Exactly four days ago I sat in the doctor's office and was told I have type 2 diabetes (T2D).
My blood sugar over the past three months, according to my A1C blood test, indicated an average blood sugar level of over 10. The threshold is 7.
Doctor says in my case, because the sugar is so high it is a genetic trigger. I tried to match my own symptoms with some kind of time frame, and my most notable symptoms of fatigue, foggy mind, excessive thirst and peeing, go back only two or three months.
So I went to the pharmacy with my prescription for some pills, insulin, and a blood sugar monitor. I also loaded up with some injector needles, blood pressure lancets complete with spring-loaded poking tool, test strips and a yellow plastic sharps disposal bin.
The pharmacist picked out a blood pressure monitor. The government pays for that. I have to pay for the test strips and the lancets.
The insulin comes in an easy-to-use injector. Dial it up on the end, press the button after sticking the needle into your belly or thigh or whatever. Oh yes, and clean your skin with an alcohol swab before sticking a needle in.
So I came home and looked at all of my packages.
I began to regularly check my blood sugar. I was surprised to see levels in the mid-teens, high-teens, and even 20 a couple of times. This was with no dietary changes.
At this point I began looking for more information. My doctor had given me a package of information to read. The package was poorly edited and formatted. Words were omitted. Obviously, it was a copy and paste from somewhere. One of the links for more information was The Canada Food Guide. The second link took me to a website owned and operated by Glucerna, which is a meal replacement product.
Well, thank-you doctor. You pointed me to my government's advice, and to a commercial supplier website.
Fail.
Why isn't my doctor pointing me to the latest research on T2D? I already suspect that he will defend the status quo. In fact he told me when I said to him, "If insulin is the best treatment, then why would I not want it?" and his reply was, "That's great. There's a lot of stigma around insulin; some people think it should be last resort. I'm glad you want to go right ahead. This is what I do."
I didn't realize it at the time, but I was facing up to a belief system. My doctor was lining me up for the accepted treatment, which is to treat T2D like a genetic disease that is incurable, and to treat the harmful symptom (high blood sugar) with a drug called insulin.
According to my doctor, we would begin a process of adjusting dosages and managing how much insulin I would need to keep my blood sugar down at a safe level.
He didn't tell me that taking insulin would probably lead to weight gain.
He didn't tell me that there were some serious dietary principles that I should know about. What he said was, "Diet and exercise are two of the cornerstones of good health."
That got my doctor off the hook pretty conveniently.
Then he booked me in with the dietician and the assistant nurse, and he got on with his day. "If you have any questions, give us a call," he said.
Wow. That was quick and easy.
Too easy.
Next, I turned to the web. First off I noticed that there were lots of YouTube videos about "reversal of T2D" - I found a couple of TED talks on the subject. A Canadian doctor, Jason Fung, had a high presence and very positive comment feedback on his videos. He has written a book called The Obesity Code, and also another called The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally.
Into the rabbit hole I went. Here I am three days later, and embarking on a low-carb, high fat diet. It's time to get the sugar out of my body, and let my fat-filled liver and my fat-stuffed tissues get back into a healthier state. It's time to allow my insulin levels to self-correct as I deal with the sugar in my diet.
As Fung puts it, I need to get the sugar out of my body.
Fung also explained that the cause of insulin resistance is – wait for it – insulin. So by adding more insulin I will just make my body resist it more. It's like twiddling the knobs and not knowing what they do.
If I begin the insulin regime, I will begin a vicious cycle where my body's resistance to insulin will continue to build. I will likely need to gradually increase my dosage, while at the same time gaining weight. How is that good for me?
What Jason Fung explains is that insulin, when injected artificially as a treatment for high blood sugar, is incorrectly perceived as a cure. Far from the fact, it is making things worse. Insulin, when added to the system, has the effect of "cramming" sugar into wherever the body can take it. So the result, over years, is a fat-filled liver, fat-filled cells, deposits of fat all over the body. Every time we eat, especially when we eat foods with carbs or sugars, we are telling the body "get insulin" and "store fat." And my body isn't producing the insulin for a reason. There is an underlying hormonal problem which I will address through dietary change and behavioural change, not by taking insulin.
So I have decided that I will take my diet seriously for the first time in my life.
A couple of very significant videos have changed my thinking. I've put them here for convenience.
Jason Fung
BBC Documentary on high-fact, low carb diet.
The corporate influence behind the "low fat" diet falsehood.
Upbeat and almost irritating, but very on-point about changing the dietary playbook in our heads.
Update posted August 2021
