How to Reverse Diabetes by Patrick Quillin, PhD,RD,CNS

The ultimate handbook for using foods, supplements and lifestyle changes to slow and reverse the complications of diabetes.

Chapter 4
Malnutrition in America
Nutrition Survival Facts

"Our way of life is related to our way of death."
- The Framingham study, Harvard University

Most Americans know more facts about their favorite baseball team than basic facts on nutrition. Most Americans "live to eat", but fail to realize that all forms of life on earth must "eat to live". Understanding some basics about nutrition and the nutritionally bankrupt food that permeates our American diet is crucial for you, the diabetic (or non diabetic reader, to start a healthier lifestyle.

Howard Hughes, the multi-billionaire, died of malnutrition. It is hard to believe that there can be malnutrition in this agriculturally abundant nation of ours --- but there is. At the time of the Revolutionary War, 96% of Americans farmed while only 4% worked at other trades. Tractors and harvesting combines became part of an agricultural revolution that allowed the 2% of Americans who now farm to feed the rest of us. We grow enough food in this country to feed ourselves, to make half of us overweight, to throw away enough food to feed 50 million people daily, to ship food overseas as a major export, and to store enough food in government surplus bins to feed Americans for a year if all farmers quit today. With so much food available, how can Americans be malnourished? The answer is: poor food choices. Amerians choose their food based upon taste, cost, convenience and psychological gratification--thus ignoring the main reason that we eat, which is to provide our body cells with the raw materials to grow, repair and fuel our bodies. The most commonly eaten foods in America are white bread, coffee and hot dogs. Based upon our food abundance, Americans could be the best nourished nation on record. But we are far from it.

Causes of Nutrient Deficiencies
8 Don't eat it
8 Don't absorb it.
8 Don't keep it. Increased excretion or loss of nutrients can be due to diarrhea, vomiting or drug interactions.
8 Don't get enough. Increased nutrient requirements can be due to fever, disease (like diabetes), alcohol or drug interactions.

Are you confused about why we Americans spend $1.5 trillion per year on medical care, more than any other nation in history, and another $20 billion at the National Institutes of Health for health research (mostly drug development) and then somehow have twice the incidence of diabetes compared to ten years ago? You might be surprised at what sells best in American grocery stores.

MOST POPULAR GROCERY ITEMS IN AMERICA
1. Marlboro cigarettes
2. Coke Classic
3. Pepsi Cola
4. Kraft processed cheese
5. Diet coke
6. Campbell's soup
7. Budweiser beer
8. Tide detergent
9. Folger's coffe
10. Winston cigarettes
From "1992 Top Ten Almanac" by Michael Robbins

Overwhelming evidence from both government and independent scientific surveys show that 92% of Americans do not get the Recommended Dietary Allowances for all essential nutrients.

Specifically, we are low in our intake of:

VITAMINS: A,D,E,C,B-6, riboflavin, focacin, pantothenate
MINERALS: calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, chromium, selenium; and possibly molybdenum and vanadium.
MACRONUTRIENTS: fiber, complex carbohydrates, plant protein, special fatty acids (EPA, GLA, ALA, CLA), clean water

Meanwhile, we also eat alarmingly high amounts of: fat, salt, sugar, cholesterol, alcohol, caffeine, food additives and toxins.

This combination of too much of the wrong things along with not enough of the right things has created epidemic proportions of degenerative diseases in this country, including diabetes. The Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, National Acedamy of Sciences, American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association, and most other major public health agencies agree that diet is a major contributor to our most common health problems. Even the conservative report from the Surgeon General states: " Some estimates suggest that new cases of diabetes could be reduced by nearly half by preventing obesity in middle-aged adults."

The typical diet of the diabetic patient is high in fat while being low in fiber and vegetables--"meat, potatoes, and gravy" is what many of my patients lived on. Data collected by the United States Department of Agriculture from over 11,000 Americans showed that on any given day:
41 percent did not eat any fruit
82 percent did not eat cruciferous vegetables
72 percent did not eat vitamin C-rich fruits or vegetables
80 percent did not eat vitamin A-rich fruits or vegetables
84 percent did not eat high fiber grain food, like bread or cereal

The human body is incredibly resilient, which sometimes works to our disadvantage. No one dies on the first cigarette inhaled, or the first drunken evening, or the first decade of unhealthy eating. We misconstrue the fact that we survived this ordeal to mean we can do it forever. Not so. Malnutrition can be as blatant, as the starving babies in third world countries. Malnutrition can also be much more subtle.

MACRONUTRIENTS: We eat protein, carbohydrates, and fats in large quantities, hence they are sometimes referred to as macronutrients (meaning "big" nutrients). Ever notice how our incidence of diabetes, waistlines and bus seats are expanding along with our expected rations of soft drinks at the movie theatre?

