Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a growing epidemic that will affect one out of every three Americans, according to the CDC. Even more concerning, about 90% of people who will eventually become diabetic are currently unaware that they are at risk. The graph below shows how diabetes has skyrocketed over the past forty years:
In 1975, 2.3% of Americans had diabetes. In 2015, that number had more than tripled to 7.4%. Today, the CDC estimates that 34% of Americans have "pre-diabetes" and are well on their way to a future diabetes diagnosis.
So what happened? What changed? Are we humans just fundamentally different than we were forty years ago? Or did something change in our environment and the world around us?
As you might suspect, T2D is not a "disease" like an infection or something that we mysteriously "catch". Instead, it is the result of rapid changes in our food system affecting how we fuel our bodies, and can ultimately be summed up in three words: too much sugar.
Since T2D is so common today, a new diagnosis is not considered a medical emergency. Instead, it is a routine diagnosis that comes with general diet advice and an expected progression of medications as well as eventual complications -- weight gain, heart disease, eye disease, vascular disease, kidney failure, and infections requiring amputation.
Given how damaging diabetes and its complications are, it's much better to recognize it as a true emergency -- a lifestyle emergency. If you or someone you love is concerned about a new pre-diabetes or diabetes diagnosis, know that T2D can almost always be reversed by focusing on the root cause.
T2D is diagnosed by having abnormally high glucose (sugar) in the blood. Medications all attempt to lower blood sugar, yet not all medications that lower blood sugar reduce the risk of diabetes complications! Some medications, like insulin, lower blood sugar by pulling sugar out of the blood and into your body's cells. However, the pivotal ACCORD trial in 2008 was stopped prematurely after only 3.5 years of followup when it became clear that the "intensive therapy" group targeting lower blood sugar levels was having significantly more deaths than the standard therapy group.
The conclusion? Lowering blood sugar at all costs isn't the best treatment goal. If you're lowering blood sugar by taking more insulin to force more sugar into your body's cells, you're doing it wrong. High blood sugar is a symptom, and masking that symptom with insulin while not actually getting rid of the sugar causes more problems.
Since the ACCORD trial, researchers have begun questioning prior assumptions and are beginning to consider a startlingly simple possibility: the best way to lower blood glucose is to cut it off at the source, and prevent it from entering the body in the first place. In other words, don't eat it -- and reduce your need for insulin.
Think about it this way -- when your body is overloaded with sugar to the point that you become "insulin resistant" and have high blood glucose, your body is sending you the strongest possible signal that you're filled up with sugar and don't want any more. Trying to override that signal by taking more insulin to force your cells to take more sugar out of the blood is like trying to stuff even more clothes into an overloaded suitcase.
A better approach is taking a Journey 2 Health, with a commitment to Eating Well and choosing a J2H food plan that fits your goals and lifestyle. Educate yourself on the many hidden sugars in processed foods. Eliminate refined sugars and acellular carbohydrates like flour and concentrated fructose (especially high fructose corn syrup). Enjoy real, nourishing foods. Practice intermittent fasting. These steps reduce your exposure to sugar, burn stored fat, and ultimately decrease insulin. For more details, watch this video from Toronto nephologist Dr. Jason Fung.
It's taken us decades of processed foods and concentrated carbohydrates to climb this mountain of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. The great news is that every meal is an opportunity to take a step in a healthier direction.
