The last two posts have been about the complications of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol and their relationship to genes that are abnormally switched on. When I had completed my cancer treatment for diffuse large cell lymphoma, I weighed 307 pounds, and I was six feet and two inches tall. The picture above was taken at about that time. Then, the Diabetes Prevention Program Study came out in 2002. That is just over 20 years ago and not long after that, I learned that I was prediabetic. Normal fasting blood sugar is less than 100. Mine was 107. I was prediabetic and that meant that I had an increased risk of diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program proved that weight loss or metformin prevented moving from prediabetes to diabetes. Many think of this as an either/or proposition. Not me. I had just had cancer and that was a miserable experience. I wanted to preserve my health as much as I could. My blood pressure also got as high as 160/100, my triglycerides as high as 350 and my HDL or good cholesterol as low as 35. I have also had gout. These findings are all components of the metabolic syndrome.
The party line at the time was that obesity was due to eating too much fat. I tried low fat diets and low-calorie diets, and I could lose weight briefly but I could not sustain the loss. I hated being fat. It made it so much harder to talk about diet and weight loss with my patients. It was about this time that I learned about restricting sugar and carbs in the diet. My first introduction to the whole, real food approach was the South Beach Diet and helped me . By 2009, Dr. David Kessler wrote The End of Overeating. That really helped. For the first time, I understood that this had been done to me. I wasn’t weak. I had plenty of self control. I just needed to understand why I was fat and do something about it. He described how processed and fast food companies combine fat, salt, sugar, and carbs to create foods that are addictive. Potato chips are so good “no one can eat just one.” Once I understood why I was fat, I could lose weight. I started eating real, whole food—lean meat, eggs, low fat dairy, seafood, fruit, vegetables, beans, peas, and nuts. I eat plenty of food and it satisfies my hunger. That is why this approach is much easier.
Over the years I have lost 63 pounds and I have kept it off. I am still slowly losing weight. The top number (systolic) on my blood pressure is consistently between 115 and 125.
Blood Pressure 2023 118/82
Weight Aug 2023 244
Fasting sugar April 2023 95
Triglycerides Oct 2022 99
HDL cholesterol Oct 2022 32
LDL cholesterol Oct 2022 24
Hemoglobin A1c Oct 2022 5.4
Even though all my numbers are well within the most aggressive target range, I still take Losartan 50 mg. a day, eplerenone 25 mg a day, atorvastatin 20 mg a day, and metformin 1500 mg. a day. I don’t merely talk about the epigenetic, antioxidant, organ protective, and anti-inflammatory effects of these drugs. I take them myself even though my “risk factor” numbers are all in good control. I don’t just talk the talk; I walk the walk. None of this is hard. I have no side effects and I eat plenty of food. I don’t worry about how much I eat. I eat whole, real food and I stop eating when I am no longer hungry. You can live a longer healthier life. Give it a shot!
I totally agree with that. Nutrition is the root cause absolutely and you can absolutely prevent diabetes. Absolutely. Diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease are on the rise because we changed what we eat. Since we stopped eating real food 60 years ago, there are 10 times as many type 2 diabetics as there were then. If we just ate real, whole food that would make a big difference. Lean meat, eggs, seafood, fruit, vegetables, beans, peas, and nuts. Big food combines fat, salt, sugar, and carbs to make food that is addictive. People like me can't stop eating it.
Your voice is important. You understand the critical role of food. When we eat this addictive food it produces increased abdominal fat that switches on genes in the fat that cause increased blood pressure, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance. They cause increase oxidant production that increases inflammation and kills the functional cells in organs like the pancreas, kidney, and heart. It is all related and it requires a comprehensive strategy to protect us. But you are right. Diet is the root cause. You are obviously a very smart guy and you can easily learn enough to know how to protect yourself and those you care about.
https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-05-2009/why_we_eat_too_muchinterview_with_david_kessler_author_of_the_end_of_overeating_taking_control_of_the_insatiable_american_appetite.html
Thanks for sharing, Bill. From my years of independent data mining experience developing our technology, I truly believe that if we early and accurately detect the metabolic heart dysfunction and urge the evidence-based data-driven lifestyle optimization measures to reduce or reverse the early signs of diabetes, most people will respond and do much better, less likely to develop these chronic diseases. These do NOT have to be our destiny.