AMERICANS DRINKING LIKE HUMMINGBIRDS?
365 Soft Drinks (12 OZ)/Person=15 bil gallons/yr
1/3 teen boys drink at least 3 cans/day

Increasing incidence of obesity, diabetes, & some cancers

Average maximum size of soft drinks in movie theatres
1960s - 8 oz
1970s - 12 oz
1980s - 24 oz.
1990s - 32 oz.

We also eat fiber, which is indigestible parts of plant foods. Since fiber is indigestible and therefore cannot enter the bloodstream, scientist assumed back in the 1950s that fiber was useless and stripping it from the food supply was totally acceptable. Bad idea. Logic would assume that something found in our food supply for thousands of years must have a purpose. Yet, it was not until the 1970s that a British physician, Dennis Burkitt, working in Africa noticed and entirely different set of diseases among Africans who ate a high fiber diet compared to Europeans and Americans who eat a highly refined low fiber diet.

Fiber may be one of the more important elements in your diabetes recovery program. Fiber binds up toxins and fat in the intestines, carrying them out with the feces. Fiber slows down the absorption of carbohydrates and improves the glycemic index of foods. Soluble fiber, such as found in many vegetables, oat bran, sea vegetables, legumes and other foods will be outlined in the "superfoods" section later on.

MICRONUTRIENTS. We consume vitamins (like C,E,A,D, and the B vitamins) and minerals (like selenium, chromium, and magnesium) in smaller quantities, hence and the name "micro", meaning small.

The reason I bring up these basic nutrition facts is the many Americans are suffering from long term subclinical deficiencies of various nutrients that can induce or worsen diabetes. In the chapter on "nutritional supplements that may be of benefit" you will learn about vitamins, minerals, herbs, food extracts, and fatty acids that may dramatically improve the course of health for the diabetic. You might ask: "Why do I need these nutrients now? If I have been low in my intake of them all along, then why didn't I get sick earlier?"

In the hierarchy of nutrient needs, we must have oxygen first; because 5 minutes without oxygen and we are dead. Next in line is water. We can last a couple of days without water. Next is calories, since we can live for 2 months or more without any food intake, other than water. Next are the micronutrients of vitamins and minerals. It might take 20 years of low intake of calcium to bring about osteoporosis, or hollowing of the bones. It might take 20-40 years of low intake of vitamin E to bring about excess rusting of fats in the bloodstream and a fatal heart attack. These nutrient deficiencies do not surface quickly, but they are important in the long run. Surviving does not equal thriving. We may be able to survive for decades without optimal amounts of chromium in the diet, but we become a ticking time bomb waiting for some health disaster to occur. More on this subject when we talk about nutritional supplements in an upcoming chapter.

Many diabetics suffer from long term low intake of a wide assortment of nutrients. In some cases, diabetics need more than the average healthy person, as in the case of vitamin C. In some cases, few Americans get enough of these nutrients, such as chromium, magnesium, or fish oil.

This chapter was included to provide you with some basic facts regarding common malnutrition in the "healthy" American, and even more common malnutrition in the "well controlled" diabetic, which then leads to many nasty complications. We are going to make sure that you are optimally nourished, which will dramatically improved the course of your diabetes.

The KISS (keep it simple, student) method of optimal nutrition
a Go natural. Eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible. Refining food often adds questionable agents (like food additives, salt, sugar and fat), removes valuable nutrients (like vitamins, minerals, and fiber) and always raises the cost of the food.

a Expand your horizons. Eat a wide variety of foods. By not focusing on any particular food, you can obtain nutrients that may be essential but are poorly understood while also avoiding a buildup of any substance that could create food allergies or toxicities.

a Nibbling is better. Eat small frequent meals. Nibbling is better than gorging. Our ancestors "grazed" throughout the day. Only with the advent of the industrial age did we begin the punctual eating of large meals. Nibbling helps to stabililze blood sugar levels and minimize insulin rushes; therefore has been linked to a lowered risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity and mood swings.

a Looking at a healthy meal plate, have one third of your plate covered with lean and clean protein (see below), one third of your plate covered with wholesome low glycemic cooked plant food (such as oatmeal, steamed vegetables, or roasted walnuts), and the remaining one third of your plate covered with fresh, raw colorful vegetables and fruits (with heavy emphasis on the colorful veggies).

