person will note that a steak or rack of lamb or a broiled half chicken plus a tossed green salad with Italian dressing will raise the blood-sugar level no more than 20 points, if at all.
I have looked extensively but have not found a single scientific study showing that the highercarbohydrate diet achieves better control over diabetes than the controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach that is Atkins. Certainly my clinical experience supports the position that the Atkins Nutritional Approach is the preferred nutritional treatment for Type II diabetes.
The Two Types of Diabetes
At this point we should take one step back to clarify that the two types of diabetes are truly so different that they should be considered two quite different illnesses. This chapter addresses only Type II diabetes.
• Type I diabetes typically occurs in childhood or early adulthood and is unrelated to dietary habits. It appears to be an autoimmune disorder, in which the body mistakenly attacks the pancreas, largely or totally destroying its capacity to produce insulin. Only five to ten percent of all diabetics are Type I.
• Type II diabetes is caused by a genetic propensity for the disease combined with improper eating habits. The research done by Cleave( referred to on page 314) showed that certain genetically predisposed races and cultures do not get Type II diabetes until exposed to significant amounts of refined carbohydrates.( I should point out, however, that it is possible to be at risk for Type II diabetes even if you don ' t have a family history of the illness.)
The great majority of people who suffer from Type II diabetes actually produce more insulin than do those who don ' t suffer from the illness. The reason the diabetics have elevated bloodsugar levels is not due to lack of insulin, but rather to insulin resistance. Therefore, insulin and insulinstimulating drugs usually make matters worse. Only in the later stages of Type II diabetes does a person ' s insulin output decline.
Don ' t Underestimate the Danger
I fear that many of you think of diabetes as a rather innocuous condition that requires very little self-denial. " Oh, well," you may say, " if my blood sugar is out of control, I can take a pill to control it." Or if you are further along the path to diabetes, you might even say, " I ' ll just have to take insulin and watch the way I eat." Don ' t flirt with that radically incorrect viewpoint. Diabetes can be an innocuous condition all right, but only if you eat appropriately. If you don ' t, diabetes can be a heartbreaking scourge. It ' s the largest single cause of new cases of blindness in the United States. It ' s also the leading cause of kidney failure, a giant stepping-stone toward heart disease, and can so severely damage the circulatory system that eighty-six thousand Americans yearly suffer amputations.' I won ' t catalogue any more horrors. Instead, heed my many years of clinical experience: If you are at risk for diabetes, you have to make a lifetime pledge to stay away from those foods known to turn it into a grim collection of maladies. I can think of few illnesses I would sooner avoid.
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