reading everything I could get my hands on (and talked to my family doctor, my inspiration really, who also follows Dr McDougall). I've just finished the China Study, and Maximum Weight Loss is sitting on my desk waiting for me to re-read it.

The simple answer for me, THANK YOU, is that I'm not following the program strictly. A little bit of this and a little bit of that - DOES HURT! Higher blood sugars, weight gain, not sleeping so well, tired, which leads to eating more (of the wrong things). I never did quite get off metformin (but I certainly got off the sulfonylureas), but I'm not on the insulin my endocrinologist advised at that time and I don't have high blood pressure or any of that other stuff that comes with long-term diabetes.

I'm all set to get back on the whole foods, low fat v*gan McDougall plan - via the Maximum Weight Loss program.