According to the CDC,
“In the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than TRIPLED as the American population has aged and become more overweight or obese.”
Some key facts to consider [1], [2]:
- 1 in 10 people in the US have diabetes, and 25% of them don’t know they have it.
- 415 million people live with diabetes worldwide.
- More than 1 in 3 people in the US have prediabetes, and 90% of them don’t know they have it.
- Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the US.
- Of all the diagnosed cases of diabetes, 90% are Type 2, and only about 5% are Type 1 diabetes.
- People with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke as people without diabetes—and at an earlier age.
- Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure
- Medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $327 billion yearly.
- Medical costs for people with diabetes are twice as high as for people who don’t have diabetes.
To learn a bit more about diabetes, please check out our earlier article about the topic.
To sum it up – metabolic diseases (especially Type 2 Diabetes) are on the rise and show no signs of stopping. So, what’s the medical model say we should do to combat this? Well, the Mayo Clinic recommends a “management” treatment of the following [3]:
- Healthy eating – Yes!
- Regular exercise – Agree on this one, too!
- Diabetes medication or insulin therapy – Aw, crap. Now, here’s where they go sideways.
The main issue I have, is the mindset that Type 2 Diabetes is a disease that needs to be “managed.” Diabetes is not a disease. You can’t catch it. It has no weight. There is no virus or gene that causes it. It simply comes from diet. Plain and simple. I know most people don’t want to hear it, but it’s true. The doctor isn’t going to tell you that, because he or she is trained to prescribe medications. They don’t have the time nor energy nor knowledge to educate you on the pathology (the science behind where it came from), or investigate why you got here in the first place. It’s up to you to become educated and look into how YOU can solve this problem. Yes. You can CURE your diabetes without medication – reverse it – don’t “live with it.”
Keep in mind, diabetes is your body’s way of adapting to chronic overexposure to carbohydrates. Meaning, your body is trying to take steps to protect itself from all that sugar you’re eating on a daily basis. With this in mind – wouldn’t the logical step be to, I don’t know…stop eating carbohydrates?
“But sometimes it’s just easier to take a pill.”
Ugh.
If you’ve been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes, chances are your doctor has prescribed you Metformin. So, let’s take a look at that, shall we?
Metformin lowers the amount of sugar your liver makes and increases natural substances that may increase insulin release. [4] It’s way more complicated than that, but just know that it alters your physiology and “tricks” your body into doing things it’s not supposed to. And, although it’s been prescribed to at least 120 million people worldwide, no one really knows the exact mode of action! [5] Yup, the drug companies (and by extension your doctor) don’t really know how it works, but you take it anyway! After all, they are the doctor. Right?
So, why are we so concerned about blood glucose levels in the first place? Well, according to WebMD [6]:
| Early signs of high blood sugar include: | Ongoing high blood sugar may cause: |
| Increased thirst | Vaginal and skin infections |
| Headaches | Slow-healing cuts and sores |
| Trouble concentrating | Worse vision |
| Blurred vision | Nerve damage causing painful cold or insensitive feet |
| Frequent peeing | Loss of hair on the lower extremities |
| Fatigue (weak, tired feeling) | Erectile dysfunction |
| Stomach and intestinal problems (chronic constipation or diarrhea) | |
| Damage to your eyes, blood vessels or kidneys |
To recap: The reason you become diabetic is due to a diet rich in sugar and refined carbohydrates over a long period of time, which leads to the body taking protective measures (becoming insulin resistant, shuttling excess glucose into the urine, et cetera), which we then bypass by stimulating the body (through medication) to [basically] shut up and deal with it anyway – all in an effort to avoid blindness, neuropathy, kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes so we can continue to eat cupcakes and chips?
I guess now would be a good time to point out that Metformin has NOT been shown to make any difference to clinical outcomes such as cardiovascular events and deaths. [7] More over, while you’re NOT reducing your risk of strokes or heart attacks, continue to damage your liver and kidneys, increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease, going blind, peeing all the time, and feel exhausted 24/7, you can also expect to experience the following common side effects from your medication [8]:
| Metformin – common side effects | |||
| Chest pain | Nausea | Vomiting | Diarrhea |
| Upset stomach | Headache | Weight gain | Hypoglycemia |
| Joint pain | Metallic taste in mouth | Constipation | Skin blisters |
| Vitamin B12 deficiency | Lactic acidosis | ||
“Wait. The list of side effects from the drug looks remarkably similar to the list of symptoms it’s trying to treat. How am I supposed to know it’s working or not? No bother. I guess it’s okay.” Why not chase those symptoms with:
a shot of pepto for the tummy issues (assuming it doesn’t lead to anxiety, confusion, depression, weakness, hearing loss or vision problems) [9],
and then you’ll want some Tylenol to take care of the headache (albeit you’ll be damaging your liver and causing more joint pain since it destroys that, too) [10],
and then maybe an SSRI to deal with the depression that’s set in from feeling like crap every day (if you can deal with the excessive drowsiness, more nausea, restlessness, burred vission and more headaches) [11],
and when you continue down this slippery slope, and refuse to make the lifestyle changes needed to succeed – you’ll be prescribed Metformin Glyburide, then insulin, then more insulin, and so on.
It’s a never ending spiral, a game of whack-o-mole, a black hole, a disaster in the making.
So, basically – we’re left with an endless cycle of symptoms that are the same as the original problems we were trying to avoid in the first place! We are treating the symptoms and not the initial problem. That’s like fixing a leaky roof just by putting buckets to catch the water. Wouldn’t it make more sense to fix the roof? Wouldn’t it just be EASIER to avoid refined carbohydrates for just 2-4 weeks and heal the issue at hand once and for all? Medications do NOT fix the problem. YOU fix the problem! Yes. You can cure diabetes in as little as 2-4 weeks with a proper nutrition plan!
Studies show that a ketogenic diet can,
- Prevent certain complications of prediabetes and provides additional significant benefits [12];
- Restore insulin sensitivity, restore memory function, improve neuroplasticity, and normalize metabolic syndrome biomarkers [13], [14];
- Lead to increased lifelong weight loss [15]
And you don’t necessarily have to go “Keto.”
What to do:
Our guidance is to become aware, make conscious decisions, and form healthy habits that are sustainable. Crash diets won’t work. You need to make lifestyle changes to reverse the decades of destruction you’ve put your body through. But it doesn’t have to be hard!
- Follow the Heading Healthy Road Map! We outline the simple steps you can do today to reverse your diabetes in our weight loss article. And, yeah! Losing weight is a side effect of getting healthy! Beats constipation and headaches – doesn’t it?
- Start cooking wholesome meals! Every one of our recipes are use nutritious foods and are crafted for health and happiness (along with being super yummy). They follow basic biology for increasing health and reducing risk of disease – lowering refined carbohydrate intake and increasing healthy fats.
- Try intermittent fasting to allow your body time to adjust and normalize.
- Stick to it! That’s it! Just give it 2-4 weeks and you’ll see the difference
Still need more help? No problem. Check out our FAQ page, send us an email or comment below with any questions you may have. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly tips and tricks on Heading Healthy. We’re here to help you find your optimal self.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/quick-facts.html
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673617300582
[3] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351199
[4] https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2006/021748s002lbl.pdf
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3398862/
[6] https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/diabetes-hyperglycemia#1
[7] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31541-1/fulltext
[8] https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-11285-7061/metformin-oral/metformin-oral/details
[9] https://www.drugs.com/sfx/pepto-bismol-side-effects.html
[10] https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/depression/2233
[11] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/ssris/art-20044825
[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29763602
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29748034
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29743883
[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29556949
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