kiss diabetes goodbye- sample chapter

Kiss Goodbye to Diabetes Chapter 1 2

CHAPTER 1 Catastrophic Impact of Diabetes

&

Our Broken Healthcare System

Diabetes is becoming the number one heath challenge for the

westernized world and is fast spreading worldwide as other nations

adopt the western, animal based, highly processed calorie dense diet. It

is a primary driver of the US healthcare crisis. The Lancet, the leading

British medical Journal, is only one of the many medical and health

authorities worldwide characterizing the rapid increase in diabetes as a

pandemic. In the US diabetes has increased an astounding 170% in the

last decade alone. Its effects are incalculable in scope and catastrophic

in magnitude. The economic burden is staggering, but is nothing

compared with human suffering, disability and premature death that

come in the wake of this Tsunami of destruction.

A physician or home test can tell someone whether they are or that they

are not pregnant. One cannot be “kind of pregnant”. But with diabetes-

II, the distinction between being diabetic and not being diabetic is not so

obvious. When we are talking about this disease, the medical


community has had to set somewhat arbitrary numbers to distinguish

between “non-diabetics”, “pre-

diabetics” and full-blown

“diabetics”. The truth of the

matter is that all of us who for

some time have continued

consuming the standard

American diet (SAD) are

either becoming “kind of

diabetic” or have already slid

down toward the bottom of the diabetes pit. Effect follows cause and

because of our “rich” diets we are reaping poor health.

A few statistics from the American Center for Disease Control (CDC)

and other respected sources will suffice to give a telling glimpse of the

scale of this wave of devastation. Here is a sample of the numbers.

Almost half of all Americans 20 years of age or older are now either

diabetic or pre-diabetic!

That is - 11.3% of the

population diabetic and

35% pre-diabetic. That

makes the diabetic

population in this nation


more numerous than the combined residents of its top ten most populous

cities combined! It is astounding to realize that Almost 27% of all

Americans over 65

years of age are

diabetic! What’s

more, a full 50% of

this age group are pre–

diabetic! That leaves

only a small minority

of 23.1% of this

population unaffected

by the continuum of

blood glucose disorder. Let me illustrate the magnitude of this

destructive force. In the US the number of deaths in which diabetes was

a contributing factor in the last decade was twice the number of

Americans killed in all its wars since 1775. That is like a crash of a fully

loaded Jumbo Jet with no

survivors every day of the year,

every year! That is like having a

terrorist attack as deadly as 911,

not just in one day, but every

day of every summer, every

single year. If it were a radical


fundamentalist Muslim organization behind this kind of carnage, we

would call it an “attack on America”, an “act of war!” But since it is

perpetrated though such agents as a friendly clown in a yellow suit, we

just call it a Big Mac attack and cleaver advertising!

There are 1.9 million new cases of Diabetes diagnosed every year; that is

as if the entire population of the cities of Washington DC, Milwaukee,

Wisconsin and Seattle, Washington were to slide into this pit of disease

every year.

Diabetes is a major contributor to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure,

blindness and non-traumatic lower extremity amputations. Diabetes is

also linked to increase risk of cancer, erectile dysfunction (ED),

dementia, disability and pre-mature death.

If you a not yet

diabetic you may be

interested to learn

how your weight can

affect your risk. You

may also be curious

as to the risk of your

loved ones. Use the

chart on this page to


see how weight and height correlate to risk of diabetes. If you are a

woman of average height (5 foot 4 inches) and weigh more than 175

pounds, you classed at a level of obesity which at a 7 out of 10 chance of

succumbing to diabetes. A man of average height (5 foot 10 inches) need

only be 209 pounds or more to join 70% risk category!

Here are a few more facts about the complications of this disease to

enhance you motivation to avoid or escape this devastating disease.

Heart disease and stroke

• In 2004, heart disease was noted on 68% of diabetes-related death

certificates among people aged 65 years or older.

• In 2004, stroke was noted on 16% of diabetes-related death

certificates among people aged 65 years or older.

• The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with

diabetes.

High blood pressure

• In 2005-2008, of adults aged 20 years or older with self-reported

diabetes, 67% had blood pressure greater than or equal to 140/90

mmHg or used prescription medications for hypertension.

Blindness


• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among

adults aged 20–74 years.

• In 2005-2008, 4.2 million (28.5%) people with diabetes aged 40

years or older had diabetic retinopathy, and of these, almost 0.7

million (4.4% of those with diabetes) had advanced diabetic

retinopathy that could lead to severe vision loss.

Kidney disease

• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44%

of new cases in 2008.

• In 2008, 48,374 people

with diabetes began

treatment for end-stage

kidney disease in the

United States.

• In 2008, a total of 202,290

people with end-stage

kidney disease due to

diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant

in the United States.

Nervous system disease (Neuropathy)


• About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe

forms of nervous system damage.

Amputation

• More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations occur in

people with diabetes.

• In 2006, about 65,700

non-traumatic lower-

limb amputations were

performed in people

with diabetes.

• Between 45 and 83

percent of diabetics will

have an amputation due

to diabetes-related complications in their lifetime.

Cost of Diabetes: 174 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in 2007

• $116 billion for direct medical costs

• $58 billion for indirect costs (disability, work loss, premature

mortality)

• Factoring in the additional costs of undiagnosed diabetes & pre-

diabetes, brings total to in 2007 to $218 billion.


The increase in diabetes incidence is due to the rapid increase in type II

diabetes (DM-II) which accounts for about 95% of all cases. The other

primary type is generally referred to as type I diabetes (DM-1). It is a

completely different disease and has a whole set of different causes.

