We have learned in the book, The China Study, by T. ColinCampbell, Ph.D., how food affects our health.  We have learned that eating the wrong proteins can cause cancer.

Today we will  take a look at the effects that diet has on diabetes.  Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes seen in adults who are obese.

American Diabetes Assocation Statistics About Diabetes. Overall Numbers, Diabetes and Pre-diabetes.

In 2015, 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population, had diabetes. Approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2015 based on the 79,535 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death. In 2015, diabetes was mentioned as a cause of death in a total of 252,806 certificates.

Updated March 22, 2018

• $327 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2017
• $237 billion for direct medical costs
• $90 billion in reduced productivity

After adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.

This is mind boggling isn’t it?

Side effects of type 2 diabetes can include:

• heart disease
• stroke
• hypertension
• blindness and eye problems
• kidney disease
• nervous system complications
• amputations
• foot problems
• dental disease
• pregnancy complications
• mental health problems, such as depression
• skin issues

You do know there is hope?  The food we eat has an enormous influence on this disease.  Nearly a hundred years ago, H.P. Himsworth compiled all the existing research at the time from six different countries on diet and diabetes.  What he found was that some cultures were consuming high fat diets, while other consumed high carbohydrates.

As carbohydrate intake increases and fat intake decreases the number of deaths from diabetes plummets.  A high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet which is plant-based may help prevent diabetes.  These studies have been replicated through the years and proven to be accurate.

Science has proven through blood analysis that by decreasing the meat intake and increasing the plant-based diet that the benefits in health restoration were impressive.  Patients with Type 1 diabetes were able to reduce their insulin medication dose by an average of 40%.

So, why is it that Americans will not take this simple step to save their own lives?  It has been my experience in working in the medical field for a few decades that Americans are lazy.  We want someone else to fix our problems for us.  I have had numerous patients through the years tell me that the doctor can just increase their dose of diabetic medication.  They were not willing to change their diet, yet they are willing to endure a lifetime of injections.

I find this very disturbing, that an individual will place self- indulgence over their very life.  This type of self indolence leads to death.  Is it really worth it?

My guess is that your family would say it’s not worth it!