| Title | : | Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1594865280 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781594865282 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 |
| Publication | : | First published December 26, 2006 |
Until now, most health professionals have considered diabetes a one-way street. Once you developed it, you were stuck with it—and you could anticipate one complication after another, from worsening eyesight and nerve symptoms to heart and kidney problems.
Enter Dr. Neal Barnard, who through a series of groundbreaking studies, the latest funded by the National Institutes for Health, has shown it doesn't have to be that way. By following the diet outlined in this book, readers can control blood sugar three times more effectively than with the American Diabetes Association's diet and, beyond that, improve their bodies' ability to respond to insulin—in effect reversing the defining symptom of the disease. And there's more. Study participants lost weight, were able to cut back on and sometimes even discontinue medications, and left behind tedious exchange plans in favor of delicious foods in generous portions.
It's a new way to treat diabetes. It's about time.
Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs Reviews
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I read this book. I believed what he said. I followed his suggestions and lost 75 pounds. My diabetes has been reversed. This is a good book.
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I'm a soon-to-be former type 2 diabetic, couch potato (those of us who read a lot), who has been on this vegan diet for the past 46 days. The results: I have LOTS of energy. I no longer have cravings for meat, sugar, dairy products or fast foods. I've lost 22 pounds- 2 pant sizes, and I feel GREAT!! I exercise: brisk 40 minute walk every day with a little jogging up the steep inclines. This diet is also recommened by Dr Dean Ornish who claims this vegan diet reverses heart problems. I can believe it. My cholesterol was around 200 and is now 132. It takes a couple of weeks to get over those bad food cravings-it is certainly worth it. Dr Barnard also has a book to help you get over your food cravings which I highly recommend. If you don't like to exercise, you can still lose on average, a pound a week. With all the excess energy this vegan food generates, it's hard not to keep moving. I would also recommend reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. It will open your eyes to what the billion dollar Meat & Dairy Food Industries are doing to convince you how "healthy" their foods are-scary!
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I don't have diabetes. I won this book as part of a package in a fund raising auction.
I found it to be very interesting.
One current theory for the genesis of food allergies is that "leaky guts", porous intestines leak out proteins from our food before those proteins have been broken down into amino acids. These proteins then get out into the blood where the immune system is alerted to them, thus triggering an autoimmune response.
Infants, whose digestive systems are not fully matured, are predisposed to having leaky intestines. They are vulnerable to developing food allergies if they are fed highly allergenic foods too early ( dairy products, soy, wheat, citrus, meat etc ). The proteins leak into their blood stream and their immune systems are inadvertently trained to see these proteins as hazards.
Type 1 diabetes is believed to happen, in part, when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin producing cells of the pancreas ( pages 30 - 35 ). The book describes several studies of children predisposed to type 1 diabetes or children who were on their way to getting it. It turned out that these children's immune systems were "on alert" to attacking proteins found in bovine milk. It has been discovered that portions of those bovine milk proteins were nearly biochemically identical to the children's insulin producing cells.
Wow.
Dr. Barnard's dietary program for type 2 diabetes has been tested in several studies in partnership with the National Institute Of Health. In a nutshell, he prescribes eating low fat ( only 20% of calories from fat, preferably 10% ), high fiber, low glycemic index valued, and vegan foods. That is, each bit of food that a recovering diabetic eats has all of these qualities.
The really interesting part is where the book explains why this works. Too much fat accumulating on the inside of cells causes the mitochondria in those cells to stop burning such fat, which leads to insulin resistance. Though a person's pancreas might be kicking out enough insulin, the insulin no longer has any effect on the cells. The cells will not absorb glucose from the blood stream leading to toxic levels of sugar in the blood.
The diet described above has been proven to reduce the amount of fat within cells, restart the burning of this fat by the mitochonria, reverse insulin resistance, and lower blood sugar levels -- without drugs.
Again, wow.
Weight control is an important part of treating diabetes and this book has a lot of interesting facts about losing weight from the studies of Dr. Barbara Rolls who wrote the book "Volumetrics". Unlike the various quack popular diet book authors out there Dr. Rolls is a highly respected scientist who has been researching how to satisfy hunger with fewer calories.
One thing she learned is that for each 14 gram increase of fiber in a diet ( via food, not supplements ) people will eat until they are full, but they will feel full on 200 fewer calories.
