Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 111

180 Degree Diabetes

~1~

180 Degree Diabetes:


Preventing and Reversing Insulin Resistance,
Metabolic Syndrome, and Type 2 Diabetes

By author and independent health researcher

Matt Stone
Stone
December 2009
A www.180degreehealth.com presentation

Copyright 2009 180DegreeHealth, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. This publication and content is
protected by law, and all rights are reserved, including resale rights: you are not allowed to sell this E-Book
to anyone else. Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107
or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful.

180 Degree Diabetes

~2~

Dedicated to the Pharmaceutical companies, diet industry, agricultural industry, and


medical establishment Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do
when I come for you?

~3~

180 Degree Diabetes

Table of Contents

Introduction

What is type 2 diabetes?

10

Low-Carb Science Never Eades Up

12

Pima Kitava

18

The Saccharine Disease

23

Nutritional History

27

The Metabolism

35

Cortisol is All

42

Metabolic Syndrome

45

The Glycemic Index Catastrophe

53

Diabetes Prevention

55

Exercise For Diabetes

62

Supplements

65

Treatment Programs

68

Conclusion

72

Fasting

74

Nutritarian

79

The High-Everything Diet

84

The Milk Diet HED on Steroids

98

Low-Carb

103

References

108

180 Degree Diabetes

~4~
Acknowledgments

First up Ive gotta thank my father. Until now, most of my work has been done at public
libraries or with a laptop nestled up against my crotch. Both have been uncomfortable,
distracting, and draining. For this eBook, I sat looking out a big window of an incredibly
nice, schwanky, office. The difference has been immeasurable, and my focus while
working on this project has been tremendous. I didnt even know I was capable of
getting so much quality work done in such a short amount of time. That office, of course,
was offered up to me by father, adjacent to the office he works out of. Thanks old-timer.
As usual, my greatest debt of gratitude is owed to the health pioneers whose work has
changed my life, my perspective, and the perspective of many loyal 180DegreeHealth
followers. I feel particularly grateful for the work of T.L. Peter Cleave, Denis Burkitt,
Hugh Trowell, Melvin Page, John Yudkin, Broda Barnes, and a handful of other health
legends whose observations and professional work has created a comprehensive overview
of what type 2 diabetes is and where it comes from.
Its also been an enlightening honor to study the hormonal and biochemical minutiae
associated with the glucose dysregulation disease process in the context of modern
science and medical practice. For that, I thank Diana Schwarzbein, Barry Sears, Mark
Starr, Stephen Langer, Nancy Appleton, Russ Farris and Per Marin, and many others.
Finally, although it may seem a bit ironic, I owe much to the inspiration of vegetarianslanted medical professionals that have given me 100% confidence that type 2 diabetes is
a totally conquerable malady. Im talking about you Joel Fuhrman, Mark Barnard, and
Julian Whitaker. You guys have seen that type 2 diabetes can be reversed, in ways that
few have.
And you bet your ass Ive got to thank Aurora, who woke up every morning for 2 weeks
and stabbed herself with a lancet to serve up some fasting glucose readings in the
personal experimentation segment of the research done for this book. You da best honey.
And honey is a great name for you, as I consistently mopped the floor with your glucose
readings with less glucose in my blood and more glucose in my diet. This was key of
course, as it helped to solidify what I already knew that blood sugar is not a simple
matter of what you eat, but of what your body does with what you eat. The idea that
Carbs = Sugar = High blood sugar and insulin levels is taken out the woodshed in this
book, and shot in the head.
And above all else, thanks to the readers and supporters of 180DegreeHealth. You are
what makes doing my favorite thing in the world researching and writing about health,
a way in which I can make a living. My goal, to spend a lifetime researching, analyzing,
and writing about human health for the benefit of our rapidly-degenerating species, is not
possible without you. I hope to make you proud someday, maybe put Bob Greene in a
headlock on national tv someday or something like that.

180 Degree Diabetes

~5~
Disclaimer

The material provided here is for educational and informational


purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The information
contained in this eBook should not be used to diagnose or treat any
illness, metabolic disorder, disease, or health problem. If you have
developed a serious illness of some kind, such as type 2 diabetes or a
related malady, the complexities of dealing with that disorder are
best handled by your physician or health care provider, whom you
should also consult with before beginning any nutrition or exercise
program. Use of the programs, advice, and other information
contained in this eBook is at the sole choice and risk of the reader.

180 Degree Diabetes

~6~
Introduction

Is there a cure for diabetes? No. Researchers continue looking for ways to cure
diabetes, but now doctors can only treat the disease, not cure it.
-Maria Clavazzo-Clavell from the Mayo Clinic
Maria Clavazzo-Clavell might as well be speaking Chinese, because I have absolutely
no God-forsaken idea what shes talking about. I have a whole bookshelf of authors and
medical professionals that talk about overturning diabetes as if it were overturning a
pancake. Crap, dont eat pancakes. They help cause type 2 diabetes.
-Me
Like Saturday Night Fever, type 2 diabetes is a craze sweeping the globe. Its the
hottest thing since sunburn, as character Charles de Marr from 1985 movie Better Off
Dead might have phrased it. There is hardly a corner of the globe that has remained
untouched by the rising tides of type 2 diabetes. It is everywhere, and it, kind of like The
Blob (no offense), is slowly creeping its way into every little crack to commit atrocious
murder.
Type 2 diabetes is no joke, but rest assured, if anyone can make a joke out of it while still
dispensing valuable, unique, and tirelessly thought-provoking ideas regarding the disease
its me. I will no doubt seize every opportunity for self-aggrandizement throughout the
book as well, then pretend Im just joking and make fun of myself. Okay, on with the
story.
The Pima Indians of southern Arizona now have a type 2 diabetes rate of 50%. They
appear, mysteriously so, to be the most hereditarily prone to develop the disease of any
race of people on earth. They offer a glimpse into the future for all races, I believe, as the
trend is rising and rising quickly just as it did for the American Pima in all races. But
before you think diabetes is manifest destiny of your DNA, consider the profound head
scratcher Pima Indians living just across the border in Mexico, with a different diet and
lifestyle, do not suffer the same fate. They are almost incomparable to their genetic twins
living in white land. No, I dont mean white mans land, I mean the land of white foods
white sugar, white bread, white rice, deep fried in hydrogenated oil and washed down
with caffeine and alcohol.
If you do not have type 2 diabetes, and you hate reading, you could probably stop right
here. Strictly avoiding the foods I just mentioned would give a nondiabetic, by my best
guess, 98% immunity to the disease or higher. When reviewing health and nutrition
history over the last century, you tap into a tremendous database of repeated incidences in
which refined carbohydrates, drugs, and vegetable oils displace traditional foods and
diseases such as type 2 diabetes appeared for the very first time in recorded history. The
pattern is quite clear. To even question what causes type 2 diabetes, at the core, is to be
ignorant of this painfully apparent, and very deep crevasse of observational data.

180 Degree Diabetes

~7~

Modern foods cause modern disease stupid. With careful thought and observation, it
even becomes clear that lifestyle plays almost no role in the development of type 2
diabetes and related disorders either. I dont care how many claim that exercise
improves glucose tolerance, because that only tells one side of the story. Type 2
diabetes and its root cause is about diet and diet alone. Other factors, of which there are
countless, are simply what T.L. Cleave calls aggravating factors, and are not to be
confused with the real core of the problem.
Could it really be so simple? you might ask. Could refined carbohydrates really be the
cause of diabetes, and a rainbow assortment of other conditions? Wouldnt the answer
already be discovered and well-known by every health authority in the world at this
point? Is there a peer-reviewed, double-blind study to back this up somewhere?
T.L. Cleave spoke to this when he said:
medical minds throughout the world these days are so preoccupied with detail that
they have lost the art of repeatedly standing back in order to gain perspective and think
more simply, in terms of fundamentals. Conclusions reached in this way, and which
would be strongly indicated by common sense, are discounted because they cannot be
proved to the last particular, and ultimately become lost from view.
That is precisely what has happened. Now there is a new phenomenon. With the endless
array of medical complexities, the gene labyrinth, and unthinkably-advanced procedures,
the simple answers are looked at with condescending scorn. Its too complicated to
possibly be that simple.
William Dufty, the king of bashing complex explanations for simple phenomena, once
said:
The mind truly boggles when one glances over what passes for medical history.
Through the centuries, troubled souls have been barbecued for bewitchment, exorcised
for possession, locked up for insanity, tortured for masturbatory madness, psychiatrized
for psychoses, lobotomized for schizophrenia. How many patients would have listened if
the local healer had told them that the only thing ailing them was sugar blues?
And thats just the problem today. How many people are willing to believe that their
complex assortment of symptoms and syndromes was caused by sugar? Not many, but it
has been proven to me, and I have no choice but to try to convey to you why I am so
convinced.
Im so convinced, that I truly believe the question is not what causes type 2 diabetes, but
why do refined carbohydrates in particular, and potentially other modern junk items such
as solvent extracted vegetable oil, cause type 2 diabetes? What is the modus operandi of
these killer foods? It is this question that I, Matt Stone, health thinkaholic, address in
this book.

180 Degree Diabetes

~8~

180 Degree Diabetes is fully a multi-purpose book. Although focusing purely on a


diabetic audience would have been great, and no doubt very useful to a type 2 looking to
go beyond symptom mitigation and roll the dice on disease reversal the vast majority of
the population isnt diabetic. It is also far easier to prevent diabetes than it is to overcome
it although both can be done in most cases, assuming that most of the research Ive
encountered is truthful. Therefore, I feel obligated to not only address the diabetic, but to
spend ample time discussing the vital steps the Average Joe and Josephine need to take to
sidestep this epidemic. That will simply have a greater and more important impact,
stopping the diabetes progression in its tracks and ending the degenerative tumble.
This emphasis will be greatly highlighted, as type 2 diabetes is not something that you
wake up to one morning, unsuspected. Diabetes is progressive. First, fasting glucose
levels are in the 80s. A few years later theyre in the 90s. Then substantially over 100
and youre pre-diabetic, then you finally hit the magic number, 126 mg/dl, and you get
a shiny blue ribbon welcoming you to the club.
In other words, if youre paying attention, type 2 diabetes sneaks up on you like an
elephant with bubble-wrap shoes. Assuming youre not deaf, an elephant would have
some trouble pulling that off. If you are alert, know what the hallmarks of homeostasis
are, such as a basal body temperature of 98 degrees F and fasting glucose of almost
exactly 85 mg/dl, then youre doctor will never throw you a diabetes surprise party.
I believe with all my heart, that some of the most exciting and paradigm-shattering advice
on stopping the diabetes process can be found in this book. Insulin resistance, the
underlying disorder behind most cases of overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes
amongst other modern ills, is considered to be difficult to reverse. Its thought to be a
condition that just develops with age. Its part of the natural aging process
Nothing that Ive come across that has ventured beyond conventional wisdumb, has
suggested anything but the opposite. Melvin Page, for example, the Godfather of proper
glucose metabolism in a sense, brought 33% of a group of 480 patients with impaired
glucose metabolism back to normal on his diet. Thats right, a little tweak in the diet,
without restriction of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, or overall calories fixed 1 in 3
people. That, in and of itself, is a pretty amazing feat. But thats not the amazing part.
The amazing part is that those results were achieved in THREE FING DAYS! Imagine
how many could have healed following his diet by the end of a month!
Joel Fuhrman claims that More than 90 percent of my diabetic patients who were on
insulin at the time of their first visit got off all insulin within the first month. Id call that
somewhat promising as well.
Broda Barnes, an endocrinologist that dedicated his career to insuring that all of his 2,000
or so patients had an optimized metabolism, as gauged by having a morning basal body
temperature (armpit temp) between 97.8 and 98.2 degrees F, had a grand total of ZERO
patients develop type 2 diabetes under his care. That doesnt sound so hopeless does it?
That doesnt sound like genetic predetermination to get the disease if you ask me. These

180 Degree Diabetes

~9~

results are echoed by modern day practitioners of Brodas methods, Drs. Mark Starr and
Stephen Langer. Do you think Langer, in using Solved: The Riddle of Illness as the title
for his book is telling diabetic patients that theres no hope? I dont either!
So climb on for a good ride. Sights will include:

Shattering the premises of many dietary cults


Pointing out plenty of historical examples of degeneration setting in with the
dawn of refined carbohydrates
Examining insulin resistance and honing in on its cause and cure.
Learning about glucose monitoring not just to control diabetes, but as a
preventative tool
Simplifying the seemingly-complex constellation of health problems and risk
factors associated with diabetes
Laying out an assortment of options for dealing with the disease head-on and
potentially reversing the entire disease process from high-fat to low-fat, and
from fasting to feasting.

By the time we get to the destination you will all know a few things for sure. Diabetes is
not our destiny, and its prevention is simple and requires no acts of superhuman
willpower or determination. If you are diabetic, you will know that there are many
alternative nutritional treatments to attempt before giving up hope, and that virtually all
of them have been wildly successful for a great percentage of diabetics. And no matter
who you are, you will learn many of the secrets of avoiding the entire degenerative
process that leads to not only diabetes, but obesity, heart disease, hypertension, stroke,
high blood sugars, digestive problems, and more. Most importantly, anyone who reads
this will take giant leaps in getting the whole picture.
For anyone who has been officially diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, do not attempt to heal
your condition with this information alone. The complexities of having such a serious
medical condition must be tracked very carefully, medications adjusted and eliminated at
the discretion of your doctor, and you must find an agreeable physician who is willing to
support the idea of any attempt of diabetic reversal before commencing any program of
action.
If you do overcome your condition, it is absolutely mandatory for the benefit of others
that you immediately report your experiences to the 180DegreeHealth blog or to me
personally, at sacredself@gmail.com.
Best of luck in sticking it to the man instead of sticking yourself with insulin and lancets
for the rest of your days
-Matt Stone
December 2009

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 10 ~

What is type 2 diabetes?


Before we go any further, lets take a moment to define type 2 diabetes. Just to get the
basics down and get everyone diabetic, prediabetic, and healthy layperson alike, on the
same page.
Type 1 diabetes is a deficiency of the pancreas. It is thought to be an autoimmune
disease that typically strikes in childhood, in which the beta cells of the pancreas are
irreparably damaged by the immune system. Like most autoimmune illnesses, the
particulars of why this happens is totally unknown. The bottom line is that the pancreas
can no longer produce insulin, and since insulin is needed to store nutrients, glucose
included, out of the bloodstream and into the cells, type 1 diabetics are in serious trouble
without supplemental insulin injections.
Type 2 diabetes, although it too results in blood glucose levels that are higher than
normal, is a completely different illness as different as Ghandi and George W. Bush.
Its much more different than apples and oranges.
Whereas type 1 diabetes is attributed to a faulty pancreas, type 2 diabetes has nothing to
do with the pancreas. In fact, the pancreas of a type 2 diabetic is often a superhero
The type 2 diabetic usually has no defect in insulin production. In fact, while a healthy
individual produces about 31 units of insulin per day, the type 2 diabetic may secrete as
much as 114 units! We are obviously not looking at an insulin shortage here.
-Julian Whitaker
The reason so much insulin is secreted is due to a phenomenon called insulin resistance.
Insulin is the key that opens up the cells and allows glucose to flow from the blood into
the cells. Its general function is to nourish the cells while simultaneously keeping the
glucose level of the bloodstream within very tight parameters. Too much sugar in the
blood causes damage to the integrity of the person from the inside out, which is why
insulins function is so vital to human life.
Insulin resistance is a condition where the insulin is present, but not working properly.
Because it is not working efficiently, the pancreas compensates by overriding the insulin
resistance by secreting more insulin. In other words, when you are insulin resistant, you
need more insulin to do the same job that a small amount of insulin should otherwise be
able to do. This is one of the primary problems of type 2 diabetics and prediabetics, as
this large quantity of insulin in the body enhances fat storage while inhibiting its release
from cells to be burned as energy. The result: you store fat at a faster pace than you burn
it, and body fat slowly starts to accumulate in excess of what is normal and healthy.
Barring aggressive force-feeding like that done by Sumo wrestlers who choke down
5,000-6,000 calories per day (and are fat but quite healthy), insulin resistance is the
predominant cause of overweight and obesity.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 11 ~

This is often not a very dramatic metabolic shift either, but slowly creeps up on a person
over decades. Going from normal weight to being 40 pounds overweight from age 20 to
60, which is very common, represents a deficit of fat burned vs. fat stored by only 9.6
calories per day. Thats equal to .05 servings of peanut butter a tenth of a tablespoon.
Thats like what, a half a peanut? Of course, the weight loss industry would have you
believe that if you left that tenth of a teaspoon of peanut butter on your spoon each day,
you would avoid gaining a single ounce of fat over that time frame. This is, as I often
say, the stupidest thing Ive ever heard in my life. This time I mean it though!
This is the reason that virtually all type 2 diabetics are overweight. Mainstream medicine
sees the weight creeping up for years and then notices rising blood sugars on down the
line, which gives the appearance that body fat causes diabetes, when it is insulin
resistance that causes both excess fat accumulation and rising blood sugars long-term.
Weight gain is a clue pointing towards a metabolic disorder.
Rising blood sugars are caused after insulin resistance has continued for many, many
years. The pancreas gradually increases its production to offset insulin resistance until
the point where insulin resistance becomes so strong, and the need for insulin so great,
that the pancreas can no longer keep up with the huge demand. For this reason, someone
with half as much insulin resistance can be diabetic before someone with far higher levels
of insulin resistance. Its just that some people exceed the capacity of their pancreas
faster than others. This is often all that differentiates someone that is fat and non-diabetic
and someone who is not as fat and diabetic (well over 90% of type 2 diabetics are
significantly overweight. Those that arent still tend to carry too much fat in the
abdominal region beer belly in men and more of a barrel-shaped torso in women).
So type 2 diabetes is really a malfunction of insulin at the cellular level. The action of
insulin is blocked, typically by an adrenal hormone called cortisol (which I also believe
to block the action of thyroid hormones which exacerbates problems and leads to other
related disorders such as heart disease), which we will be discussing later. Blood sugars
only begin to significantly rise after the capacity of the pancreas has been exceeded in its
attempts to override this cellular resistance to insulin.
The key to fundamentally reversing this problem, insulin resistance, is the focus of 180
Degree Diabetes, and the principles are just as applicable to someone with insulin
resistance that doesnt have type 2 diabetes as it is to someone who has metabolic
syndrome (low body temperature, low HDL, high blood pressure, overweight, high
triglycerides), is prediabetic (above-normal blood sugars), or is a full-blown type 2
(fasting glucose over 126 mg/dl).

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 12 ~

Low-Carb Science Never Eades Up


To get the big picture of what type 2 diabetes is, how it comes about, what the root cause
is, and come up with a viable strategy for its reversal one must acknowledge the vital
contribution of the low-carbers.
The first mainstream low-carber in this era was ol Dr. Atkins a guy Ive always
enjoyed calling Dr. Fatkins. Dr. Atkins is the greatest low-carb selling weight loss
mastermind in recorded history. Coming in a distant 2nd are Michael and Mary Dan
Eades, living low-carb legends and authors of Protein Power, which was 2nd only to like
the Bible in sales for quite a while I think.
Everyone knows Atkins, and everyone knows what the low-carb diet is. You eat lots of
meat and other sources of fat and protein, but you cut the carbs out of your diet. Its
considered a fad diet, but unlike other fads like say, the grapefruit diet or that one
where you eat nothing but cabbage, the low-carb diet is much more than a diet.
The low-carb movement is a complete and total affront to the mainstream beliefs about
health, nutrition, cholesterol, heart disease, dietary fat, and more. Its backed up, not just
by science, but MORE science than the entrenched low-fat stance on healthy eating and
the belief that eating saturated fat and cholesterol-laden foods will cause the arteries to
become clogged.
Anyone who is literate, and who has used this skill to actually read a book or two, will
note that the saturated fat/cholesterol theory of heart disease has been thoroughly
disproven. While stubborn health authorities maintain the anti-saturated fat stance on
diet, even backwoods institutions like Harvard University are asserting that heart disease
as well as type 2 diabetes are diseases of inflammation. This is a savvy way for them
to save face by admitting that they were wrong about fat and cholesterol invading the
mandible and viciously cutting off blood supply to the heart in an act of beyond-Sigfreid
and Roy magic.
The low-carb enthusiasts, who have done thorough research, have a totally different and
far more elegant and accurate portrayal of how food can kill us and make us diabetic (not
necessarily in that order). Low-carb science points out that insulin and blood glucose,
two substances that are interdependent in the body, are driven up by carbohydrates more
than any other type of food. This is true. All carbohydrates are converted to glucose in
the blood, which causes a secretion of insulin to store the glucose into cells and out of the
blood. No one is going to argue against this basic low-carb premise.
Another assertion of low-carbers that is irrefutable, is that the higher the level of insulin
in the body, the greater the propensity for storing body fat and developing heart disease.
Theres no question about it. Journalist Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad
Calories, concludes that high insulin levels equals higher rates of degenerative disease
and weight problems. Bravo Gary. Only a damn fool would fail to notice such a

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 13 ~

correlation. This of course, makes most people fools, as few have recognized such a
basic and easily-observable physiological fundamental.
The same correlation exists for blood glucose, because where there is elevated insulin,
there is elevated blood glucose and vice versa.
So therefore, according to the low-carb hypothesis, higher glucose and higher insulin =
bad health. Carbohydrates cause a greater rise in glucose and insulin, therefore, eating
carbohydrates = bad health. Looks nice, neat, and simple doesnt it? Just dont eat carbs
and youll live happily-ever-after.
But the low-carb movement unfortunately is no better at solving the whole entire riddle
than any other theory. Like a typical scientific crusade, its Achilles heel is its
oversimplification of the human body and its infinitely complex dynamism. Dr. Joel
Fuhrman, advocate of an equally over-simplified health dogma, can at least see right
through the low-carb front. He puts it best when he states:
So, it is certainly true as the advocates of animal-food-rich diets, such as Atkins,
Heller, Sears, and other proclaim carbohydrates drive up insulin levels temporarily.
These writers, however, have not presented the data in accurate fashion. A diet revolving
around unrefined carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes) will not
raise blood sugars or insulin levels. Studies have shown that such a diet can reduce
fasting insulin levels 30-40 percent in just three weeks. Obviously, a low-fat diet that is
high in refined sugars and refined carbohydrates and low in fiber is not a healthy diet.
To lump refined and unrefined carbohydrates together is inaccurate and misleading.
This illuminates the overall problem with low-carbohydrate dogma. Consuming
carbohydrate-rich foods temporarily drives insulin and glucose levels up. That is basic
nutrition meets physiology. But the secretion of insulin (a perfectly healthy and vital
human hormone) upon the ingestion of carbohydrate is no different than your chest rising
when you inhale. It is a normal response to food. Its the chronic high levels of glucose
and insulin that is problematic.
These chronic levels stem, not from what we eat directly, but from what our body does
with what we eat. For example, the morning I wrote this I consumed a large breakfast of
fatty pulled pork, onions, and a bowl of plain oatmeal with half and half. 70 minutes
after finishing this meal, my blood glucose was 73 mg/dl. After a meal of cheese,
veggies, and two baked Russet potatoes, medalists on the glycemic index, my 1-hour
post-meal glucose is only 75mg/dl. A type 2 diabetic can have double this amount of
blood glucose 12 hours after eating a meal, when blood glucose levels are at their lowest.
Clearly the glycemic load of a meal isnt the only factor.
This is where the most tragically incorrect of all low-carb beliefs comes into play. Lowcarb enthusiasts actually believe that spiking insulin and blood glucose levels repeatedly
by ingesting carbohydrates causes the insulin mechanism to wear out, leading to insulin
resistance. This, quite simply, is not how insulin resistance develops. In fact, insulin

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 14 ~

resistance can be greatly heightened on a low-carb diet and greatly reduced on a diet with
ample carbohydrates or even extremely high levels of carbohydrates.
This is why there is no such correlation between carbohydrate in the diet and insulin
resistance. Humans have eaten carbohydrates in great abundance in many cultures
worldwide without obesity and diabetes epidemics like the one the world currently faces.
In fact, as low-fat fans in the medical profession are all-too-eager to point out, the
countries that consume the most carbohydrates often have the lowest rates of type 2
diabetes (like Japan but dont try to mimic them, type 2 is on the rise there as much as it
is anywhere).
If there is a single culprit in the carbohydrate category if you pay attention to what has
been extrapolated from laboratory study, then refined fructose appears to be the villain.
Glucose has a hell of a time inducing insulin resistance, and in many cases can lower
insulin resistance and improve glucose function. Fructose, on the other hand, a type of
carbohydrate that is metabolized in a completely different manner than glucose, has an
uncanny ability to induce insulin resistance. In fact, fructose is the very substance given
to lab rats to induce the myriad of biological changes associated with insulin resistance
aka metabolic syndrome, such as low HDL, high triglycerides, hypertension, and
weight gain.
Note that this is refined crystalline fructose, or large amounts of fructose found in other
refined sugars such as high-fructose corn syrup and/or table sugar NOT small quantities
of fructose found in natural fruits. For to combine refined carbohydrates with unrefined
carbohydrates is a foolish error one that low-carbers often make while repeating the
phrase sugar is sugar is sugar, or some close variant.
Cue eye-rolling.
Nowhere in the greatest works of the 20th century on the diet-disease connection is there a
suggestion that refined and unrefined carbohydrates have even a similar net effect on the
human body much less an identical effect.
The etiology of insulin and glucose-related health problems metabolic syndrome if you
will, or a broader constellation: the Saccharine disease, has a strong and undeniable
correlation to refined carbohydrates staple foods in all modern nations (all of which are
seeing rising rates of type 2 diabetes). This correlation erodes when unrefined
carbohydrates: whole grains, beans, corn, potatoes, yams, vegetables, and fruit are
considered.
Its this simple observation that led astute scientists such as T.L. Cleave to blame refined
carbohydrates, and not natural, unrefined carbohydrates, for the causation of modern
health problems. You simply cant compare the two, can you Doc Cleave?
carbohydrates should not be taken as a single group but as two very different
groups; one being natural, unconcentrated carbohydrates, such as unrefined grains,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 15 ~

potatoes, and fruits, and the other being unnatural, concentrated carbohydrates, notably
refined flour and sugar.
What a low-carb diet does, and why it can provide some results especially for someone
with a lack of insulin due to beta cell burnout, is treat the weakness. Low-carb is a
crutch. When someone has poor glucose metabolism, the low-carb diet offers a reprieve
by limiting the amount of glucose entering the system. Like a crutch, it does the job of
the leg so that the leg doesnt have to perform.
But this is no fix. It is an avoidance scheme that limits many peoples recovery
capability. Furthermore, a low-carb diet can provoke a great deal of symptoms in the
long run, including even high fasting glucose levels and corresponding high insulin
levels. Low-carb gurus are baffled by this phenomenon to the point where they will even
deny this. They thinketh it impossible, but its not. This phenomenon is why I began
spouting the phrase, you can run from carbohydrates, but you cant hide.
The body still needs glucose, but the very presence of ketone bodies a result of eating a
very low-carbohdyrate diet, causes insulin resistance to intensify. A shortage of glucose
will also cause the metabolism to slow down, triggering greater insulin resistance as well.
A diet too low in carbohydrates also stresses the adrenals, and higher cortisol levels are
thought to trigger insulin resistance as well.
As insulin resistance intensifies, the body simultaneously becomes more efficient at
breaking down protein into glucose, a process called gluconeogenesis. Likewise, stored
glucose called glycogen is released by the liver. So carbohydrates in the diet or not, the
brain still runs on glucose and glucose is still entering the blood. The result of this
glucose cruising around in a system that is insulin resistant is high blood sugars nearly all
the time. Then the body remains in a state of perpetual hyperinsulinemia as the body
secretes insulin to override or compensate for the insulin resistance and bring glucose
levels back to the normal range, which is 75 to 85 mg/dl. (possibly less as well discuss).
In fact, on a low-carb Paleo forum, one guy reported fasting blood glucose levels over
100 mg/dl after several years of an all-meat diet and an A1C test of 6%. Compare that to
Kitavans eating potatoes like candy with A1Cs of around 4% (ideal). The A1C test
tracks average glucose levels over a 2-3 month period, and is by far the best overall
indicator of glucose metabolism. I discuss it thoroughly in the chapter on Diabetes
Prevention.
Make no mistake, the low-carb diet does help to medicate type 2 diabetes. For example,
the comment left on the Paleo forum was from a guy (Lex Rooker), that had fasting
glucose levels of 140 mg/dl prior to going low-carb. Theres no doubt that overall health
improves, weight is lost, and glucose and insulin levels are better controlled by switching
to a low-carb diet. Diabetes specialist Dr. Richard Bernstein to name names, has seen
improvements take place when a low-carb diet is adopted for decades, and its a way
better option than sticking to the Extra Value Meal, Fruity Pebbles, and ice cream diet.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 16 ~