LOOKING AT A HEALTHY MEAL PLATE

g 1/3 RAW FRUIT & VEGETABLE
Tomato, spinach, carrot, peppers, fruit, broccoli, cabbage, onion, etc
g 1/3 LEAN PROTEIN
fish, wild game, poultry, lean beef, eggs, brewers yeast, beans, dairy, spirulina, kelp,
g 1/3 COOKED PLANT FOOD
oatmeal, beans, bread, tortilla, pasta, yams, nuts, grains, legumes, cooked vegetables

a Seek out nutrient-dense foods. Maximize your intake of life-giving foods, including fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruit, low fat meat (turkey, fish, chicken) and clean water. Low fat dairy products, especially yogurt, can be valuable if you do not have milk allergies or lactose intolerance.

a Monitor your quality of weight, rather than quantity of weight. Balance your calorie intake with expenditure so that your percentage of body fat is reasonable. Pinch the skinfold just above the hipbone. If this skin is more than an inch in thickness, then you may need to begin rational efforts to lose weight. Obesity is a major factor in diabetes. How much you weigh is not nearly as crucial as the percent of fat in the body. Skinfold thickness above the hipbone is a decent way of monitoring your percent body fat.

a Eat enough protein. Take in 1 to 2 grams of protein for each kilogram of body weight. Example: 150 pound patient. Divide 150 lbs by 2.2 to find 68 kilograms, multiply times 1 to 2, yields 68 to 136 grams of protein daily is needed.

a Use supplements in addition to, rather than instead of, good food. Get your nutrients with a fork and spoon. Do not place undo reliance on pills and powders to provide optimal nourishment. Supplements providing micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) cannot reverse the major influence of foods providing macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein, fiber, water). Foods are top priority in your battle plan against diabetes.

a Shop the perimeter of grocery store. On the outside of your grocery store you will find fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, fish, chicken and diary. Once you venture into the deep dark interior of the grocery store, nutritional quality of the foods goes way down and the prices go way up. Organic produce is raised without pesticides and may be valuable in helping diabetcs. However, organic produce is unavailable or unaffordable for many people. Don't get terribly concerned about having to consume organic produce. Any produce that cannot be peeled should be soaked for 5 minutes in a solution of one gallon lukewarm clean water with 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

a If a food will not rot or sprout, then don't buy it, throw it out. Your body cells have similar biochemical needs to a bacteria or yeast cell. Foods that have a shelf life of a millenia are not going to nourish the body. Think about it: if bacteria is not interested in your food, then what makes you think that your body cells are interested? Foods that cannot begin (sprouting) or sustain (bacterial growth) life elsewhere, will have a similar effect in your body.

a Dishes should be easy to clean. Foods that are hard to digest or unhealthy will probably leave a mess on plates and pots. Dairy curd, such as fondue, is both difficult to clean and very difficult for your stomach to process. Same thing with fried, greasy or burned foods.

PATIENT PROFILE

J.T. was quite an athlete in his college days, but business luncheons and TV weekends turned his muscle into fat. It was his near fatal heart attack that brought his doctor's attention to J.T.'s Type 2 diabetes. J.T. had 2 choices: continue the route he had been traveling, which would probably kill him within a few years, or heed my advice and begin a healthy lifestyle program. He chose the latter. Within 6 months on the diet provided in this book, J.T. lost 60 lbs., lost 12 inches around his waiste, was able to resume his favorite game of tennis and was most impressed by his returned mental alertnesss, which brought his marriage and job into higher levels.

DR. QUILLIN'S ULTIMATE HEALTHY TIPS

1. EAT GOD'S FOOD, NOT MANKIND'S FOOD.
2. MAINTAIN A HEALTHY GUT ENVIRONMENT THROUGH FIBER, FLUID AND PROBIOTICS.
3. TAKE BALANCED SUPPLEMENTS IN ADDITION TO, RATHER THAN INSTEAD OF, GOOD EATING.
4. MINIMIZE INTAKE OF FAT, SWEETS, SALT, AND ALCOHOL.
5. EXERCISE & EAT TO LEANNESS--PINCH AN INCH ABOVE THE HIPBONE.
6. DRINK LOTS OF CLEAN WATER.
7. EMPHASIZE LEAN MEAT AND VEGETABLES; WITH SOME WHOLE GRAINS, LEGUMES, FRUITS, AND NUTS.
8. TOLERANCE --90% NUTRIENT DENSE "GOOD"FOOD, 10% "OTHERS".
9. DETOXIFY-- CLEANSE THE BODY AND AVOID POISONS.
10. LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, LEARN, FORGIVE, SING PRAISES, SEEK PEACE.

ENDNOTES:

1.Quillin, P., Healing nutrients, p. 43, Vintage Books, NY, 1989

2. Surgeon Generals report on Nutrition and Health, p.255, US Govt. Printing Office, Washington, 1988

3. Patterson, BH, and Block, G., American Journal of Public Health, vol 78, p.282, Mar.1988