200 fewer calories per day is enough to lose 20 pounds over the course of a year.
Her theory is that weight in the stomach triggers satiation.
Interestingly, her studies found that not any weight will set this response off. Having study participants drink a particular weight of water did nothing for triggering early satiation. However taking in the same weight composed of water and food ( stew ) did.
Dr. Rolls recommends eating foods that have natural "bulk" - a lot of water and a lot of fiber together naturally. To encourage weight loss she advises eating food that has the more weight per a particular amount of calories.
A neat trick offered by the book is to focus on eating foods that have an equal number of calories as grams of weight...or less.
Another simple weight loss trick offered by Dr. Barnard is to do a "quick fiber check" when your weight loss seems to be slowing down. He has a set value of points for servings of legumes, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. You count the number of servings of each you have every day. If your points add up to less than 40 and you want more weight loss you eat more food from those groups of foods.
The book also gave a very clear introduction to the disease of diabetes in accessible, but not dumbed down language that I found fascinating. -
Thank you, Dr. Barnard, for explaining how intracellular lipids seem to be the cause of Type II diabetes. It's always great to come away from a book feeling more empowered. Since I have a rational reason for eating lower fat now, it's much easier to stick with. I don't have diabetes, but I'm on the road to it (I have insulin resistance despite eating what I thought was a decent plant-based diet for 6 years: plenty of beans, whole grains, avoiding ALL added sweeteners both in my cooking and in packaged food, avoiding high-glycemic foods).
This book led me down the road to a lot of interesting perspectives. From what I've learned, diabetics are mostly running off of fat, since their carbohydrate metabolism is defective. This can be reversed or helped by upping the carbs (including sugar) and cutting out the large majority of fat. Running off carbs is a much more desirable state to be in. There have been experiments done in the past with diabetics before the idea of insulin treatments were around. One French doctor gave his patients 8 oz. sugar per day, and their condition got better. I've also read of the rice diet done at Duke University decades ago where people were cured from all sorts of metabolic ailments by consuming just white rice, fruit, and fruit juice (I believe that was it - probably had some vitamin pill as well). So these things plus much more have led me to experiment on myself. As long as I don't eat sugar and fat together (like what most desserts and candies are), I feel great after having high sugar foods (tropical fruits, 100% juice, fruit with added sweetener, dried fruits, sweet rice breakfast cereal, etc.). I'm going to keep this self-experimentation up and see where it gets me. I'm certainly not getting any worse, even after consuming those dietary "devils" sugar and fruit juice *gasp*!
Another huge lifestyle change I've made is drastically reducing sitting time. This can greatly improve insulin sensitivity. I've also started strength training, since I know that working your muscles also helps with this. This is one thing missing from Dr. Barnard's book. Diet will give you great results, but diet + a change in sitting habits will do even more. From what I've read and observed in myself, reducing sitting is far more important than getting on an intense exercise regime and then sitting the rest of the time. -
I have finished this book but have been on the program about two weeks. The changes are already noticeable and encouraging. I have lost some pounds, and my blood pressure is much, much lower than it was before I started. I don't see much effect in my glucose readings, but as the fat goes down, the weight goes down, and as the weight falls, so will the blood sugar measurements. I have been aware of my type 2 diabetes for maybe 3.5 years, and having attempted some incremental changes, with correspondingly modest results, I am at a point where I am ready for my drastic (but not reckless) changes. This book may have changed my life. The results are not in yet, but I have high hopes. I am embracing the change in lifestyle. I have a copy of Eat More, Weigh Less by Dr. Dean Ornish, which is referenced several times in this book, but at the time I got it, I wasn't ready for it, and I set it aside. The premise is the side. Cut animal products out of your diet, and reap the benefits. I am seeing them. The writing style is repetitive at points, but I think many of us needs to have the points hammered home. Too many people ignore their health for the sake of pleasures that come with unhealthy eating. This book is good, but it will be great for you if you actually apply it.
