DO YOU FEAR FOR YOUR HEALTH or feel exhausted all the time? Are you overweight? Or do you just have too much belly fat? Do you suffer from diabetes, monitor your blood sugar all the time, have serious blood sugar and insulin imbalances, or have elevated cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels? If so, you may find this remarkable story of one my patient’s very interesting.
One evening, after a lecture in New York, a man approached me about becoming my patient. He was rotund, with a round, ruddy face, a booming voice, and a gentle manner. Everything about him was large–his appetite, his belly, and his heart.
Sam was nearly 60 years old, and his love of everything big was waning as he felt the encroachment of death. As we talked, he described years of feeding his fat, drinking a pint of heavy whipping cream every night before bed to keep his weight up.
In the end, the big presence that Sam’s 300-plus pound corpus gave him was not worth the infirmities he suffered. He was diabetic. His insulin was over 200, normal is less than 20. He also had dangerous cholesterol levels, angina, sleep apnea, a sluggish thyroid, and was doggedly fatigued, short of breath at nearly every step, had nasal congestion, swollen legs, dry skin, and yeast grew all over his body.
Sam may sound like a hopeless case, but the truth is that everything Sam had done to his body he did himself and could undo. I told him that if he did everything I suggested he would lose weight, feel better, and all his symptoms would go away.
Enthusiastic, though somewhat skeptical, he left my office determined. Three months later when I spoke to him again, he lost 30 pounds, had more energy, his nasal congestion was gone, his fluid-filled, swollen legs were better, and all of his cravings were gone–he never felt hungry, and he found the program I prescribed to him easy to follow.
Fourteen months later I saw him again and repeated his blood tests. I was shocked when he weighed in. He had lost 110 pounds without being on a strict deprivation diet. He simply changed his eating and his lifestyle. His diabetes was CURED. His blood sugar dropped from 130 to 74 (greater than 126 fasting denotes diabetes). His HDL and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were normal without any medication. And he was exercising vigorously three to four times a week.
After a lifetime of uncontrollable appetites, Sam finally found balance and health without suffering. Yes, he changed his diet and lifestyle, but he was able to continue taking pleasure in food. Most importantly, he looked and felt twenty years younger.
Now, I know Sam’s story is an extreme one. You may or may not be suffering from problems as severe as those he faced. Even so, I’m sure you can relate to some of what Sam experienced if you are overweight, have high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, have problems with your blood sugar, or have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes …
You may feel twenty years older than you are, and, deep down, you may even be terrified by the possibility of additional health complications like heart disease, stroke, dementia, nerve damage, blindness, and amputation or even cancer. Like so many others that suffer with this condition, you just want to live a normal life and get back some of your energy and vitality; you want to turn back the clock and reverse your diabetes …
You can do that. I know most people are skeptical when a doctor tells them they can reverse diabetes, but over the course of this three-part series of blogs I’m going to show you how. You can have the same experience Sam did, and you don’t have to suffer or starve to make that happen.
Diabesity, in its various forms, affects over 1 billion people worldwide. It is a massive global problem, and our current approach to prevention and treatment is obviously not working because millions more are affected every year in a dramatic increase of a condition that was once very rare.
Later in this blog series, I will tell you how you can do that. Today, I want to explain what I mean by the term “diabesity”. If you have diabetes you have it. But you don’t have to have diabetes or even have symptoms to be suffering from diabesity. In fact most people who have it don’t know they are suffering from a deadly condition that is 100% reversible.
Many Names, One Disease–Defining Diabesity
You may be one among millions of people who are suffering from a health problem that is now epidemic in our country. Your doctor might have diagnosed you with one of many seemingly different diseases. He may have said you have:
- Insulin resistance
- Pre-diabetes
- Metabolic syndrome
- Obesity
- Syndrome X
- Adult onset diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes
What he likely didn’t tell you is that ALL of these conditions are basically the same thing–just with varying degrees of severity. The underlying causes of ALL of these conditions are the same. And because they are all the same condition, the treatment for all of them is also the same.
