Column #221

Diabetes can be conquered naturally but it takes willpower. The same is also true for obesity. Because willpower is in short supply these days, doctors make fortunes prescribing drugs and operations. Those choices are the easy way out because no willpower is required. Just pop a pill (or injection) and/or suffer the operation. This allows the patient to “live” with their affliction and all is good. Well . . . sort of good.

Chronic diseases are body failures that are usually caused by eating too much of the wrong foods. Foods will abuse body functions when they fall into one or more of these three categories.
1.    High glycemic
2.    Nutrient lite
3.    Improperly balanced essential vitamins, fats, and minerals

Often it takes years of eating abusive foods to cause health issues. By then habits are well-ingrained for taste, smell, texture, color, and other sensory perceptions that even include the social connections made with sharing meals. Consequently people end up addicted to their dining routines. Unfortunately, food addictions are as powerful as alcohol or nicotine addictions and, when abusive, they can be just as deadly.¹

When a person has a chronic disease, they have three options.
1.    They can ignore it;
2.    They can take drugs and/or undergo operations;
3.    They can eliminate foods from their diet that cause health issues.²

Of course ignoring the health issues is discouraged by everyone because they usually get worse, much worse. That’s why annual checkups (more trips to doctors) are so highly recommended. Naturally, there are also scores of people who claim that only the second choice works and it’s nutty to believe that highly recommended foods such as whole grains, fruit, and vegetables can cause health issues–especially if they are organic. Most often these people also restrict their consumption of red meat, fat, and salt. Doctors and even some nutritionists will vouch for that “healthy” approach even though their patients are diabetic and obese for life!

It stands to reason that if certain foods cause chronic diseases, avoiding them may be very helpful. The trick then is to replace them with better foods. One advocate of using diet for addressing chromic health issues is Dr. Zsófia Clemens, the cofounder of ICMNI / Paleomedicina Hungary. She is a biologist and clinical researcher specializing in nutrition, nutritional therapy, and brain research. Her research areas include physiology of ketosis, electroencephalography, vitamin D, dietary interventions in cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Clemens points out that metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions that occur together) affects at least 20% of the world’s adult population. Its components include obesity, impaired glucose metabolism, hypertension, and altered lipid profiles. Currently, drug reliance for treating those issues is a problem because in time excessively medicated, long-standing patients experience an increase in the number and severity of their symptoms. So instead of drugs she points to the limited number of clinical studies that indicate low-carbohydrate diets (including the paleolithic and ketogenic diets) show promise in treating conditions associated with the metabolic syndrome.

Dr. Csaba Tóth (physician/researcher) and Dr. Clemens coauthored a report titled “Successful Treatment of a Patient with Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension with the Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet.” In it they explained how a patient with metabolic syndrome was successfully treated with the paleolithic/ketogenic diet. In the process the patient was able to discontinue eight medications, lose weight, exhibit a continuous improvement in glucose parameters, and her blood pressure normalized. The patient was still on the paleolithic/ketogenic diet 22 months later and remained free of symptoms and side effects. They concluded “that the paleolithic ketogenic diet was safe, feasible and effective in the treatment of this patient with metabolic syndrome.”³

What changes were required in the diet of their 65-year-old female patient with metabolic syndrome?

The report stated the patient was motivated to lose weight and stop using her many prescribed medications. Therefore, instead of drugs she was prescribed the paleolithic/ketogenic diet. She was to eat no less than 70% animal-based food with a fat to protein ratio of 2:1. Fat and red meats were preferred to lean meats. Organ meats were encouraged for their vitamins. Plant-derived food, including root vegetables and small amounts of fruit, could be no more than 30% of the diet. All dairy, cereals, grains, legumes, solanaceous vegetables (nightshades), plant oils (including coconut oil), artificial sweeteners and foods with additives were banned.

Typically the patient’s primary foods included broth, stew, fried bacon, beef steak, stewed calf liver, braised pork marrow, and greaves (a tallow byproduct). Vegetables consumed as garnishes were limited and typically included root vegetables, onion, and cabbage.

How did these major dietary changes impact her?

Three days after starting the diet all of her medications were stopped except for bisoprolol (blood pressure). Two weeks later that was discontinued. Of course the patient was monitored closely during the first few weeks of the diet and then every three months. She started losing weight almost immediately along with improving glucose parameters and a lower blood pressure.

The doctors reported that the paleolithic/ketogenic diet lowers blood pressure by limiting fruits and foods with added fructose. When the patient deviated from the diet by eating too much fruit, her blood pressure would increase. Compared to the paleolithic diet, which does not limit fruits and vegetables, the paleolithic/ketogenic diet more efficiently normalizes blood pressure. Since the paleolithic/ketogenic diet strongly limits carbohydrate intakes, less insulin is required for normoglycemia and therefore oral antidiabetics become unnecessary.

Scientists and medical professionals that are focused on addressing chronic diseases with diet instead of drugs are convinced their approach is better. They say that drugs and operations mostly focus on single pathways and that narrow targeting can show change. But, in human studies narrowly focused approaches do not work. Chronic illnesses like cancer, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, diabetes and other afflictions require metabolical approaches that address multiple modalities.⁴

In other words, drugs and operations usually address one symptom while possibly negatively impacting many other bodily functions causing new issues. If you doubt this just read the fine print in the warning labels on any drug. Compare that drug and operation approach to a diet of low glycemic, nutrient dense and diverse foods that have properly balanced essential nutrients. Those foods address all body functions evenly across the board without being abusive. In fact, I believe the paleolithic/ketogenic diet addresses issues in our bodies that science has not yet identified.⁵

Over the years I’ve been told by many people how quickly they conquered their diabetes by changing their diet. Of course, their experiences are called anecdotal. Some people will certainly call the Tóth and Clemens study anecdotal. But who cares? If you have diabetes, just give the paleolithic/ketogenic diet a try for one month. If it helps, super. If not, you just ate some “unusual” food that didn’t do you any harm. You will still be able to do the drugs and/or operations--so have at them. It’s your money and your life.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

1. Food Addictions by Ted Slanker

2. Food Analysis Tables by Ted Slanker

3. Successful Treatment of a Patient with Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension with the Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet by Csaba Tóth and Zsófia Clemens

4. Reversing Cognitive Decline by Ted Slanker

5. The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids by Artemis Simopoulos MD

Research Reports posted on ResearchGate by Zsófia Clemens PhD

Paleomedicina Budapest Hungary