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Although very repetitive, this book is very informative for diabetics and really anyone thinking of switching to a vegan diet. I highly recommend it for people who have diabetes and have struggled in the past with different diets to bring their blood sugar down. The author of this book is a physician who has actually performed research studies which have been published in peer reviewed research journals and hence shares with the reader his findings and the findings from other research studies as well. In a nut shell this is what the author is promoting: a diet that does not contain any animal meat/fat (vegan diet with no more than 2 – 3 grams of fat per serving); minimal to no oil consumption (no vegetable oil, peanut oil, olive oil, and etc.); and lastly, a low-GI (Glycemic Index) type of food (rye bread, yams, apples, beans, etc.). I picked up this book thinking that I could brush up on my knowledge of diabetic diets so I could perform better patient teaching. I am not vegan or diabetic, but I could certainly try some of his suggestions. The majority of recipes found in the back of the book do not seem like recipes that I would try because they do not look that easy to make. However, there are a few recipes like the Fruit Smoothie, Spinach Hummus, Red Wine Vinaigrette, and maybe even the Wheatberry Pancakes that I am thinking about trying. Apart from the absolutely no animal meat/fat, I think that I will be using the no oils and low-GI suggestions. Because this book is so informative, I will be purchasing this book in the near future. Hopefully, this was a helpful comment for anyone thinking of reading this book.
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Great information, lots of good, easy to understand science. Really did clear up so many questions I had about Diabetes. Just not enough here to be a whole book. Like Dr. Esselstyn's book on reversing heart disease, this is about 40 - 50 pages of great content, repeated a couple of times. I feel like it would have made a great pamphlet. Also, again like Esselstyn's book, I feel like these Doctor's are overreaching with their recipes. I called Esselstyn's recipes the red onion cookbook (there was hardly a recipe without them), this one I would call the highly processed cook book. Barnard's recipes, in my opinion, seemed to rely heavily on heavily processed vegan faux food made to substitute for meat and dairy. In Barnard's defense, these are more than likely what new vegans need. For someone just wanting to understand the science and peruse some quality plant based recipes, not as beneficial. Worth a read for its clear understanding of diabetes, just don't expect to be enraptured.
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A wonderful book suggestion (and gift) from my sister. Even if you don't fully embrace the vegan program suggested here, this book is wonderful for helping you to understand the science behind diabetes and how to take active steps to control its progression and even reverse it. I have incorporated a lot of the changes suggested in this book and have seen incredible results in weight loss, decrease in neuropathy, and decrease in blood glucose levels. I haven't gone vegetarian yet, but I have dramatically reduced my consumption of meat, and it really does seem to help.
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An incredibly empowering book for those encountering diabetes. I have been implementing the principles in here and have started to see fantastic results. I do quibble on the idea that one has to switch diets completely and suddenly. I can see the reasoning. However, I myself encounter far more trip ups and falls of the wagon when I go through such abrupt changes. Nevertheless, I am nearly completely vegetarian now and seeing great strides, not miniscule changes, in my over all health. I expect to become vegetarian for health reasons, and the effects are trickling into the lives of my family as well. I absolutely love that someone has done the research to work around the pharma approach to health that we so often blindly depend upon. I'm showing this book to my doctor.
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The best health book I've read, period. This clear, concise explanation of how and why your body rejects certain foods and thereby develops diabetes helped me understand how to control my diabetes for years with Dr. Barnard's diet recommendations. I highly recommend this book to anyone with diabetes or anyone in danger of developing diabetes.
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I love cheese too much to live lowfat vegan... sorry. Read Susanne Somers diet book. It takes nearly the opposite approach for diabetes. Who knows...
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Great and inspiring work... in my opinion, the science to back the goal to lose weight and avoid or reverse diabetes. My husband and I are following this program as much as possible and are feeling much better, sleeping better and feeling hopeful about our futures without diabetes. Lots of delicious recipes included in this book by Dr. Barnard, who I admire greatly.
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Want to get off your expensive medication & lose weight? This program is it.
Dr. Barndard's plan is a win-win fix for type 2 diabetes, which will also lessen your chances of heart disease, cancer, and many other threatening ailments. The plan obviously prevents diabetes and halts pre-diabetes. For type 1 diabetes, this plan can also minimize the risks and better your life. -
Dr. Barnard recommends a low fat vegan lifestyle to reverse diabetes.
You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this book.....either you or someone you know has diabetes, you're interested in diet/health, and/or you are exploring the possibilities of a vegan diet. -
Gonna read all Neal Barnard books. Well-written, well-researched, and so insightful. I hope to achieve good results on my health management like the other readers who left glowing reviews on this title.
