You can reverse insulin resistance (IR), pre-diabetes, and even Type II Diabetes with Herculean efforts of willpower and a strict exercise regimen. All kinds of people are doing it.
It takes two things. Can you guess what they are? Diet and exercise, of course.
Of course, if you are already overweight, you have to get that weight off the belly and fast. Belly weight causes all kinds of problems by itself.
So, let’s start talking about real world solutions today. If you have been recently diagnosed with type II diabetes, I will tell you how scientists have beat diabetes and the studies that reveal what was done and then we’ll talk about real world strategies for prevention of insulin resistance and diabetes, which will be helpful for people who have reversed diabetes as well, as a way to live after the post 8-week diet.
How Have Scientists Reversed Type II Diabetes?
Science has reversed diabetes—in two documented studies, but it took a very, very low calorie diet to do it.
In a 2011, the now famous Newcastle Diet Study, individuals placed on a very low calorie diet for two months—a diet of only 600 calories a day for 8 weeks – and these individuals were locked down in a center—and could not cheat (which makes the results of many tests untrustworthy) and they were able to reverse diabetes. The only meals allowed were Optifast meal replacement shakes and non-starchy vegetables.
Most study participants were still symptom free after 18 months post study as well.
What we have shown is that it is possible to reverse your diabetes, even if you have had the condition for a long time, up to around 10 years. –Professor Roy Taylor
Recently, in 2016, they proved it works again. Professor Roy Taylor concluded from this second study that the cure to diabetes lies in starving excess fat off of the liver and pancreas so the system can heal. Read this below closely – then STUDY the study here.
Within 7 days of instituting a substantial negative calorie balance by either dietary intervention or bariatric surgery, fasting plasma glucose levels can normalize. This rapid change relates to a substantial fall in liver fat content and return of normal hepatic insulin sensitivity. Over 8 weeks, first phase and maximal rates of insulin secretion steadily return to normal, and this change is in step with steadily decreasing pancreatic fat content. The difference in time course of these two processes is striking. ‘
Recent information on the intracellular effects of excess lipid intermediaries explains the likely biochemical basis, which simplifies both the basic understanding of the condition and the concepts used to determine appropriate management. Recent large, long-duration population studies on time course of plasma glucose and insulin secretion before the diagnosis of diabetes are consistent with this new understanding. Type 2 diabetes has long been regarded as inevitably progressive, requiring increasing numbers of oral hypoglycemic agents and eventually insulin, but it is now certain that the disease process can be halted with restoration of normal carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Type 2 diabetes can be understood as a potentially reversible metabolic state precipitated by the single cause of chronic excess intra-organ fat.
Although no one knows exactly why the diet appeared to reverse diabetes, Dr. Taylor said the explanation may be related to how the body stores fat. Excess fat in the liver can spill into the pancreas, inhibiting insulin secretion and the liver’s response to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance and diabetes.
Going on a very-low-calorie diet may allow the body to use up fat from the liver, causing fat levels to drop in the pancreas as well. That “wakes up” the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, normalizing blood glucose levels.
While some previous studies have shown that blood sugars can normalize after significant weight loss, endocrinologists said they were impressed by the persistence of the lower blood sugar levels for months after the diet.
“Decreasing caloric intake for any reason brings with it a rapid improvement in glucose control,” said Dr. Robert Lash, the chairman of the Endocrine Society’s clinical affairs committee and a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan. “What’s exciting here is that the improvements in glucose control persisted when the participants went back to eating a diet with a normal number of calories.”
Lead scientists Rob Taylor believes the success of the 8-week approach may be related to one side effect of high blood sugar, which can lead to storage of fat on the liver and pancreas, which inhibits insulin secretion and the liver’s response to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance and diabetes.
Taylor believes that going on the “very-low-calorie diet,” as his NYT interviewer Rabin
notes, “may allow the body to use up fat from the liver, causing fat levels to drop in the pancreas as well. That ‘wakes up’ the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, normalizing blood glucose levels.”
