The Benefits of the Carnivore Diet for Diabetics and PreDiabetics
Early humans ate a high-fat, carnivore diet for years, and we remained healthy. Diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity were non-existent. Lately, in the year 2016, 1.6 million people died as a result of diabetes. Another 2.2 million died due to high blood sugar levels.
The government released the food pyramid in 1974 and told us to eat lots of grains while limiting our fat consumption. What happened next? Our health went down the drain. Diabetes became the norm.
We should go back to our roots and learn from what early humans ate. In this post, we’ll cover what causes diabetes and the benefits of the carnivore diet for diabetics and pre-diabetics.
Ready? Let’s get started.
What causes diabetes?
When you eat a high-carb diet, the pancreas releases insulin that transports glucose into the body cells, where it can be used for energy.
The more carbs you eat, the more insulin your pancreas must make. Over time, the pancreas is so overworked that it cannot produce insulin anymore. This leads to high glucose levels in the blood. This condition is known as diabetes.
How the Carnivore Diet Lowers Your Insulin Levels?
Unlike carbs, fats and proteins do not stimulate your pancreas to produce insulin. A high-fat, low-carb carnivore diet requires your pancreas to make far less insulin than a standard American diet since there isn’t much glucose in the blood. This means your pancreas isn’t working overtime anymore. Other benefits include;
- Quicker weight loss
- Less hunger
- Decreased risk of developing other chronic diseases
The Carnivore Diet Regulates Your Cholesterol
We all know that cholesterol isn’t the demon as the media says it is. Cholesterol builds new cells and regulates hormones. Without it, your hormone levels will be all over the place.
France is the perfect example of a population eating lots of cholesterol but having low heart disease rates. The average French person consumes 8.2 kilos of butter per year! They also eat 5 times more saturated fat than what’s considered “healthy”, but has one of the lowest heart disease rates in the world.
On the other hand, Americans eat a diet consisting of 45-65% carbs while having one of the world’s highest rates of heart disease. Also, in 1955 President Eisenhower had a heart attack, and everyone blamed cholesterol. It turns out that his cholesterol levels were 165 mg/dl, well below 200mg/dl, which is considered safe.
Cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease; it builds cell membranes and protects them against infection. A study done in 2001 found that low cholesterol levels lead to a high risk of mortality. Another study done at a nursing home in France found similar findings.
Popular carnivore foods like steak, eggs, organ meats, and butter are great at increasing cholesterol regulation.
The Carnivore Diet Lowers Your Blood Glucose Levels
Diabetes impacts your blood glucose levels because your pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to transport glucose to your cells. This causes glucose to stay in your bloodstream.
The carnivore diet allows diabetics and pre-diabetics to maintain healthy glucose levels since there isn’t much glucose in the blood, and the pancreas doesn’t have to make a lot of insulin. The body is forced to enter a state of ketosis, where it breaks down fat for energy.
Can the Carnivore Diet Treat Diabetes?
According to the CDC, diabetes is a chronic condition, meaning it’s a lifelong disease. However, there are countless, proven cases of people curing their diabetes by eating a low-carb, high-fat diet.
A famous example is Tom Watson. In 2018, he reversed his type 2 diabetes after reading The Pioppi Diet by Aseem Malhotra and The Fast Diet by Michael Mosley. Both books recommend the removal of carbs and an increase in fat consumption, just like the carnivore diet. After thorough research, Watson realized carbs were the problem, and not fat. And over a year later, he reversed his type 2 diabetes while losing 44 kilograms.
Professionals like Dr. David Unwin, Dr. Jason Fung, and Dr. Ted Naiman have treated patients with diabetes using a low-carb, high-fat diet like the carnivore diet.
So, is diabetes curable? Yes!
Conclusion
Diabetes is simply a carbohydrate intolerance. And when your body can’t tolerant something, you need to stop eating it. The carnivore diet works because you avoid foods that spike your blood glucose and insulin levels.