Every couple of weeks my father and I catch up for a one-on-one coffee/tea. Aside from the fact that I love him and he’s my dad, he has a wealth of knowledge to share (all you need to do is listen). Having served his country in two wars, moved overseas (several times!), worked his way “up the ladder” in corporate industry and successfully owned and managed retail shoe shops, he has a massive amount of life experience.
He also has Type 2 Diabetes.
Having been diagnosed in 1996, he recalls that the specialist doctor said to him that at the moment his blood sugar levels can be managed with just diet and exercise; but Diabetes is a degenerative disease so you can expect it to get much worse over the years to come. My father said that he was angered and upset by this “information” at the time, but that the doctor must have known best.
Fast forward a few years, and my father had a heart attack in 1999. He had surgery to have a stent put in to one of his coronary arteries. During these years his Diabetes did get progressively worse, despite following the prescribed diet (low GI carbohydrates and low fat) and exercising daily. Three years later, my father suffered another myocardial infarct, with no surgery performed on this occasion. Since then his Diabetes and heart health have been all over the place, with intermittent attacks of angina and fluctuating blood glucose levels (which were getting progressively worse). The amount of daily prescribed medications is a sight to see! There’s medications for his blood pressure, medications for his heart, medications for his diabetes, medications for a stomach ulcer, medication for reflux, “preventative” medications, and the list goes on.
Let’s fast track to our coffee catch up today… my father said that he had an appointment with the Diabetes specialist doctor a couple of days ago. Some of his results as follows: his HbA1c (overall picture of what our average blood sugar levels have been over a period of weeks/months) is at 6.2 (lowest it’s been in over a decade), his blood pressure is normal, Cholesterol is “very good” according to the doctor (my father “failed” to mention to the doctor that he has been off his Cholesterol lowering medication for over 6 weeks), his attacks of angina have drastically reduced and he’s at his lowest adult weight.
But wait there’s more… over the past several months my father has drastically reduced a lot of his medications (both in consultation with his GP and specialist doctor). When my father told the doctor what he had been doing for the past several months (LCHF – Low Carb Healthy Fat, of course! As prescribed by Vicky, his loving daughter-in-law), the doctor said that he would caution him against cutting out whole food groups, and he would have most likely had the same result if he cut out eating proteins. He also said that the only reason he is doing so well is because he has lost weight, and it has nothing to do with drastically reducing his carbohydrate intake. Are you serious!!! This is a doctor that specialises in the fight against Diabetes. Or perhaps I am being a little too altruistic… maybe this is a doctor that specialises in the medically prescribed pharmaceuticals to control Diabetes?
There is something seriously wrong with the system. This is just one anecdotal case that is close to my heart. It’s exciting times in evidence based environmental and nutritional medicine, with mainstream “health” constantly being challenged (e.g. Heart Foundation Tick Program). Do your research before starting out on any change in lifestyle or diet. Gather your information from trusted and reliable sources. And enjoy your journey to better health, improved energy and enhanced performance.
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