While some previous studies have shown that blood sugars can normalize after significant weight loss, what makes this study unique, Rabin notes, is that “endocrinologists said they were impressed by the persistence of the lower blood sugar levels for months after the diet.”
As Chairman of the Endocrine Society, Dr. Robert Lash says of the study,
“Decreasing caloric intake for any reason brings with it a rapid improvement in glucose control. What’s exciting here is that the improvements in glucose control persisted when the participants went back to eating a diet with a normal number of calories.”
To accomplish this reversal of diabetes, the study participants drank three Optifast shakes a day, totaling 600 calories of their daily caloric intake of 800 calories. The other food eaten was only – and this study was monitored closely – NON starchy vegetables. So no potatoes, sweet potatoes, and none of the foods listed below, if you want to try this approach at home:
Starchy vegetables:
Beets, corn, carrots, green peas, plantain, parsnips, all potatoes, pumpkin, all squash, especially winter squashes, zucchini, taro, and yams are all examples of starchy vegetables.
My Recommendations for Anyone Trying the 600 Calorie-8 Week Approach
If I had type II diabetes, I would hit this 8-week diet HARD and add HIIT and strength training and do it religiously (you’ll read about the benefits of both for diabetes below).
I would work with a trainer who could help me do HIIT running or walking (if you’re really out of shape) and other cardiovascular exercises that you could do in interval format as well as RESISTANCE training in the HIIT form. You want to build up muscle to burn that insulin off the body.
I would spare no expense –because I would know that if I don’t fix this problem, I won’t live long enough or have the quality of life to enjoy my life or spend money on anything else because I may be dead. It’s that serious folks. You need to nip it in the bud before it nips you.
Period.
Such a “militant” strategy may feel like you’re in the Army—but heart disease will feel worse, won’t it? And just think, you’ll sleep so much better without that frequent urination, too! – Speaking of sleep!! Since you won’t be used to this kind of exercise, I would exercise in the morning so your heart rate has time to come down—or exercise twice a day and never after 3-5 p.m.
So hit it hard, take it seriously, and banish sugar and refined carbs from your life and your home, period. I wouldn’t even drink a diet coke.
Why? You’ll need time to relax and for your heart rate to come down so you can sleep well. You don’t want insomnia raising your insulin back up and the problems of enhanced cortisol release sabotaging your fat burning efforts.
Preventing Diabetes, Halting Pre-Diabetes, and Healing Insulin Resistance to Prevent Full Blown Diabetes
In general, we all know, lean people are less likely to suffer from diabetes, unless they were born with type I diabetes. This is genetic diabetes.
Type II diabetes is a disease caused by lifestyle choices. And many of these choices a lot of those of us who are older made before we were fully cognizant of the true dangers of refined carbohydrates, refined, nutrient empty white flours, SUGAR, dangerous trans fats, and dirty, refined, industrial seed oils (if you want to stop using industrial seed oils, there are plenty of YouTube videos on how they are made that will have you cleaning out your cabinet of canola, safflower, corn oils—all of them except coconut and olive oil.
Today, I’ll tell you what science has told us so far works for trying to make our bodies immune to the ravages of glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and diabetes—how to wage a virtual war against any risk of getting diabetes, and show you what the research says on all this as well. I’ll also tell you what I’ve gleaned through all my research into strategies for preventing and reversing insulin resistance and enhancing insulin sensitivity. The more insulin sensitive we keep our bodies, the less we have ANY risk of MetS, diabetes, or insulin resistance.
Eating Strategies for Healing Insulin Resistance
The Paleo approach
The Paleo approach, if you’re new to fitness and diet, is a diet which emphasis ancestral eating—avoidance of all “packaged” and refined foods made in factories for nutrient dense foods we might find by foraging and hunting such a fish, meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds and some starchy plants, like yams (**I’d avoid potatoes when you have a real insulin problem already, at least until the problem has been remedied).