That is why I have set aside these conventional diagnoses in place of a new name that more accurately defines the health problems you may suffer from. That term is diabesity. (i) Diabesity is the condition of metabolic imbalance and disease that ranges all the way from mild blood sugar imbalance to full blow diabetes.
Whether you are suffering from a little extra weight around the middle or you have been diagnosed with insulin resistance or even type 2 diabetes, the fundamental underlying biological causes of ALL of these conditions are the same. This is what I’ve discovered in over 20 years seeing thousands of patients.
Diabesity, in its various forms, affects over 1 billion people worldwide. It is a massive global problem, and our current approach to prevention and treatment is obviously not working because millions more are affected every year in a dramatic increase of a condition that was once very rare.
Diabesity is also the leading cause of most chronic disease in the 21st century. (ii) Those with diabesity are at an increased risk of heart disease (iii),(iv) , stroke, dementia (v), cancer (vi), high blood pressure, blindness, and kidney failure. Nervous system damage also affects 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes and can lead to a loss of sensation in the hands and feet, slow digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, sexual dysfunction, and other nerve problems.
So this is VERY real and VERY serious for those who suffer from the condition. Given all of this, one would think the questions on everyone’s mind would be: Why is this happening? What has caused this diabesity epidemic? Why are our current approaches to treating the problem failing so miserably? And what new approaches could we take that would more effectively treat the problem?
Few in medicine today are asking these questions, yet their answers are disarmingly simple.
The Problems with Diabesity Treatment–Symptoms, Not Causes
The reason our current approach to treating diabesity fails is because it focuses on treating the symptoms or risk factors of the disease rather than the causes. All of our attention is on treatments that:
- Lower blood sugar (diabetes drugs and insulin)
- Lower high blood pressure (anti-hypertensive drugs)
- Lower cholesterol (statins)
- Thin the blood (aspirin)
But we never ever ask the most important question: Why is your blood sugar, blood pressure, or blood cholesterol too high and why is your blood too sticky and likely to clot? Put another way: What are the root causes of diabesity?
The real solution for diabesity is a comprehensive diet and lifestyle program.
Answering that question must be the focus of our diagnosis and treatment of this disease if we are going to solve this global epidemic.
In truth, diabetes, elevated blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol are simply downstream symptoms that result from problems with our diet, lifestyle, and environmental toxins interacting with our unique genetic susceptibilities. These are the real causes of diabesity. Unfortunately, few are taking the time to treat them.
Using medication or surgery to treat symptoms like imbalanced blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the other complications of diabetes is like mopping up the floor while the sink overflows.
In medicine today we have a choice. We can continue to mop up this overflow, or we can deal with the source of the problem and turn off the faucet–that is, treat the root problems that are causing your illness. In this three-part blog series, I am going to show you how to turn off the faucet so you can heal from your diabesity and achieve optimal health.
The real solution for diabesity is a comprehensive diet and lifestyle program. And in this series of three blogs I am going to teach you how you can integrate such an approach into your life to heal from your symptoms. I will show you why conventional treatments typically fail, what you can really do to treat diabesity, and explain how healing the 7 key underlying systems in your body is the real solution to the problem.
By following this system you may see many of your lifelong health symptoms evaporate in a matter of weeks or even days in some cases, and you may–for the first time–achieve vibrant health.
Continue to the second blog in this series: Diabesity Epidemic Part II: Why Conventional Medicine Makes It Worse.
Now I’d like to hear from you …
Do you believe you can be healed from diabesity?
Have you tried conventional medical treatments? How have they worked for you?
Are you ready to try a radically new approach that may help you heal once and for all?
Let me know your thoughts by posting a comment below.
References
(i) This term was first coined by Shape Up America, former Surgeon General C. Everett Coop’s foundation.
(ii) http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/DDTSTRS/FactSheet.aspx (National Diabetes Fact Sheet 2007)
(iii) http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/cvd/fig5.htm
(iv) Lakka HM, Laaksonen DE, Lakka TA, Niskanen LK, Kumpusalo E, Tuomilehto J, Salonen JT. The metabolic syndrome and total and cardiovascular disease mortality in middle-aged men. JAMA. 2002 Dec 4;288(21):2709-16.
