Preface
I have nothing against Vegetarians, Vegans etc … I actually attempted Veganism before my diabetes diagnosis. I tried many times… but never went an entire day without eating meat.
I do believe they are misguided from a nutritional standpoint but I truly wish them all well.
I love to experiment with different meal plans… and honestly, I would LOVE to experiment with a vegetarian / vegan diet again… but before I do, I want to talk to at LEAST one person who has done what I have done… on a vegan/vegetarian diet.
Specifically, I want to talk to at least one Type 2 Diabetic, who follows a vegan meal plan AND who has weaned OFF all drugs and insulin while maintaining normal blood sugar…
I have asked this question of many on many different social outlets. I’ve been given one name … and when I called, the gentleman was a Type 1 Diabetic… still taking insulin of course.
More on this later in coming posts………
Today’s Post Topic
I do NOT have a high opinion of any ‘news organization’ … especially when it comes to ‘diabetes care’ or any medical related content. They are all pretty much drinking the Kool Aid being served by the ‘medical industry‘.
However … EVEN I was surprised and disappointed at this article.
This article is an example of a hidden agenda by the author and in this case, Fox News too. It’s so obvious once you really look at the evidence.
The Article
“Type 2 Diabetes Rates Rising” … even the title is boring. I think most people on the planet know that obesity and it’s evil twin diabetes are ravaging the world… not just the West. This news is hardly ‘new news’.
When I first skimmed the article I thought, ” ho hum’ … just a regurgitation of past news regarding diabetes… certainly nothing new. I thought it was odd that it appeared in the ‘Health News” section on the Fox News website.
The date of this ‘news article’ is 8/22/2011 … odd that it pointed to an article that was published June 25. 2011 in the Washington Post, “Diabetes becoming Alarming Common“. Why wait two months to publish a NEWS article??? Oh…and the study? It was published by “The Lancet”… and guess who funded the study??? Bill Gates Foundation… which bought millions of shares of Monsanto last year. The second funder listed was the World Health Organization …
Something didn’t feel right.
The article continues on talking about ‘the study’ … and it quotes of course… an ADA MINION from the American Diabetes Association, you can check out the article if you want the quotes… it’s the same tired, failed advice.
AND As Expected … guess what they recommend for nutrition to stem the tide of diabetes?
“…simply eating a balanced diet of healthy whole foods and by engaging in moderate physical exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.”
No news there… I mean, who proclaims “Eat unhealthy and ONLY EAT PARTIAL FOODS!” … many do recommend unhealthy, partial foods… but they do not use those words.
The article was a major <YAWN> until I got to this point … from the author…
Notes:
1. Gabriel Cousens – wow… there is no mention of vegetarianism or veganism in the article … but this guy is a vegan ‘juicer’ … here’s a excerpt from his book. (picture to the right)
Dr. Cousens’s method, widely tested at his famous Tree of Life centers, is to reset the DNA through green juice fasting and a 100% organic, nutrient-dense, vegan, low-glycemic, low-insulin-scoring, and high-mineral diet of living foods in the first twenty-one days.
2. Dr. Neal Barnard – he’s pushing a ‘low fat vegan’ diet for diabetics….wow. Two for two!
Here’s an excerpt from his website regarding the book to cure diabetes.
“…a low-fat vegan diet—that can help many patients cut their blood sugars, improve their insulin sensitivity, and reduce—if not eliminate—their medications.”
Lastly…
Deidre Imus the author, I Googled Deidre Imus … I knew of her. Don Imus is her husband, the radio/talk show host. They are both vegetarians according to this Wikipedia page.
When you click on her name link in the article, there is no ‘bio’ … only more articles she’s authored. So ‘we’ the readers of her article have no idea of her background nor credentials … except that she’s written some books and she’s a Fox News Contributor….
Summary
News? How can this be labeled as “news“? First of all… Deidre Imus as a news reporter on health and medical affairs? The article she ‘reported on’ was posted in a newspaper TWO MONTHS AGO. AND in the body of the article there is NO MENTION of veganism nor vegetarianism. But she ‘recommends’ two books/programs that just happen to be VEGAN.
Fair and Balanced? For this to be balanced, we would need at least a couple of sources promoting a High Animal Fat, High Animal Protein meal plan.
Transparent? … Fox News gives politicians a difficult time (and they deserve it) about a lack of transparency.
But then Fox News pulls THIS??? They have NO room to talk about the lack of transparency. They publish ‘old’ news that includes pro-vegan programs for ‘treating diabetes’.
In the body of the article…there was NOT one mention of vegetarianism, no mention of veganism.
People PLEASE listen to me… Click on this link and read the articles and studies I’ve posted on…. I urge you.
Why? … so you’ll see that so much of what we read is tainted by money and self serving agendas.
Last word:
The article was not news, it was not fair, it was not balanced and the article was not transparent in it’s hidden agenda.
Frankly this situation reminds me of ads you see on the internet… proclaiming a great “diabetes diet” … diabetes friendly etc … only to click on the link and end up on a Big Pharma drug site… :(
In ALL you read… question critically, yes… even this blog. :)
Thank you Steve. I’ll be 49yrs old in Sept. Before I started eating low carb, I followed a raw vegan diet. In fact it was Gabriel Cousens diabetes plan(did it for about 5months) I ran into his plan by accident, and did it out of deparation. Desparation to get off the prescription pill cocktail I was taking everyday. The raw foor/vegan diet did help my blood sugar come down from 425=A1c 14 to 120=7,Tryclicerides of 1180(yes you did read that right)to 160 without medication. However, I was feeling very weak, and frail. However, had incredicle mental clarity(I think due to not having blood sugars in the 400’s) I lost weight, but it was mostly muscle. My arms and legs looked like twigs. Which seems to happen to most vegans. Now, I’ve been doing a low carb/paleo diet for about 6weeks, and I feel like a million bucks. I’m on my 5th week of P90x and feel great, very energetic and alive. I haven’t lost alot of weight, but I’ve lost alot of body fat, specially in my stomach area. My arms and legs are starting to fill out, and my strength is coming back. My fasting blood sugars are in the 70’s even though I’m taking a small dose of Metformin at this time(which I will be off of soon). Steve the Vegan diet does work to a certain extent, by it sucks the life out of you. I still follow some of the vegan veggie principals, but now they have plenty of meat and fat to accompany them. Please excuse me for my writing. I’m not used to writing on some of these forums.
Wow… thank you very much Rob for that testimony!!
I have no doubt that a vegan meal plan can reduce A1Cs / blood sugar levels…especially for those with previously existing high levels, and same for your Trigs… and wow were they both high.
Congrats to YOU for reducing them and taking action sir! … 70’s for Overnight Fasting Blood Sugar = AWESOME!!!!
Fox might fair and balanced, but they need to stick to politics….LOL