Saw this on the BBC and thought it belonged here.
Fasting-Mimicking Diet Promotes Ngn3-Driven β-Cell Regeneration to Reverse Diabetes
mcebis
(mcebis)
#3
Guess therapeutic feasting & fasting gives hope to us all. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39070183 @richard
shamelessmash
(Chris Divito)
#4
But before I get into how much I have been able to improve my pancreas by eating Keto/IF, I need to explain how our misguided healthcare system in Canada, almost killed me. Since 2000 or so I had been on and off an Atkins/Paleo type diet and was keto adapted. But for about 30 years, I had a bloating and sinus issue whenever I ate anything, particularly any complex carbohydrate and fructose, not so much with simple carbohydrates. I had been to doctors and specialists in BC, SK and in ON, without anyone being able to tell me why or help in anyway. My new doctor here in Windsor insisted before we do anything else I needed to see and allergist, despite me telling him I had no allergies and it would happen or not happen to varying degrees regardless of the food I ate. Say I would have bacon and eggs every morning for a week. One day I could get half way through and get congested, have to stop for 15min then continue, other days on the first bite I would instantly bloat and could not control my sneezing for up to two hours. This condition made going out to eat a drag as most of the time within a few bites I would have to stop eating and take my food home. Anyways, so I went to the allergy doctor despite knowing I had no allergies. He did the testing and said you have no allergies. He then said he wanted me to go onto his elimination diet. This diet he wanted me to go onto had no fat and I was told to eat fruit, drink juice and even sub-out my diet pop for full sugar regular pop. I told him I was keto adapted and had not eaten most of the items he wanted me to eat for over 20 years. To which he said this was the only way to get to the root cause of my stomach issues. So, the lesser of the two evils in my mind and if I gained a few pounds, but resolved my stomach and sinus issues, it would be well worth it.
Within a week, I was at the Windsor hospital with Ketoacidosis, but they had no idea what was wrong with me and sent me away with four different prescriptions to treat my symptoms. Which I tore up in the parking lot and had my father drive me to the university hospital in London, and lucky I did as this is where they told me what was really wrong and admitted me immediately.
I was then told I was diabetic? I told them I did not think I was and tried to explain what had happened with the last week and the high carbohydrate-no fat diet I had been put on. To which they told me it was not that but the 25 years I had been on the Atkins type diet, really? Since I was overweight still like 230lbs they suspected I was type two, but since I was producing no insulin I could be type one? They then explained, regardless I would now have to take insulin and how to cover-my-carbs. I said if the amount of insulin I would need to take depended on the amount of carbs I ate, I would just go back to not eating carbs. They then told me I had to eat carbs, the brain needed them, blah, blah, blah again and that the Atkins diet would kill me.
This made no sense, but for the first few days I was there I was to weak to argue, and ate what they gave me and took my huge amounts of insulin like a good compliant patient. But this was all so illogical, so I downloaded Dr. Bernstein’s book for diabetics. After reading it, I then tried to order protein, fat and fresh vegetables for my meals as what they were trying to serve me made no sense for a diabetic, for example: Breakfast was a muffin or bagel, yogurt/fruit, some kind of fruit, cereal with skim milk and if I was lucky one egg and an ounce of cheese. Again, I questioned the dietitians and doctors on why they would be feeding high carbohydrate meals to diabetics, to which I was told that was the recommended diet for someone with my condition. It became obvious the only people who would be benefitting from me eating this way were the shareholders of the drug companies making the insulin.
As soon as I could walk I found a Cora’s restaurant about a 20min walk from the hospital and started going there for breakfast. I would get eggs and bacon with a side of hollandaise, and like magic my blood sugars started to normalise. There was a Subway in the hospital where I could get a salad, as I was told the hospital kitchen did not have the ingredients to make one. I then went to the grocery store and bought salad fixings, meat, cheese and mayo. After just over a week I was told I would be there for another week or so, that was until they found my food stash. I think they had suspected something was a miss as I was not eating the carbohydrate meals they were serving me and had questioned me about not eating, more than once. All of a sudden, I was told if I was well enough to go and get my own food I did not need to be in the hospital and I could leave the next day. A few of the doctors gave me a look as if they knew I should not be eating carbohydrates but refused to say anything about it.
So, although my c-peptide level (345) was just under the normal levels the first endocrinologist I saw concluded I was for sure a type one. He told me at that time I should expect a steady decline of my pancreas activity to 0. When six months later I was up to 270lbs from 220lbs, I asked him why and what I could do about it and he said eat less and walked out of the room. With no explanation. I now know through my own research, that as long as I am taking insulin my bodies ability to burn fat would be stopped. Clearly, he is not up to date on what is going on with diabetics and I quickly found a new specialist.