(v) Ott A, Stolk RP, van Harskamp F, Pols HA, Hofman A, Breteler MM. Diabetes mellitus and the risk of dementia: The Rotterdam Study. Neurology. 1999 Dec 10;53(9):1937-42.
(vi) Key TJ, Spencer EA, Reeves GK. Symposium 1: Overnutrition: consequences and solutions Obesity and cancer risk. Proc Nutr Soc. 2009 Dec 3:1-5.
Dr. Hyman,
I have Type 2 Diabetes and have been doing all the normal treatments you speak of with all the medicine and I’m getting worse. I feel like I’m in a Catch-22 because I know I need to change my eating habits and exercise, but the symptoms are such that I hurt to bad to exercise and I’m a total creature of habit in what I eat. I sometimes feel like I’m committing suicide by food because I’m doing things I consciously know I shouldn’t be doing but I do it anyway, just how stupid is that. I’m going to read the other articles in your blog series and maybe find something to break this death spiral I’m in today.
Thanks,
Jim B.
Dr Hyman:
Read your first blog with much shaking of head in agreement. I was diagnosed with type 2 in 1991and did well at first with diet and exercise. Next came oral medicine wihich only added more weight. In 2005 I had an unknown infection that caused one half of my to swell uncontrollably to fight the infection and keep it from going into my brain or heart they gave me massive doses of steroids for 5 days at which time my blood sugar soared over 750. They immediately started me on lantus and humalog 75/25. It’s been down hill since. I increased my physical activity last year and was able to get off of humalog but I still take 30 units or more each night. In February I had endrometiral cancer surgery and was lucky that it was not in any serious stage and was able to get out of chemo & radiation. I currently have taken my slf off lantus and have lost 20 pounds abut still currently weight 255. Getting ready to read your second blog with great anticipation. I am 58 will ber 59 in August and I don’t want to ber sick and tired another day. Hope your bvlog will help me find some anwers. Thanks Cathy C.
Dr. Hyman,
Do I think a person can be healed from diabesity? Until recently, I would have said NO. However, after reading more and more over the past 2.5+ yrs since being diagnosed as a Type 2, I am starting to think perhaps some people [not all] can. I want to be one of those people!!! I am an RN now working in drug development/clinical research industry. I see all the “effects” of these diabetes drugs and do not want to be beholden to chemicals for body balance despite enjoying my job. Sounds kinda hippocritical, doesn’t it?
Fortunately, I was able to get my A1C down from 10.7 to under 6 and keep it there
within 4-5 months of being diagnosed. I am on Byetta only. Curious to know if it
is reasonable to get off this too. Am eating much healthier and exercising regularly, but the weight is not coming off. Am really determined to get off weight, know it will not be quick. Need to read more of your info and plan. Am certainly
interested in your approaches
Rebecca
Dr. Hyman hi, I am like the gentleman you described but a woman. I have always kept my blood sugar in control but one day I got really sick and lost about 80 pounds in 3 months and now it is a vicious cycle. I feel like the insulin is really killing me. I am tired, frustrated, and really sick. Please help me. I will eat a good eating program, I just need someone to help me know what to eat and what to do. Nothing is working anymore. I have ordered Dr. Robert O’Youngs Super Greens hoping this will help. I am anxous to hear. Thank You.
Dr. Hyman,
I am very interested in what you have to say. I have type 2 diabetes and as you say, my symptoms are being treated, but not the underlying causes.
I am interested in your program for truly “curing” diabetes.
