Doctors in Arizona start low-carb nonprofit to combat rise in diabetes

January 30 2017 by in Diabetes

Dr. Mona Morstein – founder of the Low Carb Diabetes Association

Doctors in Arizona have started the Low Carb Diabetes Association to overcome the increasing problems with type 2 diabetes – a great initiative that could have a big impact:

Jewish News: Doctors Start Nonprofit to Prevent, Treat Diabetes

LowCarbDiabetes.org

As type 2 diabetes is caused by diet and lifestyle factors, it makes sense to treat it with positive changes in diet an lifestyle. The nonprofit organization will educate people about what they call “The Eight Essentials”: a low-carb diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, healing the gut, detoxification, supplementation and medication.

Personally, I’m most impressed by the effect of the low-carb diet, but surely there are added benefits to have from exercise, sleep and stress management. I’m not convinced that healing the gut or detoxification have any proven benefits for type 2 diabetes, and the effects of supplementation are likely fairly marginal. But all of it together is sure to be a powerful package nonetheless, for reversing type 2 diabetes.

The only obvious thing missing? Intermittent fasting. But I guess you could call that a (very) low-carb diet.

How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

Low Carb for Beginners

Earlier

Is Type 2 Diabetes a Chronic & Progressive Disease? Once Again, Clearly Not

Diabetes Now Causes 12% of Deaths in the US

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5 comments

1
Katherine
January 30 2017 3
I'll be honest, it's this that often stops me from even talking to people about LCHF. So often it's mixed with woo like detoxification or buzzwords like 'clean eating' (whatever that means) or an insistence that your food must be organic or with advice about the need for fistfuls of supplements daily - which of course they will sell you right now, click here.

Worse, I've seen a lot of LCHF (or more often paleo) sites that have a lot of anti-vax stuff mixed in. That makes me INSANE. Makes it seems like something you should distrust and avoid, at least to people who have a scientific background and are given to wanting evidence based advice.

That site also has stuff on the healthy gut section that is questionable - about avoiding gluten (which you won't be getting anyway but it's not the gluten that's the issue, so why go on about it?) and dairy. DAIRY. And other stuff - in some parts it is decidedly tipping into the woo category, and it's also massively complicating something that is actually really simple.

I distance myself from this sort of rubbish and I don't think it's doing anyone any favours to be honest.
2
Matt
January 30 2017 3
Katherine I agree. It's as if you believe one non-mainstream health idea you suddenly have to believe all of them. Um... no. I can cut out carbs and still believe in vaccines, laugh at homeopathy and think that coffee should only go in one orifice. When you mix the woo with the real stuff people ignore both.
3
marianne
January 30 2017 3
lol, you both make me laugh. As the Buddha said, 'take what you find useful and leave the rest.' But maybe that's too woo for yoo, :/
4
Katherine
January 31 2017
I agree to a point Marianne - but only to a point.

If you find homeopathy/coffee enemas/angels/candling/iridology or whatever the latest 'alternative therapy' is useful, then good for you and off you go. But there is NO evidence that any of this stuff works and considerable evidence that it doesn't. That's why I hate it being mixed with LCHF, for which there is a considerable body of evidence.

On vaccines, I'd differ. The anti-vaccine movement flies in the face of evidence and is dangerous. Do what you like to yourself, but refusing to vaccinate someone else based on discredited advice is not doing something to yourself. It's potentially dangerous to at least one and possible many other people (because herd immunity).

And Matt: 'coffee should only go in one oriface' - LOL
5
marianne
January 31 2017
Katherine - I am definitely an anti-anti-vaxxer! Of course we should be opposed to anything demonstrably harmful. I guess we must be hanging out at different low carb sites, I haven't seen much "woo" at the sites I frequent. I think as LCHF becomes more accepted, we'll find that a lot of people who have "funny" beliefs will embrace it as well. Yay for them! Yoga was (and still is by some) considered woo-ish. So is mindfulness meditation. Given the current climate in my country, I am becoming super-sensitive to anything that even hints at intolerance. Let the alternative therapy sites have their LCHF, it's not the sole purview of the woo-free.