I started with the Diabetes Association once I was back home, luckily with a fairly neutral dietitian who does not get on my back for being on a Keto diet with IF. I did ask her once about why they do not just change the diets for type twos as most type twos could be cured within a week or two by not eating carbs and she said most type twos do not want to give up their carbs. I would suspect that part of the reason is as well, if her colleagues or her association knew she gave out that kind of advice she would lose her license. Many dietitians and doctors around the world have gone through this in recent years and it is wrong. Think about the cost to our system when 90%-95% of the people with diabetes could be cured, off all medications and have no complications by just changing their diets, because a group of misguided individuals and associations do not want to admit they were and are wrong. And despite the fact the Accord study clearly showed increased mortality rates, with increases in insulin doses, drug companies and diabetic associations still promote the “cover-your-carbs” with insulin practice.
So after three years, starting on more of an LCHF type diet and for a year now implementing a more Keto diet, IF & fasting. I also switched to organic produce and pastured animals. I have been able to go from 270lbs down to 225lbs, got better results on my last eyesight test and my c-peptide is now 373, up from 345. When I had my pancreas retested two months ago and was happy to see the increase, but my doctor said well either test could be out by 10% so it was meaningless? Really when I was told it would decline to 0? I tried to explain about the stem cell therapy from Viacyte and I was using IF and a few longer fasts to increase stem cell production to repair my pancreas but again he dismissed this and my improved eyesight with making a joke that I was regenerating like wolverine.
Anyways my point is, although I am a N=1 study, the Keto diet, IF and fasting seems to be working to not only keep my blood sugar down, use low levels of insulin (24-40 long and rapid/day), but produce stem cells that seem to be repairing my pancreas. Last, for any diabetics reading this I also started eating more raw fish, meat and eggs. The days I eat raw I have the lowest blood sugar number and use the least amount of insulin; same or some days lower and less than when I am fasting. For instance 8oz raw beef, 4 egg yolks, 2 eggs, 2oz grass fed butter, 1oz coconut oil, 1 oz olive oil, so close to 16oz total food. Blood sugar started at 3.7 at 9:30am, before I ate, 5.6 at 11:30 (one unit rapid to correct), 5.9 at 4:26 (one unit rapid to correct), 4.2 at 6:25, 3.4 at 8:26. Not only did it barely raise my blood sugar, but a pound of food only required 2 units of rapid to correct it. Consider if I ate a pound of carbohydrate I would have had to take 90 units of rapid to cover it. If I cooked the eggs and beef I would have needed 20 units to cover it throughout the day, but my blood sugars would never be so low, more like somewhere from 7-10. I am not sure why cooking would change the amount of rapid needed for the protein, but after eating some raw days over the last six months I tell you it definitely does.
VLC.MD
(VLC.MD)
#6
shamelessmash
(Chris Divito)
#7
I could have LADA, but the endocrinologist diagnosed it as T1 caused by a viral or bacterial infection. I suspect I was a T2 for years and the final straw that broke the proverbial camels back was the ridiculous high carb/low fat diet the allergy doctor put me on. All testing I had prior showed no signs of being a diabetic, although no doctor ever sent me for a insulin resistance test, Kraft test, which would have been better than the A1C for an advanced diagnosis.
My initial A1C, July 2015 was 12.4. My last test was 5.4 March 2017 and I was taking 20-40 units of long and rapid insulin/day. Prior to my last A1C test I was doing a 12:12 IF schedule and eating a primal (90% raw protein - 10% cooked or cured) keto (80% fat animal & olive oil/coconut oil/avocado oil/20% protein). I was still eating an avocado or some fermented vegetables. This was fairly successful, but I was still getting a range of blood sugar numbers from 3-9 during the day.
Currently, my daily average blood sugars are 4 - 5 using only 10 units of long/day and some days 2 units of rapid. I have been able to achieve this by implementing OMAD starting at 23:1 - one meal, high protein/moderate fat now 20:4 two high protein/low-moderate fat meals. The second element that has lead to this success is switching to a carnivore diet - 100% animal protein and fats, 95% raw, no dairy or plant based foods. Despite having to inject insulin I am now down to 205lbs from 270lbs when I was first diagnosed.
I was stalled for three months with weight loss and average blood sugars were from 5-7. When I started clean fasting, only water, black coffee or tea and dropping all dairy in my eating window as well, the weight started to come off and my blood sugars stabilized and have gone down to an average of 4-5/day. Not only are my blood sugars stable, but do not go up much, if at all, overnight or between waking and the second blood sugar test of the day. Also, all my most recent labs are excellent, including due to my doctors concerns, all of my organs are in good shape after having an ultrasound.
Previously, I stated this was a N=1 study, but my business partner has also now started on the same woe and fasting schedule I am on. She is twenty years my junior and for ten years had colitis and was on five different medications for depression, anxiety and sleep issues. After only three months the colitis is gone and she is off all of her medications. She has had no occurrence of symptoms, has gone from not sleeping for two days to being able to sleep within five minutes of lying down. She would also tell you she can think clearly and faster, her memory has improved and she finally feels like herself. So this eating and fasting protocol not only worked for me but has worked for her for completely different health issues.
Last, her dog Champ, six months ago, was given a month to live by the vet. Her parents gave her Champ, a 65lb puggle, who was lazy and covered with tumors. We put her on my dogs diet of meat and fat, one meal a day. Champ now is down to 30lbs, went from a fat tube shape to look like she has been working out. She has the energy of a puppy and most of her tumors are gone or reduced by 75%.