Type I is the result of the destruction of the pancreatic cells that produce

insulin and is therefore irreversible. Fortunately diabetes type II is

reversible. This is the disease that this book will address.

Type II is associated with excess abdominal fat. It results from the

bodies resistance to insulin combined with the “fatigue” of the

pancreatic cells which leads to a decreased production of insulin. When

these two metabolic disorders are combined, clinical diabetes is

inevitable. This type of diabetes has been described as a “lifestyle

disease”. It has only one cause. It results from poor lifestyle choices-

primarily wrong eating habits. So much for the bad news, let’s talk

about the good news. The good news is that this kind of diabetes is

completely preventable and totally reversible and if appropriate

measures are taken all of these complications and catastrophic

conditions can be avoided.

So why is this good news about DM-2 not being shouted from every

rooftop and universally disseminated in every clinic, doctor’s office,

health advocacy group and governmental agency? The short answer:

We have a broken healthcare system! One might even question whether


it even deserves the title. As it is structured, it may more accurately be

described rather as a “disease care system”! And therein lies the

problem. The money is not directed to wellness and maintenance of

health, but to the treatment and management of disease. Though, there

have been some nominal attempts at reform in the creation of such

entities as so-called “health maintenance organizations”, even at the

heart of such institutions, there yet remains the traditional medical model

with its blinders keeping drug-treatment and surgical procedures as the

almost exclusive means for the treatment and management of disease.

The medical profession has precious little monetary incentive to change.

Every charge for which a doctor or healthcare institution bills, must have

a billing code; And there are no billing codes for mentoring people to

make successful lifestyle changes in order to prevent or recover from

disease.

A billing code for a bypass surgery may gross $50,000-100,000, while,

Teaching someone on the principles of a healthful diet, how to menu

plan, grocery shop and prepare delicious and healthful meals nets $0.

Rather than focusing on removing the cause of the disease the focus is

almost exclusively on treating the symptoms and merely “managing” the

disease. If you are anything like me, I am sure you would be much more

interested in learning what is causing your illness so that you can

remove the cause and permanently get rid of your disease.


The experience told by lifestyle physician, John A. McDougall, MD

gives us a revealing insight. . McDougall tells of his work at a hospital

and healthcare center were he was employed at the attached wellness

/lifestyle center. It seemed like the perfect setting. The medical center

could refer appropriate and motivated patients from the hospital to him

to help them reverse their coronary artery disease. The physicians at the

hospital knew that the lifestyle program worked, but it turns out that they

were not referring any of their cases, that is, except their loved ones and

themselves. Why? If, they referred their patients to the lifestyle center

in place of recommending bypass surgery, they would loose the $50,000

revenue the procedure would bring in!

If such practices and institutionalized conflict of interests were found in

any other field of service, there would be such public outrage and cry for

reform that a grand jury would be tasked and Senate hearings would

immediately ensue. The deafening silence regarding the simple, reliable

remedy for diabetes II would be totally unconscionable if it were not for

wide spread gross ignorance on this subject. But even then their remains

a colossal load of guilt on the part of the largest players in the industrial

medical complex, for the ignorance is often not only willful but also

cultivated, promoted by premeditated promulgation of disinformation

and corrupt suppression of the truth.


No, I don’t see it all as a grand conspiracy perpetrated by some well-

coordinated sinister organization to keep us sick. But, I do see it as a

trap that we have set for ourselves, and one that is fueled by vested

interest, tradition and excessive self-esteem. I have a hard time putting

the blame on those health care workers and professionals who find

themselves in this dilemma. I work in this field myself. I work as an

occupational therapy practitioner in a care center and am well paid for

helping people recover their functional status after a catastrophic event

such as a lower extremity amputation, heart attack, or stroke. It is much

more lucrative to spend my days picking up the pieces and helping Mary

or John try to get their lives back together than to teach a cooking

seminar or conduct a healthy lifestyle course. In my off-hours, my wife

and I do make time to do these things; however, we do not make any

profit in doing so. I conduct wellness retreats at my home in the

mountains and only ask that my guest contribute to pay for their share of

the grocery bill. Maybe one day I will be able to suggest a donation, not

in remuneration for my services, but to pay the expenses of the next

guest, allowing for a sustainable effort. Or, maybe eventually, we would

be able to give full time to our work; if our guests were encouraged to

contribute 20% of what they would have paid for the medications their

doctors take them off when they no longer need them. Though coaching

people in healthful living would accomplish an inestimably greater

amount of good in preventing and relieving suffering, debility and


disease, sadly, it is not valued as such in our current system. The blame,

however, cannot be placed entirely on the medical profession. How

often do health professional who seek to encourage better habits

disappointed by a patient who demands that the doctor fix the problem,

while refusing to deny their appetites and addictions? And what about

the food manufactures and fast food services that make their profits

urging greater consumption of high fat and sugary foods. But, this book

is not about placing blame; it’s all about getting rid of your number one

health problem, diabetes! Our aim is to see to it that you gain the

resources you need to replace your current “diabetes-friendly” lifestyle

with one that will make this unwelcome guest leave and never come

back!

This book is about how to enjoy an abundant satisfying diet of the best

that God has provided for our health and pleasure. We will share with

you a diet lifestyle that will be sustainable, practical and easy to

understand. There will be no math, no exchange system, no point

system, no calorie counting and no portion size restrictions. You will

eat to you fill of delicious food that will provide you with sustained,

accessible energy, not stored fat.

Are you ready to cast off the burden of diabetic fears and embark on an

adventure to health? If so, join me as we celebrate the journey.

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