Studies have shown that the Paleo diet is highly effective for reversing insulin resistance, for preventing and treating type II diabetes, and for treating metabolic syndrome.
The Research
In a January, 2017 study, exercise combined with a Paleo diet improved insulin sensitivity by 45% in 32 patients who already had diabetes. They followed the Paleo diet for 12 weeks. They also experienced decreased fat mass of 5.7 to 6.2 kgs., lowered blood sugar, and lowered leptin levels in the blood. This study confirms most assuredly that the Paleo diet can help prevent insulin resistance since 12 weeks of it enhanced insulin sensitivity by almost 50%.
For those who are worried the fat eaten on a Paleo diet will increase fat on the body – or on the organs, listen up. A recent 2016 study of 70 patients over the course of 2 years reveals that those who ate a Paleo diet lost almost 50 on the liver. A low fat diet achieved the same results, although it took slightly longer to do so. See study.
In one study of diabetic patients eating two different diets, one, a standard diet and the second a Paleo diet, the patients on the Paleo diet experienced greater improvements in weight, blood sugar, triglycerides, blood pressure, body mass index, and waist circumference than the diabetes diet.
In another study of obese, postmenopausal women, when comparing a low fat diet with a Paleo diet, the women on the Paleo diet experienced greater fat loss and metabolic improvements than the low-fat diet.
In another study of obese, postmenopausal women, researchers found that a Paleo diet improved all kinds of metabolic markers including reducing waist circumference, reducing weight, improving kidney function, blood pressure and cholesterol, and decreased the amount of fat stored in the liver by 50%.
These studies clearly indicate that a Paleo diet is not only an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, it is often more effective than the standard “low-fat” diabetes diet that is recommended by groups like the American Diabetes Association.
Some individuals do very well reversing insulin resistance with a Paleo approach of very low carbs and some with a Paleo approach and moderate carbs 50-400 per day (I would recommend less for assured success—it all comes down to using a glucometer and, if you’re smart, a high quality food sensitivity panel.
The Mediterranean Diet Approach
If you’re a grain adherent, the Mediterranean diet is your best approach to prevent insulin resistance while still eating whole grains. It is one of the world’s healthiest diets after the Paleo and those who do function better with higher carbohydrate intake but still want to prevent diabetes are often successful in preventing diabetes.
The Mediterranean Diet is abundant in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and olive oil. It features fish and poultry—lean sources of protein—over red meat, which contains more saturated fat. Red wine is consumed regularly but in moderate amounts.
What’s so beneficial about the Mediterranean diet? The vegetables, seeds and fish contain many minerals and phytochemicals that scientists believe can fight inflammation and insulin resistance. The findings are exciting because they imply that these factors alone, independent of weight loss, can stave off diabetes. Combine weight loss, weight training, and exercise and you have a “win win win” then.
Plus, the researchers say, the participants found the Mediterranean diet easier to follow than any low-fat plan and highly sustainable for the long term.
This 2012 study, evidences the beneficial effects of preventing type II diabetes by eating the MD way.
The Importance of Fiber for Lowering Insulin Resistance
Both soluble and insoluble fiber are good for treating and preventing type II diabetes. Most individuals do not eat nearly enough fiber. We should eat at least 50 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories we consume.
In a recent study conducted by researchers at the Imperial College London, those who had the highest intake of fiber, over 26 g. a day, had an 18 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest intake of fiber (anywhere under 19 grams a day).
Another recent study finds that a high-fiber diet improves blood sugar levels, decreases excess insulin levels and lowers lipid concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Soluble fiber, like that found in cucumbers, blueberries, beans, and nuts, was found to be particularly beneficial for type 2 diabetes because it helps to slow down your body’s breakdown of carbohydrates and the absorption of sugar, helping with blood sugar control.