But low-carb is not the ultimate solution. It does not cure type 2 diabetes. And even
when health problems radically improve on a low-carb diet like they did for me years
ago, those miracle cures often go away as the low-carb honeymoon period comes to a
close. That is, once the problems of high cortisol or adrenal fatigue, lowered metabolism,
and highly adapted gluconeogenesis (converting protein to glucose) catch up with you.
Plus, a really low-carbohdyrate diet is torturous emotionally over the long-term, as it can
exacerbate neurotransmitter profiles of those with addictive eating tendencies. Most type
2s are sugar, caffeine, white flour, and/or alcohol addicts due to naturally low levels of
key neurotransmitters like beta-endorphin. This quote from some mainstream diabetes
authorities (authorities on having the disease, which they do, and not necessarily
authorities on curing it, which they havent) says it all:
Many of us who have diabetes and have taken insulin can tell you that it is the last of
the issues of having diabetes. As far as we can see, the biggest issue is not about having
to take insulin but about not getting to eat brownies. This deserves far more attention
and correction than all the emotion and upset surrounding insulin.
Id say Virginia Valentine is onto something with that quote. Its the neurochemistry that
causes brownie obsession that should be addressed before type 2s are brutally flogged
with the eat less/exercise more whip. The miracle whip, if you will.
Kathleen DesMaisons, expert on this neurochemistry profile, says it best:
Six or eight weeks into the Atkins plan, a sugar addict will be one cranky puppy.
That is putting it lightly. Only four weeks into a zero carb diet I was ready to brutally
murder anyone that looked at me funny. This was quite a dramatic shift, as Im kind of
like a human Teddy Ruxpin otherwise.
Besides, low-carb diets are notorious for causing constipation, which worsens over time,
indigestion, foul body odor (and Im not just talking about some ketones being excreted),
and a long list of other problems. The development of food allergies seems to be one I
hear quite regularly too.
Anyway, as a type 2 diabetic or even just as a regular person looking to eat healthfully,
do not become overly infatuated with the low-carb chuckwagon. It has its place, and it
has contributed to the great debate in priceless ways. Before low-carbohydrate diets
came onto the scene, few major health authorities had any real idea that insulin or blood
glucose might be linked to the major epidemics of modern man. They thought that egg
yolks, butter, and red meat were the problem (and many still do, which is pretty comical
so funny I forgot to laugh). For their contributions, we should all be infinitely grateful.
But Atkins does not hold the key to the pearly gates of heaven, regardless of whether or
not your fasting glucose is high enough to be considered a type 2 diabetic or not. There
are other more sophisticated, healthful, and sustainable ways to not just deal with poor

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 17 ~

carbohydrate tolerance by avoiding carbs, but repair the very mechanism that is broken
within the body that leads to carbohydrate intolerance.
Ultimately, choosing to avoid carbohydrates because they are poorly tolerated is a major
copout. Thats like discovering that the air is low on the front driver-side tire, and
deciding that the best plan of action is to reduce driving. Well, what if you re-inflated
the tire? Then you could drive all you wanted maybe even throw in some hydraulics,
flip the switches, and throw gang signs out the windows at all the hotties as you bounce
your way over to the Slauson Swap meet.
I hope, in illuminating some of the re-inflation strategies in 180 Degree Diabetes,
youll have the courage to explore and experiment with them, and ultimately find your
own personal answer the one that truly frees you from the bondage of the insulin
resistance downward spiral.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 18 ~
Pima Kitava

A Pima Kitava sounds like a delicious drink. Something sweet. Laced with highfructose corn syrup with ice cream and rum. Crap, sorry. That probably made your
insulin surge.
Its time to discuss two very important groups of people when it comes to understanding
the cause of type 2 diabetes and the party favors that come with it.
First off are the Pima Indians. No comprehensive discussion of diabetes is complete
without some hefty thought into the Pima Indians. The Pima live on a reservation in the
Southwestern United States. They are famous, not in the sense that J-Lo might be, but
because the plumpness of the population. I guess in way, there is a connection between
J-Los plump bootie and the Pimas plump bodies. Bad example.
The Pimas hold the world heavyweight title. Not only are they known to be mysteriously
obese, but the rates of type 2 diabetes amongst the Pima Indians is absolutely stunning. It
is a true testament to where the rest of the world may be heading if we dont get a handle
on the root causes of type 2 diabetes and how to stay out of its grasp. Somewhere in the
neighborhood of 50% of Pimas suffer from the disease. They are the kings and queens of
diabetes.
Their diet doesnt really differ from the rest of the population. They eat a typical
American-style diet, rich in cheap meat, trans fats, polyunsaturated vegetable oils, white
flour and other white grains, and plenty of refined sugar in the form of cookies, candies,
soda, and so forth. Fruits and vegetables are scarce, something that mainstream health
authorities would be all too eager to point out Im sure.
What the Pimas show us is that type 2 diabetes obviously has a very strong hereditary
component. Theres no question that heredity is involved, and that the Pimas are the
most diabetes-prone of any race on earth. Only a fool would fail to acknowledge that
connection, but note that I say heredity and not genes or genetics. That is intentional and
a very careful word choice on my part.
Genetics implies that the Pima Indians have some natural propensity to develop obesity
and diabetes that was forged by nature. Heredity is a word that refers to what is handed
down from generation to generation. It could mean genetic material or it could mean
something else handed down. I believe it to be something else.
Going back in history, the Pima, when first reported on by early white settlers, were
noted as having an abundance of food, healthy, robust bodies, and strong resistance
against disease. It was even said that they had fabulous stores of food and were very
well-nourished.
Modern obesity theorists use the Pima as evidence of the thrifty gene hypothesis, a
phrase that makes me cringe. The theory basically states that some clans or races of

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 19 ~

people developed an uncanny ability to store fat as a survival advantage. This worked
really well in times of scarcity claim the thrifty gene clergy, but in todays day and age of
unlimited food, those genes simply work against them.
This is an interesting theory. Im sure Dr. Oz would be all over that like I am baconwrapped ribeye, but the fact of the matter is this theory is painfully easy to shatter into a
million pieces.
The Pima, just like hundreds of groups of people worldwide prior to the modern dietary
era, had a great abundance of food. Not everyone had food coming out of their ears, but
for the most part, humans were intelligent and organized enough to figure out this whole
feeding thyself thing pretty well. After all, we are, and have been for thousands of
years, the top of the food chain.
The Pima were no exception. They had great storehouses of corn, beans, and grain.
They ate potatoes and wild game. Sure, they were somewhat active doing low-intensity
exercise like preparing food or working in the garden, but the exercise theory of obesity
has been annihilated in much the same manner as the thrifty gene hypothesis.
But the Pima of old were not obese and not overweight. They were healthy, just like
every race of humans until modern dietary norms became their staples.
Interestingly, when it came to the Pimas, they endured a brief starvation period between
the time in which they had great food abundance and the appearance of modern
foodstuffs that they were given on the Reservation. Starvation is known to slow down
the metabolism of both parents and offspring who are born into the world in a
hypometabolic state in preparation for famine. No one would call this purely genetic, as
the hereditary material clearly shows that it can change in response to the environment.
This, as far as Im concerned is a huge clue.
This hypometabolic trigger followed up by a diet that is known to cause diabetes at a
much greater rate than any unrefined primitive diet, could have been the one-two punch
that earned the modern Pima the heavyweight title. Although refined foods, sleep
deprivation, harmful substances in the diet, a nutrient-poor diet, stress, and so on are all
causative factors in inducing a hypometabolic state caloric deprivation is the true king.
That, combined with the ultimate modern diet, is the perfect diabetic storm.
To help the idea sink in a little deeper, one need only to take a look across the border to
see how neighboring Pimas are doing. Across the Arizona border into Mexico live a
group of Pima Indians that are still relatively subsisting off of their agrarian staples
corn, beans, potatoes, and squashes. Thats right. Theyve got plenty of good food,
mostly carbohydrate-based, and they do not suffer from massive insulin resistance.
Theyve got the same genetics too, but evidently not the same heredity as far as I know,
they have no signs of being hypometabolic peoples.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 20 ~

Makes you think doesnt it? It certainly throws some kinks into the theory that journalist
Gary Taubes promotes that the abundance of high-glycemic carbs in the diet of the
susceptible Pima has caused their demise. Corn and potatoes, the bread and butter of the
Mexican Pima from what I understand, pretty much top the list of high glycemic
carbohydrates. Whats absent from their diet in large part, are the trans fats and other
oxidized vegetable oils, refined sugars, and refined grains. Some would argue saturated
fat or feedlot beef, but I have absolutely no inclination from my research and experience
to believe that either is significantly involved in the Pima fattening phenomenon.
This simple observation that the Pima Indians living across the border show no
apparent genetic predisposition to diabetes, obesity, and the like, is hugely significant.
Theories about thrifty genes, about the demise that agricultural advancement inflicted
upon the hunter-gatherer (the Paleolithic nutrition cult), the belief that carbs are
inherently sinister, and more erode into nothingness. Not a single one of those theories
can explain why Mexican Pima are healthy, and the American Pima are not.
Still, since Mexican Pima consume less fat than the American Pima, theres plenty out
there about fat causing the problems. Yes, just about anyone that can find something to
fit into their puzzle will snatch up that piece. Yes, they probably eat less meat too go
have a field day with that vegetarians.
But as any thorough researcher looking for the answer (and not just more supporting
material for a preset theory) will notice there is no historical or etiological link between
meat consumption, fat consumption, carbohydrate consumption, and type 2 diabetes. The
best and most astute of all researchers over the course of the 20th century never dared to
accuse any of the basic three macronutrients of treason. Even the idea of it was
aggravatingly preposterous, something that I can certainly relate to. T.L. Cleave put it
best when he said, testifying before George McGoverns Senate Select committee on
Nutrition and Health in 1973:
For a modern disease to be related to an old-fashioned food is one of the most ludicrous
things I have ever heard in my life.
That modern disease was heart disease part of the obesity-diabetes network of closelyrelated diseases, and the old-fashioned food was saturated fat, but it just as easily
couldve been starch or meat. The same could be applied to calories as well.
Quite simply, a huge variety of diets has proven to be healthy. Along the lines of fat,
Roger Williams cites Lowensteins work, in which he found various peoples of the earth
who have little or no atherosclerosis and are virtually free of heart disease [and
presumably diabetes as well] with fat intake ranging from 21 grams per day to as much
as 355 grams per day.
It aint about the carbs, the proteins, the fats, or even the calories. Its not even about
physical activity, for which there has been tremendous variance as well amongst healthy
peoples. It has to do with other factors.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 21 ~

Before getting too carried away here, lets examine the other half of this cocktail the
Kitavans. The Kitavans live out near good old Papau New Guinea. They are largely
unacknowledged by the mainstream, but a superb Swedish fish named Staffan Lindeberg
decided to swim over there and study the folks in Kitava extensively.
His mission, like most doctors studying healthy people, was to scrutinize risk factors for
prominent health problems in the Western world namely heart disease. Again, not to
stray too far from type 2 diabetes, but remember that where there is heart disease, there is
diabetes and vice versa.
In the study, Lindeberg found the Kitavans to have complete immunity to heart disease.
By all accounts, their health was awesome what the Western world so longs for but
hasnt found the way to achieve.
Their diet consists of regular old foods. A little coconut oil for fat, a little meat, lots of
fresh fish (the diet is something like 30% protein), and a broad spectrum of tuberous
carbohydrates including potatoes and yams as well as fresh fruits and vegetables in
reasonable quantities. The elderly live vibrant, active, and functional lives free of disease
up until a few days or weeks prior to their deaths of natural causes more or less.
The predominant source of fat in the diet is saturated fat, as coconut is the most
concentrated of all food sources in saturated fat. Overall, the diet is around 50%
carbohydrate. And everybodys doing just fine even smoking cigarettes like theyre
going out of style (note, these are not American cigarettes, laced with pollutants and
refined sugar up to 3% by weight).
Of course, elsewhere in Melanesia health problems abound. The difference, just like in
every circumstance and situation in which type 2 diabetes and related maladies surface, is
the diet. Where type 2 diabetes is found, refined sugar and refined grain are present.
That is the case in every clan of every society of every state of every nation on every
continent. Throw some delightful food additives, chemical pollutants, television, trans
fats, vegetable oils, and other garbage into the lifestyle, all of which are known to induce
a hypometabolic state, and you get a gift-wrapped box of syringes and Metformin.
Yeah, just picture the Pima Indians having frybread (trans fat deep-fried white bread),
while drinking a large Pepsi in front of the television when its 110 degrees F outside.
Not trying to stereotype (although Im sure Sherman Alexies movie Smoke Signals my
girlfriends favorite, paints a pretty accurate portrait of life on just about any American
Indian Reservation) because Id likely find little better to do in the middle of Southern
Arizona myself.
This lifestyle and diet colliding with a prior period of starvation has only served to prime
the pump of hypometabolic heredity even further. Now the Pimas have a very, very
serious problem. Its one, just like countless other examples of primitive health gone
awry, that should echo a warning to us all. We should be eager to learn exactly why the

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 22 ~

Pima have developed these health issues to such a great extent. Instead, fat phobes take a
glimpse at the phenomenon and blame it on fat. Carb phobes take a glimpse and blame it
on carbs (although, I dont know on what grounds if you factor in the lean Mexican Pima
on starchy carbohydrate staples).
The point of this chapter is simple. The answer to this question has been answered, with
great clarity, time and time and time again throughout the ages. Even now, there are
plenty that understand the importance of separating refined carbohydrates and unrefined,
natural carbohydrates into two distinct groups that are worlds apart, and that the low-carb
theory of diabetes that continues to gain traction is just plain missing the mark. In
addition to the priceless comments differentiating between refined and unrefined
carbohydrates by Cleave and Fuhrman already mentioned:
Carbohydrates do not cause diabetes. And a diet that focuses on keeping carbohydrates
out of your diet is not a powerful way to manage let alone reverse the disease. If
anything, healthy complex carbohydrates help to prevent it.
-Neal Barnard
It is the modern, processed, refined foods that we eat each day which leads to
degenerative disease.
-Melvin Page
if you go on a diet and eliminate refined carbs, very often insulin sensitivity returns,
and hypoglycemia, prediabetes, or diabetes could go away.
-Deborah Metzger
First, all of the patients were put on the basic diet which eliminates all sugar and sugar
products, [pasteurized] milk and milk products, fruit juices, coffee, alcohol and white
bread for 3 days. On the basic diet alone, the number with a normal blood sugar
increased to 367 out of 688 (from 208 prior).
-Melvin Page
Still wanna mope around about how your genes suck (Unlucky Sperm Club) and think
that type 2 diabetes is unavoidable and irreversible? If not, then lets give some of the
concepts in this book full commitment before we throw in the towel.
-Me

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 23 ~

The Saccharine Disease


Ive read some interesting and very pivotal works on nutrition and health in my day, but
one in particular really takes the cake when it comes to understanding what refined
carbohydrates do to the human system. I guess taking the cake is a bad phrase to use
though. I have a feeling T.L. Cleave, author of Diabetes, Coronary Thrombosis, and the
Saccharine Disease (1969) wouldnt have touched cake with a 10-foot pole. Not after
what he saw happened to people once they displaced unrefined carbohydrates with white
rice, white flour, and white sugar.
T.L. Peter Cleave was yet another researcher, along the lines of Denis Burkitt and
Hugh Trowell (who reported on the same phenomenon in a similar locale but received
more notoriety for it), that had the unique opportunity to witness the crossover from
natural, unrefined carbohydrate foods to the white stuff. By white stuff I of course
mean highly-refined carbohydrate foods such as white table sugar and white flour the
standbys of modern civilization.
Cleave studied the rural and urban Zulu tribe in Africa. The urban Zulu, as is so common
of urbanized people, suffered from all kinds of typical illnesses. The rural Zulu didnt
suffer from a single one of those very common illnesses. The only difference as far as
Cleave could tell was the type of dietary carbohydrates that each respective group of
Zulus ate.
This led Cleave, although he was never sure as to the whys and hows of how these
diseases came to be, to give a blanket name that included all illnesses that developed on
refined carbohydrate diets. This he called the Saccharine Disease, and his first major
published work (that I know of), was called Diabetes, Coronary Thrombosis, and the
Saccharine Disease. He went on to publish a similar follow-up called, straight up, The
Saccharine Disease in 1974.
What exactly is the Saccharine disease and what does it entail? We can get a great
summary from Capn Cleave-age himself:
The saccharine disease includes dental decay and pyorrhea; gastric and duodenal ulcer
and other forms of indigestion; obesity, diabetes, and coronary disease; constipation,
with its complications of varicose veins and hemorrhoids; and primary Escherichia coli
infections, like appendicitis, cholecystitis (with or without gall-stones), and primary
infections of the urinary tract. The same applies to certain skin condition. Not one of
these diseases is for practical purposes ever seen in races who do not consume refined
carbohydrates.
Cleaves basic observation, and the assertion which it spawned, was very different from
what you might get from todays low-carb crowd. That is unfortunate, as Ive been led to
believe repeatedly that very low-carb diets are unnecessary, and in many cases
counterproductive in healing the root of the overall disorder (glucose dysregulation).
Even crazier, many low-carb authors, including those of the greatest prominence such as

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 24 ~

Michael Eades and to an even greater degree Gary Taubes, use Cleaves work as strong
evidence that carbohydrates are the enemy!
No way! Cleave was as big of a fan of the carbohydrate as anyone, and his observations
in no way support a connection between carbohydrate consumption or overall glycemic
load or anything of the like. The rural Zulu ate the absolute baJeezus out of some
carbs, but never had any kind of metabolic disorder associated with poor glucose
regulation, hyperinsulinemia, or any other facet of metabolic syndrome much less fullblown diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and the like. For the love of all thats holy, they
didnt even have tooth decay, constipation, or varicose veins nor did they have
diverticulosis, which now affects more than half the elderly U.S. population.
What Cleave was observing and comparing were two groups of people on extremely
high-carbohydrate diets. One group was healthy and free from glucose-related diseases,
and the other was not. Here is Cleave speaking to his theory that the refining of
carbohydrates is the primary culprit of these diseases:
In that table it was shown that although 90 per cent of the calorific intake in the rural
Zulu is provided by carbohydrates (which are generally regarded as the fattening foods),
as against only 81 per cent of the intake in the urban Zulu, the crucial point is that, in the
case of the rural Zulu, of the 90 per cent figure 89 is derived from unrefined
carbohydrates, whereas, in the case of the urban Zulu, of the 81 per cent figure 71 is
derived from refined carbohydrates. An explanation, therefore, based on the argument
advanced in this work, fits the facts as a glove to its hand.
Cleave goes on and on with hard-hitting statements that I dutifully jotted down for my
own collection of quotes, stressing the fundamental difference between unrefined
carbohydrate foods, such as potatoes, beans, fruit, and grain and white, refined powders.
what matters is not the quantity of carbohydrates consumed, but the form in which
they are consumed to be more accurate, whether they have been refined or not.
there is no doubt, from an evolutionary point of view, that, in any disease in man due
to alterations in his food from the natural state, the refined carbohydrates, both on
account of the magnitude and the recentness of the alterations, are always the foods most
likely to be at fault; and not the fats.
To summarize, those who eat unrefined carbohydrates are candidates for salvation
over disease; those who eat refined carbohydrates never are.
Modern day diabetes researchers are far too buried in an endless sea of pubmed articles
and various clinical trials that take such narrow viewpoints to be able to note such
obvious effects of refined carbohydrate foods. On top of that, the entire food and
agricultural industry is built upon a foundation of producing and selling refined
carbohydrate foods turning agricultural commodities into tasty little sweet treats that
come in a box and go crunch when you bite into them. Their financial interests and

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 25 ~

tentacles of influence are so great that any trial set up to test the difference between
refined and unrefined carbohydrates is more or less un-fundable, and the results easy to
write off as having too many variables to draw an accurate conclusion. Plus, for news to
surface surrounding such a trial, it has to pass through the filter of corporate media
interests, which are often owned, funded, and controlled by the financial interests of the
food/agriculture/drug industry too. They have managed to buy off and infiltrate the FDA
and USDA in their conquest as well while also having a heavy hand in nutrition and
medical information and education.
But speaking strictly on the maze of scientific minutiae that the average researcher gets
lost in, unable to see the forest for the trees, Cleave directly announces the superiority
of his more comprehensive and all-inclusive approach to finding the answers that he
found. I agree wholeheartedly, as I too have scanned multiple centuries of information
looking for inclusive, congruent ties capable of answering the big questions on heart
disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and more.
So yeah, Im all about fundamentals. Excluding all the biochemical, nutritional, and
physiological scientific particulars, one fact remains true. A diet of unrefined
carbohydrates with accessory factors such as dairy products, meats, and fats to supply
essential animal-source nutrients, was a fabulous human diet the world over. It provided
complete immunity to every facet of T.L. Cleaves Saccharine Disease, especially
diabetes, which is a long-term, often multi-generational consequence of a diet centered
primarily around white carbohydrates.
Cleaves observations fall in perfect synch with that of Denis Burkitt and Hugh Trowell,
Weston A. Price, and other observers able to see the same dramatic shift in quality of
health during the big dietary transition. Cleave, like many others, also knew that of the
refined carbohydrates, none were more sinister than refined sugar. Not only was sugar
more addictive and promoting of tooth decay, it was completely devoid of all nutriment
including vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. It was essentially nothing but a
crystallized white drug.
Although Cleave may have had little knowledge of the metabolic differences between
fructose found in refined sugar for example, and the carbohydrate found in white rice or
white flour, Cleave still knew fully that refined sugar not starch, was the primary villain
to focus upon.
The chief problem in the present diet, however, concerns how to avoid eating ordinary
sugar, and all the sweet things containing it.
table sugaris always the most serious in the production of disease.
And perhaps Cleaves most telling statement, one that can be applied to any historic and
natural constituent of the human diet, was the words that he uttered while testifying
before George McGoverns 1973 Senate Select committee on nutrition and health:

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 26 ~

For a modern disease to be related to an old-fashioned food is one of the most ludicrous
things I have ever heard in my lifeIf anybody tells me that eating fat was the cause of
coronary disease, I should look at them in amazement. But when it comes to the dreadful
sweet things that are served up that is a very different proposition.
Cleave, like many other astute 20th century observers hits the nail on the head. Heart
disease, and its associated ills from diabetes to obesity, are modern diseases. They
didnt pop out of nowhere due to foods that humans have always relished and consumed
with great abundance (and I mean great abundance, one heart-disease free group of socalled primitive humans averaged 355 grams of fat per day).
No. When looking to understand the fundamental reason why diabetes came about and is
rapidly on the rise, look no further than the radically new and modern foods that we
began consuming en masse for the first time in human history. The primary culprit is the
refined carbohydrates, particularly sugar, as white rice eating societies have generally
fared far better.
Another dramatic change was switching from unrefined, natural fats mostly saturated
and monounsaturated fats, to plant-based, highly unstable polyunsaturated fats. Trans
fats from hydrogenated vegetable oil and the new interesterified fats are the epitome of
switching over to newfangled foods. The same can be said of food additives, chemical
preservatives, pesticides, and herbicides. These are, without question, the causes of most
modern disease they all functionally remove nutrients and other vital substances, and
replace them with inflammation-promoting, nutrient-depleting components.
In other words, it gets down to what I call the health equation that well be discussing
next. The above listed foods particularly the refined carbohydrates and vegetable oils
which comprise 50% or more of the typical modern diet, decrease nutrient delivery while
increasing nutrient excretion. By the same token, they increase pollutant delivery while
decreasing pollutant excretion. That is the big picture answer for why they cause disease,
particularly diabetes.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 27 ~
Nutritional History

So is this where I lay out a chapter on the discovery of Vitamin C, or report back on how
Vitamin A was the first nutrient ever discovered?
No actually. This is a chapter about YOUR nutritional history the history of your
lineages dietary history, which translates into your current nutritional status.
I believe that type 2 diabetes is absolutely a heredity disease. But true hereditary diseases
that are purely genetic do not change over time, unlike diabetes which popped out of
nowhere and has been getting progressively worse over the last century. We arent
talking about blue eyes and brown eyes. Blue and brown eyes have been around for
millennia. So has the whole two arms, two legs, ten fingers, and ten toes thing. THAT is
a genetic thing.
Heredity is different. You can inherit money. You can inherit old clothes, jewelry, or a
house. Your inheritance or heredity can be a lot more than the basic blueprint that we
call genes.
For example, lets say the mineral chromium is known to regulate glucose metabolism,
and without it cells are unresponsive to insulin (insulin resistance). With a shortage of
chromium, the likelihood of having impaired glucose metabolism is quite high. The
greater the shortage, the higher the chances of having a poor glucose response. Although
your genes could be the same as your mother and fathers, your nutritional status may
vary tremendously from the levels that they began at.
Exploring this, lets assign the number 10 to the level of chromium that your mothers
mother had when she gave birth to your mother. Your mom started out at 10. But by the
time she reached the age of 35 when you popped out, her level of chromium, because she
used more of it than she consumed, dropped to 6. You were then born with a level of 6.
You followed the same diet as your mom did, and by the time you reached adulthood it
had dropped to 4. Now your kids will start at 4, and if they eat like you did, then their
kids will have a level of 2-3, and so on.
You see where that chromium level is headed?
Here is an assortment of discussion on chromium in the 1983 book, Victory Over
Diabetes, by William H. Philpott:
When pure sugar is fed in large amounts to a fasting person, three things happen to
that individual. First, his blood sugar is elevated; second, insulin in the blood rises
dramatically; and third, chromium in the blood increases, since it is mobilized from
storage levels in the body tissues. The chromium in the blood, elevated in response to the
sugar intake and the co-presence of insulin, then travels to the kidneys, where between 20

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 28 ~

and 30 percent of the blood chromium is excreted in the urine. The result is a net loss of
chromium in the body.
Most carbohydrates have traces of chromium, as it is necessary for the proper
metabolizing of sugar in the body. Nature has a funny way of making sure things are
paired up in this manner. The refining of carbohydrates in which, in the case of refined
sugar, 100% of the chromium is removed, is a hugely significant event that cant be
underestimated.
The proof of all this comes from the documented evidence that diabetic individuals
excrete chromium more rapidly in their urine than do people not having diabetes It is,
therefore, safe to assume that the primary biochemical lesion in chromium deficiency is
manifested by the decreased sensitivity to the peripheral tissue to insulin
This statement is of massive significance. Chromium does not have a role in glucose
metabolism directly because of the glucose per se, but because the functionality of the
hormone insulin depends upon chromium to properly execute its function. In other
words, the bodys insulin system does not wear out from repeated use via mechanical
failure as many low-carb diet enthusiasts claim. It starts to fail because it runs out of the
gas that makes it run properly. This could be one of the primary culprits causing insulin
resistance.
all of this leads to a biochemically vicious circle in which the intake of either large
amounts of sugar or the intake of insulin automatically causes a depletion of chromium;
on the other hand, a deficiency of chromium causes an increased intolerance to glucose
and therefore necessitates the injection of more and more insulin.
This speaks to the increasingly-worsening situation of insulin resistance. Philpott
continues to reveal important clues as to the fundamental importance of avoiding refined
carbohydrates:
Carbohydrates other than white sugar may also be responsible for chromium
deficiencies in the human body. All starches are digested into sugars in the intestines
and then used for energy sources. In the United States, the major source of carbohydrate
calories other than white sugars is refined white flour. Fortunately, whole wheat flour
contains 175 [mcg] of chromium per 100 grams of wheat; unfortunately, however,
refined white flour the staple of the American diet contains only 23 [mcg] of
chromium per 100 grams of refined white flour. This same process by which white sugar
causes chromium depletion in the body can occur withwhite bread.
Next, Philpott quotes Henry Schroeder, who sums up the situation quite effectively:
Therefore, the typical American diet, with about 60 percent of its calories taken from
refined sugar and refined flour, was apparently designed not only to provide as little
chromium as feasible, but to cause depletion of body stores of chromium by not replacing
urinary loss. Again, the article of faith based on reason stated previously, that whole

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 29 ~

foods contain the micronutrients (chromium and others) necessary for their proper
metabolism, has been shown to hold true, and the refining of these foods based on
custom, habit, preference, and industrial practices, has been shown to provide foods
lacking in a significant amount of micronutrients necessary for their metabolism.
Getting back to the idea of nutritional history, several generations of this kind of diet
really adds up, or subtracts down rather. This is one of many links between the original
development of type 2 diabetes and its rapid increase over the last century. In fact, its
development is accelerating, as the whole phenomenon appears to have a substantial
downward spiral, or vicious circle sort of effect.
Mainstream diabetes author Virginia Valentine points this out in her pointless book:
We know that diabetes is much more likely to occur in American Indians, AfricanAmericans, Hispanics, and Asians, and now we see that it is occurring at younger and
younger ages. It is not unusual now to see children as young as ten with prediabetes and
even the real thing diabetes. Interestingly and distressingly we now see diabetes
occurring ten to fifteen years earlier with each generation.
Modern diabetologists would have us believe that this is caused by some kind of timerelease gene that triggers diabetes later in life. No, I dont think thats how the gene
works.
It is a hereditary thing, in which chromium certainly could be a factor, as our levels, as a
society, are getting progressively lower. Unless a generation takes in more chromium
than they excrete, which is easier said than done when youre likely to be excreting
higher than normal amounts from your naturally high insulin levels (a result of having
low chromium stores as we discussed), this process will not be overturned. In other
words, if we keep doing what were doing, the problem is going to perpetually worsen.
As a side note, this is why an older generations dietary and lifestyle practices can never
be used as evidence that those practices were healthier. I hear all the time that Im
overweight and pre-diabetic, but I never saw my mom ingest anything other than
chocolate, alcohol, and cigarette smoke and she was skinnier than a rope and lived to 93.
No, in fact, her offspring becoming pre-diabetic and dying younger is strong evidence of
two things:
1) Her diet was extremely unhealthy and passed heredity inefficiencies on to the next
generation.
2) Her offsprings diet continued to be poor and added to the problem.
In fact, it is totally possible to have a much better diet than the prior generation but poorer
health, thanks to the generation that came before you tying an arm behind your back as
soon as you popped out.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 30 ~