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listened to on youtube
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Highly Informational
I'm glad I decided to read this. I feel like it's helped me better understand diabetes. It's well written full of information but not to scientific. The diet sounds like something I could possibly do and several of the recipes at the end sound really good. -
I'm glad I decided to read this. I feel like it's helped me better understand diabetes. It's well written full of information but not to scientific. The diet sounds like something I could possibly do and several of the recipes at the end sound really good.
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This book was so informative and convincing that I decided to follow Dr. Barnard's advice. I have now decided to go vegan/low fat. I was already vegetarian, had been for a couple decades now. But cheese and snacks have been my downfall every time I attempted vegan. I am determined to not fall down there again.
You see, I have fibromyalgia and have a lot of pain. Pain longs for comfort. I am going to have to pull on a soft-comfy blanket so that I don't long for the bad foods. On top of that, I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, so I have been testing my blood a lot. I wasn't controlling the sugar levels my way. I refused to go back to eating meats or other dairy (milk/eggs) so giving up cheese and snack with oils is easy. Besides, Doctor Bernard suggests that it is possible to not exercise at first. So this is a test. :-)
At first I borrowed this book through the library but I knew I needed to have my own copy. Then I bought the paperback. The font was to small, but the recipes in the second half of the book are great to have on hand in tree form and they are easy to read. But that wasn't enough. I had to get the Kindle version so I could read it on my tablet where I could enlarge charts, etc. This book is a keeper in all forms! -
I have type 2 diabetes and am overweight. That puts me in the target audience for this book. The book is not really for type 1 diabetes, which seems to be an autoimmune disorder and not reversible.
I rated this book as only 3 starts because I think the doctor glosses over the difference between type 1 and 2 diabetes, and also seems to downplay the impact of blood sugar spikes after meals. It is probably true that getting the fat out of your body will allow your body to process carbohydrates (sugars), but while you still have too much fat you will see spikes in your blood sugar. Other authors have pointed out that high blood sugar damages your organs, so wouldn't it better to reduce carb intake until the fat is out of your body? Well, one premise of the book is that you will lose the fat fast enough to avoid significant damage, and if you don't eat enough carbs you'll be too hungry and break your diet. I don't know.
That said, I am following the program from this and other vegan diet books (Engine 2 diet). Giving up meat hasn't been difficult, but cheese is a different matter! I've lost weight and I feel better, but I still have a long way to go. -
The science is really fascinating. I’m working to reverse my husband’s Diabetes. So far he has lost 12 pounds, lost all signs of neuropathy and has tons of energy. Just waiting for blood tests in November to confirm that we are on the right path. It was supposed to be a 3 month test for us, but I can’t see us ever going back to the standard American diet!
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My parents recommended this book and I really got a lot from it. I would recommend this book to anyone even if you don't have diabetes.
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Highly recommend for anyone with diabetic issues. Solid science proving that you can reverse diabetes without drugs or loss of limb!
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The advice in this book works. If you're willing to become vegan, you can control your sugar!
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12 years ago when this book was written this information may have been new. Since the passage of time many of these suggestions have been adopted by nutrition experts. A vegetable and fruit diet is the most common place among people who want to improve their health. I started to read this book because I wanted to see what his idea about reversing diabetes was all about. I figured it was food related and in many cases I agree. I looked at some of the reviews before constructing this one and I do agree with the idea about recipes. Some of them look hard to make or at least require a lot of extra time preparing. I enjoy cooking. But I would not make some of these recipes simply because I do not like bread crumbs and I have tried veggie burgers in the past because I have a cooked many of them for a public institution. They aren’t bad I must say. The advantage of eating the food that he suggests in this book is that in many cases that food it does not need extra preparation. So it is easy to eat vegetables without breadcrumbs lets me because they just taste good. And I have discovered that fruit tastes much better than ice cream at least the ice cream flavors that are offered in most grocery stores. Frankly, I find most of his suggestions quite manageable except giving up meat and dairy products completely. The good thing about the diet is you can always start the next day. I believe in moderation so I’m not saying don’t take any of the suggestions. His idea about fat contributing to insulin resistance makes sense. I would be interested to know what other findings have come up with since that time. But it is true that oil does clog up things so it does make sense in that way. I’m not sure that giving up meat and dairy completely is practical. I do think however that eliminating it most times for my diet is highly manageable. On a personal note, I do know that eating eggs has not raised my cholesterol because every time I go to my doctor I have good numbers. I do have many days where I do not eat meat. I am a type two diabetic and I am always looking for ways to help improve my blood glucose levels.
