Do Not Take Nutrition Advice from the American Diabetes Association
by Erin Chamerlik, MT(ASCP)
While I am in the attack mode, let me also say, don't take nutrition advice from the government either.
We have been told by doctors and the government to build our diet around bread, grain and cereal.
These carbohydrates are basically the same as simple sugar in your bloodstream because they rapidly breakdown in your body to sugar.
If you follow the USDA guidelines and eat 60% carbohydrates, on a 2,200 calorie diet this equals about 2 cups of sugar per day (Protein Power, Eades M.D.).
What does the American Diabetes Association tell diabetics to eat for breakfast?
The ADA recommends half your breakfast plate be filled with starchy foods and 1/4 fruit.
What is wrong with this food advice from the government and the American Diabetes Association?
Almost everything!
On their website they make this ridiculous statement,
"The biggest dietary risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes is simply eating too much and being overweight. Your body doesn't care if the extra food comes from cookies or beef, it is gaining weight that is the culprit."
REWIND!
They just said it doesn't matter if your plate is loaded with cookies or a steak, it is all the same.
I would like to go on record today and say, "Do not follow the advice of any organization that says COOKIES = Beef."
Pushing grains, bread, cereal, crackers and pasta is leading to the overweight epidemic and rising numbers of Type II diabetes.
Simple carbs spike your blood sugar. This in turn will cause the release of insulin to control the spike in glucose.
Insulin is the fat storage hormone so a diet high in carbohydrates will stimulate body fat storage. (Cookies = Insulin = Fat Storage and Weight Gain)
Hello! American Diabetes Association, your body certainly does care if you are eating cookies or beef.
Animal protein and healthy fat will balance the blood sugar. The foods we eat determine our insulin levels.
Changing your diet can change your insulin levels and improve or even reverse chronic health conditions like Type II diabetes. This is not theory. This is scientifically proven, basic biochemistry found in any medical textbook.
Case study:
Mary Eades, MD and Michael R. Eades, MD describe a patient, Jayne, in their book, Protein Power.
Jayne was seen by another doctor and her lab results were:
- Cholesterol 750 mg/dl (normal <200>
- Triglycerides were 3,000 mg/dl (normal is less than 150 mg)
After six months, her cholesterol was still high at 495 mg/dl and triglycerides were 1,900 mg/dl. They had not been treating the real problem, just medicating symptoms and not solving anything.
What about Jayne? At her six month check-up the doctor saw that two cholesterol lowering drugs and the government's Cholesterol Awareness diet weren't working to lower Jayne's cholesterol and triglycerides and he prescribed yet another medication!
Fortunately Jayne found Dr. Eades for a second opinion. Dr. Eades took her off all her cholesterol lowering medication (even though her cholesterol was 495 mg/dl) and changed her diet to include animal protein like eggs and meat while getting rid of the simple carbs. She returned six weeks later to have her blood tested and here are the results:
- Cholesterol 186 (normal is less than 200 mg)
- Triglycerides were 86 (normal is less than 150 mg)
In six weeks a diet based on protein, fat and vegetables quickly brought Jayne's lipid profile into normal range while the government's dinosaur diet recommendations and prescription drugs failed after six months.
The NIH Cholesterol Awareness Diet has failed.
The American Diabetes Association diet of low-fat, high carb and low protein has failed.
As patients dutifully follow these diet recommendations their condition continues to decline while physicians flip them more prescription medication to mask the real cause.
This is why the American Diabetes Association advice is harmful to everyone, not just diabetics.
They recommend that half your breakfast come from starchy carbohydrates and 1/4 from fruit.
Let's look at an example breakfast that could follow this bad advice:
Bowl of cereal with skim milk, a banana and a glass of orange juice.
All of these foods quickly turn into sugar in your bloodstream.
Guess how much sugar? 31 tsp of sugar!
Even a second grader could tell you that people should not eat 31 tsp of sugar for breakfast.
1.5 cups cereal 60 grams carb (15 tsp sugar)
1 c skim milk 12 g carb (3 tsp sugar)
1 banana 24 g carbs (6 tsp sugar)
8 oz OJ 28 g carb (7 tsp sugar).
(Divide the number of carbohydrates by 4 to find the number of tsp of sugar that the food provides).
Diana Schwarzbein, MD discusses this absurd recommendation for breakfast in her book, The Schwarzbein Principle.
"...they ate the perfect ADA breakfast - a bowl of shredded wheat with non-fat milk, a banana and a glass of orange juice -- and watched their blood sugar rise 100 to 200 points. (A normal blood-sugar response to any meal is no more than 10 to 20 points.)"
This breakfast that the ADA recommends causes the blood sugar levels in the body to spike quickly, bringing a rush of insulin on the scene to manage the sugar and get it into the cells. Since there is too much sugar, your body stores it as fat and your blood sugar level drops too low.
What goes up must come down.
That high blood sugar drops like a rock and you feel hungry again for more sugary starchy-carbs.