Getting back on track, we go to William Philpott once more to see just what the effect of
this diet is on cumulative chromium levels:
It seems, therefore, that we Americans are bent on refining ourselves into a chromium
deficiency, the ultimate result of which is a significant glucose intolerance in the human
body. This rather unhappy distinction of the United States is not shared by other
countries that do not refine their foods (emphasis mine). In a series of tests on men
between the ages of twenty and fifty-nine, the amount of chromium found in the heart
artery was 1.9 parts per million in American men, 5.5 ppm in African men, 11 ppm in
men from the Near East, and 15ppm in men in the Far East. This evidence is one source
of speculation which proves that there is indeed a definite link between the overconsumption of refined foods and a chromium deficiency.
Chromium is not the be all end all of diabetes. In supplement form, it has been capable
of delivering some improvements, but just like proper carbohydrate metabolism being
dependent on factors in the carbohydrate foods themselves, so is the absorption of
chromium dependent on other factors. Health doesnt come in pill form.
Chromium is just one pertinent example of how our heredity can decline over time the
obvious culprit being foods that cause a greater excretion than they deliver, and refined
carbohydrates are the almighty kings of doing precisely that. I know of no other food
source, other than stimulatory drugs (which can be even worse), that are capable of
causing such a large disparity between nutrients in and nutrients out.
Other key nutrients that can be steadily eradicated to nothingness over the ages are the fat
soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K all of which are known to be amongst the most
important reproductive nutrients. D and K also play very key roles in proper mineral
metabolism, and both of those are extremely lacking in the modern dietary since banning
good sources (butter, eggs, whole milk, cream, liver) from the supposed healthy eating
pyramid, and promoting the use of sunscreen which prohibits vitamin D synthesis from
sunlight. We know that blood levels of vitamin D have declined and are continuing to do
so with ominous implications.
Of course, any mineral, not just chromium, can become increasingly scarce from
generation to generation if humans continue to excrete them at a faster rate than they are
supplied. All of them play vital roles of course, in our overall experience of health.
Levels and ratios of calcium to phosphorous, for example, is just another nutrient set
which has been found to be more disturbed by refined sugar than any other food
(according to the research of Melvin Page). I could go off for a couple of days on Bvitamins or vitamin C, both of which are required in large quantities to metabolize a highcarbohydrate diet, but are totally lacking in the refined varieties in which most people
derive those carbohydrates.
The purpose of this chapter is not to create an obsession with chromium, or even to assert
that diabetes is caused by chromium and nothing else. I do not believe that is true. I do

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 31 ~

believe chromium is a part of the big picture, and does have its role in this massive
epidemic of type 2 diabetes that were currently witnessing.
Instead, I want to encourage the type 2 diabetic, or anyone with any illness for that
matter, to think of heredity in a different light. Heredity has been one of the biggest
stumbling blocks Ive encountered in trying to convince type 2s that there is something
that they can do to improve their condition. The typical type 2 has convinced himself
that because his father had it, and his fathers mother, and so on as far back as hes
tracked the family tree that his diabetes is predestination.
This is the typical mindset of the strict low-carb diabetic. They believe that they are
insulin resistance types. They think they have found and identified their genetic
blueprint, and it reads: carbohydrates may be fine for other people, but they are not
okay for me because I am resistant to insulin.
This is reinforced every time they consume carbohydrates, because a low-carb diet,
especially one that is so low to induce ketosis (the metabolic advantage Atkins referred
to), merely intensifies insulin resistance. While monitoring their blood sugars, they note
that the addition of carbohydrates to a typical meal sends both postprandial and fasting
blood sugars to the stratosphere. The conclusion, is simply, I cant.
This fatalistic mindset is a huge hindrance in terms of adopting dietary and lifestyle
strategies that do not operate under the pretenses of Im insulin resistant, therefore I
cannot eat carbs. A similar mindset would be to say, Im allergic to cats, therefore I
cannot be around cats. In the latter example, staying away from cats may be a
reasonable alternative, but a much greater achievement and liberating cure would be to
overcome allergies to cats completely, and not be affected by their presence.
The same could be said of a low-carb diet. It is a reasonable alternative to continuing to
eat a high-refined carbohydrate, mixed diet, which causes and therefore exacerbates the
condition. Go low-carb instead, and a type 2 diabetic, or anyone with insulin resistance,
will have numerous health benefits, including a big drop in fasting and postprandial blood
sugars, as well as some weight loss. But it didnt fix the problem of insulin resistance, it
just mitigated the amount of damage that poorly-tolerated glucose inflicted. It sidesteps
the problem instead of fixing it.
Instead, a type 2 diabetics focus should be on one thing and one thing only until all
prospects for disease reversal have been ruled out. That focus should be on improving
glucose tolerance and improving insulin sensitivity (decreasing insulin resistance). So no
matter who you are a person with a slight weight problem due to insulin resistance or a
full-blown diabetic, always try your very damnedest at fixing your health problems, not
catering to them with a crutch. You are not predestined through your genes to be diabetic
or sick. Everyone has it within them to solve and conquer their health challenges,
reversing the fate of not only themselves, but of future lineages.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 32 ~

Odds are, with all the right enzymes, nutrients, and cofactors available, your body will be
able to do its job as it is supposed to. Its job of course, is to metabolize protein, fat, and
carbohydrates properly translating that into the well-oiled machine we call life. Its the
ambitious goal of orthomolecular medicine, but I think its best achieved in whole form,
as real food, vs. the typical isolated and complicated collage of vitamin and mineral
supplements so common with orthomolecular treatments. We will discuss the potential
of nutritional supplementation later in the book.
As a final note on heredity, progressive deficiencies are not the only thing that we have to
deal with. Just as certain nutrients can leave a family and never come back until dietary
habits are drastically reversed, so too can other things accumulate. Harmful things.
Taking in too much lead, mercury, cadmium, fluoride, and so on are well-known
endocrine disruptors. We tend to take in more than we excrete, and this has a multigenerational cumulative effect.
Fatty acid profiles are passed along as well. It is now known that the ratio of omega 6
polyunsaturated fat to omega 3 is very high and getting steadily higher. Although the
supplement industry would try to steer you towards taking in more of the underdog
(omega 3), instead of using that totally unprofitable approach of telling you what to
delete from your diet (omega 6), the main focus should be on eating less omega 6, not
eating more omega 3.
Yes, thats right, the fat in our bodies can become like that of vegetable oil over time if
we eat lots and lots of vegetable oils (omega 6). This fatty acid profile is handed down
for the next generation to build on, which is thought to have the potential of catapulting
one into a hyperinflammatory state as inflammatory compounds in the body such as
leukotreines are derived from omega 6 (while omega 3 inhibits the synthesis of
leukotreines). As it pertains to diabetes, inflammation triggers cortisol, which is
antagonistic to the function of insulin (it causes cells to be more resistant to insulin that
is, causing higher blood sugar and insulin levels).
Putting it all together, our heredity is a sum of what prior generations have done before
us. Radical departures from prior dietary and lifestyle norms, such as eating a 30:1 ratio
of omega 6 to omega 3 vs. the traditional 1:1, really start to add up. Ingesting, through
air, water, and food, an unnaturally large amount of heavy metals or industrial pollutants
continues to build on itself if we excrete less than we take in. The biggest contributor,
taking in fewer nutrients than you use, perpetually subtracts from human health in ways
that are very pertinent to the development of type 2 diabetes. The prime suspect there of
course, is the refined carbohydrate particularly cane sugar and corn sweeteners.
So lets say, for simplicity and to get something concrete going, that a persons
nutritional heredity is the sum of positive nutrients minus negative nutrients.
Author Joel Fuhrman has an equation that I really like. It is simple: Health =
Nutrients/Calories. The idea is to eat foods with the highest nutrient to calorie ratio as
possible, such as spinach or bok choy. I am not in total agreement with Fuhrman, as

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 33 ~

many of those foods are nutritionally incomplete and more appropriate for an herbivore,
but hes got the right idea. My equation is much, much simpler on the nutrient side.

Nutritional Health = Nutrients in Nutrients out


A healthy persons nutritional health sum is 0. They are in nutritional balance, taking in
and using the same amount.
But many people have a lot to make up for, meaning that the nutrients in-side needs to be
much higher than the nutrients out-side. So one should really strive to eat a
superabundance of nutritious foods, more than his or her body could ever feasibly use, in
an attempt to fill the empty tank so to speak.
Unlike Fuhrmans plan, which almost completely excludes animal products and therefore
vital Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, long chain omega 3s, and Vitamin B-12 nutrients that
the typical modern citizen is treacherously lacking in to begin with, one should strive for
a well-balanced diet with an assortment of nutritional powerhouses. These vital animalbased nutrients work synergistically with the nutrients found in the broccoli, whole
grains, and bok choy touted by Fuhrman minimizing the equally-important excretion
side of the equation.
At the same time, its certainly not a bad idea to focus on the negative nutrients as well,
such as mercury, formaldehyde, and PCBs, although I personally find overemphasizing
this category to fuel a certain neurosis. It is less easy to control as well. Still, minimizing
the intake of non-organic foods, replacing all the omega 6 vegetable oils in your diet with
other fats, denouncing vaccines, using fluoride-free toothpaste, and drinking purified
water can be a big help in reducing the pollutants on that side of the equation. That
equation is simply:

Toxic Burden = Pollutants in Pollutants out


Decreasing the pollutants in is a huge help. That equation can further be improved upon
by doing an occasional cleanse. It is questionable as to how effective these cleanses
are, and doing fasts with only juices or fruits and vegetables can be of some detriment to
the overall nutritional status (especially if you really overdo it). I suspect, from personal
experience and a great deal of research, that the best way to kill two birds with one
stone, that is, increase nutritional health while simultaneously decreasing toxic burden,
is to do an extended fast with fresh, raw milk if available. Ill discuss this more in the
Diabetes Treatments section.
The overall equation, one that you can remember and keep in mind when attempting to
perform any health improvement, whether working on improving insulin sensitivity or
otherwise, is:

Health = Nutritional Health Toxic Burden

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 34 ~

Take in more nutrients than you excrete and excrete more pollutants than you take in.
When either is achieved, and especially when both are achieved simultaneously, any
number of health miracles can take place.
Its this equation that determines our heredity, and whether or not we live on to have
better health than those that came before us. Fortunately, as well discuss in the next
chapter, there is a good physical indicator of how we place in the Health Equation. Its
the overall metabolism as indicated by the basal body temperature.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 35 ~
The Metabolism

In the last chapter, we talked about nutritional history and the health equation. Because
of the work of endocrinologist Broda Barnes and the follow-up work of Mark Starr and
Stephen Langer, both M.D.s who have used Barness treatment methods for a broad
spectrum of illnesses, I consider the metabolism to be of utmost importance.
What is the metabolism? Normally we think of the metabolism as the number of calories
that we burn each day. A person that eats a lot, but is really skinny must have a really
high metabolism. Fatties who eat only salad must have low metabolisms.
The metabolism is NOT defined simply by these terms. The metabolism is something
much, much greater. I define metabolism as the symphony of hormonal and enzymatic
processes in the human body that translates energy into what we call life. It is infinitely
complex far beyond what humans have thus far been able to comprehend despite
valiant efforts.
Broda Barnes, one of the great medical healers and communicators (he was one funny
mfer) of the 20th century, was an endocrinologist that noticed some strange phenomena
amongst his patients. The first, is that a ton of patients were complaining of countless
unexplained symptoms. At first blush, many of the symptoms seemed unrelated, but the
majority of the patients had one thing in common a low body temperature.
At the time, it was more customary to use the body temperature as a means of gauging
thyroid functionality. Today, blood tests are used, many of which reveal that the thyroid
is fully functional, pumping out normal or near-normal amounts of thyroid hormones.
Since many people suffering from a low body temperature had the same symptoms, and
were thus suffering from the same disorder more or less, the blood tests became
irrelevant. To Barnes, a low body temperature plus a medley of unexplained health
problems meant low metabolism. By treating the low metabolism, whether a person was
lacking thyroid hormones in their blood tests or not, Barnes was able to bring his
patients temperatures back up to normal and rid them of their illnesses whether that
low metabolism had manifested in menstrual problems, hair loss, cold feet,
hypoglycemia, chronic pain, hypercholesterolemia, and on and on and on. To give you
an idea of how many conditions can manifest from a low metabolism, the chapter entitled
Symptoms in Mark Starrs book on the subject is 83 friggin pages long!
Barnes first started this practice in the 1950s. At that time, heart disease was rapidly
accelerating, going from relative obscurity at the turn of the century to becoming far and
away the leading cause of death in American citizens. Barnes was reading all about how
doctors were seeing more and more of it, and the medical literature published at that time
seemed to completely revolve around the treatment of this condition.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 36 ~

Funny thing was, Barnes had yet to have a patient develop heart disease. He had
hundreds of patients, but never saw anything of the likes of heart disease around his
clinic. Decades before C & C Music Factory came out with their first hit song, Barnes
was already finding things that make ya go hmmm. So he looked into the possible
relationship between the basal metabolism (which he had his patients record via
armpit/axillary temperature first thing in the morning), heart disease, and associated
conditions.
Throughout his career, Barnes kept tabs on his patients. Out of a couple thousand
patients, only a small handful had heart attacks. A couple of those had just become his
patients, so they didnt even count. All things considered, Barness patients had 96%
fewer heart attacks than the general American public at that time. Little heart disease,
since it is so intimately linked with the development of type 2 diabetes, is good news for
those hoping to avoid type 2 diabetes as well. But we dont have to just infer that having
a healthy basal metabolism protects against the development of type 2 diabetes. We
know it does. Barnes had a total of ZERO patients develop type 2 diabetes in over three
decades as a practicing endocrinologist. Not too shabby eh?
Modern day Broda zealots Mark Starr and Stephen Langer echo similar results among
their patients.
Barnes thought the optimal range for the basal temperature to run between 97.8 degrees F
and 98.2. Keep in mind, this is the armpit temperature, which runs lower than the oral
temperature. A healthy oral temperature, as we all know, is right around 98.6 degrees F,
which can also be used as a solid gauge for metabolic health although it is more subject
to artificial increase via infections according to Barnes.
What the temperature of our body shows us is simply whether or not the body is running
in conservation mode or firing on all cylinders. When the body voluntarily runs its
thermostat at a normal 98.6 degrees F (oral), it is reasonable to assume that all systems
are working synergistically, and optimally at least at the moment. Thats not to say that
the current diet and lifestyle you follow isnt undermining that success and catapulting
you towards long-term health consequences, but you at least know your health du jour.
Not surprisingly, with general health on the decline worldwide, and rising rates of
obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease accelerating, body temperatures are in decline.
Broda Barnes thought that as much as half of the American population during his era was
suffering from a low body temperature. Stephen Langer, who once thought this
statement to be irrational, has found, in his practice, that the number runs higher. Mark
Starr has called a low metabolism/low body temperature an epidemic. As Ive found
through blogosphere communication, the prevalence of a low body temperature amongst
those with substantial health problems cant be too far below 100%.
Broda Barnes found that nearly every single case of type 2 diabetes that he came across
(none developed the condition under his care, but he examined many with the preexisting
condition) had a corresponding low body temperature. He stated:

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 37 ~

98 percent of diabetics are lacking in thyroid and bringing their metabolism up to the
normal range not only improves the symptoms but also inhibits hardening of the arteries
which is the diabetics worst problem.
I am stubborn about believing that there is truly a lack in thyroid, or a problem with the
gland itself in most of these cases. Just as with type 2 diabetics, who have excessive
blood sugar which was once concluded to be a deficiency of the pancreas (which secretes
insulin to store excess sugar out of the blood and into muscle and fat cells), it was later
discovered that the pancreas typically works like a champ. Most type 2 diabetics secrete
far MORE insulin with their superhuman pancreases than the average person.
No, I believe that most cases in which symptoms of low thyroid can be observed and
consequently cured by bringing the metabolism up to snuff, can be likened to type 2
diabetes. Mark Starr goes so far as to call the condition type 2 hypothyroidism. Still,
this puts far too much emphasis on the thyroid gland itself. Diabetes shouldnt be called
type 2 hypopancreatism, because there is plenty of insulin (pancreas juice), and the
condition itself has little to do with the pancreas. Nope, I think the body is thyroid
hormone resistant in much the same way as the type 2 diabetic is insulin resistant.
Yes, there are certainly two types of diabetes. You definitely wouldnt want to tell a type
1 that there is nothing wrong with his pancreas. That pancreas if fine man! Must be
something else! No, there is something wrong with the type 1s pancreas. It doesnt
work! But a type 2 has pancreatic sufficiency in most cases, just as most cases of low
metabolism occur in circumstances in which the thyroid is in tip-top shape. Why
supplement thyroid hormone if the lack of thyroid hormone is really just a response to
whats going on elsewhere in the body?
Like our buddy cortisol for example. Send that through the roof and body temperature
drops while insulin resistance sets in. Doesnt sound like much of a thyroid problem to
me, which is why the vast majority of people, even with a low metabolism, can pass
thyroid blood tests.
In actuality, I believe that there is a much safer, quicker, and more enjoyable way to bring
the metabolism back up to normal. Thats to eat a diet that contains virtually zero refined
sugars and a great abundance of calories. This, by default, is a very nutritious diet
which can also eliminate hypometabolic states linked to nutritional deficiency of some
kind. I prefer the diet to contain a robust quantity of saturated fats as well, particularly
medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), found in highest abundance in coconut. MCTs
could possibly be the most metabolically-stimulating fat on earth. The only other source
of such fats comes from dairy fat. Mmmm, Matty likey!
Another key to my most highly-recommended programs in the Treatment section is
limiting the amount of physical activity and maximizing the amount of sleep you get.
Limiting all stimulants and drugs is a must too, for the very same reasons it is important
to rest. You dont want to be stimulated. You want your adrenals, which are often the

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 38 ~

culprit behind the low metabolism (cortisol is an adrenal hormone), to be quiet, relaxed,
and get a chance to rejuvenate during this phase as well.
Time and time again, the reports come in. People try this and their basal temperatures
rise quickly and dramatically. Of course, it wont work for everyone, and many people
will need to supplement with desiccated thyroid glandulars to achieve the same results,
but like I said, most cases of a low metabolism are caused by diet and lifestyle and can be
eliminated by fixing the diet and lifestyle.
This may come as a bit of a shocker. Whaddya expect from 180DegreeHealth? A
sermon about 100 calorie snack bars, watching your portions, and using an eye-dropper
to butter your baked tater? Yes, Im saying, enthusiastically and assertively, that the
greatest means of reducing heart disease and type 2 diabetes is keeping the metabolism
running as high, and as long into old age as we possibly can. The greatest way to destroy
the metabolism is trying to get healthy, as health pursuits typically involve the greatest
foes of metabolic health:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

Low-calorie diets
Exercise regimens, particularly distance running
Low-fat diets
Very low-carb diets
Cutting saturated fats in favor of vegetable oils and margarine
Diets that exclude animal products (and essential nutrients)
Lack of sleep
Stess, even just being too busy or focused
Refined sugar (note, cravings for refined sugar intensify if you follow the above 8
steps to failure)
10) Drugs, including prescription meds, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, and many other
common sources of these substances (which also induce cravings for more sugar
and vice versa)

What a top 10 list that is!


Yes, Im dead serious. If you want to boost your basal metabolism up to normal,
improving your digestion, mood, and eliminating nagging health problems along the way
eat more, and exercise less. There is even some suggestion according to studies
brought forward by researchers Russ Farris and Per Marin in The Potbelly Syndrome
(pages 94-95), that overfeeding can lower insulin resistance, the metabolic state
associated with glucose dysregulation and the ominous approach of our buddy, type 2
diabetes. Imagine what studies using nutritious food exclusively with a complete absence
of drugs, stimulants, vegetable oil, refined fructose, and stupid exercise could have
shown!
Speaking of which, thats why overfeeding studies have mixed results. Sure, overfeed
someone on a high-calorie, high-protein, high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that features
primarily fructose, other refined carbohydrates, and trans fat-laden vegetable oil and

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 39 ~

youll likely have the results that Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) had after 30 days of
McDonalds fare a fatty liver, triglycerides through the roof, emotional problems, an
extra 25 pounds of belly fat, and sexual dysfunction. Plus, your vegan girlfriend, if you
had one, would be totally freaking out. I was an emotional basket case when I ate vegan
too!
In fact, experiences like Spurlocks have unfortunately instilled even more fear about
eating a diet thats high in saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein all mixed together on
a high-calorie diet. If combining all those together was bad, every species of mammal on
earth would be diabetic before they finished weaning. The substance I just described is
mammalian milk! And to think that barbarians like me are running around saying that
mammals thrive best on a diet with all three macronutrients in large, easily-digestible
quantities! I must be out of my mind, agreeing with God/Nature instead of some humans
in lab coats with bald heads, fat bellies, and cupboards full of prescription meds and
fortified breakfast cereals.
So to review:
In terms of monitoring health and not letting diabetes jump up out of nowhere and bite
your ass, there is simply no better or accessible home monitoring assessment than the
basal body temp. Know it. Check it. If there is a problem take action to fix it.
Fix the metabolism by eliminating the foods that are most suspect for lowering it. This
would be trans fats, refined sugars, white flour, and drugs including alcohol, caffeine, and
chocolate. This basically means making your own, nourishing food yourself as every
product on earth and restaurant meal almost assuredly contains one, if not all, of those
ingredients (its good business).
To increase your success rate with dropping the aforementioned highly addictive
substances, it is imperative that you nourish yourself with aggressive amounts of nutrientdense foods. This includes ample amounts from every macronutrient class fats,
proteins, and unrefined carbohydrates. Quality counts, but so does quantity. Eat a
crapload! Whether you split it into many small meals or feast three times per day is up to
you. I find 4,000 calories per day for adult men and 3,000 calories per day for adult
women to be great MINIMUMS during the metabolic recovery phase. Pair this with lots
of naps, sunbathing escapades, long nights of sleep, meditation, or whatever else you find
to be soothing and relaxing. I believe exercise should be limited to walking and
stretching for best results.
None of this is permanent mind you. I dont truly believe that health = the amount of
food you eat or health = lack of physical and mental exertion. No one really needs 4,000
calories every single day while sitting around doin squat. But doing so short-term, I
genuinely believe is therapeutic and healing even as it pertains to a type 2 diabetic and
perhaps even more so.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 40 ~

Endocrinologist Diana Schwarzbein, who has achieved what to me is the greatest goal in
the healing of type 2 diabetics, is one of the only health practitioners on earth that has
truly reversed type 2 diabetes in patients. Sure, lots of folks have gotten blood sugars
down. That can be done in a matter of days on highly restricted diets. Schwarzbein,
however, has led diabetics through the healing process to arrive at true metabolic
health, in which an unrestricted diet can be enjoyed and metabolized correctly. This is a
real feat. And she believes that a diabetic needs to eat more food, more often than a
non-diabetic. Thats because good food is the healer, and a diabetic has more healing to
do than the average punk. She even goes so far as to say, food is your friend, so gag it
down. Makes my heart flutter.
I think with higher allowances for carbohydrates (she only allows 75g per day for
diabetics) and even more aggressive recommendations on limiting exertion and creating
caloric surplus, overturning insulin resistance could be achieved much faster. My own
fasting blood sugar, which has fallen 25%+ in the last 30 days, is a great testament to the
effectiveness of this approach. Although many diabetics feel like they cant follow this
same path because they are diabetic, this could potentially be a tragic mistake. I believe a
diabetics results would likely be even more dramatic than mine. A diabetic has much
more room for improvement than I do.
To reiterate the objective of such a bizarre-sounding regimen (which well cover in the
Treatment section in thorough detail dont worry)
To prevent blood glucose dysregulation, heal from low-level insulin resistance or even
full-blown type 2 diabetes, one must bring the metabolism back into the optimal range.
This is most efficiently achieved by taking in more nutrients and total energy than you
expend metabolically (this doesnt mean that fat stores are destined to increase in fact, a
person with tremendous excess fat stores can lose significant amounts of body fat
following such a program).
As a final note:
Exercise is thought to raise the metabolism. This is a huge flaw in conventional wisdom
on the subject. Exercise, especially high-intensity long-duration exercise (cardio), is
tremendous stress and is anti-metabolic. Although, long-term, the human body depends
on some level of physical activity and exertion for overall health and well-being, that is
not the prescription for someone in need of metabolic healing.
Exercise does burn more calories, but at the expense of the basal metabolism, which
decreases when there is caloric deficit induced by exercise or in response to stress. Its
like driving a car. If you go somewhere, you need more fuel. The body does not increase
its basal metabolism the number of calories you burn at rest, in response to exercise. If
you cannot replace calories burned during exercise with food, the body has only one
choice to compensate for it burn fewer calories while at rest.
After exercising intensely over a 20 week period as a U.S. Forest Service Wilderness
Ranger, my basal body temperature dropped from 97.8 (in the ideal range) to 96.2

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 41 ~

degrees F severely hypometabolic. After stopping the exercise, I gained fat rapidly,
was tired and sluggish, had skin breakouts, and had higher blood sugars in response to
my normal diet than I do now after a prolonged period of rest. Thats not what were
trying to achieve. We want better tolerance to our normal diet, lower blood sugars, and
spontaneous fat loss, not fat gain.
With certainty, this objective is ascertained more effectively by nutritional abundance
paired with deep rest and relaxation. Good health is not earned through exercise the
ability to exercise without negative recourse is earned through good health. More
specific details on this old (but forgotten) paradigm of healing later.

~ 42 ~

180 Degree Diabetes

Cortisol is All
Cortisol is an adrenal hormone. Its a damn important one too. Cortisol, just like the
drug version cortisone, is a very powerful substance. It mitigates inflammation with
miracle-like capability. Theres just a couple of problems with cortisol though it
triggers insulin resistance, lowers body temperature, and suppresses the immune system
when you secrete too much of it. Of course, these were all the problems with cortisone.
It plays healer for a while before it turns on ya, causing, among other listed side effects,
rapid weight gain.
Although there are plenty of people out there that think cortisol is the big bad wolf even
the irrefutable cause of insulin resistance, I have some doubts or at least some different
perspectives. I think cortisol is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Its quite likely
that its just trying to do its job mitigate inflammation.
If too much cortisol is a massive trigger of insulin resistance, and cortisol is triggered in
response to things like allergy, infection, and other causes of inflammation, who are you
gonna blame type 2 diabetes on? Cortisol or inflammation? Im going with
inflammation.
Inflammation has a close link with type 2 diabetes and now all degenerative diseases of
aging. Russell Farris and Per Marin, authors of The Potbelly Syndrome and incredibly
thorough researchers, are all over this inflammation-insulin resistance link. Russell
Farris has noted that chronic low-grade infection is one key source of inflammation. This
chronic, low-grade infection leads to chronic, low-grade inflammation. The chronic lowgrade infection leads to chronic subtle hypercortisolism as he likes to call it. This, in
turn, triggers insulin resistance and the accumulation of excess visceral/belly fat and high
blood sugars.
This problem really spirals out of control after high blood sugar sets in, as cells become
more glycosylated or glycated, while another substance called sorbitol inflicts more
inflammatory damage to more cells on the side. Then comes more cortisol, then more
insulin resistance, then more body fat thought to have an inflammatory nature in and of
itself, and so on. Just when you think things couldnt possibly be worse, your lack of
sleep, high stress levels, exercise program, and restricted diet all add to the cortisol load.
All the while cortisol increasingly diminishes the fighting power of the immune system,
which can have two effects it can send the immune system into hyperdrive to
compensate, potentially leading to rampant allergies and even autoimmune disease,
and/or it can allow an increasing number of pathological invaders to penetrate and
flourish.
Barry Sears sums it up well when he says:
cortisol, if elevated, shuts down the immune system after initial symptom improvement
(due to shutting down an overabundance of inflammatory eicosanoids). Thus, cortisol,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 43 ~

induced by stress including hypoglycemia, dieting, overexercising, etc. will bring all
eicosanoid sythesis (good and bad) to a grinding halt. This can cause your immune
system to begin to shut down.
Can you say, What a friggin mess? (WAFM)
Farris and Marins work focuses heavily on one type of foreign invader in particular that
leads to chronic inflammation a non-STD form of Chlamydia (Chlamydia pneumoniae)
that invades and eats away at arterial lining. This leads to inflammation, lesions or
plaques in the arteries in response to the damage (made, in large part, by cholesterol
which is a repair substance, not an enemy, and it has another reason to be there other than
you ate too many Quarter Pounders as bumbling low-fat morons assert), and more
cortisol. Cortisol then triggers insulin resistance which triggers fat storage and raises
blood sugars. Thus, one of the most amazing and revolutionary conclusions of their
pioneering work is that heart disease causes obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2
diabetes not the other way around.
Could be fellas. Could be. You got my attention at least, and autopsy records of young
people show quite clearly that before higher blood sugars, before obesity, and before type
2 diabetes there is heart disease. Even toddlers that have been autopsied are already
showing signs of heart disease at that age (no stupid, this is not a reason to give kids
Lipitor, which hasnt been shown to reduce all cause mortality or increase the lifespan).
Further down the inflammation train
Richard Bernstein, type 2 diabetes maverick, has also commented on the fun loving circle
of inflammation and type 2 diabetes:
So, to simplify somewhat, inheritance plus inflammation plus fat in the blood feeding the
liver causes insulin resistance, which causes elevated serum insulin levels, which cause
the fat cells to build even more abdominal fat, which raises triglycerides in the livers
blood supply and enhances inflammation, which causes insulin levels to increase because
of increased resistance to insulin. If that sounds circular, it is. But note that the fat that
is the culprit here is not dietary fat.
Doesnt sound so good does it? No, inflammation is not the road we want to turn down.
In Bernsteins example, he points out the role of blood fats in the onset of insulin
resistance. Blood fats, or triglycerides, can get in the way of insulins function. Using
fats as a fuel source, also called burning fat or lipolysis is controlled by the overall
metabolism governed by the effectiveness and supply of thyroid hormones. This points
the finger away from cortisol and the adrenals and points squarely at the thyroid instead.
Or does it?
Farris and I, although we just recently began communicating directly, are fighting tooth
and nail over this issue. He believes that cortisol lowers the body temperature. This may
be the case, especially when you consider that most people with low body temperatures

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 44 ~

have normal thyroid hormone levels. It is intriguing, that administering thyroid


hormones to raise the body temperature as Broda Barnes did, is able to stave off diabetes
and heart disease. But it could just be that cortisol, and not the thyroid, regardless of
what impact thyroid hormone supplementation has on upping body temperature, is the
chicken that came before the egg. Or the egg that came before the chicken. Wait, which
one is it now?
Yes, cortisol vs. thyroid is a big chicken or egg question. Then youve got the whole
camp out there that think that insulin is the chicken, or is it the egg, as insulin leads to
high blood sugars, inflammation and therefore high cortisol, and because insulin
sequesters nutrients and energy into fat cells and away from lean tissues, it starves the
body lowering the body temperature.
To be honest, I can see just about any of those scenarios playing out in such fashion. All
things considered however, it really doesnt matter what causes what. The three
hormonal musketeers kick it together. They are like the Backstreet Boys. Actually, they
are more like The Fat Boys my favorite in 4th grade hands down. High cortisol, low
thyroid (or more appropriately, a low basal metabolism) and high insulin due to insulin
resistance are part of a metabolic pattern. It is a metabolic disturbance. A syndrome of
the metabolism. Hey, lets call it, Metabolic Syndrome!

