I am a PA with decades of experience with diabetes and it's ill effects. I have watched through my career, type 2 diabetics listen to medical advice and never get any better. When my daughter, who was a gestational diabetic with her first pregnancy had a fasting blood glucose of 288 mg/dl, it became personal for me. They gave her the usual Metformin script and sent her on her way. Knowing that these meds do nothing to cure the disease and that it would only head her to a life on insulin and further weight gain I asked her not to take the meds, stop all carbs for the moment and let me do some research. That was when I came across Dr. Fung's lectures on the internet. As someone who has been studying holistic medicine for 30 years it made complete sense to me.
What makes this book and his lectures so valuable, is that he approaches everything from a medical model and shows why modern medicine is getting it all wrong.
He explains the process of glucose metabolism in a way I feel most lay people can understand. It's important for every overweight or type 2 diabetic to understand this process to better understand what they have been doing to their bodies...and unfortunately what we in medicine have been doing to their bodies.
What was most valuable to me was him quoting studies that are considered standards in the field of medicine...not studies on rats or studies that have 15 subjects...but studies conducted over years with thousands of participants...like the Frammingham study or the NHANES study. I had seen these studies in the most prestigious medical journals like JAMA...funny how some of the aspects of the studies that he cites just weren't included or stressed in the outcomes.
After going over all the metabolism...the studies on why reducing calories and increasing exercise just doesn't work...he presents a series of plans to reverse (yes I said reverse) type 2 diabetes. There are several options and one is bound to be workable for most people.
My daughter has a hectic schedule and always complained about diets that required 3 or more meals a day...she doesn't like to eat breakfast and has no time to schedule multiple meals. The four hour intermittent fasting plan worked great for her. After an initial adjustment of about 2 days (headaches which were not relieved by increasing her sodium, my guess was sugar withdrawl), she had no hunger, no cravings and felt great. Within a week her blood sugar was normal. She started this right before the holidays and was concerned about missing holiday dinners...my answer was that of Dr. Fung's: have your dinner, enjoy it and get back on track the next day. She did just that and got through the holidays effortless and satisfied that she wasn't deprived of a thing. She remained on her fasting protocol and just had her meal within that time frame. Her blood glucose was higher the next morning but normalized after one day. She chooses now to have one "cheat meal" each week and for 4 weeks the next morning her blood sugar was higher...but got lower each week and after 4 weeks her morning after a cheat meal her blood glucose was normal!
Within 10 weeks she has lost 46 pounds and is thrilled with her progress. Her doctor is shocked and initially thought the diet was nuts but now wants to know more about it...hence why I ordered 3 copies of this book...perfect for the medical mind.
This diet is basically a ketogenic diet on steroids...great for so many ailments and used by many cancer patients.
I started on the diet myself and found similar results with the exception of my cheat day...maybe because of my age, I do not get into ketoses for days after my cheat day which slows down my weight loss. I have still managed to lose 16 pounds in 3 weeks effortlessly with the exception of the 2 day sugar hangover like my daughter experienced. I have since found a product that will put you into ketoses in a day, but it is very expensive and the taste is...not so great. I use it once a week and it allows me to have that cheat meal once a week without sacrificing my progress.
My guess it that Dr. Fung will become villified for several reasons:
1. His plan works without medicine
2. The drug companies will lose a tremendous amount of money
3. No special foods or supplements to buy
4. No added expenses...in fact my food bills are much lower.
5. He exposes the fact that this information has been available to the medical community for a long time and no one has acted on it.
I highly recommend this book and highly recommend you read through all the facts and figures he goes over...it makes managing your weight and your diabetes much easier over your lifetime without much thought once you know how your body reacts to food.
I also recommend getting an extra copy for your doctor because they will surely think you are nuts when you tell them what you are doing.
I will be eternally grateful to Dr. Fung for giving me the tools to cure my daughter and better serve my patients.
UPDATE: My daughter continues to do well with blood sugars that remain normal, her biggest complaint is that she has to keep buying new clothes. She has found her weight has stalled and after some investigation I realized why...she had been taking MCT oil, about 3 tablespoons a day in pill form (she doesn't eat breakfast and doesn't like the taste of coconut) and she stopped it at the same time her weight loss halted. MCT oil...and there are several like coconut and hazelnut, stay liquid at room temperature. They can be added to food like coffee or smoothies, even salads. I found that I can get back into ketosis at warp speed when I started using it. Amazon has several brands here and I like the 32 ounce Viva labs coconut MCT. I found that although the craving weren't horrible, I missed my sweets. There is a new book from Martina Slajervoa called "Fat Bombs" that I highly recommend. Tons of sweet treats that are keto friendly. I will say I hate stevia and it's aftertaste, but found Swerve to be a great substitute. I will also warn you that if you don't use MCT oil in many of the recipes and sub coconut oil in it's more solid form, the results are not nearly as good. The chocolate hazelnut smoothie does it for me...sometimes I sub ice for all the water and I get a soft serve like ice cream that tastes like I'm cheating. The MCT oil helps me get right back into ketosis after my cheat days without buying that expensive, horrible tasting powered drink I was using. She also has a book on ketogenic recipes in general that I found very helpful as she has many dinner recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. I have taken my blood sugar both before and an hour after eating these "Fat Bomb" treats, (I'm not diabetic) and my blood sugar stayed the same or went lower...that was using the Swerve, which is expensive but worth it and a bit cheaper if bought in the 3 pack as I do.
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Immediate Results - my doctor won't see me now
I have so much to say that I don't know where to begin. I am new and just started the fasting. I saw improved results almost immediately. I am taking two shots a day-- victoza and lantus. I hate both of them. I will admit I have not been a great patient with the meds -- metformin not a problem but the shots are. Along came Dr. Fung's book. In two weeks, I noticed results immediately. I had not seen my endocrinologist in 6 months. (They are hard to find where I live and I had to cancel one appt. and it took 3 more months to get another.) I was thrilled to start Dr. Fung's Intermittent fasting and thought my specialist would have to agree. She didn't. In fact, she discharged me from her care yesterday. In spite of the good results and cutting my insulin in half over the last two weeks, she wrote a discharge letter to my primary care doctor stating that I am non compliant. She even quoted me in the letter, when I told her about the fasting idea/concept. I had printed off several copies of interviews with Dr. Fung. She didn't look at them. She will no longer treat me. Why? Because I mentioned IF therapy. Prior to starting with the fasting my numbers were in the 300s with no medication. I started the fasting and am using half of my meds, and I so pleased about that. I just thought she would share my enthusiasm. Instead, all I got was the " I follow the guidelines of the ADA". I am just so frustrated - Her last words were "Lantus is your friend. Do not make it your enemy". I explained that I cannot lose weight on it and that I dislike the 2 shots a day I am taking and that it is keeping me fat. She didn't want to hear it. So in closing, I will have to go about this on my own and manage my diabetes through the book and without her help. We live in an area where there are so few specialists for diabetes and it takes a long long time to get an appt. Now she has written me off as if I am a bad patient not following orders. I feel like Elaine on Seinfeld- remember that one? The doctors all wrote each other notes about her bad behaviour. Wish I could be treated by Dr. Fung. Any advice?
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- freddieReviewed in the Netherlands on May 14, 2023
Its all about hormones
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Para una mejor salud mediante la dieta
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