Donna
Dr. Hyman,
I am a 38 year old mother of two. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes nine years ago. Initially I was in denial for about 6 months and refused to take medication. After a second opinion I started on metformin. I was put on insulin during both of my pregnancies, and also when my A1C came back at above 12.0 (I had no health insurance the preceding year and was not on any medication). Diabetes runs in my family and I just accepted that one day I would get it also. Since the birth of my second child two years ago I have become diligent about finding better, natural ways to deal with this disease, but I have no support from my medical doctors. They all want me to continue on oral medications, in spite of my A1C progressively going back up. Dr. Hyman, I am SO VERY SICK AND TIRED of dealing with this diabetes! It doesn’t matter what I eat or don’t eat, whether I’m stressed or relaxed, whether I take my medication or not, EVERYTHING makes my blood sugar go up! My cravings for carbs are so intense. I am nauseous all the time (I think it’s from the metformin). I only have energy in the evenings. I haven’t slept through the night in years. I am depressed, fat, irritable and so very, very tired. I have spent so much money on so many things trying to control this monster, just to be let down over and over. Last week I started on phentermine in my latest effort to rein in my carb cravings and maybe even lose some weight. I know it’s not good for me, but I don’t know what else to try. I’m going to read all of your blogs and see if what you say will work for me, but I have to be honest with you, I am so discouraged by everything else that I have tried. In my heart I know if I give my body what it needs, it will heal itself. Yet, even believing this, why is it so difficult for me to make the changes?? I wish I had a supportive doctor like you to treat me.
Hello Dr. Hyman,
My doctor has finally got my BG level to abt 117 a day with 2 medications. I want it lower. My BP is avg 120/70 and that is up from 110/70. My Vit D is now 30 from 13. She wants me at 50-100 so taking 3000 iu daily. My cholesterol i stabilizing with medication. Dropped the bad cholesterol and raised the good cholesterol and my triglycerides are normal. This is by taking medication. I’m severely morbidly obese. Trying the Weigh Watchers but it is so hard. I lost 16 lbs then gained back 6 in one week. I don’t even know what I did to gain it. I retain fluid, I always have right ear pain, I’m always fatigues & I suffer from Fibromyalgia, Depression, Anxiety and have Panic Attacks. I’m living in a world of hell and don’t know how to climb out. I know I have food allergies but never get anyone to test me. Can you help me?
Thank you,
Elizabeth
My husband was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 years ago. He doctor told him that there was no cure and he would need to be on the pills for the rest of his life. He was given cholesterol pills to lower cholesterol (he doesn’t have high cholesterol – its always been at a perfect level) and pills to protect his kidneys from the pills he now has to take. Sadly I have had to do all the research and impllement dietry changes. My husband has always been hungry, born hungry and after a big meal he only feels less hungry not full.
Will your methods stop his constand hunger?
How come you don’t mention the roll of transfats in Diabetes II and how come you don’t mention the importance of magnesium. Insulin is the carrier of nutrients to all cells in the body. Transfats bind with insulin because they are incomplete molecules. When that happens the insulin cannot enter the recepters in the cell, thus making the patient insulin resistent.
It is important to read labels because transfats are in everything, from peanut butter to french fries. Sometimes the label will say hydrogenated fat, but it is the same poison that the body doesn’t know what to do with. When it reaches the liver it responds by manufacturing cholesterol to flush the transfat out. Thus causing high cholesterol, which by the way is not a disease.
Up until 1908, not one person ever had arteries lined with white fatty lipids. Harvard medical students and teachers were puzzled by this new phenomenon in the twenties and thirties, and to this day it is blammed on diet but that is not the cause. The one thing that changed, starting in 1908 is that chlorine was added to public drinking water. Chlorine molecules stick to the artery wall and white blood cells try to dislodge it. They can’t and they stay there doing what they always do, which is collect fatty lipids and calcium until the arteries are completely lined. Studies have been done on chickens, half are given chlorinated water and half are given non-chlorinated water, only the chickens given chlorinated water ever get arteries lined with fatty lipids.
I have given you information that I bet even Dr. Hyman didn’t know. Thank You!
Ihave tried just about everything to control my diabetes. I weigh 235 lbs and I am 6’3″ tall I look slim from the back but I have a bowling ball belly! When I tell my doctor No matter what i eat may it be low carbs my blood sugar sometimesis still running high his solution is take more humalog! I AM VERY FRUSTED! So can you help me!
Dr Hyman,
I have a good friend who is suffering from diabetic neuropathy; his condition has deteriorated to the point where he has lost feeling in the right hip/foot. He has been on insulin for years but at this point feels that his condition cannot be improved. Although I have just given an overview of his situation do you think there is any possibility that his condition can be helped?