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 45 ~
Metabolic Syndrome

In the last chapter we touched on some of the basic metabolic factors that contribute to
metabolic syndrome: patterns such as a low metabolism, high insulin levels due to
insulin resistance, and high cortisol levels which potentially precede and cause the former
two conditions.
Excuse me for whatever redundancy I might be spewing, as many 180DegreeHealth
followers have already had quite an earful about Metabolic Syndrome, but Metabolic
Syndrome is worth repeating. Its worth repeating because a disturbed metabolism, like
that you learned about in the chapter on the Metabolism, is the epidemic of our time. It
also just happens to be a condition that almost no one amongst the general public has
heard of. If they have heard of it, they couldnt even begin to tell you anything about it.
The metabolism, as I mentioned, is the sum total of the hormonal, biochemical, and
enzymatic processes that translate raw materials into what we call life. To have a
syndrome of the metabolism is a pretty big blanket statement. Metabolic Syndrome
basically hints at the fact that you just aint working right.
Telltale symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome, originally coined in an official manner (but
known about for decades prior) by Gerald Reaven of Stanford University, are high blood
triglycerides, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, abdominal obesity, and high
blood sugars and insulin levels. Not everyone exemplifies each and every single
symptom, but one is generally regarded to have Metabolic Syndrome if he or she has at
least a couple, and certainly several or all, of the above characteristics.
This says nothing of what your basal body temperature is, something that mainstream
medicine still has no concept of. This is further confused by the fact that a whole other
sect of health dogma glorifies the low-calorie diet for health and longevity which
results in a hypometabolic state that prolongs life in a laboratory setting. Uh yeah, take a
look around at the real world amigos. Food scarcity does not equal spectacular health,
longevity, or advantage in any species ours especially (see Africa). Anyway, feel free
to include a low body temperature as yet another prominent factor in the Metabolic
Syndrome big picture.
Anyway, metabolic syndrome is basically thought to be a manifestation of being resistant
to the effects of the hormone insulin. Insulin, when it is not able to communicate with
cells, must override the barrier by secreting larger quantities. All the while, sugar levels
in the blood become elevated over time. If youre looking for a name for it, try
compensatory hyperinsulinemia.
Insulin is a great and wonderful hormone. Every hormone and chemical we possess has
great virtue. Never declare war, as low-carb loonies have done, with the hormone
insulin. Life cannot exist without it. Excessive insulin is very problematic. It also

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 46 ~

parallels dramatic swings in blood sugar levels and high fasting and postprandial (postmeal) glucose levels, which are plenty harmful as well.
If you only remember one message from this entire book, remember that having too
much or too little of any essential biochemical, including insulin, is harmful to the body
and upsets all systems within us. Only by having balanced levels that allow the
synergistic function of all body systems in a state of homeostasis to occur can we
achieve maximal health. Homeostasis is health. To be healthy, you have to get there. To
stay healthy you must hover there to the best of your ability.
The homeostasis tangent aside, lets focus in very carefully on Metabolic Syndrome.
The most interesting connection that Ive come across in all of my research on this
mysterious and rapidly-proliferating malady known as insulin resistance, is the link
between the symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome and the sugar molecule fructose.
Since always, fructose has received a get out of jail free card because it is the
predominant form of sugar found in fruit. There is almost a complete consensus that fruit
is a healthy food. Its nutritious. Its natural. Its the goods. Even I cannot find a way to
convince myself that fruit is naturally deleterious to the human organism. Its just not a
digestible hypothesis. Humans have consumed fruit since trees first came up with idea to
produce it, and only recently has Metabolic Syndrome become a prevalent state of
imbalance.
Fructose, nonetheless, in an isolated, purified, druglike state not unlike cocaine has
been shown rather convincingly to be capable of inducing metabolic syndrome like no
other substance. Fructose is synthesized by the liver, a unique quality shared by fructose
and fructose alone. In the liver, fructose is packaged into triglycerides and released into
the bloodstream. Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood. Because fructose, more
than any other type of carbohydrate, gets converted to fat, it is considered the most
lipogenic carbohydrate in the words of journalist Gary Taubes.
A little fat cruising around in the bloodstream is no big deal. But having excessively high
levels of triglycerides, like that associated with metabolic syndrome, is a whole other
story. Lets once again take a look at Dr. Richard Bernsteins theory on how metabolic
syndrome develops and leads to type 2 diabetes. As mentioned in the last chapter,
Bernstein states:
So, to simplify somewhat, inheritance plus inflammation plus fat in the blood feeding the
liver causes insulin resistance, which causes elevated serum insulin levels, which cause
the fat cells to build even more abdominal fat, which raises triglycerides in the livers
blood supply and enhances inflammation, which causes insulin levels to increase because
of increased resistance to insulin.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 47 ~

It is actually triglycerides in the blood combined with inflammation (probably due to the
increase in cortisol levels in response) that is one of, if not THE primary trigger of the
cells becoming resistant to insulin. Fructose is suspect #1 for good reason.
The first is fructoses basic properties. It is metabolized by the liver into triglycerides.
Therefore, it is not a giant leap to say that high triglycerides are caused by the ingestion
of large quantities of fructose.
The second, and even more damning evidence against fructose is its increase in the diet.
Fructose, as much as or more than any substance, has risen steadily in the diets of people
worldwide with the increase of industrialization and food-refining. Once an extreme
rarity in the diet found almost exclusively in seasonal fruits, fructose first began
infiltrating the human diet in the form of refined sucrose white table sugar. Sucrose,
not exactly the purified crystalline fructose used today to study the effects of fructose in a
laboratory setting, is still 50% fructose. It is still metabolized by the liver and converted
into triglycerides.
Centuries ago, sucrose, and therefore fructose, formed an extremely small part of the diet
in the United States and elsewhere. Now, according to Nora Gedgaudas, the single
largest contributor to overall calories in the American diet is high-fructose corn syrup.
Sucrose was bad enough, and ingestion in the United States rose steadily from next to
nothing to, by some estimates, 150 pounds per person per year by 1980. High-fructose
corn syrup, which is comprised of 55% fructose or higher and chemically contrived
fructose at that (unlike the naturally-occurring sucrose form in sugar cane), is even more
sinister. It is sweeter. It is more addictive. It has higher levels of fructose, leads to
higher levels of triglycerides or blood fats, and has a potentially greater ability to create a
disturbance in insulin function.
As I highlighted in the chapter on T.L. Cleaves Saccharine Disease, the introduction of
refined carbohydrates, particularly white sugar, paralleled the onset of type 2 diabetes in
modern man. Or at least, type 2 diabetes only became prevalent once white sugar and
other refined carbohydrates were adopted. The 2nd big wave of type 2 diabetes, where the
incidence of the disease skyrocketed in extremely short periods of time, makes a perfect
parallel with the displacement of white sugar with two new forms of sugar injected into
the modern dietary in the late 70s high-fructose corn syrup and crystalline fructose.
Diabetes saw such explosive growth during this time that many areas witnessed a full-on
doubling of the disease in a matter of a single decade, especially in children. Speaking of
children, type 2 diabetes became so widespread during this time, striking at such younger
ages, that the name adult onset diabetes had to be revised. Its now called, type 2
diabetes, effecting both young and the elderly.
The third piece of condemning evidence against fructose other than its obvious
implications in raising triglyceride levels, and the tight correlation between fructose
consumption and diabetes incidence, is the simple fact of what fructose does to laboratory
animals.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 48 ~

This is crazy. Its Tom Cruise Crazy. Fructose is actually the substance in which rats are
fed to induce metabolic syndrome. To study things such as medications to lower high
blood pressure or triglycerides, they induce states of hypertriglyceridemia and
hypertension (high blood pressure) in lab rats. How do they do it? They feed them a ton
of fructose baby! Works as well as spraying those little rat bastards with pepper spray
when trying to study anger.
Thats right. The recipe for creating high blood pressure or high triglycerides or high
insulin levels in rats is simply to feed them a high-fructose diet.
Now we get into a realm of common sense. I know rats and humans arent identical, but
the odds are stacked up against fructose pretty heavily at this point.
Enter Richard Johnson, fructose researcher and author of the anti-fructose Bible, The
Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That is Making You Fat and Sick.
If youre looking for more than a common-sense reason to prosecute fructose, Richards
your man. Fructose is his research specialty, and he doesnt have a whole lot of kind
things to say about it. Plus, he even goes so far as to say that removing fructose from the
diet yields instant and substantial health benefits for nearly everyone. I agree. Anyway,
Ill let him tell you all about it, as taken from The Sugar Fix (2008):
we have powerful direct evidence to show that consuming too much fructose-rich
sugar and HFCS causes the toxic brew of conditions known as metabolic syndrome.
Moreover, this same body of research suggests that starchy foods do not induce
metabolic syndrome.
This much is not open to debate: Consuming sugar can trigger all of the conditions that
make up metabolic syndrome. And the element in sugar that contributes to weight gain,
raises blood pressure, elevates blood fats, and causes other dangerous symptoms appears
to be fructose Studies directly comparing fructose and glucose show that fructose
produces symptoms of metabolic syndrome, while glucose generally does not.
A number of other studies have shown that eating a high-fructose diet makes cells resist
insulin. For example, Dr. Yudkin found that about one-third of his study subjects who
consumed high-sugar diets became insulin resistant. In another especially interesting
study, Danish researchers asked seven men to eat their normal diets for 1 week, with an
additional 1,000 calories of pure glucose each day. The result? Nothing. Their insulin
worked fine. A high intake of glucose had no effect on cells and their ability to use
insulin. When the men switched from glucose to 1,000 calories of extra fructose every
day, however, the results were much different: Special blood tests showed that the
participants insulin became 25 percent less effective over the course of 1 week.
Its worth noting here that the glucose in starchy foods may cause blood glucose levels
to rise, which stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. But this is normal and healthy.
Dietary glucose does not cause insulin resistance; fructose does.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 49 ~

And so begins a vicious cycle caused by eating high-GI foods, which overstimulate the
pancreas. Its an interesting theory, but it is not well supported by the metabolic facts.
Stimulating the pancreas to produce insulin is not the problem. Your body is supposed to
produce insulin when blood glucose levels rise, so thats normal and healthy. It is insulin
resistance that is closely linked to metabolic syndrome and weight gain. Glucose does
not cause insulin resistance. Fructose does. Glucose does not trick your body into
persistent hunger. Fructose does.
Okay okay. Christ man we get it! Take it easy Dick. You made your point. Get
yourself under control bro.
Just when you think fructose couldnt be labeled as more demonic, it has also been stated
that fructose, even though it does not initially cause as large of a rise in blood sugar and
insulin levels as many other carbohydrates (thats what the glycemic index told me), it is
significantly more glycating than any other carbohydrate. Glycation is that neat thing
that happens when sugar molecules bond with cellular proteins, do irreparable harm, and
lead to excess inflammation and oxidative damage you know, those things that cause
like every degenerative disease in the universe.
In fact, the buzz phrase is that fructose is 20-30 times more glycating than other
carbohydrates. Yeah, that Gedgaudas chick said that:
fructose is an extremely glycating or, more properly in this instance,
fructosilating substance that can do immeasurable damage to your arteries and
tissues. In fact, fructose is twenty to thirty times more glycating than glucose.
Anyway, I think you get where were headed with this fructose thing. Insulin resistance
is caused, in large part, by fructose. Insulin resistance leads to metabolic syndrome, and
metabolic syndrome leads to type 2 diabetes.
Remove fructose from the diet completely, even for just a few weeks, and any problems
you may have with high triglycerides, low HDL, high blood pressure, belly fat, and high
blood sugars are all bound to dramatically improve.
Thats not a life sentence, and no one should argue that fruit, in season, in reasonable
quantities is a harmful food or should be compared to refined fructose in any way, but
fructose should at least be front and center on the radar screen of anyone seeking to avoid
or overturn type 2 diabetes.
Cut it out for a while, even in natural fructose-laden foods like fruit, juice, and honey
and certainly in packaged foods, soft drinks, desserts, and candies, and health
improvements will typically fall into line. People in my own inner circle have had
profound, instantaneous, and lasting responses to such a regimen.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 50 ~

My own father, for example, eradicated lifelong sinus problems in two months of
fructose-free fare (including fruit avoidance). His sinus problems were so severe that he
took allergy shots, frequent rounds of antibiotics, and even had sinus surgery all to no
avail. A sugar-free diet performed some serious healing, tantamount to even the most
well-dressed television Christian evangelist.
A sugar free diet eradicated my seasonal allergies and lessened back pain that had
plagued me since age 16 although in fairness, a simple diet with lots of natural sweets
but ZERO refined sugars took me halfway there.
My mother loses weight like she is a statue of butter baking out in the hot sun when
following a zero-sugar diet even if shes pigging out with me at Cracker Barrel on
biscuits and other fattening fare.
My girlfriend was ridden with a vast assortment of health problems. Infections, illness,
weight problems, PCOS and other womanly issues, giardia She had em all. Notice
had is a past tense verb. She has none of those issues anymore, a result of being more
anti-fructose than Richard Johnson or I could ever dream of being.
My brother-in-law reluctantly tried a zero sugar diet as well, after years of hearing my
thoughts on it. He is a bigger ice cream junkie than I ever was. He called me on the
phone after only a couple weeks to share with me the amazement. Improvements in
complexion and the loosening of his pants topped the list.
Ive also witnessed my youngest niece miraculously change her notoriously aggressive,
tantrum-prone, and otherwise problematic behavior on a no-fructose diet emphasizing
whole, raw, full-fat Jersey cow milk, pastured meats, starches, and other nourishing
foods in a matter of days. It was so dramatic we were all a little creeped out by it.
Even I, the almighty evangelist of a low-sugar diet was stunned.
One of my best friends had miraculous health benefits from switching to a no-sugar diet,
including ameliorating all kinds of emotional and digestive problems. She gave her
boyfriend a hard time about his sugar intake as well, until he finally tried it. His belly
flattened and his depression lifted along with his penis. Hed had erectile issues for two
decades prior.
I also consulted with another friend of mines parents. Her mom was eating as little as
one small Dove chocolate per day. It took me a while to convince her that the Dove
chocolate (along with caffeine and alcohol), were the only things standing in her way to
success. She was worried about type 2 diabetes. Her father had the disease. She lost
weight slowly and steadily after just three weeks on the diet. I saw her recently and she
looked fantastic. Her husband, intrigued by her results, went on a no-sugar diet and lost
14 pounds in a month. Man was his wife jealous! She followed a diligent diet for half a
year to get to that point.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 51 ~

Of course, not everyone will have these results. Some 180DegreeHealth followers
havent had results like this at all. But for those that I know personally and have fully
committed to a low sugar diet for at least a few weeks, 100% have seen drastic
improvements that they were awed by.
Let us not forget that many of these results occurred precisely because blood sugar
regulation improved, allowing the body to operate in homeostasis and heal from any
number of indirectly-related disorders. Melvin Page, who did everything in his power as
a general practitioner to help his patients return to this optimal state of well-being, used a
no-sugar diet as his first and most important health improvement tactic. Even fruit
consumption was kept low, something that Ive found invariably helpful in my own
health pursuits.
Even fruits, which are wholesome foods, should be eaten in moderation. The body can
be overloaded with natural sugar. Refined sugar is such a harmful food, being a major
factor in causing degenerative ills, that it may well be the one food that could lead us to
be a nation of physically sick people.
-Melvin Page
And, finally, the list of authors, 20th century scholars, and health zealots that have
advocated the avoidance of refined sugar for good health above all other provisions is a
mile long. That list includes some of my favorite authors and many of the greatest health
pioneers and nutritional geniuses in history (notice I said some of my favorite authors
not all of these people are my favorites, but many are):
Weston A. Price
Robert McCarrison
John Yudkin
William Dufty
T.L. Cleave
Melvin Page
Leon Abrams
Rameil Nagel
Sally Fallon
Joel Fuhrman
Nancy Appleton
Denis Burkitt
Hugh Trowell
Francis Pottenger, Jr.
Connie Bennett
Adele Davis
Jack Challem
Joseph Mercola
William Crook
Kathleen DesMaisons
Julia Ross

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 52 ~

Martha Pekarek
Barry Groves
Donna Gates
Michael Pollan
Peter Gott
Ron Schmid
Robert Atkins
William Banting
Gary Taubes
Jack Lalanne
Richard J. Johnson
E.M. Abrahamson
and many more
Please keep fructose, especially that which is derived from refined sugars such as
sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, and other purified sweeteners in
your sights. A relatively low-fructose diet continued for life will do wonders in lowering
your chances of becoming insulin resistant, having metabolic syndrome, or being full-on
type 2 diabetic. Some cases of metabolic syndrome and diabetes are likely reversible
from fructose abstinence alone. Many others will need additional measures, but
eliminating most sources of fructose in the diet, perhaps even fruits for the most sensitive,
is a fabulous starting point.
When you do consume fructose or other sweets, it might be best to do so in isolation.
Fructose is often the trigger that causes other ingested foods to be mismanaged. Thats
been my experience at least.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 53 ~

The Glycemic Index Catastrophe


The Glycemic Index was something generated to let diabetics know how a certain type of
carbohydrate will affect his or her blood sugar. Foods rich in glucose, with highly
concentrated starch, tended to rank the highest. This only makes sense. The more
concentrated a food is in glucose, the faster it will raise the glucose levels in the blood.
Potatoes, especially when baked and/or mashed, as well as corn starch, beer, and a kind
of starch called maltodextrin ranked the highest. The greater the fiber content, the slower
the blood sugar release. Also, the greater the quantity of fructose, a sugar molecule that
isnt directly absorbed into the blood but is first metabolized in the liver, the lower the
ranking.
Thus, according to the glycemic index, a diabetic would be wisest to avoid corn, potatoes,
and whole wheat and opt instead for a Snickers bar, fruit juice, and anything
sweetened with white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or crystalline fructose. On top of
that, the glycemic index puts potatoes, a staple of healthy peoples all over world
including the Kitavans, on the same playing field with white bread, a food that was
adopted during the era in which diabetes became prevalent.
The problem is that fructose plays a key role in the development of insulin resistance
the very problem that leads to type 2 diabetes. Although I refuse to believe that natural
fruits could do this, as they have never been shown to have negative health effects when
examined on the whole, there is a very strong correlation between refined fructose and
metabolic syndrome. I mean come on, refined fructose is what is given to rodents to
induce metabolic syndrome for study. Youd think that alone would be enough to at least
bring it to trial, if not throw it in jail and request that it grab its ankles.
So the Glycemic Index disaster is really that it favors crappy, refined foods that have long
been known to cause disease over wholesome staples of cultures the world over that have
had complete immunity to type 2 diabetes and many other conditions. All of this in the
name of seeing how much of a blood sugar rise one will get immediately after ingesting a
type of carbohydrate. Big deal.
But what causes blood sugar and insulin to go up in response to a meal says nothing of
the causation of that blood sugar regulation mechanisms failure. So, sadly, a diabetic,
and even just a plain old dieter trying to capitalize on a low-glycemic diet of some sort,
could easily increase the intensity of his or her insulin resistance by trying to avoid blood
sugar spikes. In addition to that, it becomes all too easy to avoid nourishing potatoes and
whole corn when you might as well eat a bologna sandwich on Wonder Bread with a
Pepsi if its going to have the same effect on blood sugar and insulin in the short term.
Quite simply, short-term does not equal long-term. What causes blood sugar to rise after
a meal, does not therefore cause susceptible people to develop type 2 diabetes and obesity

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 54 ~

later in life. It just doesnt work that way. Not at all. A baked potato may theoretically
send blood glucose higher than a Mountain Dew (remember, 2 baked potatoes only send
my blood glucose to a 1-hour peak of 75 mg/dl), but it can simultaneously work to
improve glucose tolerance while the soda does the exact opposite.
Dont, as a diabetic, prediabetic, or nondiabetic, submit your good sense to a chart. The
Glycemic Index aint all that. If anything, its only served to convince the mainstream
health authorities that refined sugar, long thought to be the culprit behind diabetes, is no
longer a suspect. EVERY single mainstream type 2 diabetes book I read while doing the
research for this project was sure to point out that now we know sugar doesnt cause
diabetes. That was based entirely upon a number on the Glycemic Index. If that aint
shallow research and jumping to conclusions way too easily, I dont know what is.
Diabetes is infinitely more complicated than the absorption rate of the carbohydrates we
eat.
So when it comes to using the glycemic index for anything other than figuring out the
right insulin dosage, I say, loud and clear, Screw it! Its a useless diversion from the real
answers.
For years, fructose has been considered safe for diabetics because it doesnt trigger a
rapid rise in blood sugar. Now however, research reveals that overconsuming fructose
and high-fructose corn syrup could actually be more harmful than sucrose for the very
reason that it was originally considered safe. In fact, one review report from scientists
from Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, CDC, University
Hospitals of Cleveland, Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Inter-Medic Medical Group
in North Port, Florida, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested
that corn syrup and refined carbohydrates may actually be at least partly to blame for the
huge increase in type 2 diabetes in the United States over the past few decades.
-Connie Bennett

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 55 ~

Diabetes Prevention
More important than diabetes reversal is diabetes prevention. Lets face it, the vast
majority of the worlds population is not type 2 diabetic. Your average person needs to
know what to do to stave off the disease and its complications and associated ills.
Information that can reliably achieve such a thing is far more valuable to mankind.
Secondly, type 2 diabetes is a tricky disease. Although any steps in the right direction
improve the condition, becoming fully undiabetic without major restrictions is not a sure
thing and it takes incredible discipline, motivation, and dedication all things that
many type 2 diabetics do not have when it comes to dietary and lifestyle habits.
You guys all get this concept though. Its much easier to prevent a disease than it is to
overcome one, so lets talk about specifics.
The first general rule, which Im sure you have gathered from this book so far as well
as 180DegreeHealth blogs, eZines, and other materials, is to eat as little refined
carbohydrate foods as possible. Amongst refined carbohydrate foods, avoiding refined
sugars and syrups is the number one priority (okay, lets go ahead and throw in noncaloric sweeteners as well they seem to be almost equally as menacing and make you
crave more sweets).
The number two priority is to avoid habitual consumption of white flour in breads,
crackers, sweets, and other packaged and restaurant foods.
The number three priority is to eat white rice, pearled barley, tapioca, cous cous/pasta,
and other grains that are intact but lack their outer hull in moderation. There is no need
to be paranoid about anything but highly-refined sweets, which should be limited to once
per week for diabetes prevention, once per month for good health, and once per blue
moon for excellent health. Refined starches, in other words, arent as big of a deal. Have
a burger with the bun. Have a pizza once a month. Have white jasmine rice when you go
out for Thai food. Have a pasta dish from time to time. As long as your everyday diet is
sound, these minor refined carbohydrate splurges are unlikely to cause significant
problems.
Other dietary factors to consider are vegetable oils especially interesterified and trans
fat-laden partially hydrogenated oils, food additives, and flavor enhancers. You will only
consume such foods in restaurants or in packaged, pre-processed foods. So a simpler rule
of thumb is to simply say, learn to cook from scratch and eat mostly your own
homecooked foods. When it comes to cooking oils and other fats, use refined or
unrefined coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, olive oil, butter/cream, animal fat preferably
from beef, lamb, and other ruminants, and nothing else.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 56 ~

When you do go out to restaurants, avoid desserts, sugared drinks, fried food, and salad
dressings like you would a dung wad.
Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and other drugs including prescription and over-the-counter
medication, although they dont always cause health problems, certainly make it harder to
stay healthy. They make it almost impossible to improve health, and all of them alter
your food preferences towards sweets, refined white flour products, chips, foods with
flavor enhancers, and other junk. Use with caution, and steer clear of anything you are
overly compelled to consume until youve fully regained your health and stability.
Based on the work of Seale Harris and E.M. Abrahamson, it may be important to put a
little extra emphasis on that caffeine. In fact, the caffeine/refined sugar combination
found in typical soft drinks are, by far, the most villainous digestible substance in the
human diet from the standpoint of someone looking to avoid insulin resistance. From
Abrahamsons 1951 classic, Body, Mind, and Sugar (yes, weve known for that freakin
long what causes high insulin levels):
As [Dr. Seale Harris] pointed out, overindulgence in caffeine is a common cause for
[hyperinsulinism]. Harris conducted his research in Birmingham, Alabama, the heart of
the South, where various beverages consisting of sweetened and flavored water spiked
with caffeine are water substitutes. Hyperinsulinism may be induced in persons
predisposed to the condition by the very combination of caffeine and sugar found in these
beverages.
Actually, with quotes like this next one, I dont even know why I bothered to write this
chapter. Abrahamson says it all:
There is no glamorous cure for hyperinsulinism that can be bought in a package. Its
diagnosis and treatment demand pains from the physician and sacrifices from the patient,
who must give up candy, sugar, pies, alcohol, coffee, and sometimes smoking.
From an overall standpoint, build your diet around vegetables, meats, fish, eggs, and
cheese, starchy root vegetables, corn and other whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans and
legumes, a little bit of fruit on occasion, and the unadulterated fats listed above. With
vigilance and an eye on your overall feeling of well-being, its tough to lose on this diet.
Diabetes is an extremely unlikely if not impossible occurrence on such guidelines.
In terms of lifestyle, the most important tenets to follow are:
1) Get plenty of sleep every night, preferably going to bed early and waking up
around sunrise.
2) Dont allow yourself to become overly busy or stressed. Stress is a part of life,
and your diet and sleep habits improve your response to it more than anything, but
avoid mass chaos and pandemonium whenever you can.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 57 ~

3) Dont watch television. This sounds strange, but television is known to thrust the
viewer into a hypometabolic state. It also causes the release of opiates, reinforces
addiction to other opiate stimulators like caffeine, refined sugar, and alcohol,
and causes a loss of volition, and decreases self image. Ive found almost
nothing more counterproductive to pursuing health (and a quality life in general)
than watching television. Watch an occasional movie or sports event and thats
about it. I havent had cable or satellite tv in my home since I left the nest at age
18. I owe so much of who I am and what Ive done in my life to this absence.
Besides, the more hours of tv watched, the higher the likelihood of obesity and
diabetes. Reading books, using a computer in a productive manner, or other
forms of inactivity do not have this association at all.
4) Dont diet or overexercise (which is really the same thing). Be reasonable in
terms of your fitness and physical appearance pursuits.
5) If you are a woman, dont take oral contraceptives, and if you have children breast feed them. Hormones are everything. Do not toy with them. Excess
estrogen is a womans worst nightmare. Im as proud of not allowing any of my
girlfriends to take oral contraceptives as I am anything in my life. If your
significant other wont agree to it and thinks its no big deal, have him take the
pill too.
6) Stay physically active. Deep periods of complete and total rest can be profoundly
healing, especially for those with chronic injuries from a lifetime of too much
strenuous exercise. But when youre not healing, spend time doing physical
activity. It doesnt have to be grueling. It should be light, enjoyable, and
habitual.
7) Spend time outdoors and in the sun. I love sunbathing, and the synthesis of
Vitamin D in the skin is extremely important, not to mention the fresh, circulating
air and the positive psychological impact that spending time outdoors has. Never
use sunscreen/sunblock. If you are not accustomed to getting lots of sun, cover up
with long clothing and hats once youve reached your solar limit until you build
up a tolerance for the sun.
When you follow the above guidelines for a healthy diet and a sustainable, healthpromoting lifestyle, your chances of having better health than the average middle-aged
adult and being free of type 2 diabetes is almost guaranteed. That doesnt mean that
keeping track is unnecessary though.
Five tests are a must for tracking your overall blood sugar regulation and health in
general. If you are able to keep these numbers in line, and check on them from time to
time, diabetes will never jump up and grab you by the short hairs. Plus, these are tests
that you can be in control of, and should be in control of. You can know, without having
to go to the doctor and get prescribed God knows what, what your general health status
is.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 58 ~