This is the vicious cycle that adds body fat and increases your risk for
- diabetes
- high cholesterol
- heart disease and other problems
This is the horrible advice being dispensed by the American Diabetes Association.
Many people skip breakfast or grab a bagel at the coffee shop on their way to work or school. Some, like this young woman start to feel addicted to the morning buzz that comes from a carb-caffeine breakfast.
"I have fallen into a rut in the kitchen department and running to the 'bucks for a morning bagel has turned into an addiction. Their bagels are so yummy but there's really nothing nutritious about 5 servings of bread with 2 tablespoons of sweet cheese. I get hungry after like 3 hrs... and it's really not worth it - so *tear* farewell Starbucks bagel!"
What is in a coffee shop bagel?
Dunkin Donuts Garlic Bagels dump 17 tsp of sugar into your bloodstream. Grab a Vanilla Bean Coolatta and add another 45 tsp of sugar for a total of 62 tsp of sugar! Almost 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Take a gander at the ingredients:
Dunkin Donuts Garlic Bagel 68 g carbohydrates
INGREDIENTS: Flour, Enzyme, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Canola and/or Soybean Oil, Degermed Yellow Corn Meal, Rice Flour, Natural Flavor, Yeast, DATEM, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, L-Cysteine Hydrochloride, Soy, Garlic.
Azodicarbonamide?? It is banned in Australia and Europe. It is used to make plastic, fake leather and apparently bagels.
Dunkin Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta, 181 g carbohydrates
INGREDIENTS: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Monopropylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Malic Acid, Cellulose Gum, Sugar, Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk, Water, Corn Syrup, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Potassium Sorbate, Salt, Milk, Cream, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate
Monopropylene Glycol??? It is antifreeze. The FDA says it is safe, even though eating too much can kill you.
The key to balancing your blood sugar is eating protein and fat.
When you eat protein and fat with your meal you will not experience these wild swings in your blood sugar levels.
Animal protein fills you up with nutrients and healthy fats.
- Your blood sugar will not spike
- Your body is satisfied and will not crave carbs
Eat real food, unprocessed and unrefined, as close to the way it was created as possible. You will be heading down the path of healthy weight management and disease prevention.
How to eat to improve health
- Eat whole food (meat, chicken, fish, whole eggs, coconut oil, organic butter, olive oil, seeds, nuts, olives, vegetables and fruits)
- Eat clean food (Free of pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics, chemicals and additives. No dyes, preservatives, nitrites, or nitrates. No added sugar, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor. No MSG or hidden sources of MSG like “spices”, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, textured protein
- Limit or eliminate refined carbs like bread, cake, bagels, pasta, cereal, and white rice.
- Eat three meals and a snack or two that contain animal protein, healthy fat and vegetables. Enjoy some whole fruit but eliminate fruit juice, sugar drinks and flavored milk. Skipping meals and dieting are dinosaur ideas for losing weight. It is well known that the body requires a regular supply of nutrients and will down-regulate metabolism to match intake. When we diet and reduce intake, our metabolism slows.
- Eat protein and fat. Always include enough protein, a healthy fat and a vegetables at each meal and snack. Keep your blood sugar balanced to help control cravings!
- Drink water. Sometimes we mistake the "I'm thirsty" signal for "I'm hungry" - - - keep up with your water and drink a big glass of water when you first get a hunger signal.
What to eat for breakfast when you don't want to eat a bagel with 17 tsp of sugar.
A couple of eggs with sauteed veggies!
Organic sausage and sweet potatoes with a piece of fruit.
Sardines! Before you think "Not for me!" try mashing sardines with full fat mayonnaise. The best mayo is homemade from olive oil. Another acceptable option is an expeller pressed canola mayo (like the Spectrum brand). Try mixing up an alternative mayo from fresh avocado and olive oil or visit Mark Sisson's website, Mark's Daily Apple, for mayo and other condiment recipes.
Chicken, fish or steak
Leftovers are great for breakfast. Chop leftover chicken and add one hardboiled egg, mix with a quality mayo and Real Salt. Don't forget your green smoothie made with 1 tsp Nutrex-Hawaii Spirulina, a handful of raw spinach or kale, berries and whole coconut milk!
Chromium
Chromium is a trace mineral that is great for diabetics and for people with cravings.
Chromium helps your insulin work better. Insulin is the master hormone of your metabolism. It gets your blood sugar to move from your blood into your cells.
- 80% of us are deficient in chromium because this trace mineral is lacking in our soil and we don't eat enough chromium-rich foods like organ meat, oysters, nutritional yeast, and some vegetables and fruits.
- Try supplementing daily with chromium polynicotinate. 100 - 200 mcg before each meal helps keep blood sugar stable and reduces carb cravings.
Studies have shown that a deficiency of chromium can contribute to a high cholesterol.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition November, 2000; 19: 687
Top 3 benefits of chromium:
- Stops sweet cravings
- Balances blood sugar
- Improves cholesterol
Look for chromium polynicotinate which is better than chromium picolinate because the body absorbs it more easily.
Additional reading: Users Guide to Chromium by Melissa Diane Smith.
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