Thank you for your message and your interest in Dr. Hyman’s work. Your question and constellation of symptoms represents a complex medical condition. Questions regarding conditions like these cannot be answered in a responsible manner via the Internet.
If you would like information on becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center please see “How to Become a Patient” at http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com. That site is designed to give prospective patients a comprehensive source of information about The UltraWellness Center. You may also feel free to call The UltraWellness Center at (413) 637 9991.
Regardless of becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center, it sounds like you need to consult with a doctor. Please seek medical attention for the issues that you outlined in your message.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Thank you for your message and your interest in Dr. Hyman’s work. Your question represents a complex medical condition. Questions regarding conditions like these cannot be answered in a responsible manner via the Internet.
If you would like information on becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center please see “How to Become a Patient” at http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com. That site is designed to give prospective patients a comprehensive source of information about The UltraWellness Center. You may also feel free to call The UltraWellness Center at (413) 637 9991.
Regardless of becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center, it sounds like you need to consult with a doctor. Please seek medical attention for the issues that you outlined in your message.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Thank you for your message and your interest in Dr. Hyman’s work. Unfortunately, it is not possible to answer questions of this nature in a responsible manner via the Internet.
If you would like information on becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center please see “How to Become a Patient” at http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com. That site is designed to give prospective patients a comprehensive source of information about The UltraWellness Center. You may also feel free to call The UltraWellness Center at (413) 637 9991.
Regardless of becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center, it sounds like you need to consult with a doctor. Please seek medical attention for the issues that you outlined in your message.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
If you would like information on becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center please see “How to Become a Patient” at http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com. That site is designed to give prospective patients a comprehensive source of information about The UltraWellness Center. You may also feel free to call The UltraWellness Center at (413) 637 9991.
Regardless of becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center, it sounds like you need to consult with a doctor. Please seek medical attention for the issues that you outlined in your message.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Thank you for your message and your interest in Dr. Hyman’s work. Your constellation of symptoms represents a complex medical condition. Issues like these cannot be answered in a responsible manner via the Internet.
If you would like information on becoming a patient at The UltraWellness Center please see “How to Become a Patient” at http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com. That site is designed to give prospective patients a comprehensive source of information about The UltraWellness Center. You may also feel free to call The UltraWellness Center at (413) 637 9991.
To locate a practitioner of functional medicine in your area see the “Find a Functional Medicine Practitioner” link at the Institute of Functional Medicine’s website. Here you will find a place to enter your zip code and look for practitioner’s in your area that have completed the institute’s five-day training course in functional medicine. Understand that not all of the doctors listed here will fit your particular needs. Many different medical professionals complete this training, and you will have to do additional research on your own regarding a particular practitioner’s approach and whether or not it fits your specific medical requirements. This may include calling the practioner’s office, visiting his or her website, and/or scheduling a consultation.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Thank you for your message and your interest in Dr. Hyman’s work. To locate a practitioner of functional medicine in your area see the “Find a Functional Medicine Practitioner” link at the Institute of Functional Medicine’s website. Here you will find a place to enter your zip code and look for practitioner’s in your area that have completed the institute’s five-day training course in functional medicine. Understand that not all of the doctors listed here will fit your particular needs. Many different medical professionals complete this training, and you will have to do additional research on your own regarding a particular practitioner’s approach and whether or not it fits your specific medical requirements. This may include calling the practioner’s office, visiting his or her website, and/or scheduling a consultation.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Hi,
I’d like to share this story with friends that are struggling to lose weight, but this intro
is confusing (and outrageous):
As we talked, he described years of feeding his fat, drinking a pint of heavy
whipping cream every night before bed to keep his weight up.
Who on earth would actually do that? Every night?
Thanks, John
Keep saying it, good doctor! I have an 84 year old friend who is off blood pressure, sugar, thyroid and cholesteral medicines, just by getting the toxins out of her body and eating a few more vegetables, drinking a little less alcohol. She is outside walking a mile almost everyday now! At 84! She has a history of 3 cancers and severe rheumatoid arthritis. She says she feels better today than she has in years. Things can change…thanks for giving people hope.