For starters, how you feel is by far the best indicator of health. If you know things are
running smoothly, and that you have no minor or major health complaints of any kind
no allergies, no digestive problems, no weight problems, no acne, no chronic aches or
pains, and you are generally happy and positive about life and rarely get infectious
illnesses your health is most likely in tip top shape. The official tests are always
secondary monitors of your overall health in comparison.
For some specific data, the first thing you want to monitor is your basal temperature.
Broda Barnes who we discussed earlier, considered basal temperature to be the best
overall indicator of total metabolic health. Armpit temperatures, according to Barnes,
were ideal if they fell within the range of 97.8 to 98.2 F first thing upon waking in the
morning. Oral temperature should be close to 98.6 F.
It is very common to have a low temperature. Try bringing it up through diet alone at
first, and give it at least a year to come all the way up. Follow the dietary
recommendations above, avoid strenuous, heart-pounding and endurance exercise, rest as
much as possible, and intentionally eat more calories than you normally care to. This has
proven to be very effective. Others may need desiccated adrenal or thyroid glandulars, or
thyroid support supplements like kelp (rich natural source of iodine) to achieve a healthy
temperature. If you must resort to thyroid glandular, use
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com as your source for how to properly pursue that.
The second test is the fasting glucose test. For this I recommend buying a cheap glucose
meter and some glucose testing strips. The price for both combined will be nearly $80,
but it is worth it, and will allow you to perform this test 50 times. You wont be able to
test your blood glucose once at a doctors office for that price. Plus, its very interesting,
and can be used to test fasting glucose levels of friends, family members, or whoever else
might be interested in knowing their readings. I love having one. You can also be more
convincing with a glucose meter if you ever need to play doctor or play nurse.
I wont give you instructions here on how to use it, as the instruction manuals do a fine
job of it (just be prepared to make a few mistakes the first couple of times, like not
getting enough blood on the test strip). What I will tell you is when to take it and what it
should probably be.
Take it in the morning before you ingest any food. Make sure it has been at least 12
hours since youve had anything to eat or drink (other than water). So if you had dinner
at 7pm, dont take it until 7am the next day.
The normal range is something like 60 to 110 mg/dl. This is absurd. Thats like saying
the normal weight range is 100 to 700 pounds. 60 to 110 is a huge range. Melvin Page
thought the ideal fasting glucose level was between 84 and 86 mg/dl (4.7 mmol/l).
Emmanuel Cheraskin also noted great health in those between 75 and 85 mg/dl. So the
safest range is between 70 and 90 mg/dl. A safer range is probably 75 to 85 mg/dl.
There is also the argument that insulin is lower, aging is slowed down, and overall health

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 59 ~

is truly the best at the lowest glucose level possible. I must admit, my fasting glucose
readings have been 70 mg/dl lately and Im feeling really good. I do trust Melvin Page
above all other sources though. If he says 85 mg/dl (by todays measurement technique),
then I say 85 mg/dl at least until something drastically changes my mind. But anything
over 90 is a huge red flag. Anything over 100 mg/dl and you can consider yourself more
or less prediabetic. Over 110 mg/dl and you need a fully concentrated effort on bringing
it back down.
The next test to focus on can also be done with your trusty blood glucose meter. It is
called the postprandial glucose reading. Usually, one hour after finishing a full meal,
your blood glucose level reaches its peak. The ideal postprandial glucose reading is
probably under 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/l), although 110 and maybe even 120 mg/dl may be
acceptable. I still say the lower the better on this one. Getting under the triple digit level
is a great sign that your glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity is outstanding. A low
postprandial reading tells you that when glucose rises, insulin is secreted, and because
your cells are so responsive to the insulin (the opposite of being resistant to it), it stores
the blood glucose out of the bloodstream in a very short amount of time. Your insulin is
efficient. The system is working perfectly.
Make sure you really eat to fullness to give it a full test. Anyone can score low with a
tiny little meal. Being able to eat 1,000 calories and 100 grams of carbs in a sitting with
tons of protein and fat with it and score a 90 mg/dl one hour after a meal is a real
accomplishment. That is perfect glucose metabolism and ideal insulin sensitivity.
The fourth test is more of a pain, and requires more blood. However, this is the most
fantastic blood glucose regulation test of them all the A1C test (also known as the
HbA1C test, the glycated hemoglobin test, or the glycosylated hemoglobin test). The
A1C test tracks your average blood sugar level over a period of two to three months. It
does so by testing how much hemoglobin has been damaged due to glycation. The
approximate average glucose level to A1C equation is:
(Mean Plasma Glucose in mg/dl + 77.3) / 35.6.
This means that if your average blood glucose level is 85, your A1C test will come out to
be between 4.5-4.6.
Its hard to say what the exact optimal score on the A1C test should be. If you were to
average precisely 85 mg/dl 24 hours per day, your A1C test, as mentioned above, would
come to be between 4.5 and 4.6. This would be considered, by mainstream medicine, to
be a fantastic score. Remember though, their standards of what is normal when it
comes to blood sugar regulation is incredibly lax though.
Diabetes guru Richard Bernstein considers the optimal range for the A1C test to be
between 4.0 and 4.5, because, like many, he believes that the lower your average blood
glucose level the better. This score represents an average glucose level of 65 to 82 mg/dl.
He calls anything from 4.5 to 5.0 good. Personally, I wouldnt freak out about having a

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 60 ~

test anywhere under 5.0. I also wouldnt be too quick to shoot for 4.0 if your test comes
back at 4.4. Lets just say, keep it below 5.0. If its above that, take immediate and
aggressive action to bring it down (very low-sugar, whole food bingeing without exercise
has proven to be the best strategy Ive found personally and the one Im most excited
about because it couldnt be farther from the standard advice).
You can go to your doctor to get this test done for big bucks, or you can buy a test kit at
your local pharmacy or online, do it yourself, and send it into a lab for a $25 total cost.
The fifth and final test is an old standby. Blood pressure. High blood pressure or
hypertension is one of the most common ominous signs of impending health doom. It is
a primary tentacle of the metabolic syndrome octopus like the one the octopus uses to
feed itself or kill its prey or something. Blood pressure is of course a very simple and
easily-accessible test. In the Podunk town I live in, all I have to do is walk down to the
Pharmacy area at the supermarket and strap myself into the blood pressure machine.
Within a minute it gives me a nice and reliable blood pressure reading.
Its even got colorful little medical propaganda info-flyers on diabetes and hypertension
right there next to the machine. They tell me I should eat a low-fat, low-calorie diet,
exercise my brains out, and reduce my salt intake. This is about as effective, all things
considered, as crumpling up a piece of paper, turning to the east and shouting,
Penuckle! shaving the left side of my head, throwing a handful of beans under my bed,
and snuggling with a potbellied pig.
Blood pressure also should be kept within a pretty tight range. 120/80 is sort of the gold
standard, although some people believe it too should be lower. I kind of disagree with
this. Having a low blood pressure is a sign of a low metabolism, as is a low resting pulse
rate. Ive found a tight correlation between blood pressure and basal temperature in my
own body, as well as resting pulse. I think a better rule is to simply shoot for the perfect
normal in this case. One thing that heavily influenced my thinking on this is the fact
that those following the milk diet back in the 1920s were reported to normalize blood
pressure more reliably than anything else. Those with high blood pressure had it drop.
Those with blood pressure that was too low, such as 110/65, had it jump up to the 120130/80 range. That speaks volumes.
Once again, since fructose and stimulants are known to be the primary elevators of blood
pressure, and removing those elements from the diet brings reliable drops in blood
pressure to normal or near-normal, this once again solidifies the general recommendation
here. Eat a low-fructose diet, cut out stimulants and other addictive substances, and
watch your health fall back into appropriate diagnostic zones for both blood glucose and
blood pressure.
Although you will have to do the unthinkable - visit your doctors office, to get one more
potentially revealing test performed, the fasting insulin test can be an excellent
biomarker. Rises in fasting insulin levels often precede rises in blood sugar levels. In
other words, even though all of your blood glucose numbers are within the appropriate

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 61 ~

range, there could be a storm brewing underneath the surface that suggests insulin
resistance. If you really have a very strong and pronounced family history of type 2
diabetes, and even heart disease or obesity, it cant hurt to get the doc to check your
fasting insulin levels as well. Thats even if the other biomarkers you can keep relative
track of yourself fall in the normal or even ideal range.
In the words of nutrition reporter Jack Challem:
If your fasting glucose is between 65 and 99 mg/dl, your doctor may say your blood
sugar is normal but it may be a false normal. Some people are very good at pumping
out plenty of insulin, which will keep their glucose levels in the normal range. But high
insulin, also known as hyperinsulinemia, is a smoking gun: it can increase your risk of
developing prediabetes and diabetes by eight times!
As with fasting glucose, the normal range of fasting insulin 6 to 35 mcIU/ml is too
wide to be of any practical use. The higher your insulin, the harder your body is working
to keep glucose levels down. Identified early enough, elevated insulin is a red flag
indicating prediabetes.
Good levels of fasting insulin are less than 10mcIU/ml, and the ideal, according to
Challem, is less than 7 mcIU/ml. Anything significantly over 10, and you can probably
file yourself in the prediabetic category. Once again, although this test is expensive, and
unless you are diabetic most insurers wont cover the cost, it could provide pivotal and
early insights into your overall glucose metabolism. Insulin levels typically rise long
before elevated glucose readings follow.
This concludes our chapter on prevention. Be sensible and smart in your daily habits.
Challenge your addictions and compulsive behaviors. Stay on top of what type of diet
allows you to feel and function at your best. This diet should also allow you to maintain
a healthy weight while fully obeying your appetite and energy levels to determine caloric
intake and activity levels. And be vigilant with testing. This doesnt have to be a drag
and a heinous chore either. Have fun with it. Let it validate your efforts at becoming a
healthier you. Monitor changes like a detective. Take pride in your kick-ass numbers.
With this advice, type 2 diabetes would almost completely be eradicated, so I hope you
take it, particularly if you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, obesity, Alzheimers,
stroke, or heart disease all easily traceable to poor insulin sensitivity.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 62 ~
Exercise for Diabetes

It is true as most health-oriented diabetes advisors proclaim. Exercise can lower your
insulin resistance, glucose levels, and improve overall health. Even T.L. Cleave knew
this, but his thoughts on exercise might not be exactly what you were expecting to hear:
the countering of excess consumption, arising from the eating of refined
carbohydrates by the taking of unwanted exercise is considered a perfect example of two
wrongs not making a right, even though the extra exercise is well known to reduce the
consequences of such overconsumption.
How many diabetics can attest to the accuracy of the word unwanted right before
exercise? Im guessing several.
Is exercise one of two wrongs though? Really?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with exercise. It is invigorating. We were given
bodies, and those bodies were designed to be used. I have exercised a great deal in my
life, and it is an asset to my health for the most part, and not a liability.
But exercise is dramatically overhyped. It is a band-aid for diabetics at best, and does not
address the real core of the problem. It truly does mask the symptoms, and allows
someone to get away with eating refined carbohydrates without getting full-blown
diabetes. Many diabetics have used exercise successfully to overcome their condition
assuming they kept up a rigorous heart-thumping routine for life. Many diabetics have
also starved themselves with success, or lowered their fasting glucose levels with
bariatric surgery. Yes, these things appear to get the job done.
I would recommend exercise to someone who is completely unwilling to eat a nutritious
diet devoid of refined sugar, white flour, and vegetable oil. For that reason, I wont
totally bash exercise, because that may be the only strategy some diabetics find that is a
workable solution. In that case, I would highly recommend hiking. Being on your feet
and exercising, particularly hiking which is a fairly moderate and natural form of human
exercise, can be done for hours every day. Plus, it happens to be a very fulfilling,
uplifting, and inspiring thing to do. I doubt there are many type 2 diabetics that could
hike the Appalachian trail and still have fasting glucose levels over 100 by the time they
made it from Georgia to Mt. Katahdin.
However, to achieve real metabolic healing without an exercise or starvation dependency,
exercise, especially in the beginning phase, is not only unhelpful it is harmful.
A diabetic is a sick person. There is a reason why most type 2s havent exercised much
since they were young and thin. They havent felt like it. When they have tried it, it was
too draining, and they often combined it with a healthy low-fat, low-calorie diet even
more heavily-weighted towards sweets. After a month or two (or maybe an hour), they

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 63 ~

fell off the wagon. Thats the body shouting loud and clear that what youre doing is not
suitable for good health.
Real healing at the foundation is best achieved with rest, not excessive physical exertion.
This is even true for an overweight type 2 diabetic that has heard repetitive prescriptions
from all angles recommending exercise and lots of it.
One of the main reasons rest is effective is that it diminishes the flood of cortisol, a stress
hormone that triggers insulin resistance and is one of the main physiological cornerstones
of metabolic syndrome. Getting lots of sleep and rest especially total bed rest, is the
way to overcome chronic infections, inflammation, stress, and lack of sleep the primary
triggers of cortisol. When cortisol secretion returns to normal, insulin resistance lessens,
and fasting and postprandial glucose responses to food start to creep downward. I have
every reason to believe that this is even the case when eating lots of food and getting bed
rest leads to more fat accumulation (although significantly overweight people can
mysteriously lose excess body fat and water when following this advice as will be
discussed in the chapter on The Milk Diet).
Of course, the advice to rest up and avoid exertion, particularly anything that really gets
your heart rate up and makes you out of breath, is temporary advice. Resting allows for
maximal healing. Once glucose levels start to fall back into place without any form of
caloric restriction via starvation or overexercising, and excess fat stores begin to
dissipate, its time to slowly begin using the body again.
In other words, exercise is not something to do to get healthy. The right to exercise
without causing harm is a privilege earned by improving your health. Having diabetes is
no different from having the flu in that regard.
Rest up and drink plenty of fluids little Mattferd, and when youre all better you can go
out and play.
But mom, I feel better now. I wanna go over to Brett Bradleys house and kill lightning
bugs with a tennis racket, or dress up in full camo and shoot cars with my B-B gun.
No young man, not until that fever comes down.
Fine mom. Ill just lay here and watch Different Strokes until Punky Brewster comes
on. Whatchoo talkin bout Willis?
Yes, that was pretty much my childhood alternating bouts of illness with raising hell in
the neighborhood and watching way, way too much tv. Actually, every time I was sick I
made my mom go and rent Condorman probably the best movie of all time.
Anyway, getting back on track when it comes time to exercise once again after a
period of healing rest, its best to start slowly. Exercise can no longer be thought of as a
grinding activity in which you are striving for maximal calorie burn. That will end with

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 64 ~

maximal burnout, not burned calories. Step 1 is simply to start spending more time on
your feet assuming that you do not have foot problems as a result of severe diabetic
neuropathy.
The next step is to begin a routine of deep breathing and light stretching. You dont have
to be Rodney Yee to get the benefits of respiration and stretching. Deep breathing
stimulates a wonderful production of internal warmth as does focused stretching
holding the positions with good form without over-straining. You dont have to make
this a 90-minute yoga class by any means. Five minutes is great. 10 minutes is
wonderful.
When you feel up for it, and are eager to do it and naturally energized from improving
your health with dietary measures, I suggest long, leisurely walks. Walking has proven
to me many times to be the most natural, comfortable, relaxing, and invigorating form of
exercise a human can participate in. It doesnt have to be up mountains or begin and end
at a basecamp of some kind to count. Just moving the body, while in an upright
position and internalizing your thoughts as you look around you is enough to get benefits.
In fact, when it comes to exertion, walking downhill has shown to improve glucose
tolerance more than walking uphill according to Jack Challem in Stop Prediabetes Now.
So much for no pain no gain.
When it comes to exercise, I strongly believe that quantity should be stressed over
intensity. Moving the body around and staying on your feet while actively doing
something is what the ideal exercise program is like. Although many health experts
would disagree especially diabetes author Richard Bernstein, I feel very confident in
my recommendations. Be active. It could be as simple as playing golf regularly or
bowling, but do something. Use your body, and take it easy. Save high-intensity
workouts and weight training for professional American football players (with a life
expectancy of 55 or so). If you do choose to greatly enhance your physical fitness and
muscle mass with high-intensity training, do it in very short bursts 10-30 minutes and
not a second more.
Exercise is an important fundamental of human health. I advocate it, but just remember,
you must be healthy to exercise, not exercise to be healthy. To prevent diabetes, make
exercise a part of your whole health program, but dont be fanatical. To overturn
diabetes, hold off until youve seen improvements. Then integrate it slowly and safely.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 65 ~
Supplements

No one on Gods green earth despises the supplement industry more than I. The
supplement industry epitomizes the human desire for a quick fix, or a cure without
having to fix the fundamental glitch in lifestyle and diet that led to the health problem in
the first place. The supplement industry truly preys upon the gullible, and sells $1,000 of
product for every $1 of benefit it provides the consumer.
Still, I would be kidding myself if I said, outright, that supplements are a complete and
total farce. Many people can improve their health with supplements, although it is a rare
event and can easily be counterproductive as supplements divert attention from the root
of issues. Some supplements are harmful too, and its impossible to predict how isolated
nutrients are going to interact with other nutrients and hormones so supplementation is
a mixed bag.
Nora Gedgaudas said it best, when she wrote:
all nutrients operate in a complex system of interrelationships in the body, and
requirements will vary greatly from person to person. Furthermore, modern day
research simply fails to take all these variables into account, instead studying nutrients in
relative isolation, compartmentalizing what is never compartmentalized in nature. The
role of certain nutrients in relation to others and the need for certain co-factors in order
to optimize a nutrients function or prevent imbalances isnt normally discussed at all.
This, of course, leads to problems. For instance and perhaps critically for each and
every receptor for vitamin D, there are two receptors for vitamin A on every cell.
Because of the compartmentalized approach to vitamin D research, this sort of thing does
not get recognized or discussed. A relative balance of these two nutrients is vital to their
healthy function in the body. An excess of one can create a relative deficiency of the
other. For instance, if you take large amounts of vitamin D without vitamin A, you are
potentially more likely to develop symptoms of vitamin-A deficiency. Conversely, taking
certain commercial cod liver oil supplements that are rich in vitamin A but poor in
vitamin D can lead to more severe vitamin D deficiencies
But supplements do have a place in the big picture, especially for prediabetics and type 2
diabetics. Even Gedgaudas, author of the above quote that seems counter-supplement
industry recommends many nutritional supplements in the book from which that quote
was extracted.
Several years ago I worked at a supplement store (I was young and needed the money!)
great evidence no doubt that Im a total sellout, but hey, I did do a tremendous amount of
research during that time. For the most part, customers didnt appear to be very healthy,
and few reported significant health benefits from any particular supplement. Any faith I
mightve had in supplementation to begin with was pretty much eliminated by that
experience.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 66 ~

But in one instance, I did hear a pretty amazing supplement testimonial, and it was from a
former type 2 diabetic. He was very eager to tell me that by following a long
supplement protocol list, he overcame his type 2 diabetes. I guessed that he had been
severely diabetic prior to this, as he was in a wheelchair, but who knows his handicap
may have been totally unrelated to diabetic complications. This gentleman didnt
disclose his whole list to me, mostly because he couldnt remember all the crap he was
taking, but it at least caught my attention.
I also cant help but believe diabetes professionals like Julian Whitaker, when he talks
about specific supplements being able to lower blood sugar levels especially when Ive
heard the same supplements advocated elsewhere. Between meeting a man in person
who had managed to overcome diabetes through supplementation alone and being
flooded with an avalanche of kudos about certain diabetes-specific supplements, I cant,
in good conscience, not bring it up. No matter how much I want to steer you squarely
towards diet and lifestyle modification, I have to admit supplementation may help you.
To begin, lets talk about how to use supplements. Supplements should not be your one
and only weapon. I think of supplements as being a potential kickstart to a dramatic
personal health revolution. In other words, supplements are not something I would want,
or expect for you to take in large quantities for the rest of your life. I cant even imagine
there being a need for them for as a long as a year. In fact, if you are going to try
supplementation, the best strategy seems to be a sort of shock and awe approach for a
short period of time like one to two months.
What Im saying, is that if you are going to give supplements a fair shot, go big or dont
bother. Buy most, if not all of the following supplements, take megadoses as you
commence your radical new approach of maximal nourishment via diet, and then leave
most supplements in the dust as your diet and lifestyle comes to embody true excellence.
Supplements known to either improve insulin sensitivity, lower fasting glucose levels,
lessen the damage of high blood sugars, improve overall health, or a combination of
important factors fill a lengthy list. In terms of importance and effectiveness based on
my research, I would probably rank potential diabetic nutritional supplements in the
following order:
1) Chromium as chromium picolinate or polynicotinate (500 mcg or higher)
2) Alpha-Lipoic or R-Lipoic acid with biotin added (several hundred mg at least)
3) Vanadium as Vanadyl Sulfate (100-150 mg)
4) Magnesium (500-1000mg)
5) High potency B-complex (several times the RDA of each)
6) Vitamin C (1,000 mg several times daily)
7) Fish oil concentrate (total of 5 grams omega 3 as liquid or in capsule form)
8) Natural Vitamin E (400 IU)
9) Cinnamon (several capsules daily with food)
10) Cayenne pepper (several capsules daily with food)

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 67 ~

Other supplements to consider are Gymnema Sylvestre and Bitter Melon, both of which
are thought to be particularly helpful for type 2 diabetics. Taking an iodine supplement
from a natural source such as kelp or from Lugols solution or high-potency Iodoral is
also a good idea, particularly if body temperature is low. I will be reviewing the work of
Dr. David Brownstein on this topic in 2010, which sounds very promising. Once again,
go big or dont bother. Brownstein recommends 50 times the RDA to fill the empty
iodine tank. Taking an ounce of apple cider vinegar with meals is also thought be very
helpful for lowering postprandial glucose response, but I have not monitored this myself,
so it is purely a folk remedy but one that has really been far-reaching.
This list was compiled based primarily on Julian Whitakers Reversing Diabetes
supplement protocol, but very similar recommendations are made by Jack Challem on the
subject of prediabetes as well as some of my favorite health authors, including Diana
Schwarzbein, Joan Mathews Larson, and Julia Ross.
It may provide substantial benefit, particularly to someone that has severe diabetes and
needs assistance beyond what can reasonably be done with diet and lifestyle modification
alone. I would venture to guess that supplementation is scarcely needed for a recentlydiagnosed diabetic with fasting glucose near the cutoff at 126 mg/dl, and is certainly not
needed to overturn a mild prediabetic condition. But like I said, if you need a jumpstart,
this could be a good way to do it, especially as you work to complete a dietary and
lifestyle transition that you know isnt going to happen overnight. Just dont become
obsessed with supplements above all else though, even if you have apparently miraculous
results on this aggressive strategy. Wean yourself off of them over time, at least to
smaller doses if not completely.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 68 ~
Treatment Programs

The following set of chapters is dedicated to several ideologies and methodologies for
improving glucose metabolism. Remember, a type 2 diabetic is only distinguished from
a non-diabetic person due to a number. With fasting glucose levels of 126 mg/dl, you are
considered diabetic. Someone with 109 mg/dl fasting glucose is considered by the
mainstream to fall under the category of normal. Yet, there is little separating the two.
One can lower blood sugar just as easily as the other.
So no matter whether your fasting levels are over 200 mg/dl and postprandial over 300
mg/dl, you can still improve your condition. From what I can gather according to the
reports of other authors, doctors, and researchers it is possible for nearly every type 2
diabetic on earth to reverse diabetes completely and be symptom and medication free.
For those that cannot reverse their condition successfully, which I maintain are few and
far between, the disease can be very well-controlled through other dietary and lifestyle
measures.
Basically, not only is the supposedly incurable type 2 diabetes potentially curable, it is
stupendously simple and easy to completely reverse. The worst case scenario is that it is
easily treatable, allowing a diabetic to enjoy a long, healthy, and prosperous life without
excessive diabetic complications. Once again, that worst case scenario of a long, healthy,
and prosperous life is the fate of someone who cannot seem to improve his or her
condition by following one or several of the strategies Im about to cover. Either way,
the long-term outcome is far better than mainstream medicine acknowledges (For
example, the PreventionGuide to Outsmart Diabetes that I just picked up at the grocery
store the other day has a chocolate dessert on the front and a guy leaning on baguettes
made of white bread on the inside no wonder these douche bags cant figure out how to
beat diabetes).
The following treatment programs are radically different from one another, but do not be
confused. Just as there is more than one way to cook a chicken, there is more than one
way to improve type 2 diabetes. What will be most confusing is how one diet excludes
something completely while the next diet endorses it like it just fell from the heavens.
Diets should be looked at as a whole, not extracted for the examination of each individual
part. Bacon and strawberry jelly both taste good, but mixing the two together changes
things completely (sorry, that was just a metaphor, none of the diets allow the
consumption of strawberry jelly. Youll have to look to the PreventionGuide for that).
The first potential treatment is fasting. Fasting has long been used to treat a vast array of
health problems. Many disappear indefinitely, while others are relieved until normal
dietary patterns are reinstated. In either case, some healing does typically occur during
periods of fasting of any kind. Water fasting is difficult and extreme, but other forms of
fasting, such as subsisting off of fruits and vegetables only, or a fast of cooked starch and
fresh vegetables, or a juice fast can be equally as therapeutic. Although this doesnt
always prove to be the most effective strategy for long-term success, the initial results are

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 69 ~

often so dramatic that it would be an injustice not to at least mention and briefly discuss
the possible use of fasting.
The next treatment program is similar to that used by Dr. Julian Whitaker, Dr. Neal
Barnard, and Dr. Joel Fuhrman all of which are specialists in the reversal of insulin
resistance and type 2 diabetes. To describe this dietary approach, Dr. Fuhrman has
coined the term nutritarian. The idea is to eat the highest ratio of nutrients to calories
as possible. All of these doctors report being able to get patients off of insulin and return
glucose levels to normal with great consistency. The diet revolves around the most
nutrient dense of all foods whole plant foods such as leafy greens, colorful vegetables,
whole grains, and unrefined root vegetables. Ironically, one of the best antidotes for
healing a glucose metabolism caused by the habitual consumption of refined
carbohydrates appears to be eating lots of unrefined carbohydrates.
The third treatment is the one Ive used to help myself as well as many 180 followers to
improve the metabolism as a whole. Originally coined as the high everything diet, this
strategy stresses maximal nourishment in much the same way as the milk diet does
(discussed next), only with regular food. The objective is to provide the nutritional and
caloric surplus needed to achieve healing and replenish the depleted nutritional reserves
of the diabetic. It is based around traditional, unadulterated fats, meats, and copious
amounts of unrefined carbohydrates including all vegetables and starchy vegetables and
whole grains. It requires deep rest for at least one month to achieve maximal results.
Although this is a generally untested strategy, is almost purely theoretical, and never in
my research have I come across similar guidelines for type 2 diabetics Im willing to go
out on a limb for it. Health improvements have been fairly consistent amongst those who
have tried it, and my own fasting and postprandial glucose readings fell tremendously
while following this general program in just 30 days. Its greatest strength is that it does
not require followers to maintain a highly restricted, unbalanced diet to maintain results
an apparent weakness of fasting and nutritarianism.
The fourth treatment, and the one Im personally most excited about (I hope to do a full
course of this diet for my own first hand experiential knowledge by the spring of 2010),
is the milk diet. The milk diet was the preferred method for overcoming diabetes by one
of the founders of the Mayo Clinc J.E. Crewe. Other health professionals in the early
1900s used the milk diet extensively for a long litany of health problems. Heart disease
and hypertension were reported to be healed quickly and permanently on a full course of
the milk diet. Although it is the most rigorous, and requires the fullest dedication for
maximal effects, it is the most sound of all treatments. Its objective is truly to nourish the
human body with as much as it can metabolize by taking milk every 30 minutes during
waking hours. I know of no nutrition and dietary strategy that has reported such
enthusiastic and consistent claims as the milk diet. It holds great promise in helping
diabetics and someday being resurrected as the primary alternative treatment for nearly
all known health problems.
The final treatment is purely a treatment diet, and is meant to be used as a last resort for
diabetics who have ruled out other alternatives for reversing their condition. That is the

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 70 ~

traditional low-carbohydrate diet. Following a consistent diet of non-starchy vegetables


combined with fatty proteins such as untrimmed beef and lamb, creamy cheese, and
coldwater fish, is a simple and effective diet for improving glucose levels and catering to
a body that has proven to be incapable of properly metabolizing carbohydrates. Yes, the
worst case scenario is that you eat a diet of wholesome and hearty meat, poultry, and fish
with a broad spectrum of nourishing vegetables. Although a diet like this is unlikely to
make a diabetic magically able to tolerate a giant baked potato like the other strategies
have the potential to, it is a reasonable solution for many type 2 diabetic cases.
Although the following chapters are dedicated primarily to those that have type 2
diabetes and are looking for natural solutions, any of these diet plans can be used by a
normal non-diabetic too. Even if you arent diabetic, you will still find these chapters
insightful and interesting and can keep them in mind when you need solutions for any
health problems that you have or that may arise in the future. Plus, diabetics are
multiplying like bunnies, and insights on dealing with diabetes are close to non-existent
in the medical world. They need solutions, and odds are you know or will know many
diabetics in your life and whatever knowledge or ideas you can provide them is of vital
importance.
And if you have success with any of the following programs, in reversing diabetes,
lowering blood sugars, or eradicating any health problem please notify me and the
180DegreeHealth community immediately either directly or through community areas
such as the comments section of any 180 blog. 180DegreeHealth is heavily dependent
upon feedback and anecdotal results in its objectives to become an ever-more refined (no
pun intended) and increasingly enlightened network of health information. Feel free to
visit those sources for support, to have questions answered, and to receive unlimited
feedback from a vast pool of very astute and experienced health and nutrition minds (aka
health geeks).
A word of warning for diabetics before you attempt any of the following strategies for
improving glucose metabolism:
I didnt want to dedicate a full chapter on insulin injections or taking insulin through a
bolus system, but the subject of supplemental insulin is certainly worthy of discussion.
So lets discuss it.
As you start fasting or eating some of the following diets that I highlight for the potential
reversal and management of glucose dysregulation, you could be in a great deal of danger
if you maintain your normal insulin dose. This is especially important when it comes to
fasting. Insulin requirements often drop within the first day, and if you use the same
amount of insulin, you run the risk of falling into a dangerous hypoglycemic state.
Always err on the side of too little insulin to avoid the worst possible fate
hypoglycemia, until you can maintain close-to-normal (below 150 mg/dl) postprandial
readings. At that point, with your doctors endorsement, get the f#$% off of insulin and
never go back. The same goes for all other diabetes medications including statins, bloodpressure lowering diuretics, metformin, cytomel, and so on.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 71 ~