Insoluble fiber, found in foods like dark green leafy vegetables, green beans, celery, and carrots, does not dissolve at all and helps add bulk to your stool. This helps food to move through your digestive tract more quickly for healthy elimination.
Many whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, naturally contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. If your diet could use more fiber, resist the urge to fortify it with whole grains.
Both forms of fiber are good, but vegetable, nut, and seed fiber is preferable for trying to treat, cure, and prevent diabetes.
Good sources of fiber to heal insulin resistance
Surprisingly, High Protein Diets Are Not Good for Insulin Sensitivity
You must be careful with these low fat, low carb, high lean protein diets. They can GIVE you diabetes. If you’re only consuming salads with turkey, for example, starving yourself and then giving into a small snack of a cookie—this is a recipe for death.
Researchers in this study found that eating a high protein diet, while sacrificing fats and carbs both cannot sustain weight loss and increases the risk of diabetes by a whopping 30%.
The researchers that led this study note that “In further agreement that HP diets may deteriorate glucose metabolism, it was recently shown in a large prospective cohort with 10-year follow-up that consuming 5% of energy from both animal and total protein at the expense of carbohydrates or fat increases diabetes risk by 30%.”
Weight Loss
Nothing good happens without weight reduction if you are overweight and insulin resistant or diabetic. Weight reduction alone helps individuals achieve major results when it comes to reversing insulin resistance, getting fat off of the organs, which is important for preventing or reversing diabetes, reducing inflammation and alleviating other risk factors which increase likelihood of diabetes.
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting, like the severe calorie restriction study revealed, is a highly effective method, perhaps the most effective method, for preventing diabetes and reversing insulin resistance. A good strategy is to add more fat at breakfast to help you avoid ALL hunger and cravings. Drink only water for the next 12 hours to the next morning if you can. Do this two times a week and you’ll never get diabetes, if you don’t eat sugary snacks and undo all your efforts!
A 2010 study compared long term calorie restriction of 1500 kcal a day to an intermittent fasting protocol of 5 days eating 2 days fasting (at 500 kcal a day on fasting days).
At the end of the study, both sets of dieters lost a similar amount of weight on average, and similar improvements were also seen in levels of triglycerides, LDL ‘good’ cholesterol and blood pressure.
However, the IF group experienced reduced fasting insulin levels over that of the calorie restriction group.
On Choosing a Diet: Jackson’s Recommendation
Before you decide what diet will help you reverse insulin resistance or diabetes – which is serious, you want to take some time to learn exactly what food spikes glucose the most for you—do grains, even quinoa spike you too high? —then a pure paleo approach sticking mostly with meat and veggies from above the ground (with occasional sweet potatoes is for you)
So, again, getting a glucometer is crucial for helping you to get to know your own insulin. Another great thing about owning a glucometer? Once you see how much you spike insulin after eating certain carbs, like refined ones, it can help you stop “indulging” in bad for you foods and take better care of yourself.
If you’re trying to stave off insulin resistance and diabetes and there is a tendency toward diabetes in your family, if you feel you are bordering on insulin resistance, you’ve had a tendency for yo-yo dieting, obesity, and just not treating yourself very well and you’re approaching the ages of 35 or above – to tell you the truth, I’d be just as vigilant. Why not make it a lifestyle now?
You can cheat a little more once you get muscle all over your body, and we’re going to talk about that today too.
Overall, what researchers have found that most heals insulin resistance are the following strategies:
(i) using a Mediterranean-like or Paleo dietary pattern, but avoiding excess intake of dietary fat;
(ii) substituting SFA and TFA by MUFA and n-6 PUFA
(iii) Emphasizing cereal fiber content in the diet
(iv) and keeping exercise levels high, particularly when choosing a HP [high protein] diet.
For details on this see: Martin O. Weickert’s highly informative article “What Dietary Modification Best Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Why?” in Clinical Endocrinology.