I've got tons of videos on type 2 diabetes,
the lifestyle disease,
but can a plant-based diet have any impact on type 1 diabetes,
the autoimmune disease?
Watch the video to find out.
"Treating Type 1 Diabetes with a Plant-Based Diet"
The brand-new International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention
had its share of typical plant- based miraculous disease reversals.
After having not one but two heart attacks within two months,
a whole food, plant-based diet and no more chest pain,
controlling his cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugars
while losing 50 pounds as a neat little side-bonus.
Yet the numbers don’t capture the transformation, the resurrection
from feeling like a “dead man walking” to getting his life back.
I already discussed the cases of autoimmune inflammatory
disease reversal, the psoriasis, the lupus, nephritis (kidney inflammation);
and speaking of autoimmune- diseases-we-didn’t-think-
we-could-do-anything- about, type 1 diabetes.
In contrast to type 2 diabetes, which is a lifestyle disease
that can be prevented and reversed with a healthy enough diet and lifestyle,
type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks
your own pancreas, killing off your insulin-producing cells
condemning you to a life of insulin injections—
unless, perhaps, you catch it early enough.
Maybe if we can switch people early enough to a healthy enough diet,
we can reverse the course by blunting that autoimmune inflammation.
Now, we know patients with type 1 may be able to reduce
insulin requirements and achieve better blood sugar control with healthier diets.
For example, randomize children and teens to a nutritional intervention
in which they boost the whole plant food density of their diet,
meaning eating more whole grains, whole fruit, vegetables, legumes
(which are beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils), nuts, and seeds.
And the more whole plant foods, the better the blood sugar control.
The fact that more whole fruits was associated with better
blood sugar control has important clinical implications
for nutrition education in those struggling with type 1.
We should be educating them on the beneﬁts of fruit intake
and allaying “erroneous concerns that fruit may adversely affect blood sugar".
But this case series went beyond just proposing better control of the symptom
of diabetes—high blood sugars—but better control of the disease itself,
suggesting the anti-inﬂammatory eﬀects of whole healthy plant foods
may slow or prevent further destruction of the insulin-producing cells
of the pancreas, if the dietary intervention is initiated early enough.
Where are they getting this from? Check it out.
One patient who began a vegetable- rich diet at age three immediately
following diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, but three years later
still has yet to require insulin therapy, while experiencing
a steady decline in autoantibody levels, markers of insulin cell destruction.
Another child, who didn’t start eating healthier until several months
after diagnosis, maintains a low dose of insulin with good control.
And even if the insulin-producing cells have been utterly destroyed,
type 1 diabetics can still enjoy dramatically reduced insulin requirements
and reduced inflammation and reduced cardiovascular risk,
which is the #1 cause of death for type 1 diabetics over the age of 30.
Type 1’s have 11 to 14 times the risk of death from cardiovascular disease
compared to the general population, and it’s already the #1 killer
among the public, so it’s like 11 to 14 times more important
for type 1 diabetics to be on the only diet and lifestyle program
ever proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients—
one centered around whole plant foods.
And the fact that it may also help control the disease itself
is just sugar-free icing on the cake.
All this exciting new research was just from the first issue of the journal!
As a bonus there’s a companion publication called the Disease Reversal
and Prevention Digest, a companion publication to the
International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention
for the lay public with the belief I wholeheartedly share
that everyone has a right to understand the science
that could impact their health.
And so, you can go behind the scenes and hear directly from
the author of the lupus series, with bonus interviews from luminaries
like Dean Ornish, practical tips from dietitians on making
the transition towards a healthier diet, complete with recipes.
The second issue continued to feature practical tips
like how to eat plant-based on a budget, what Dr. Klaper is doing
to educate medical students, what Audrey Sanchez from Balanced is doing
to help change school lunches, and if you think that’s hard,
Dr. Ostfeld got healthy foods served in a hospital. What a concept!
And, what magazine would be complete without an article
to improve your sex life.
Now, while the journal itself is free, downloadable at IJDRP.org,
the companion digest, available at diseasereversaldigest.com,
carries a subscription fee, but I, for one, am a proud subscriber.