All drugs make the condition worse. The trade-off is limited to short term improvement
in your numbers and symptoms. Short-term gain equals long-term pain. This book was
written as a source of direction one can take in truly making legitimate progress in
improving the disease. Its about divorcing pharmaceutical companies because of
repeated domestic violence issues, unfaithfulness, distrust, a lack of sharing and caring,
and a nasty internet porn habit. Yes, pharmaceutical companies would make for one
lousy spouse.
Drug dependency is a merry-go-round that spins faster and faster as the years go by.
The solution? Dont get on it in the first place.
-Julian Whitaker
Insulin is a dangerous drug for Type II diabetics. These are people who are overweight
to begin with. Insulin therapy will result in further weight gain, accelerating their
diabetes. A vicious cycle begins that usually causes patients to require more and more
insulin as they put on the pounds. When they come to see me for the first time, they
report their sugars are impossible to control in spite of massive doses of insulin, which
they are now combining with oral medication. It is like walking around with a live hand
grenade in your pocket ready to explode at any minute.
-Joel Fuhrman
Just be very careful about making the transition, as it can be dangerous. Work with your
doctor to make it happen. If your doctor wont work with you, and outright resists the
idea, stab him or her in the leg with a big dose of insulin and see how he or she likes it.
If you dont have any pressing health problems and your diagnostic numbers are well
within the normal range, DO NOT partake of any extreme or rigorous diets.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 72 ~
Conclusion

Before we get into the treatment programs, its time to do a brief conclusion. To reiterate
the basic premises advanced in 180 Degree Diabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is merely a health problem that begins with a very simple and common
disorder called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance appears to primarily be a result of
excessive inflammation and the cortisol that is released to mitigate that inflammation
although there are clearly numerous other hormonal factors involved, such as the thyroid
hormones. That inflammation is caused by allergy, infection, glycation, free radical
damage, and numerous other forms of inflammation-triggering events all of which can
be prevented by proper diet more than anything else we have at our disposal.
Diabetes is primarily caused, at the core, by refined carbohydrates. This is due to their
lack of essential nutrients needed for carbohydrate metabolism. The body instead draws
nutrients from reserves to metabolize them, which has a cumulative net loss that has been
snowballing for generations. Chromium, magnesium, zinc, iodine, and ratios of calcium
to phosphorous are just a few key minerals involved in metabolic syndrome.
Refined carbohydrates are also stripped of B-vitamins, which are equally important for
good health. Although I failed to address it earlier, B-vitamins, which so many are
lacking due to poor diet and digestive inefficiency, are required to properly metabolize
homocysteine. Homocysteine is a highly-inflammatory nutrient that accumulates and
triggers more flippin cortisol in an absence of key B-vitamins.
Of the refined carbohydrates, fructose, particularly free, unbound fructose (unbound to
other sugars that is) such as that found in high-fructose corn syrup and crystalline
fructose, appear to have powerful negative consequences that trigger the metabolic
changes characteristic of Metabolic Syndrome. Of all foods, it seems to be
unquestionable that these two sweeteners, and to a lesser degree white sugar (sucrose
half fructose and half glucose), are the primary culprits of insulin resistance a metabolic
disturbance that is the foundation of countless health problems including type 2 diabetes.
And to think that these sweeteners are the primary caloric contributors to the modern diet
without giving a single essential nutrient for their proper metabolism in exchange.
Because inflammation is such a key fundamental in the development of metabolic
syndrome, solvent-extracted, hydrogenated, and/or interesterified polyunsaturated fatty
acids from vegetable oils also appear to be a prominent ingredient in the recipe for type 2
diabetes. These fatty acids are the precursors of inflammatory cytokines associated with
nearly every known degenerative disease, and the very fact that they cause excessive free
radical damage due to their chemical structure, vegetable oils are the main competition
for fructose in the Causes of Human Degeneration Olympics.
Above all else, we should all be extremely vigilant about minimizing vegetable oils and
refined sugars in our diets. To do so, we have to be satisfied with other fare and live in a

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 73 ~

way that minimizes our desire for packaged and processed foods, which can be very
addictive. Im not talking about deprivation. Im talking about a decadent and indulgent
diet that just so happens to not include a couple of key ingredients. It still has all the fat,
meat, carbohydrates, and calories that the human body craves just in a fundamentally
different form. Theres no requirement to accomplish any great feats of human strength
or endurance to be healthy either. The multi-millennia-old prescription to rest and get
plenty of sleep should continue to be upheld.
With these simple changes, nearly all cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented. With
additional and even more aggressive and specific strategies like the ones that follow,
most cases of type 2 diabetes can be reversed. Undone. Overcome. The few that arent
can be greatly assisted with a typical low-carb diet based on nutritious and satisfying
foods that can hardly be considered a sacrifice.
Anyway, I hope 180 Degree Diabetes is helpful to the many people from all walks of life
that will at some point cross paths with it. It has truly been my pleasure to research and
write about this topic. Very little in life interests me more than what I do. The ability to
share it gives me a feeling of gratitude that is indescribable. May the work that was
presented here shed much light into the dark, murky, backwater pond that is mainstream
diabetes dogma. I cant think of anything in greater need of emergency resuscitation than
the diabetes information that pollutes the vast sea of health books, doctors office
pamphlets, internet information, and the minds of the physicians and researchers that
have been so inept in halting what is soon to become the great 21st century health crisis.
Although many professionals, researchers, and laypersons will read much of this material
with the highest of skepticism and even resentment and disbelief in comparison to the
information currently available on the subject, one fact remains clear
In the words of The Last Dragon, Bruce Leroy, I am the Master.
-Matt Stone; www.180degreehealth.com

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 74 ~
Fasting

Fasting has a long history of use as a therapy against health problems. Like most truly
successful means of treating disease, it does not have a specific disease that it conquers
while being ineffective at dealing with other problems. Thats what drugs do. Dietary
and lifestyle strategies can work for everything. Fasting could be the most dramatic way
to get quick results and a breather from any chronic disease, type 2 diabetes included.
That is why fasting programs often have very dramatic names, such as fasting guru
Richard Schulzes The Cure for All Diseases. Schulze is a strong, overzealous
alternative health character for a reason. He has helped thousands in improving their
health through various fasting regimens, with or without his line of herbs and superfood
supplements. Ive personally seen a woman have a complete health turnaround after a
35-day Dr. Schulze-patterned fast.
Henry Bieler was another fasting advocate a well-respected medical authority with a
great track record and a somewhat underground following that persists today. His
method for all of his patients was simply to let nature heal in its most effective way by
taking minimal solid food and only vitamin and mineral-rich soups and lots of fluids
while resting deeply. As it pertains specifically to diabetes, Bieler had this to say:
The best way to handle a diabetic case, I have found, is to take him off insulin and to put
him to bed. If the patient will not accept this and the rather rigorous diet, then I am
powerless to help. The diet consists of lightly cooked non-starchy vegetables, like celery,
parsley, zucchini and string beans, liquefied in a blender and used as a soup. The patient
remains on this until the urine becomes sugar-free by test. He stays in bed to conserve
his energy in order to give the liver and the pancreas every possible chance to do their
work unmolested from the acids of exertion. It may take from one day to four days or
more to get the patient sugar-free.
Stanley Burroughs could be the most well-recognized champion of fasting there ever
was. Burroughs Master Cleanser, or lemonade diet has been quite a popular fasting
fad in recent years. His fast is an extended course of a spicy lemonade concoction for a
minimum of ten days.
Kevin Trudeau certainly took the fasting concept seriously mainstream when he
published his best-selling Natural Cures They Dont Want You to Know About, in
which he claimed that various forms of fasting could be used to overcome almost any
health condition. A little overblown sure, but whaddya expect from an infomercial
maniac? Still, his book, although cheesier than stuffed-crust pizza, isnt completely
without merit. Trudeau knows that fasting can be a healing thing from juice fasts to
liver cleanses and candida cleanses, and hes not the type to keep his mouth shut about it.
Neither am I. Plus, Trudeau gifted the mindset of maximal nourishment to me, for which
I am eternally grateful.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 75 ~

I could go on for a while, bringing up various fasting heroes and believers, but you get
the idea. From Hippocrates to Paul Bragg to Robin from Howard Stern, fasting has
helped and healed many. Some were given permanent relief. Others were at least given
a good break from their health conditions while seeing some significant improvement
overall. I personally had many health improvements attributable to fasting, and feel
strongly that only those who take it too far experience anything but great benefit.
While fasting may seem extreme, it is a practice with great validity, and in the case of
attempting to reverse a condition as serious and incurable as type 2 diabetes, a fast may
very well be warranted. Complete water fasts have traditionally been used for healing
with perhaps the most dramatic results, but personally I am strongly opposed to removing
all food and nutriment from a diabetics diet. This is even so for fasts that include large
quantities of sweet vegetable and fruit juices something that most think diabetics cannot
tolerate.
The word fasting is often thought to mean no food, but I have a much looser definition.
Under the term fasting I tend to include somewhat of a mono diet wing. In other
words, fasting, to me, is eating an extremely easy to digest and repetitive diet that allows
healing to occur from the inside out. Technically, a fast, with this definition could even
include a strict diet of meat and water like that advised by strong (okay, knuckleheaded)
low-carb advocate Charles Washington.
From a diabetics standpoint; however, I think the best way to help improve a diabetics
glucose metabolism is not to attempt strict avoidance of all sources of glucose. No, the
idea is to recognize the problem and face it directly. Cant metabolize carbs? Eat
nothing but carbs until you can. Although things dont always work this simply, thats
one tangible frame of mind you can adopt before trying any strict fast.
Of all the fasts I have tried, and the one I presume will prove to be the most effective and
well-rounded strategy for type 2 diabetics, is a strict diet of raw fruits, vegetables, juices,
and smoothies. I have used this fast many times personally, and know the results to be
quite dramatic. From a digestive standpoint, I also really like this diets cleansing effect
on the digestive organs, as liquid-only fasts tend to bring digestion to an absolute
standstill without any bulk being passed. Raw fruits and vegetables, although they are
difficult to digest and assimilate more completely, still have much greater nutrient
density, and with their slow and methodical digestion, they put less pressure on the
insulin system as the sugars are absorbed much more slowly. In other words, you get a
better fasting effect in terms of resting the carbohydrate metabolism wing of the body.
To follow this fast, eat unlimited amounts of non-starchy vegetables, fruits, juices, and
all-fruit smoothies. Fats and proteins, other than those naturally occurring in the fruit and
vegetable matter youre consuming, should be kept at near-zero. This means that nuts,
seeds, avocado, coconut, and other fat-rich plant foods are to be excluded. Smoothies can
consist of any fresh, raw fruit but yoghurt, coconut milk, soy, sorbet, and other common
extra smoothie ingredients need to be kept strictly out. Juices can be any fresh fruit or

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 76 ~

vegetable juice preferably vegetable, such as carrot, celery, cabbage, leafy greens,
garlic, ginger, and beets. But as long as it is raw and freshly-juiced, go for it.
A typical days menu might look like this:
7am Fresh pineapple juice
8am Bowl of raw snowpeas and red bell pepper slices dressed with lime juice
9am 2 bananas
10am Shredded cabbage, mint, and chopped jalapeno dressed with rice wine vinegar
11am 3 apples
12am Large blackberry-banana smoothie
1pm Big bowl of baby carrots
2pm Carrot, beet, and cucumber juice
3pm Raw honey and ginger limeade
4pm Handful of fresh green beans or sugar snap peas
5pm Pint of strawberries
6pm Large Mexican salad with fresh tomatoes, raw corn from the cob, red bell pepper,
red onion, cayenne pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and Romaine lettuce
7pm Mixed fruit salad
Already you are seeing the difficulty of this type of fast. Drinking nothing but water
seems to be a heck of a lot more convenient than keeping track of all that food not to
mention the big budgetary difference between a water fast and a raw fruit and vegetable
fast. Ironically, water fasts kill hunger much more effectively than eating fruits and
vegetables all day no matter how much you take in. Still, knowing my position on
bombarding the human body with nutrients in an attempt to rebuild key mineral and
vitamin stores while rebuilding the digestive tract and its ability to handle large loads of
fiber, you can see why such a fast strikes me as vastly superior.
If this ultimate fast sounds impossible, do not give up. Many other types of fasts can
be performed and are much easier to follow. Who knows, they may even be better,
especially with the lower fruit intake. Even the monster menu listed above can be
tremendously simplified for example a massive smoothie can be made in the morning
and sipped periodically during the day between breakfast and dinner. Breakfast and
dinner could simply be large vegetable salads dressed with vinegar or lime juice such as
the Mexican salad listed above. Although that might not provide great variety, the
simplicity of preparation may make it much more feasible to work into your life.
Another fast which would be a close 2nd for diabetics would be a diet consisting of
cooked starch and a mix of raw and cooked vegetables. On this diet, fruit is cast aside
(which can make hunger and blood sugar swings much more manageable), and is
replaced by starch, which is much more stabilizing. The rules of avoiding fatty
vegetables remain the same, and meals consist of mostly cooked root vegetables or brown
rice with lots of cooked leafy greens. Raw vegetable salads, carrot and celery sticks, etc.
are great snacks to get you from meal to meal. Vegetable soups are also great.
Physically, this is a much easier form of fasting and it can be equally rewarding. More

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 77 ~

on this style of eating is covered in the next section on Nutritarian eating, which is
basically a way of eating almost identical to the above recommendations.
Another fast which is even more convenient, along the same lines, and very easy to
follow is a soup fast. This is more in line with Henry Bielers fasting concoction of
pureed non-starchy vegetables in a thin, mineral-rich broth. This is incredibly simple.
All it takes is the time and effort required to make a large batch of soup once per week.
Whenever you have the urge to eat, have a bowl of warm, nourishing vegetable soup.
You should definitely mix up your recipe from batch to batch for variety, but my typical
vegetable soup recipe is:
1 Gallon water
2 quarts pure tomato juice, a little sodium added is okay
1 package frozen lima beans
1 package frozen peas
1 package frozen green beans
1 package frozen corn
1 cup hulled barley or brown rice
1 pound chopped celery
1 pound chopped carrots
1 pound chopped onions
2 pounds chopped potatoes with skin
Add all of the ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for at least an hour,
preferably two hours. Add cayenne, lime juice, and fresh-chopped herbs (thyme, parsley,
marjoram, cilantro, basil, etc.) and garlic at the end to give it a zippier, more appealing
flavor. Adding small pieces of seaweed also makes for a deeper and more satisfying
flavor. Embellish upon this recipe in whatever way you like, just keep the fat content
down and fill it full of nourishing vegetables and enough starch to keep you satisfied
(which will also contain enough protein to help you get by). Salt is best kept to a
minimum during fasting.
If all of the above fasts sound too grueling, you can still fast on lemonade following
Stanley Burroughs recommendations (a big heap of cayenne pepper plus equal parts
Grade B maple syrup and organic freshly-squeezed lemon juice diluted with water). You
can also do a juice fast using freshly-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, but I find this to
be incredibly hard. Following the precise recommendations of Dr. Schulze, with or
without his supplements, may give you more direction if you feel like what Ive
recommended is too liberal (but I always prefer to keep the decision-making power in
your hands). Finally, is a water fast, which can actually be easy from a hunger standpoint
as it triggers the release of appetite-suppressing ketones. This can be very therapeutic,
but shouldnt be done for more than 10 days, unlike all of the above fasts which, in the
case of a true full-blown case of type 2 diabetes, should be continued for an absolute
minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 30 days before reintegrating small portions of
animal protein and natural fats from nuts, seeds, coconut and coconut oil, and butter.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 78 ~

I guarantee that you will have dramatic results, and it would be a rare tpe 2 diabetic
patient indeed that wouldnt be able to come off of insulin and all other medications
within 30 days.
So whats the catch? If fasting works so well why is there not just one treatment program
in this book instead of five very different ones?
Fasting is helpful, but it also unsustainable. A diet extremely low in fat and completely
devoid of animal products cannot be continued indefinitely. Although diabetes might be
kept under control for the most part, other problems are highly likely to arise. No one
would argue that lemonade is a sufficient diet for a human. The most sustainable is the
first fasting regimen, but it too is incomplete.
Even if these diets were complete, they are very difficult to follow. Most people, diabetic
or not, would agree that following such a diet at the exclusion of all their favorite foods,
the social crippling that comes with eating a highly restricted diet, and so forth just aint
worth it. It might seem worth it for a while, but that honeymoon usually comes to an end
at some point.
Instead, my aspirations for those with diabetes and prediabetes is much higher. The goal
at 180DegreeHealth is always to be able to achieve real health. Real, true, verifiable
health is measured by being able to eat a satisfying and nourishing, well-balanced diet
without ill consequence. That doesnt mean that ice cream, cupcakes, Dr. Pepper, and
Frappucinos can be engulfed in large quantity without causing distress, but a healthy
human that is operating healthfully, and has all the necessary vitamin, mineral, and
hormonal constituents working together, can eat a diet with rich meats, silky fats, and
plenty of starch and vegetable matter together. Sure, there are lots of restricted diets that
a diabetic can follow and derive benefit and have a reduction in symptoms. But only
someone who can sit down for a nice steak dinner with a fully loaded baked potato and
have a perfect insulin reaction in response is truly healed. Thats what I want for
everyone, diabetics included, and I refuse to believe it is not possible. Fasting, although
helpful, wont necessarily get you any closer to that ultimate destination.
But fasting has its place, and its a tool that every diabetic should know about and feel
comfortable with.

~ 79 ~

180 Degree Diabetes

Nutritarian
Physician and author Dr. Joel Fuhrman created a type of eating called the nutritarian
diet. I think Fuhrman really has a good attitude about food. The concept is simple. Eat
nutrient dense foods. He comes up with a simple equation:

Health = Nutrients/Calories
So basically, the idea is to get the most nutrients for the least amount of energy taken in
i.e. eat the most nutrient dense foods.
Because fat generally has a far lower nutrient content per calorie than most unrefined
plant foods, Fuhrmans diet is incredibly low in fat. He recommends getting a paltry
10% of calories from fat, which is even tougher to do than it sounds.
He is also of a strong vegetarian bias, and feels like small portions of fish a couple times
per week is about all a human needs to be healthy. Any more than that and it becomes a
health liability. He feels like a vegan diet is totally acceptable and perhaps even
preferable to an omnivorous diet, but doesnt require devout veganhood from his patients.
I have mixed emotions about Furhman and his recommendations. For one, the logic and
science behind his recommendation to avoid animal products and eat an extremely low
fat diet is poor. He also does a poor job of acknowledging the fact that key nutrients
found in animal fats, despite the fact that they may be, all things considered, less nutrient
dense than most plant foods, are key in the proper utilization of all the other vitamins and
minerals that we ingest. A vegan diet is totally devoid of long-chain omega 3 fatty acids
EPA and DHA, vitamin K2, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12, which are all extremely vital
MVP nutrients on the nutrient team.
Still, a predominantly vegan diet that is very low in fat has been shown to do some pretty
marvelous things for type 2 diabetics. The results are so dramatic that it would be an
injustice not to make his aggressive nutritional approach known to any diabetic in bad
shape and in search of a way out. Both Julian Whitaker and Neal Barnard, authors that
both use the word reverse in reference to type 2 diabetes in the titles of their books
concur that a diet constructed around unrefined carbohydrates is brilliant for lowering
blood glucose and insulin.
It seems that dropping fasting insulin and blood sugar levels back within normal ranges
takes from a few days to rarely longer than a month. This is obviously something that the
diabetic community desperately needs to be made aware of.
His whole foods approach to diet is also very sound, and his passionate belief that
nutrition is the greatest healing tool and the answer to modern disease is matched in
enthusiasm only by my own. The bottom line is I like the guy. I like his passion for

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 80 ~

health, and I know that hes seen amazing things with very sick patients, and no one can
convince him that his conclusions arent accurate. Now thats my kind of guy.
I was so riveted by Joel Fuhrmans Eat to Live that I gave the vegan version of his diet a
2-week trial in which I tested my blood sugar levels against my girlfriends as she
followed a very low-carb, almost purely carnivorous diet. And I won. Eating over 600
grams of carbohydrates per day by best guesses, my Patchouli-stankin hippie vegan ass
took the low glucose prize.
Afterward, my glucose response to my normal diet was God-awful and I packed on 9
pounds of additional body fat that I didnt have going into it. I think thats probably the
catch of his approach. While it works well as you are following it, the odds that you will
fail while trying to eat this starvation diet and have negative rebound is pretty high.
Looking at the metabolism as a whole, my metabolism did slow down somewhat, my
digestion slowed, I lost muscle mass, and I had progressively more intense cravings for
sweets and beer throughout the two-week period. None of these are good signs if youre
attempting to evaluate the long-term effects of this diet.
Many of the unnecessary restrictions are accounted for in the High Everything Diet
chapter that follows. Eating a nutrient-dense diet is still the focus, but the diet is wellbalanced and has no negative metabolic recourse. It certainly does not make your
response to normal food worse. It makes it much better. There are many advantages of
the High Everything Diet compared to the nutritarian diet, and I feel pretty confident that
it would be a much more reasonable and preferable starting point for a diabetic or
prediabetic looking to achieve an insulin resistance reversal.
The nutritarian diet that is modified to contain at least some animal products is all that is
required to make it sustainable though, which is the focus for the rest of this chapter.
This is still perfectly in line with the regimen created by Julian Whitaker that he, too,
claims can reliably reverse type 2 diabetes. It can be, and is, a healthy diet that can be
followed for many years. It is nutritional excellence, Fuhrmans coined phrase used to
describe his dietary recommendations. It could be the answer to many a diabetics
prayers.
The Nutritarian food groups are:

Dark Leafy Greens

Colorful Vegetabes

Unrefined Starches

Seafood

Each meal should contain the first three nutritarian food groups, and seafood should be
included in at least one meal per day.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 81 ~

Dark leafy greens should be the cornerstone of the diet. Most meals should include a
large salad that is lightly dressed with just a small amount of olive oil and as much
vinegar or lemon juice as desired or a side of steamed greens. Steamed spinach,
broccoli, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, baby bok choy, cabbage,
and Brussels Sprouts are all excellent choices. Try to use as little oil as possible in
preparing these, but just steam them lightly. Adding cooked onions, cayenne pepper,
fresh garlic, and lemon juice can actually make steamed greens taste pretty good. Bok
choy, spinach, and broccoli are my favorites. They are by far the least bitter and are just
as nutritious. Fuhrman recommends consuming an entire pound of green vegetables
daily. As a general rule, the more the better. There is no limit.
Greens are not very calorie-dense though. Youd flippin starve to death eating just green
vegetables if you didnt commit suicide first from their unsatisfying blandness. So with
each meal, combine both other colorful vegetables and starchy vegetables for good
sustenance. This includes carrots, potatoes, beans, lentils, whole grains such as brown
rice, oats, or homemade breads, corn, peas, bell peppers, carrots, beets, parsnips,
artichokes, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, and just about everything else under the sun.
You can eat a little fruit as well, but if I were trying to aggressively overcome diabetes or
prediabetes, I would keep it mainly to berries and tart, low-sugar fruits like grapefruit,
cherries, and kiwi. Raw nuts can also be eaten in small quantities along with seaweeds,
and mushrooms can be eaten as well.
The seafood category will bind the rest of your nourishing diet together with something
satisfying while still allowing you to obtain most of your calories from Dr. Fuhrmans list
of more nutritious foods. Of course, there is some fallacy there, as fish is incredibly high
in many of the nutrients that are missing in vegetables, grains, and starches. Seafood is
an excellent source of vitamin D, Vitamin B-12, EPA, and DHA. None of these are
found in plant foods whatsoever. I cant help but advocate them. Shrimp, crab, clams,
oysters, mussels, and other shellfish and wild-caught salmon (fresh, smoked, or canned)
are the favorites from a nutritional standpoint. 4-8 ounces of seafood per day is probably
the ideal amount on this type of diet. Dont overdo the seafood, but dont try to be a
goddamn vegan either though. Vegan diets are very destructive long-term.
It is okay to eat some chicken, beef, pork, eggs, and cheese on occasion too, but dont tell
Fuhrman I said that.
A sample nutritarian menu would look something like this:
Breakfast:
Large bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries and a few chopped walnuts
Morning Snack:
Tomato and cucumber salad with a few feta cheese crumbles

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 82 ~

Lunch:
Large bowl of vegetable soup (see recipe in Fasting chapter), large salad with 3 grilled
shrimp
Afternoon Snack:
Carrot and celery sticks with hummus and beet/apple salad (see recipe attached)
Dinner:
Grilled wild Alaskan salmon (3-5 ounce portion), large bowl of broccoli with lemon,
brown rice or corn on the cob
For a simpler, more basic menu, have your simple oatmeal breakfast and then just graze
on soup and salad whenever you get hungry. Or make a potato salad with chilled shrimp
or canned salmon and grind on that with some kind of salad. Or eat a more macrobiotic
diet with brown rice as your staple starch accompanied by lots of vegetables and small
portions of seafood and seafood broth. It doesnt have to be complicated, it doesnt have
to have a lot of variety, and it doesnt have to be expensive or take over your entire life. I
leave it up to you to judge how best to construct a nutritarian diet based on these simple
and flexible guidelines. Just try to eat as much nutritious food as you can with an
emphasis on greens and colorful vegetables.
Eating large amounts of the right food is your key to success
-Joel Fuhrman
More importantly, dont consume any of the dietary evils that caused your diabetes
problems in the first place refined sugars, white flour, alcohol, caffeine, and processed
vegetable oils.
I wish you the best of luck if this is the route you need to take. After many months of
being diabetes-free, be sure to start incorporating light physical activity into your life as
with any of these programs. I would also strongly urge a nutritarian to slowly transition
into eating a diet with more fat. Begin with including some creamy cheese, coconut oil,
coconut milk, and whole coconut to your diet. Eat larger portions of nuts. Have a little
butter on your baked potatoes. Eat a juicy steak here and there. Hopefully, over time,
you can return to the only ideal goal of a diabetic eat normal amounts of normal foods
and have a totally normal and healthful glucose and insulin response in return. Life is
just better with more fat in the diet when you are healthy enough to metabolize it, and
everything else you eat, correctly.
Beet/Apple salad (big batch)
Beets are highly underrated as a delicious food. This would make for a great and highly
nutritious staple for a nutritarian diabetic, particularly one that wants some sweet-tasting
foods without going off the deep end and jamming dates and bananas into his mouth until
his stomach hurts (you can tell Ive done some time as a vegetarian).

