This post will discuss a study that will, according to the article bring about…
A revolution to personalized medicine!!! … here is the original article, “Revolution in Personalized Medicine”.
If you are not familiar with epigenetics, here is a post I wrote, “Your DNA is NOT your Destiny“. Also, here is a 10 minute video (click here) on epigenetics. You don’t need to understand epigenetics for this post… but a good understanding of epigenetics is important, it’s the basis for primal living.
Now… back to the study… :)
1) The study truly does seem … amazing.
“For more than two years, he and his lab pored over his body’s most intimate secrets: the sequence of his DNA, the RNA and proteins produced by his cells, the metabolites and signaling molecules wafting through his blood. They “spied on his immune system as it battled viral infections.”
During the two years he developed type 2 diabetes… This was an AMAZING opportunity to examine how a body changes over a two year period and with DIABETES.
The subject “treated” his diabetes with diet and exercise!!! :)
2) Despite having some of the brightest minds and having the latest diagnostic equipment pouring over his DNA, RNA etc.
“I was not aware of any type-2 diabetes in my family and had no significant risk factors.”
Obviously there is much that we do not know about our DNA/RNA … but that just makes the case for primal living even more compelling. That’s why it’s important to “eat as we were designed to eat”. Avoid those foods that raise inflammation. Avoid those foods that cause you to become sick and cause you to take drugs. That’s why it’s critical to eat, move and live in a manner that reduces inflammation.
Here is how I eat, “My Meal Plan” … here is how I play, “Free Fitness Videos”.
3) Other Studies have proclaimed “MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH!!” regarding our understanding of the human genome… when in fact the only “outcome” was a new drug. Will this study produce the same results? The jury is still out… but the quote below does not hold a lot of promise.
“It’s also an important milestone in the realization of the promise of truly personalized medicine, or tailoring health care to each individual’s unique circumstances.”
I want to make three points…
a) By changing the inputs (diet and exercise) the OUTCOMES changed!! His diabetes symptoms apparently disappeared.
This IS what epigenetics is all about… if you want to change your outcomes, you must change your inputs.
b) Personalized medicine? ... how about personalized disease prevention? Personalized medicine = personalized drugs… which is fine if diet and exercise do not solve the problem.
c) Tailoring Healthcare… that’s the current buzz word in the medical industry…. and it usually comes with a higher price tag and a ‘personalized’ drug regimen… but we’ll see. Here is a post I wrote about “Deathcare not Healthcare“.
4) The subject of this study who obtained diabetes … DID NOT follow the “carb up and shoot up” diabetes treatment’ that is promoted and pushed by the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
“As a result, he was able to immediately modify his diet and exercise to gradually bring his levels back into the normal range and prevent the ongoing tissue damage that would have occurred had the disease gone undiagnosed.”
What??? He didn’t take diabetes drugs and continue to eat and “move” as he did before???
No one told him that “he could eat whatever he wanted”? (as diabetics are told today) … to just “carb up and shoot up”? That by the way, is the advice the vast majority of diabetics are told when they are diagnosed. I speak from personal experience… I was told by a highly trained nutritionist to “eat the food groups”… which include grains, cereals, pasta, breads etc.
5) Much we don’t know about this study.
What changes he did make… to his diet and exercise? I’d hope he went “low carb paleo” and while that is a possibility … it is unlikely. Many people with elevated blood sugars can reduce them with relatively minor diet and exercise changes, especially if it’s detected early.
What were his pre-diagnosis blood sugar numbers and what are they today? So many people are walking around with elevated blood sugars… and their doctors are telling them they are non-diabetic ranges. My personal daily goal is to stay sub 100 mg/dl.
What drugs was he taking before diagnosis, after diagnosis and what drugs is he taking today? The article states that he treated his diabetes with diet and exercise but the article also mentions other illnesses. I’d like to know what illnesses and what drugs he took and is taking to treat them. Why? … because I am drug and illness free. :)
Summary
Maybe someday we’ll be able to provide a blood sample to a lab technician and they can tell us to “eat this, not that”….. but it’s not available today. Until that day comes… GO LOW CARB PALEO!!! … I did. :)
Regarding the extensive information used in this study…
“This is the first time that anyone has used such detailed information to proactively manage their own health,” said Snyder.
Think about it like this… his diabetes was “reversed” using all of this data, acquired via expensive equipment and highly trained scientists….
… huh! … and to think I “did it” with a $20 glucometer (blood sugar meter) from Walmart. :)
In a sense, I’m doing my own experiment … I eat, move and live in a way that reduces my inflammation and reduces illnesses.
I am drug and insulin free… with normal blood sugar for non-diabetics.
In fact, aren’t we are ALL doing our own experiments?
How is your experiment going? … Are you maximizing your body’s potential? Or are you frequently sick…. and on an ever increasing amount of drugs?
Will this study fulfill the statement that this is a “revolution in personalized medicine”? … or will it be just another means to promote a drug? Time will tell.