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The Issue of Excessive Carb Consumption and Type 2 Diabetes

The number of type 2 diabetics continues to rise worldwide at an alarming rate, despite all the (sensible and less sensible) measures taken. More and more people are discussing it, but very few have any idea what type 2 diabetes is and how it primarily develops.

The title of a lecture I gave some time ago in Austria was: “Diabetes Type 2: In the field of tension between a harmless metabolic derailment and a fatal disease”. Frightening fact: only very few of those affected are aware that they have the course of the insidious diabetes in their own hands for long periods of time. Almost like being able to control yourself with a joystick.

In the last 7 years I got to know many hundreds of diabetics personally and their stories were always similar.

  • Not a single patient was told that in most cases an existing insulin resistance could be reversed by means of a so-called lifestyle therapy.
  • Not a single patient was explained that it is possible to find out whether his own pancreas still produces enough insulin by means of a certain laboratory value called C-peptide.
  • And not a single patient was made aware of the fact that other forms of therapy than drug therapy also exist.

Today I know that nutrition and a little exercise can achieve more than oral antidiabetics and insulin. Even more: If you want to defeat diabetes in the long term, there is no way around lifestyle therapy. Not a single drug on this earth is capable of preventing the progression of diabetes type 2. A simple change in eating habits, however, can!

You can control type 2 diabetes

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Control your metabolism! (Photo by Olia Nayda on Unsplash)

The existing nutrition pyramid is of little help. It fatally still recommends a proportion of carbohydrates to diabetics that is much to high. And also the recently propagated “healthy plate” deals much too little with the fact that diabetics basically show a “carbohydrate intolerance”. Simply because they are no longer able to optimally metabolize carbohydrates. (That’s why our low-carb cakes are diabetic-friendly!)

To recommend carbohydrates to a diabetic (especially those containing starch and those from cereals in general) is about as sensible as recommending dairy products to a person with lactose intolerance or perhaps a particularly gluten-containing diet to a person with celiac disease. (Our cakes are gluten-free as well, by the way ;-))

Do you think that I’m exaggerating? Not at all! Because as long as diabetics continue to load carbohydrates into themselves in this quantity, they will not be able to positively influence the course of the disease. Actually, it is be a quite simple equation: The less carbohydrates (and especially the so-called quickly available ones, such as sugar, bread & pastries from cereals, pasta products, rice & potatoes), the better the blood sugar values as well as the course of insulin resistance. (LOCABA cakes contain no refined sugar.)

Why does nobody tell this to patients, at least according to my experiences in Europe? Don’t ask me…

In my home-country Austria we now have at least 800,000 diabetics (that is 9% of the total population 8,7 millions). In Singapore there were more than 606.000 diabetics (11,8 % of population/5,6 millions) in 2017 at a fast growing rate! It is estimated that in Germany alone every year, around 50,000 amputations are performed as a result of diabetic foot syndrome, and around 250,000 patients suffer from diabetic foot syndrome every year In Singapore, hospitals perform around four diabetes-related amputations a day, or roughly 1,500 a year.

A 2015 report by the International Diabetes Federation revealed that Singapore has the second-highest rate of diabetics among developed nations. 1 in 2 Singaporean adults will have type 2 diabetes by 2050 according to a study from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Let that sink in for a moment.

It is that easy: less carbs, lower blood sugar

Almost each case of type 2 diabetes starts with insulin resistance. And this does not happen overnight. Due to years of malnutrition (as it is now widespread unfortunately) in combination with lack of exercise, we often ruin our bodies in an uncompromising manner.

Insulin resistance is mostly the result of excessive carbohydrate consumption, which overtaxes the pancreas. This is because carbohydrates are converted into glucose in the course of metabolism and insulin is needed to “introduce” blood sugar into the cells. This insulin is formed in the pancreas in the so-called Langerhans islets or Langerhans cells.

Over time, excessive carbohydrate consumption overtaxes the pancreas and our cells become increasingly insensitive to their own insulin. This is the start of insulin resistance and thus also diabetes type 2 disease…

It is not really difficult to see how to avoid, stop and reverse this process. The solution is so simple that it’s mysterious why every affected person does not choose it. We remember the “formula”? The less carbohydrates, the lower the increase in blood sugar.

My personal recommendation for diabetics who still have a well-functioning pancreas (see C-peptide!): Generally limit your carbohydrate consumption a little and – if you are not a top athlete – avoid “quickly available carbohydrates” such as wheat and sugar, as well as pasta, rice and potatoes in general. Those who manage to do this for a few weeks will be able to celebrate their first successes with their next laboratory findings.

From personal experience I know too well that you don’t have to sacrifice your pleasure or taste. Quite the contrary! Especially in the area of desserts, there are now excellent alternatives to the usual sugar bombs! Just try it. It’s worth it, believe me!

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Markus Berndt is is a bestselling author and with his lectures and seminars he has led hundreds of interested Type 2 diabetics out of their lifestyle dead end. Markus lives in Austria and has just recently contributed to the book “MedKitchen” published by the Vienna Medical Council. Markus is (ex) type 2 diabetic and LOCABA’s mastermind.

PS: Believe it or not, but I discovered that my blood sugar is always better if I eat a decent portion of LOCABA Tiramisu after dinner than if I don’t. (Meaning: the postprandial blood sugar level is lower!)