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 83 ~

Ingredients:
3 pounds cooked beets, cut into wedges
Juice of 1 lemon
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 sour apple, diced
Lots of fresh-chopped herbs, particularly dill, tarragon, and/or marjoram
Fresh ground black pepper
1t sea salt
Directions:
1) Boil or oven roast (covered), 3 pounds of unpeeled beets.
2) When soft, peel the outer skin from the beets. Careful not to turn your favorite
clothes into a tie-dyed t-shirt (actually, youre close enough to being vegetarian
on this diet you might as well go with the tie-dye).
3) Cut into wedges and throw into a stainless steel bowl.
4) Add the remaining ingredients and toss well.
Enjoy as an accompaniment to a meal or as a snack with a little feta or cottage cheese. If
you need more on healthy cooking ideas and instruction, please read my eBook, 180
Kitchen and visit the 180 food blog: www.180kitchen.wordpress.com

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 84 ~

The High-Everything Diet


When everyone thinks alike, everyone is likely to be wrong.
-Humphrey Neill
The High-Everything Diet (HED) may sound like it is really something out there and
obscure. Not exactly. Its actually not much different from the diet we all start out on as
infants a diet with lots of saturated fat, long-chain omega 3 fatty acids, plenty of highoctane carbohydrate, a preponderance of vitamins and minerals, and enough protein to
help us develop strong muscles, organs, and bone. Oh yeah, and it is loaded with
calories! The lifestyle component is in synch as well. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Rock-a-byebaby.
The High-Everything Diet for type 2 diabetes is considered to be the most ridiculous and
harmful approach a diabetic could take, nutritionally and lifestyle-wise (The HED
requires more rest and less exercise too). That is because mainstream science does not, in
the slightest, understand what type 2 diabetes is. The mainstream actually operates under
the belief that eating well, and getting plenty of rest the pinnacles of health and healing
since the beginning of time, cause type 2 diabetes. If diabetics didnt typically end up
getting limbs amputated, going blind, and dying of heart attacks the mainstream beliefs
would be really funny. But they are not. Taking in less glucose and burning more
through exercise doesnt fix a diabetic. Not on this planet at least.
As weve discussed throughout this book, diabetes is not a disorder caused by eating too
much and exercising too little. It is a complex, dynamic, synergy-gone-wrong of the
human hormonal network. The first step in the development of type 2 diabetes is most
likely a deficiency, major or minor, of key vitamins, minerals, and other co-factors
involved in proper glucose metabolism. This, in turn, creates an inherent weakness. As
we mentioned, this weakness can already be multiple generations in the making. A type
2 diabetic starts life with one arm tied behind his back.
Combine this with the threats of industrial pollutants, heavy metals, and other toxins,
which further stress the system and are potent endocrine disruptors, and the fire has been
fanned. Vaccinations are also a huge shock to the human immune system, which is often
greatly crippled before it ever even has a chance to become adept at doing its thing.
Then the human body undergoes a massive amount of oxidative damage from taking in a
preponderance of vegetable oils that are fully rancid and stripped of most of their
protective vitamin E. This increases inflammation and suppresses immune function even
further.
This whole system supports frequent infection, chronic infection, and chronic
inflammation. In response to this chronic inflammation is a huge release of the hormone
cortisol. Cortisol, released to put out the fires, has its own immuno-suppressive action,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 85 ~

which can lead to allergies, more inflammation, and more infection. Meanwhile, the
whole thing is made worse by cortisols ability to block thyroid hormone action, which
lowers body temperature and makes us even more prone to infection. Plus, we feel
crappy. A low metabolism causes systemic suffering and diminishes every aspect of our
physical and mental performance via its suppression of cellular mitochondrial energy
our life force. The freight train picks up steam and problems relating to hypercortisolism
proceed.
One of those problems is of course insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to higher
insulin levels. Then, eventually, blood glucose levels start to follow suit. Once they start
becoming elevated, the progression from a normal fasting glucose level of 85 mg/dl to
126 mg/dl the diabetic level, happens fairly quickly. In some it can take only a couple
of years to go from normal to full-on diabetic. For others it takes decades. Some never
get that far.
The antidote is of course to undercut the root of the problem. The first layer of the
problem is insulin resistance, but its not the root problem. The second layer is lack of
thyroid hormone functionality identified in the greatest detail by Dr. Mark Starr and
coined type 2 hypothyroidism. This is a big problem indeed, but it isnt the root
problem either. Under this layer is hypercortisolism. Were getting warmer. From here
we can see how both insulin and thyroid hormone action has been blocked (as well as the
function of leptin, thought to be the puppet-master of insulin). Thats just what cortisol
does when secreted in huge amounts. But even cortisol is not the root problem.
Is the root problem what causes hypercortisolism allergies, infection, and
inflammation? No, its not even that!
The problem always gets back to the overall health of the individual. Sure, allergies,
viral and microbial infection, and inflammation are bad news, and very, very close to
being the root of the problem. But that leaves out the most important variable. Thats
right, a persons health.
As a practicing physician for over fifty years, I have reached three basic conclusions as
to the cause and cure of disease The first is that the primary cause of disease is not
germs. Rather, I believe that disease is caused by a toxemia which results in cellular
impairment and breakdown, thus paving the way for the multiplication and onslaught of
germs
-Henry Bieler
So if germs arent what is making us sick, at the core, what is?
Over and over I explain to patients, Your pain, misery and illness result from your own
dietary mistakes and drugs. You are suffering because you are filled with toxic wastes
caused by your diet of poorly selected food filled with artificial flavorings, preservatives,
synthetics, over-processed ingredients too much stimulating food, too few natural

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 86 ~

vitamins
-Henry Bieler again
In all of my research, my general conclusion is that the real root stems back to, as we
discussed in the Nutritional History chapter, a combination of ingesting too much
harmful crap and not enough nourishing, vitalizing food. Lack of sleep and too much
stress of course exacerbate these issues. When the body is given all the tools which it
needs for its smooth and harmonious function, it works like it should and has the
experience of good health. It does this because those bare substances, and the exclusion
of that which does a body bad, improves the immune system, reduces allergies,
diminishes chronic infections, and in turn decreases the systemic inflammation that is a
result of inefficiencies in any one of those areas. These inefficiencies, and the cortisol
tidal wave that they induce, is the problem. The problem is fixing these inefficiencies,
and that is done with strict adherence to the ultimate strengthening formula a
nutritionally abundant diet paired with deep rest and relaxation.
That is what embodies the High-Everything Diet and its restful, healing lifestyle
accompaniment.
One of the most healing aspects of the HED is its ability to raise the body temperature to
normal. It does so pretty consistently from what I can tell, and is a great tribute to how
effective it really is. As doctors who have focused on maintaining a perfect body
temperature can attest, from Broda Barnes and Crosby Eaton to Mark Starr and Stephen
Langer today, having a healthy body temperature protects from type 2 diabetes and
prevents diabetic complications such as heart disease and neuropathy.
The HED confronts the real root of the problem(s) of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. It
is about replacing scant nourishment and years of trying to eat less and exercise more
while living a stressful lifestyle with the antithesis of that. It is the quintessential
hallmark of everything behind the name 180DegreeHealth.
The mainstream assumes that eating a high-calorie diet and exercising very little causes
weight gain in genetically prone individuals, which in turn triggers insulin resistance,
which in turn triggers more weight gain and more insulin resistance until blood sugars get
out of control. This is not the sequence of events leading to type 2 diabetes at all. This is
an abomination. Type 2 diabetes has nothing to do with how many calories you eat or
how many you sweat off at the gym. Eating less and exercising more merely serves up a
head fake to researchers, as doing so lowers glucose levels, lowers weight, and seems to
help improve the condition.
What researchers dont acknowledge, is that eating less and exercising more makes one
more prone to eat more and exercise less when they fall off of the diet. It also makes
them more apt to develop high blood sugars and gain weight on a normo-caloric diet
afterwards. In other words, although the typical eat less, exercise more recommendation
appears to work in the short run, it sets up the physiological factors that lead to a
worsening of the condition.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 87 ~

This leads to more firm and urgent advice to eat less and exercise more, which leads to a
worsening of the problem even further. With each successive attempt to lose weight,
losing weight becomes increasingly difficult. The same calorie-restricted/exercise-heavy
program that might have once caused a loss of 15 pounds in a month now causes only a 5
pound loss. Thats right, the more you diet, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight.
There is a simultaneous adaptation that makes the storage of fat become more efficient.
The more diets you go on, the easier it becomes to gain weight. This is true of any
restricted diet that induces some form of starvation. Dieting induces rebound
hyperphagia (overeating to compensate for caloric deficit), a hypometabolic state
(lowered metabolism), increased lipogenesis (fat storage), decreased lipolysis (fat
burning), and every other physiological change that can be considered an overweight,
insulin resistant persons absolute worst nightmare.
Yep, the standard dietary and lifestyle advice given not only to overweight people but to
type 2 diabetics, doesnt do jack to fix the problem when measured over the long-term,
and it actually worsens and can even CAUSE weight problems and type 2 diabetes. My
feelings about the fact that nutritionists, alternative health care practitioners, doctors,
exercise dorks, and health icons alike have all come to this same conclusion and stuffed it
down our throats (along with metabolically-destructive diet pills), is best described by
Clark W. Grizwold as he opens up his supposed Christmas bonus check in the movie
Christmas Vacation only to find a 1-year subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club.
For those who havent seen it, or do not recall the general feel of his verbiage, it is a rant
filled with expletives that makes little sense and ends with monkey shit. My feelings
are also well-represented in that movie when Griswold drop kicks and karate chops Santa
and reindeer lawn dcor in response to his Christmas lights not working.
HED is the perfect mirror to yo-yo dieting. HED makes it increasingly difficult to gain
weight and decreasingly difficult to lose it. Instead of blood sugars dropping in the shortterm and coming back with a vengeance, blood sugars go higher in the short-term, but
steadily improve effortlessly until they drop well below what they mightve been prior.
This is because leptin and insulin resistance diminish in the face of lowered stress (from
resting) and caloric surplus, especially when that caloric surplus is nutritionally superb
and comes from low-fructose, and low-polyunsaturated fat source calories.
insulin resistance leads to weight gain, but most health professionals believe that the
opposite is true. If obesity does cause insulin resistance, then we would expect people
who are overfed to become more insulin resistant, but that is not the case. Researchers
in Indianapolis overfed six slender, active, young adults for several weeks Five of the
six subjects became LESS insulin resistant!
-Russ Farris
Overfeeding in and of itself is enough to lower insulin resistance i.e. improve the
condition underlying the high blood glucose levels used to diagnose type 2 diabetes.
That is but one mechanism of the HED. The other mechanisms, such as maximal rest

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 88 ~

with minimal exertion lower cortisol while also helping to create even more insulinresistance-lowering caloric surplus. Meanwhile, body temperature rises, helping to fight
off chronic infections, further lowering cortisol, and the domino effect is triggered in the
opposite direction. Instead of inflammation and infection triggering high cortisol levels
and a chain reaction hurtling towards insulin resistance and high blood sugars, the tide is
reversed.
What exactly is the HED?
HED is the perfect embodiment of the anti-diet. Restricted dieting, in which calories,
carbohydrates, meat, or fat are restricted in some way, weaken the human system. Sure,
theyve all got some notches for their programs, but these notches are all short-term
gratifications not long-term successes. Other bogus baloney like food combining and
intermittent fasting are no different. These are diets centered around metabolic trickery
that results in various forms of starvation and poorer health in response to the ultimate
human diet which is a combination of all macro and micro nutrients that the human
body desires in ample abundance. For a while, the acronym FAD was used in tandem
with HED, which was a playful anti-diet acronym meaning (R-version) Fuck All
Diets or (G-version) Forget About Diets.
HED is high-everything, meaning that it is high in carbohydrates, high in fat, high in
protein, high in plants, high in animals, high in vitamins, high in minerals, and high in
calories. It is the optimal human diet and all else pales in comparison. The only problem
is, most people, because of various health problems, do not metabolize this mix of foods
like they should.
But that is just in the beginning for most folks. At first, anyone who has dieted
extensively, and certainly a type 2 diabetic, will not seem to fare well on such a regimen.
Skin breaks out, indigestion sets in, constipation arrives, extreme drowsiness plagues
people after meals, sleep is less than optimal, and body fat accumulates.
This is just temporary though. Deep healing occurs, digestion strengthens, skin gets clear
and ivory smooth, energy levels start to rise, bowels flow perfectly. In the case of a
diabetic, blood sugar levels rise. But this effect is temporary in almost everyone who
attempts it. The effect it has on digestion has simply astounded me. Ive had indigestion
on all kinds of diets for four years. Now its gone, no matter what kind of impossible mix
of foods I attempt to eat. Im like a digestive gymnast now. Even more amazing is what
HED has done for my fasting and postprandial blood sugars, which, combined with the
theoretical research that Ive done, gives me so much enthusiasm for recommending it for
reversing insulin resistance.
In performing personal research and experimentation for 180 Degree Diabetes, I first
attempted a strict vegan diet along the lines of Joel Fuhrmans nutritarian diet
discussed earlier. Immediately I began losing weight. In fact, I lost 5.5 pounds in 14
days on the diet, and my fasting glucose level dropped from 91 to the low-80s. This
happened despite consuming up to 700 grams of carbohydrates per day and not

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 89 ~

exercising. So this diet, if continued, obviously helps keep blood sugars down.
Fuhrmans claims that eating this way can lower fasting insulin and glucose levels
quickly so quickly that type 2s on insulin needed to cut their dosage back by half
within the first day, is warranted.
But something strange happened when I went back to eating normal meals. My first meal
off of the diet was comparable to how I usually dine cornbread, pork ribs, baked beans,
green beans and lots of it. Instead of enjoying a nice meal and moving on with my life,
I felt quite ravenous. I ate so fast I nearly choked. I was out of control. After finishing I
was so tired I thought I had been tranquilized. My stomach was bloated and extended. 1
hour after my meal I was eager to take my fasting glucose level. I pricked myself at
exactly 1 hour after the meal and my blood glucose reading was a near-diabetic 173
mg/dl. I was shocked and nervous. A type 2 diabetic participating on my blog thought I
might want to really keep an eye on that, as that was dangerously close to flirting with
type 2 diabetic levels.
So, the nutritarian diet, although it would certainly give a diabetic relief from being
diabetic, would in no way help a type 2 to achieve the ultimate goal, which is to eat a
well-balanced, nutritious, and satisfying diet to the point of appetite appeasement without
having blood glucose readings into the stratosphere.
For weeks after the nutritarian diet my appetite was insatiable. I craved beer like I hadnt
in years. The 5.5 pounds that I lost, although it took me 14 days to lose, came back in
only 5 short days. Then it took off and increased another 9 pounds before my appetite
normalized and my weight gain came to a screeching halt (coinciding with a rise in body
temperature by over 1 degree F). This happened despite doing what I normally did prior
to the nurtitarian diet eat when I am hungry of well-balanced nutritious food until I am
satisfied. So the nutritarian diet, although it lowered blood sugars and caused weight
loss, also caused triple the weight gain and blood sugar increase when eating my regular
diet.
What is even more shocking, is that after eating to satisfaction for nearly a month, and
even going beyond satisfaction in an attempt to create a caloric surplus on a full-on HED,
my fasting and postprandial blood sugars dropped precipitously. Meals similar to the
first I enjoyed after my nutritarian escapade that caused blood sugar spikes to 173 mg/dl,
were now only sending my blood sugar up to the 80s and low 90s. In fact, after one
huge breakfast of 2 cups of brown rice, some vegetables, and a large fatty hamburger
steak, my blood glucose topped at less than 80 mg/dl almost 100 points lower than my
first post-vegan meal.
My fasting glucose readings dropped all the way down into the high 60s before
stabilizing right around 70. This was just amazing. My fasting glucose was in the mid90s for the first few days after finishing my vegan trial. So, within 30s days, less
actually, my fasting levels dropped from 95 to 70 a 26% decrease. This was achieved
by eating a diet high in unrefined carbohydrates, saturated fat, meat/fish/eggs/dairy
including drinking whole glasses of cream and half and half, and calories (obviously).

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 90 ~

During this time my physical activity levels were quite low. I went on a couple of short
hikes and did a couple hours of weightlifting. The rest of the time was spent working on
this badboy. I went to bed at around 9pm almost every night and slept until about 6am
9 hours of the best sleep I could muster. I even consumed some alcohol, but lost the taste
for it pretty quickly while eating and living this way (hint, hint).
In theory, I always believed that eating and living like this would work based on my
research into body temperature, cortisol, insulin resistance in response to overfeeding, the
milk diet, and so on. But even I was amazed to see just how incredibly effective it was.
There is not a health guru on the face of the earth that can reasonably explain how and
why this blood sugar drop occurred other than me (that I know of).
So try the HED first and foremost if you have diabetes. Only it can allow you to eat a
satisfying diet without negative rebound. Only it reduces blood sugars without relying on
some type of starvation mechanism. Do not be alarmed at initial high blood sugar
readings. Give it a fair trial of 30 days. If it has not lowered blood sugars by then, it
probably wont be able to do it. But commit to it. Give it a fair shot. Its only food
were talking about here. Its not chemotherapy. Its not Cytomel. Enjoy your affront to
everything that youve been told and led to believe that didnt do a thing but make you
feel guilty for not being able to pull it off.
To follow the HED exactly, which is ultimately the same thing as the milk diet that
follows but with solid food instead of milk only, follow these simple, basic rules.
1) Intentionally eat as much food as you can each and every day. If you are hungry
despite just eating, eat again. Do not argue with appetite. Obey it more fully than
you ever have in your life. You and your body are playing on the same team now.
Eat to fullness. You dont have to stuff yourself, but forget that eat 80% of
whats on your plate crap.
2) At each meal or snack, try to eat a complete assortment of all the macronutrients:
fat, protein, and carbohydrate. This means eating complete squares every time
you eat. The Schwarzbein Square, I find to be the best approach, as each corner
represents a different food group. Those 4 food groups are Protein (meat), Fat,
Starch, and Vegetable. Combine these 4 elements at each feeding to the best of
your ability, but dont stress too much over it.

3) Eat only starchy, unrefined carbohydrates and plenty of them. Eventually some
fruit can be injected into the diet, but now I believe its best to limit fructose to the
bare minimum. Potatoes, corn, beans, brown rice, oatmeal, and sweet
potatoes/yams are the most common choices although any root vegetable will do.
Breads are acceptable but not preferable and should be whole grain with no
sweetener added (i.e. homemade, as you are unlikely to find that in stores).
Refined sugars from dehydrated cane juice, white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 91 ~

honey, maple syrup, crystalline fructose, and all other highly-sweet foods must be
strictly kept to a minimum.
4) Eat plenty of fat. Eat fatty meats untrimmed, add butter to lean meats like fish
and chicken, use whole cream and half and half. Im currently undecided on milk
as part of a mixed diet, so avoid regular milk as Melvin Page often needed to
eliminate milk consumption to bring his patients glucose levels back to normal.
The best source of fat is coconut oil. Buy expeller-pressed coconut oil and use it
for all your cooking. Avoid all vegetable-based liquid oils with the exception of
some olive and macadamia nut oils.

5) Consume lots of nutritious non-starchy vegetables, from salads, cooked spinach,


cabbage, broccoli, and bell peppers to onions, carrots, celery, squash, and
cucumber. The micronutrients in vegetables are a great asset to any health
program, including this one.
6) Do not exercise! The ultimate would be bed rest during the first several weeks to
30 days. At the very least keep physical exertion to household chores, cooking,
easy walks to get fresh air (sunbathing is better), and light stretching. Avoid
stress as much as is feasible, including avoiding too much reading or television
watching (television watching should be avoided, but many wont be able to
follow this guideline). Not too much sex either Tiger.
7) Go to bed early and sleep as late as you want. Bedtime should be, at the very
minimum, 8 hours before the sun rises unless you live in like Greenland or
something and are trying this in June.
8) Avoid caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, and anything else impure and
overly stimulating. This is a great time to stop smoking and drop medications
with the green light of your doc (unlikely).
9) Enjoy it! Restoring your health can be a very nurturing and satisfying experience.
This is not a no pain no gain escapade. You are deeply nourishing yourself in
ways that you, and maybe even your predecessors, never allowed themselves to
do. The whole experience should be as tranquil and meditative as possible.
10) Do not watch the scale. Some people lose and some people gain following this
advice. Generally, the more overweight you are the more you tend to lose. The
thinner you are, the more you tend to gain. Neither is a sign of anything of
relevance to your healing. Like I mentioned, I gained 14.5 pounds in a few short
weeks while dropping my fasting glucose by 26%. The scale is often very
misleading. When we see it drop we think we are doing something good for us.
When it goes up we think we are doing something bad for us. It is often the
opposite, so dont pay much attention. Put all the focus on how your fasting and
postprandial glucose levels are changing as you proceed with the HED program.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 92 ~

If you notice a progressive downtrend developing, continue. If a downtrend


hasnt developed by the 30-day mark, try another strategy.

The HED Meal Plan


To get some specifics on how to follow the HED with best results, Ive included some
menu tips/meal plans/food categories. To simplify it even further, Ive cut it back to 3
primary food groups with the advice to make sure that you have plenty of fat in the meal
by listing acceptable fats.
Choose a good portion of one or more item from each HED food group at each sitting:
Protein
Beef
Lamb
Pork
Poultry
Fish
Shellfish
Eggs
Cheese
Starch
Potato
Brown rice
Oatmeal
Corn
Yams
Beans
Vegetable
Any vegetable - mushrooms and tomatoes can be filed under this category as well
Sounds simple enough right? Combine the three at each sitting if possible. For snacks
eat lots of nuts such as raw almonds or macadamia nuts. Nuts are more or less
nutritionally complete and can be combined with meals as well.
With each meal you should also include plenty of added fat, with the exception of a nice
fatty piece of beef, lamb, or pork and the consumption of rich, creamy cheese. These
foods have enough fat in them that no additional fat needs to be added to the meal.
Otherwise, you need some added fat. The best ways to get added fat are:

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 93 ~

1) Cook your food in expeller-pressed coconut oil (purchase online from Tropical
Traditions or similar provider). Some health food stores do carry coconut oil.
Of store-bought brands I prefer Spectrums refined coconut oil.
2) Top meats, vegetables, and/or starches with a nice pat of butter.
3) Drink a small glass of heavy whipping cream, canned coconut milk, or have a
tablespoon or two of melted coconut oil straight up.
4) Eat salads with very creamy dressings. Homemade Caesar dressing is the
ultimate made with sour cream instead of vegetable-oil-based mayonnaise
(recipe included).
5) Eat your meals with rich creamy sauces. Hollandaise/barnaise is the best if
youre up for the task of making it (recipe included).
Caesar Dressing (from December, 2009 issue of 180DegreeHealth Report):
In 180 Kitchen I bring up Caesar salad dressing as a great, fatty dressing to top the
undisputed king of salads. Caesar is traditionally a mayonnaise-based dressing, in which
anchovy, lemon, garlic, and real parmigiano cheese are added. Not anymore though
suckaz.
In 180 Kitchen I recommend making a homemade mayo with egg yolk, a little bit of
Dijon mustard, and light olive oil (under the dashingly clever chapter title, Mayo
Clinic). Homemade mayo is great and all, but monounsaturated liquid oils dont always
impress me from a health or a taste standpoint. Last week I tried Caesar with an old
standby, and the final result was just as good and I didnt have to worry about either
using store-bought mayonnaise (made primarily with soy oil, boo!), or delicately making
my own mayonnaise from scratch, which requires patience and skill that not everybody is
comfortable with.
Whats the old standby? Its our old friend sour cream/crme fraiche.
Thats right, make homemade Caesar salad dressing that is sheer perfection with
something you can easily throw into your shopping cart and dump in a food processor for
a total of about 12 seconds of effort. If thats not enough effort, you can make your own
crme fraiche from scratch, which, all things considered, is quite nice. To make your
own crme fraiche, all you need to do is heat heavy cream until it is lukewarm and no
hotter, add a little splash of buttermilk, stir it, cover it, and let it sit until it sours and
thickens (takes 1-2 days at most).
So lets get down. Sour cream Caesar
Get out your food processor and throw in:
1)
2)
3)
4)

2 cups of sour cream of crme fraiche


Juice of lemon
1 chopped garlic clove
2t Dijon mustard

180 Degree Diabetes


5)
6)
7)
8)

~ 94 ~

2 ounces canned anchovy fillets


1 cup of fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Lots of fresh-ground black pepper
A pinch of salt

Now, puree it for 30 seconds and youve got yourself amazing Caesar salad dressing.
Dress crisp Romaine lettuce with the dressing or use it in more creative ways. It does
make a great sauce for delicate, white-fleshed fish, it can be used as a dip, and it can be
used plenty of other ways Im sure. Just dont be shy with it. Pile it on. Make your
salads sloppy with this delicious dressing.
Hollandaise/Bearnaise (from my February 2009 eBook, 180 Kitchen)
Ah, nothing like taking the quintessential heart attack sauce and eating it aggressively in
the name of good health. Hollandaise normally has a little bit of a bad connotation
because most people suck at making it. The finished product is something that is clumpy
and eggy, which no true hollandaise should be. Not only that, but hollandaise, in a
restaurant, is usually made prior to service, and then it sits for hours. Foul! In fact, a
good hollandaise that is made with skill (and it doesnt take that much I assure you, just a
little practice), that is seasoned right and has the addition of fresh-chopped tarragon
making it officially Bearnaise sauce at that point, and is served right away is to-die-for
and endlessly versatile. Bearnaise is the perfect complement to a simple meal of meat,
starch, and vegetables. Please have the courage to try making this timeless French
classic.
Ingredients:

1 egg yolk
pound butter or slightly more
Juice of small lemon, or large lemon
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
2T fresh-chopped tarragon leaves
Small cup of warm water

Directions:
1) Get a small pot of water, 1-inch deep, going on the stovetop.
2) Place a steel bowl over the pot of simmering water once it comes to a boil, a
double-boiler.
3) Melt the butter gently on the stovetop. Most prefer to use clarified butter, but
simply melting it is enough, and if using raw butter, keeps it from getting totally
cooked, which is a nice bonus.
4) Squeeze lemon juice into the steel bowl, removing any seeds.
5) Throw the egg yolk in with lemon juice and stir madly, with a wire whisk.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 95 ~

6) Continue to stir the egg yolk madly as the heat from the boiling water under the
bowl begins heating it up. Go, go, go and dont let up. You dont want
scrambled eggs as that heat gets high.
7) When the egg gets warm enough, it will start to thicken. Again, you dont want
scrambled egg, but you do want it to thicken slightly, so pay very close attention.
When the yolk starts to take on the consistency of yellow mustard, remove the
bowl from the heat source immediately and continue whisking to assure that it
cools a little bit right away not continuing to cook.
8) Now comes the tricky part, but you can do this! Turn the pot of water off. The
steam thats rising will still provide some warmth, but dont let your egg just sit
on top of it! Immediately start adding your butter heres how.
9) The smooth, thick consistency of an egg-based sauce like this stems from the
emulsification of eggs and fat from the butter. But you cant emulsify it just by
throwing the two together. You must work them together by adding just a
splash of butter, then whisking like a crazy person until the mixture becomes one,
thick, homogenized substance.
10) Then add a little more butter and do it again.
11) And again.
12) And again!
13) Keep adding the rest of the butter, a little bit at a time, until nearly all of the butter
has been added and emulsified in with the egg yolk. At the very end, youll see
that the only butter remaining is mostly milk dont add this or the sauce will
become too thin! Just dump it.
14) One problem you will encounter as you do so is the sauce becomes excessively
thick. Add a tiny splash of warm water to it as needed, but you want the sauce to
be extra thick at the end as some of the milk from the butter starts to spill over
into the sauce, thinning it out substantially.
15) Season with a small pinch of cayenne sauce shouldnt be noticeably spicy, lots
of salt (the sauce will take quite a bit before it really perks up), and the fresh
tarragon. Serve with lamb, beef, veal, fish, pork and vegetables. Goes great with
grilled asparagus or wilted spinach.
I hope this works out for you. The biggest mistakes are adding the butter too quickly and
causing separation (the sauce breaks), and overcooking the eggs. Be very wary of
making those two mistakes, taking extra precaution, and the sauce should come out great.
Bonne chance! (It means good luck in Paris talk).
Basic Meal Plan
Because a type 2 diabetics blood sugars can spike so high after a large, mixed meal
which in and of itself can cause significant cellular damage, it may be more prudent to
begin HED by breaking meals into smaller, more frequent feedings. I cant say that I am
100% sure that this is more effective, as I lowered my own blood sugar with three very
large meals per day, but in theory, smaller meals should still work well as an introductory
phase and can relieve some of the initial stresses of having an astronomically-high blood
sugar response in the early stages.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 96 ~

Having said that, a diabetic, although I certainly wouldnt deter you from your own
personal experimentation, will probably fare best on HED with a meal plan similar to the
following:
7am 3 eggs scrambled with cheese, fresh spinach, and 1T butter with a big bowl of
oatmeal with a nice splash of heavy cream and 1t cinnamon.
10 am One or two large bowls of vegetable/beef/potato soup with 2T butter melted in
each. The recipe given in the Fasting chapter with 2-3 pounds of untrimmed diced beef
ribeye added works great.
1 pm Large Caesar salad (Romaine lettuce plus Caesar dressing) with chicken and a
baked potato with lots of butter.
4 pm 1 cup of almonds and a half pound of raw baby carrots with a small glass of heavy
whipping cream.
7pm Good-sized fatty steak, wild salmon fillet, or pork chop, grilled or seared in
coconut oil with a large side of cooked spinach (see wilted spinach instructions and
video at www.180kitchen.wordpress.com), and a large portion of brown rice.
This is just an example of what a typical day might look like. I hesitate to include
rigorous meal plans that depend on your knowledge of cooking or ingredient accessibility
for you to succeed. 180DegreeHealth has a broad audience as well, encompassing
dozens of countries and customs, with a vast array of dietary staples. You get the idea of
how to put the components together. It is up to you to decide how best to blend the three
primary food groups together with the dietary preferences, food availability, and cooking
knowledge that you have. For assistance, I have created both an extensive cooking
eBook, 180 Kitchen, and a website, www.180kitchen.wordpress.com, to help you in that
regard.
The diet can be extremely simple and convenient if you need it to be as well. By making
a large pot of vegetable-beef soup with lots of starchy ingredients like potatoes, beans,
peas, and brown rice, you can eat that for nearly every meal. You could alternate it with
large Caesar salads and baked potatoes topped with creamy cheese. You could still have
a simple breakfast at home like ground beef sauted with vegetables over brown rice or a
simple breakfast of oatmeal porridge, and bacon and eggs.
If and when blood glucose levels begin to drop, and drop steadily, you can begin to move
towards simpler plans with 3 basic meals per day and snacks of nuts, cheese, and
vegetables until you wean yourself to only 3 meals per day without snacks (which I find
to be ideal over the long haul).
Whatever you do, try to make it as enjoyable as possible without splurging on brownies
and doughnuts. Dont eat something you dont like. Eat what you love the most. If a fat,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 97 ~

bacon-wrapped ribeye steak covered in Hollandaise with coconut-oil fried potatoes


sounds incredible, then eat that for every meal that you can. This whole program is about
re-establishing a healthy relationship with food, which is something few diabetics or
prediabetics have. Food is our sustenance and our giver of life. It is not a reward for
being disciplined, or starving yourself, or overexercising. It is the antidote for those
harmful pursuits if anything, and real, unadulterated food in any amount sure as hell isnt
the cause of diabetes.
Also make a very focused effort, to the very best of your ability, to delete foods that do
lead to insulin resistance and poorer health as you opt for these much cleaner options.
This includes all junk foods that contain refined sugar, such as cookies, cake, doughnuts,
candies, chocolate, soft drinks, and so on. Caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs
prescription, non-prescription, and recreational, all contribute to the problem. Find
whatever courage you can muster to eliminate these. After regaining your stability
through deep rest and profound nourishment, you will find the draw of those substances
to be greatly lessened.
Enjoy yourself on the HED. Although it wont be the ultimate solution for everyone, for
those that do manage to see blood sugar levels steadily drop after HED has been
implemented for a few weeks, HED will be, without question, the ultimate solution
second only to perhaps the milk diet, but far less extreme and much more enjoyable.
There is no fear of rebound, no battling against hunger, and no diet is more wellbalanced, satisfying, and nourishing.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 98 ~

The Milk Diet HED on steroids


Although some might consider it extreme, the principles of the HED and the milk diet are
essentially the same. The idea is to deliver the maximal amount of nourishment paired
with the maximal amount of rest. The milk diet, for whatever reason, appears to be able
to achieve what the HED can but with even more dramatic results.
At first blush, the milk diet sounds pretty friggin absurd. Drink milk and consume no
other food or drink for at least a month longer if whatever ailment you have has not
subsided in that time frame. The absurd simplicity of it has actually been its greatest
hurdle one that it has never successfully overcome.
J.E. Crewe, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic and one of the most mainstream medical
doctors ever to use the milk diet as a primary means of treating illness, once said,
The method itself is so simple that it does not greatly interest medical men The fact
that many diseases are treated and successful results claimed, leads almost to
disrespect.
This is true. A typical doctor or even a nutritionist would be quick to think of a long list
of reasons why it couldnt and wouldnt work to give it a try. It is too simple, and
seems contraindicated for so many conditions if examined superficially. It contains tons
of calories why should it be given to an overweight person? It is very high in saturated
fat and cholesterol why should it be given to someone with heart disease? It is very
high in sodium why give it to someone with hypertension? Dairy causes excessive
mucous secretion why give it to an asthmatic or someone with tuberculosis or other
respiratory condition? Milk is often an allergen why give it to someone with various
allergies and sinus infections? Raw milk could contain all kinds of germs why give it
to someone with viral or bacterial infections? It contains tons of rapidly-absorbed lactose
milk sugar, why give it to a diabetic? Wouldnt a diabetic just go into sugar and insulin
shock?
But the milk diet, no matter who is reporting on it, appears to be highly effective and
mind-boggingly consistent in the treatment of all the conditions just listed.
J.E. Crewe states:
While milk is widely used and recommended as an article of diet, it is seldom used by
regular physicians exclusively as an agent in the treatment of disease. For 15 years I
have employed the so-called milk treatment in various diseases the results obtained in
various types of illnesses have been so uniformly excellent that ones conception of
disease and its alleviation is necessarily modified.
and

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 99 ~

the treatment of various diseases over a period of eighteen years with a practically
exclusive milk diet has convinced me personally that the most important single factor in
the cause of disease and in the resistance to disease is food. I have seen so many
instances of the rapid and marked response to this form of treatment that nothing could
make me believe this is not so
William Campbell Douglass, author of The Milk Book and a practicing physician that has
used the milk diet as a successful treatment for many illnesses, type 2 diabetes included,
reports on Crewes success with diabetics on the milk diet:
The milk treatment of diabetes was nothing short of phenomenal, most patients
becoming sugar-free in four to ten weeks. This is astounding when you realize that five
quarts of milk, the amount he used daily for diabetes, contains one-half pound of milk
sugar.
This is particularly amazing, as most of the diabetics treated during Crewes era- the
1920s, were type 1 diabetics a much more severe form of diabetes to reverse.
In recounting a particular case of type 2 diabetes on the milk diet, Douglass states:
He was put to bed and instructed to drink nothing but raw milk. That meant no water,
absolutely nothing but the milk. His symptoms of diabetic acidosis thirst, frequent
urination, and vague abdominal pain- quickly abated On this program he lost weight
which he needed to do, and his blood sugar returned to near normal levels. This is
remarkable because milk contains large amounts of lactose, a form of sugar. We dont
know why it works, but it does.
But J.E. Crewe and William Campbell Douglass are certainly not the only two men in
history to use the milk diet to treat the vast array of human illnesses most, if not all of
those illnesses stemming from some facet of metabolic syndrome (low body temp, high
cortisol, hyperinsulinemia, etc.). At the beginning of the 20th century two pivotal books
were published that have managed to survive the ages. One is Charles Sanford Porters
Milk Diet, as a Remedy for Chronic Disease. Another is Bernarr MacFaddens The
Miracle of Milk.
In 1924, Bernarr MacFadden writes:
It seems so strange, in a way, that anything so simple and so lacking in mystery as milk
should effect cures with such uniformity, and in grave disorders that have resisted the
efforts of the most skillful medical men, armed with the most heterogeneous assortment of
drugs and poisons, and that it should be prescribed or even appreciated by so few
physicians as it is.
So convinced am I of the disease-correcting and health-maintaining power of the fast
and milk diet that I urge any one who has an abnormal functional or organic condition,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 100 ~

especially in the beginning or in the incipient stage, to adopt this means of reestablishing normality.
8 years prior Charles Sanford Porter writes:
My experience with diabetes has not been as large as I would wish, but the few patients
who carried the treatment out for four weeks have all been benefited, and, in some
instances, at least, permanent cures were made.
Type 2 diabetes was far less common in that era, and they had yet to distinguish between
the two types. They also typically diagnosed it using the urine, which is a severe form of
diabetes that many type 2s have not reached. Type 1 diabetes, a true deficiency of the
pancreas, was mixed in as well when Porter refers to diabetes. I would assume the
permanent cures were more common amongst type 2s that at least had ample beta cell
activity and the proper ability to produce insulin. Many other type 2s still may have had
other conditions that they sought successful treatments for, but were not passing sugar in
the urine and still had very high blood sugar levels diagnosable as type 2 by todays
standards. In other words, they could have been curing themselves of type 2 diabetes
without even knowing they had type 2 diabetes. This would certainly be the case for
many prediabetics, as those who sought treatment often sought treatments for many
facets of metabolic syndrome such as high blood pressure or heart conditions.
Anyway, this is no time to further try to convince you that it works, as anecdotal phrases
taken from 90 year-old books can only get me so far. Plus, in the last chapter on the
HED, we already discussed many of the same principles of why the milk diet might work
and work far better than a regular, mixed, HED.
The premise of the milk diet, and why I believe it could be the ultimate godsend and a
permanent cure for type 2 diabetes (assuming you dont go straight back to fast food
fries, Dr. Pepper, and ho-hos), is that it:
1) Allows maximal nutrient and caloric assimilation. Consuming milk in the exact
manner in which these doctors and health advisors recommend, allows maximal
energy and nutrient surplus, the foundation of reversing insulin resistance via the
HED.
2) Commands minimal exertion, warm baths, and lots of fresh air all things that
help to detoxify the human body and maximize its immune system capabilities.
3) Allows only healthful and unrefined food at the exclusion of all else. Milk, in its
raw state and as fresh as possible, is the ultimate form of unprocessed and readyto-eat complete nourishment. Its the ultimate mammalian food source to which
all is a distant 2nd. Although human milk would probably be preferable to cow or
goats milk, itll do. Its close enough.
4) Not only are the nutrients in milk better assimilated than whole food sources, milk
is more nutritious overall and contains no anti-nutrients that interfere with nutrient
absorption and utilization such as phytic acid found in beans, nuts, and grains or
copious amounts of fiber found in all unrefined carbohydrates.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 101 ~

5) Unlike the HED, the milk diet creates a state of hyperhydration. The cells reach
their optimal hydration level and function flawlessly, which also helps to improve
cellular and hormonal communication and rid the body of pathogens, chronic
infections, reduce inflammation, and other factors that keep cortisol elevated.
6) Another advantage of the milk diet is that the food is all completely raw and
uncooked. This supplies huge quantities of anti-pathogenic microbes, enzymes,
and other co-factors that make the milk diet the ultimate form of rehabilitative
sustenance.
7) The milk diet, which is an all-liquid diet, also has similar properties to fasting,
another potential type 2 diabetic curative.
So yes, the milk diet has great potential. Although it very rigorous, I wouldnt have the
slightest reservation about pursuing it if I were diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic. But Im a
pretty freaky mofo all things considered. To me, the greatest and most fulfilling feeling
is the conquering of a health problem, and the milk diet has as much potential for
achieving that as any health regimen Ive ever encountered. The fundamentals of healing
and nourishment apply to type 2 diabetes just as much, if not moreso than other illnesses.
Stay tuned for further updates on using the milk diet, following it correctly, and using it
as a weapon against disease in the near future at www.180degreehealth.com. The milk
diet will be a primary research and experimental topic in 2010.
For now, well stick to the many guidelines and rules of the milk diet according to the
doctors and practitioners that used it back in the day.
1) The freshest raw milk is to be used, ideally not more than a day or two old, but
older milk will certainly be able to achieve results.
2) The raw milk should not be excessively high in fat such as that from Jersey
cows, which can be more difficult to digest and assimilate in such large quantities.
Holstein milk or partially-skimmed higher fat milk is ideal.
3) The milk should be consumed at room temperature, and sipped slowly to mix with
saliva for better assimilation.
4) 5-8 fluid ounces, depending on your size (the bigger the higher that quantity
obviously), should be taken at each feeding. Be consistent. Each feeding should
be almost exactly 30 minutes apart. If you doze off or miss one, dont drink
double just get back on your schedule.
5) Drink the milk from when you wake up in the morning until about an hour before
going to bed a total of about 14 hours, or 28 rounds of milk (7 quart maximum
for very large men, and at least 1 gallon per day for more petite women). Its not
a case of the more the better, but trying to take in just the right amount no
more, no less.
6) Exertion should be minimal physically and even mentally for best results. This
is a toughie in todays modern world, especially when our minds are so used to
being babysat by television, internet, and books. Make it meditative, but not
miserable. By all means do a little walking, chores, stretching, deep-breathing,
and reading if you get too antsy.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 102 ~

7) Milk diet proponents all seemed to share the belief that fresh air was key. They
recommended open windows, or even doing the milk diet in a gazebo-like setting.
I say do lots of sunbathing during the day without getting too overheated. Do
some light reading outdoors in the shade if the weather is decent. Let some clean,
fresh air circulate around your body by wearing loose clothing indoors and out.
8) Consume no other food or liquid other than milk except for lemon juice if you are
having digestive problems with the milk (have a squirt or two while you sip your
milk). A little water of course will not make or break the program, but odds are
you wont desire it with all the electrolyte-rich fluid you are consuming.
9) Continue the milk-only fast for an absolute minimum of four weeks. Otherwise,
continue the milk diet until all signs of diabetes are gone and blood sugars have
dropped back within the normal range. Dont give up unless your blood sugar has
not started dropping by the 4-week mark, in which case the milk diet may not be
your type 2 diabetes answer. Be prepared to continue it for well over one month.
It is entirely safe to do so but an occasional check-in with the doctor is probably
a good idea to be on the smart side.
10) Do not be thrown off by some of the negative early-going symptoms such as
extreme fatigue, foul breath and urine, digestive irregularity and discomfort, and
other probable detoxification/adaptation side effects. You may also be really
turned off by the milk at some point, but try to press through it. It supposedly
does not last.
I cant make any promises about the milk diet. All I can do is report what I believe
honest and intelligent men have witnessed and elaborated upon over the last 100 years.
By understanding certain physiological and nutritional principles and how they relate to
the development and reversal of type 2 diabetes it does show much promise. For those
looking for the most aggressive and potentially most reliable means of finding a
permanent reversal for type 2 diabetes that does not require a life sentence of highlyrestrictive dieting and unwanted exercise, this might be your ticket. If I were you, as a
type 2 diabetic, prediabetic, or anyone with any health problem, it would take a lot to
deter me from giving the milk diet a chance. This could be the best place, of all the diet
plans laid out for lessening insulin resistance, to get started.

~ 103 ~

180 Degree Diabetes

Low-Carb
Low-Carb enthusiasts will have you believe that carbohydrates are what this whole
diabetes, heart disease, and obesity mess is all about. The story, as you know by now, is
far more complex than that. Eating carbohydrates does not cause insulin resistance, raise
fasting insulin levels, raise fasting glucose levels, or even raise postprandial glucose
levels to above-normal.
The low-carb diet for type 2 diabetes is the ultimate fatalistic approach. When I eat
carbs, my blood sugar goes up, therefore, I know that I cannot eat carbohydrates. Thats
the general mentality. But come on. Give me a break here. What if you notice that your
car is making a funny noise because it is out of oil? Using the same mentality, you would
say, Ive noticed my car does not tolerate driving, therefore, Im going to have to learn
to ride a bike. Ever consider giving the car what it needs to run smoothly?
This water-treading avoidance mindset is further fueled by the large array of circulating
information that points to genetics as being the cause of type 2 diabetes. The typical
type 2 on a low-carb diet is a member of the unlucky sperm club, as my father so
eloquently calls it. Thats just the way I am. Gotta learn to live with it. It never
occurs to them that their genetics are a result of poor lifestyle choices of present and prior
generations, and that their genetics is fully in their hands to repair and refurbish.
Then you have a whole assortment of health advisors that advocate some kind of
metabolic typing concept everything from your blood type to you know, whatever.
With the increasing popularity of low-carb nutrition and awareness of insulin resistance
and metabolic syndrome many good scientists (okay, poor scientists) are drifting over
to the low-carb dark side. Since it is becoming more recognized that impaired
carbohydrate metabolism is an increasingly common affliction, it is becoming
increasingly fashionable to give the low-carb prescription for that condition.
And guess what, it helps. Verifiably so.
But make sure we get one thing straight. When I say it helps, I mean it helps someone
with metabolic syndrome be generally healthier, with better diagnostic numbers, and a
lowered risk for degenerative diseases including both type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
At least versus a traditional American diet the low-carb diet, low also in refined
carbohydrates in favor of real foods like meat, eggs, fish, and cheese is a clear victor.
But just because the Cleveland Browns can beat Vanderbilt University in football
dominate them completely doesnt mean that the Cleveland Browns are the greatest
football team on earth. They are just better than a mediocre college team. A lot better.
What a low-carb diet doesnt seem to help much with, is overturning the insulin
resistance that causes metabolic syndrome upon the ingestion of a high glycemic load. In
other words, on a low-carb diet, if you continue with it for a long period of time, will
lower your blood sugars, help you to drop excess weight, and provide a generally better

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 104 ~

health experience. But if you are looking for a way to help you metabolize carbohydrates
correctly and to overcome insulin resistance completely, low-carb diets rarely deliver.
But lets assume that a person tries the other strategies laid out in this book, really
commits to them, and still cant seem to make progress. Its at that point that it may be
discernable that the pancreas is not producing enough insulin. Perhaps too many beta
cells have been damaged over the years and that person is truly dependent upon eating as
little carbohydrate as possible to minimize the workload of the organ. Perhaps at that
point, deriving more energy from ketones (produced on low-carb diets as an alternate
energy source) and as little from glucose as possible is the most feasible alternative. If
thats the case, the low-carb diet can truly help to ameliorate insulin resistance and help
improve both longevity and quality of life.
What Im really getting at, is that in some circumstances, a low-carb diet really is the
most prudent diet. It is also, generally, a healthy diet. Maybe its not optimal if it were
human beings wouldnt have bothered developing agriculture beyond raising food to feed
their animals, but it can provide a human with all the elements he or she needs to thrive.
It should be pursued by full-blown type 2 diabetics only after ruling out other approaches.
Anyone who has slight elevation in blood sugar levels or is prediabetic does not need to
pursue a diet this low in carbohydrates. It is not necessary, nor is it an optimal approach
for addressing the root of the problem.
Without further ado, here are my basic guidelines for pursuing a low-carb diet from an
incurable type 2 diabetics standpoint. The diet is probably not best as a semi-low carb
or sorta low-carb diet. It should be very low in carbohydrates, approximating what Dr.
Richard Bernstein has created as an optimal type 1 diabetic diet and I would
recommend his work to any diabetic trying to follow a low-carb diet for perfect blood
sugar control (although his advice to use artificial sweeteners and zap-fry American
cheese in a microwave as a snack could use some, ahem, revision).
The diet should consist of only two elements for simplicitys sake:
1) Meat
2) Non-starchy vegetables
And thats about it. It can be very nutritious and even help to overturn some cases of
type 2 diabetes because of it allowing insulin and other medications to be discontinued
(the hallmark of having overcome diabetes). Because it can be so effective in stimulating
weight loss, a low-carb diet can also overcome type 2 diabetes on that basis, especially
when paired with large quantities of low-effort exercise such as walking.
A typical breakfast might be a small hamburger patty with a side of wilted spinach
cooked in the leftover grease in the pan used to cook the burger.
Eggs cooked in butter with onion and red bell pepper is another great option.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 105 ~

Lunch can be a few hard-boiled eggs with a rich, crouton-free Caesar salad with lots of
added cheese. How about canned Alaskan pink salmon with a glass of cream and a
handful of carrot sticks? Luncheon meat with a small bowl of homemade Thai coconut
soup will do the trick as well (see 180 Kitchen).
Dinner can be a nice piece of fatty broiled beef, lamb, salmon, chicken, or pork with
green beans, or grilled asparagus, or steamed broccoli with butter.
You get the idea. Cook any meat, fish, egg, or cheese dish any style with a small portion
of highly-nutritious non-starchy vegetable and add as much added fat as you need to
feel satisfied. Sorry no meal plans in this chapter. There are already 100 low-carb books
out there that do a decent job at that. The classics by Dr. Atkins, Michael Eades, Richard
Bernstein, and Wolfgang Lutz will do the trick Im sure for those that cant figure out
how to put non-starchy vegetables and meat together in a meal, or who need more good
ideas.
Starchy vegetables, which are the forbidden foods in the vegetable category, include
corn, beans, potatoes, rutabaga, celeriac, parsnips, cooked carrots (raw is okay), yams,
beets, peas, lentils, and all grains including buckwheat, wheat, quinoa, spelt, rice,
tapioca, barley, oats, and so on. This of course includes tortillas, bread, pasta, crackers,
and other processed forms of these whole carbohydrate foods.
There is no need to be concerned about vitamin C, as many low-carbers wonder. Eating a
low-carb diet reduces the need for vitamin C supplied in the diet AND, even more
importantly, vegetables have better vitamin C content on both a by weight and per calorie
basis than fruits. Cabbage and red bell peppers for example, are powerhouses of vitamin
C that put even the juiciest of Valencia oranges to shame.
A diabetic low-carb diet can also include juice from lemons and limes used as a
condiment for foods like fish or grilled chicken with a Mexican-style marinade or
consumed in non-caloric beverages like water and herbal tea. Non-sweet fruits, like
cucumber or tomatoes can be treated as non-starchy vegetables.
Otherwise, if your meal contains something that is not a non-starchy vegetable or animalsource protein, you are on the wrong track.
The only exception to this rule would be added fat such as heavy cream, butter, or oils,
and miniscule amounts of nuts and seeds, including peanuts and peanut butter which
contain plenty of carbohydrate, but are typically 80% fat, which is right in the appropriate
range for a healthy low-carb insulin-impaired diabetic diet. Macadamia nuts, because the
type of fat they contain (they have very little polyunsaturated fat), and their high-fat
content are the best choice.
As far as fats go, saturated fats are by far the healthiest form in which to derive most of
your energy (up to 80% of calories). The ideal source is from coconut oil, coconut milk,

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 106 ~

and whole fresh coconut meat (note the milk and meat do contain a little carbohydrate).
The next best source, and one that many prefer, is fat from ruminants such as beef and
lamb. Beef and lamb fat, because ruminants convert the vast majority of their dietary fat
to saturated and monounsaturated fat in their body (unlike pigs and chickens, which,
when fed corn and soy accumulate more omega-6 polyunsaturated fat), supply better
quality fats. The third best option in the saturated fat category is dairy fat. Butter, cream,
cheese, and clarified butter are the most acceptable dairy foods for a low-carb diabetic.
Milk, half and half, and yoghurt are far too high in carbohydrate to be consumed in any
kind of quantity.
Saturated fat, although it should form the bulk of fat calories, shouldnt be the only type
of fat you consume though. Eating a large amount of fatty fish, particularly wild salmon,
mackerel, and herring provide omega 3 fatty acids that can be very therapeutic to a type
2. Some researchers even feel that eating a diet rich in omega 6 from vegetable oils while
eating virtually no omega 3 from fish and pastured meat and eggs is one of the root
causes of glucose intolerance/insulin resistance in the first place. I certainly agree that it
is very likely to be a factor. That doesnt mean you need to break omega 3 consumption
records, but make wild-caught salmon a frequent menu item while completely excluding
corn, canola, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, and other vegetable oils. This should
help.
Monounsaturated fats are also okay to consume in reasonable quantity, but often contain
too much polyunsaturated fat to be considered ideal. The only liquid oils I recommend
consuming on any kind of regular basis are extra virgin olive oil and macadamia nut oil
preferably macadamia nut oil, which has the lowest polyunsaturated fat content of any
liquid oil. For those of you in need of a quick primer, there are two primary reasons for
eliminating most polyunsaturated fats from the diet: because polyunsaturated fats from
liquid oils other than fish, flax, and macadamia nut oils contain a lot of omega 6 a
precursor to a number of inflammatory molecules thought to be directly causal of the
degenerative disease process, and polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable, lending to
oxidation and the creation of free radicals which are also thought to be directly causal of
the degenerative disease process. Bad news on both accounts. Saturated and
monounsaturated fats have no such associations and have long been the primary fat
sources in the traditional human diet, which is why they are preferable, for both diabetics
and non-diabetics.
As a diabetic, if you must resort to a low-carb diet for your condition, and you must
remain on insulin injections to keep your blood sugar within acceptable parameters, I
highly recommend very closely monitoring your fasting and postprandial (after meal)
blood sugars. This allows you to be regular and consistent, adjusting your insulin doses
to achieve precision blood glucose monitoring. Once again, I endorse the work of
Richard Bernstein, author of Dr. Bernsteins Diabetes Solution, for following this
approach. Bernstein has even been known to help both type I and II diabetics achieve
spectacular numbers including A1Cs in the optimal, 4.5% range. His protocol is very
rigorous, and involves a half dozen blood samples per day, but I do believe that it can

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 107 ~

greatly enhance the quality of life for someone who has discovered that they are truly
stuck with diabetes.
As a final note for those who might be wondering, acceptable beverages for a type 2 on a
low-carb diet are water, mineral water, herbal tea, and water or herbal tea with citrus or
apple-cider vinegar added. Thats pretty much it. Artificial sweeteners and caffeine have
terrible associations with metabolic syndrome, and both will make a low-carb diet more
miserable perpetuating carbohydrate cravings indefinitely.
Caffeine, in particular, could be one of the most underestimated evils in the modern diet.
There is certainly a close link with hyperinsulinemia/insulin resistance and caffeine. Its
been well-recognized for 60 years. The following quotes were taken from Body, Mind,
and Sugar by E.M. Abrahamson, published in 19 frickin 51.
if you have hyperinsulinism, you must avoid caffeine as you would the pest.
Americans are the largest consumers of coffee in the world. Not content with that
excessive use of caffeine in the fine aromatic and ancient faffa of Abyssinia, we have
concocted and popularized by stupendous high pressure advertising a host of soft drinks
previously unknown to the civilized world. These sugar-laden and caffeine-containing
carbonated beverages are imbibed by adult, teen-ager, and even children in an everincreasing and staggering volume.
In EVERY case in which the Glucose Tolerance Test has shown that hyperinsulinism
was present and these were more than 90 per cent of the total number the patient lost
his purely psychic symptoms within ten days of initiating the treatment. But another
month or more is required to make the treatment stick. Several patients have learned by
bitter experience that they must never take caffeine in any form. In fact, caffeine is so
much of a causative factor in this kind of depression that the condition might be regarded
as a form of caffeine poisoning. The reputed and widely accepted harmlessness of
caffeine must be thoroughly reinvestigated in the light of this new knowledge.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 108 ~
References

The assertions made in 180 Degree Diabetes are a comprehensive culmination of


conclusions pieced together, in part, by a thorough examination of the following works:
Abrahamson, E. M. and A. W. Pezet. Body, Mind, and Sugar. Avon Books: New York,
NY, 1951.
Appleton, Nancy. Suicide By Sugar. Square One Publishers: Garden City Park, NY,
2009.
Appleton, Nancy. Rethinking Pasteurs Germ Theory. Frog Ltd.: Berkeley, CA, 2000.
Atkins, Robert. Dr. Robert Atkins New Diet Revolution. Avon Books, Inc.: New York,
NY, 1992.
Barnard, Neal. Dr. Neal Barnards Program for Reversing Diabetes. Rodale: New
York, NY, 2007.
Barnes, Broda. Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspecting Illness. Harper and Row: New York,
NY, 1976
Barnes, Broda. Solved: The Riddle of Heart Attacks. Robinson Press: Fort Collins, CO,
1976
Barnes, Broda. Hope for Hypoglycemia. Robinson Press: Fort Collins, CO, 1978
Bennett, Connie. Sugar Shock! Berkley Books: New York, NY, 2007.
Bernstein, Richard K. Dr. Bernsteins Diabetes Solution. Little, Brown and Company:
New York, NY, 1997.
Bieler, Henry. Food is Your Best Medicine. Random House: New York, NY, 1965.
Burkitt, Denis, Hugh Trowell, and Kenneth Heaton. Dietary Fibre, Fibre-Depleted
Foods and Disease. Academic Press: London, 1985.
Cleave, T. L., The Saccharine Disease. Keats Publishing: New Canaan, CT, 1974.
Cleave, T.L. and G.D. Campbell. Diabetes, Coronary Thrombosis, and the Saccharine
Disease. John Wright & Sons LTD.: Bristol, UK, 1969.
Collazo-Clavell, Maria. Mayo Clinic on Managing Diabetes. Mayo Clinic: Rochester,
Minnesota, 2006.
DesMaisons, Kathleen. Potatoes Not Prozac. Fireside: New York, NY, 1998.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 109 ~

DesMaisons, Kathleen. The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program. Ballantine Books:
New York, NY, 2000.
Douglass, William Campbell. The Milk Book. Rhino Publishing: Panama, 1984.
Dufty, William. Sugar Blues. Warner Books: New York, NY, 1975.
Eades, Michael R. and Mary Dan. Protein Power. Bantam Books: New York, NY,
1996.
Eisenstat, Stephanie A. and David M. Nathan. Every Womans Guide to Diabetes.
Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 2007.
Enig, Mary. Know Your Fats. Bethesda Press: Silver Spring, MD, 2000.
Fallon, Sally. Nourishing Traditions. New Trends Publishing, Inc.: Washington, DC,
1999.
Farris, Russell and Per Marin. The Potbelly Syndrome. Basic Health Publications:
Laguna Beach, CA, 2006.
Fuhrman, Joel. Eat to Live. Little, Brown and Company: New York, NY, 2003.
Gallop, Rick. The Glycemic Index Diet. Workman Publishing: New York, NY, 2002.
Gedgaudas, Nora. Primal Body Primal Mind. Primal Body Primal Mind Publishing:
Portland, OR, 2009.
Groves, Barry. Natural Health and Weight Loss. Hammersmith Press: London, UK,
2007.
Johnson, Richard J. The Sugar Fix. Pocket Books: New York, NY, 2008.
Kolata, Gina. Rethinking Thin. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, NY, 2007.
Langer, Stpehen E. and James F. Scheer. Solved: The Riddle of Illness. McGraw Hill:
New York, NY, 2006.
Lipton, Bruce. The Biology of Belief. Elite Books: Santa Rosa, CA, 2005.
Macfadden, Bernarr. The Miracle of Milk. Macfadden Publications: New York, NY,
1924.
McCarrison, Robert. Studies in Deficiency Disease. Henry Frowde and Hodder and
Stoughton: London, England, 1921.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 110 ~

Page, Melvin, and H. Leon Abrams. Health vs. Disease, The Page Foundation, Inc., St.
Petersburg, FL 1960.
Pekarek, Martha L. Freedom from Obesity and Sugar Addiction. Wheatmark: Tucson,
AZ, 2007.
Philpott, William H. Victory Over Diabetes. Keats Publishing: New Canaan, CT, 1983.
Planck, Nina. Real Food: What to Eat and Why. Bloomsbury Publishing: New York,
NY, 2006.
Porter, Charles Sanford. Milk Diet, as a Remedy for Chronic Disease. Burnett P.O.:
Long Beach, CA, 1916.
Price, Weston A. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Republished by the PricePottenger Nutrition Foundation: La Mesa, CA, originally published in 1939.
Schmid, Ron. Traditional Foods are Your Best Medicine. Healing Arts Press:
Rochester, VT, 1987.
Schwarzbein, Diana. The Schwarzbein Principle. Health Communications, Inc.:
Deerfield Beach, FL, 1999.
Schwarzbein, Diana. The Schwarzbein Principle II. Health Communications, Inc.:
Deerfield Beach, FL, 2002.
Schwarzbein, Diana. The Program. Health Communications, Inc.: Deerfield Beach, FL,
2004.
Sears, Barry. Toxic Fat. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2008.
Shomon, Mary J., The Thyroid Diet. Harper Resource: New York, NY, 2004.
Starr, Mark. Hypothyroidism Type II. Mark Starr Trust: Columbia, MO, 2005.
Valentine, Virginia, June Biermann, and Barbara Toohey. Diabetes: The New Type 2.
Feremy P. Tarcher/Penguin: New York, NY, 2008.
Warshaw, Hope S. and Joy Pape. Real-Life Guide to Diabetes. American Diabetes
Association: United States of America, 2009.
Whitaker, Julian. Reversing Diabetes. Wellness Central: New York, NY, 2001.
Wiley, T.S. Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival. Pocket Books: New York, NY,
2000.

180 Degree Diabetes

~ 111 ~

Yudkin, John. Sweet and Dangerous. Bantam Books: New York, NY, 1972.

Вам также может понравиться