I also think that this book has done more to explain the science of diabetes and how food affects the body. I am quite familiar with all of the inns and outs of diabetes because it runs in my family so I am always looking for things to improve my own health. I think for me that is the best part of the book: learning what the food we eat does to increase or decrease insulin resistance. There is an appendix on medications but it does not cover them in depth although it will give you some good information. I find it really hard to find information about the medications used to treat diabetes. I know there are new medicines out there also and so this is by no means a complete list although it may have been complete at the time. I recognize some of the brand names of medicine that I still currently take and I am happy to see that these medicines do you work. I know my medicines work very well as long as I keep a reasonable diet.
This was a good book to pick up although I was as I said earlier kind of turned off by the recipes. I must admit though that I did learn about pomegranate molasses which is something I would like to try. I like pomegranates. I’ve never been to fond of molasses but it sounds like a good option.
So if you are looking for information on what diabetes does and how it affects your body this is a good place to start. My only drawback to this book is the giving up of meat and dairy although severely or seriously curtailing its consumption is a good idea. I have been a serious eater for my whole life and I am finding that I really enjoyed eating more fruits and vegetables and hey I am a big fan of pasta :-) I haven’t convince myself yet to try whole grain or whole wheat pasta anything like that but I do and I like beans. I think this is an informative book. I wish our personal physicians will be more forthcoming in the treatment and affects on our bodies of this highly manageable disease. Diabetes doesn’t have to be a death sentence I definitely agree with that. It’s just something to live with and we can do it successfully and still enjoy food. But I’ve always known that. This just backs that assumption up with scientific evidence. And hey if you want to give up meat and dairy completely go for it. Silly products some of them are good I have to admit that and I may incorporate more rice milk into my routine but I’m not ready to quit giving everything up. :-) -
I read the book and skimmed what was pertinent to myself. I'm dancing on pre diabetes at this point in my life and I'd like to turn it around. The theory behind the concept of reversing diabetes 2 or pre diabetes to normal blood sugar levels by way of diet only is to purge the fat out from our muscles that interferes and blocks insulin uptake. Essentially his theory is that by eliminating fat in our diets and only relying on trace amounts of fat from vegetables, legumes, etc it de-gums the locks in order for the key to fit into to allow insulin to do its job naturally. That it's in fact the fat both from animal and vegetable sources that in essence cause diabetes, not carbohydrates. And hence, by eliminating the added fat in our diets both vegetable and animal, we regain proper blood sugar levels in time (type 2). He says it can aid type 1 as well.
The diet is a high-fiber, complex-carbohydrate diet with little to no fat recommended. It's vegetarian/vegan but I wonder about things such as 98% fat free chicken and pollack whitefish imitation crab that may be low in fat or little to none naturally occurring. At times in the book it seems to deviate entirely to vegetarian/vegan but there is such a thing as fat-free chicken broth for soups....so I think it would have been important to provide a non-vegetarian, non-vegan approach to this diet that would still follow the theories and guidelines. Whether it's fat-free chicken broth or fat-free vegetable broth shouldn't make a difference but can in terms of flavor.
The diet doesn't concentrate at all on sodium levels, portion-sizes, or calorie counting. It's that 'eat all you want of how much you want of these kinds of foods' approach. The theory being eating a lot of high-fiber, no-fat foods will naturally cause fullness and prevent overeating. No will power needed.
This is the opposite diet of ketogenic, Weight Watchers, Paleo, Atkins and other popular diets.
While it seems counter intuitive to rely on high-complex carbs if you're diabetic, it makes sense to clean out the body of the fat blocking molecules so that the body can repair itself and again work to have insulin do its job.
He notes the added benefits of this diet follow in tandem with Dr. Ornish's diet for heart disease lowering resulting in lowered cholesterol levels, lowered blood pressure levels, better nerve protection, more energy, and better mental health as many high carb complex carbs contribute to higher serotonin levels and are natural uppers/anti-depressants.
I know I feel terrific after eating lasagna my favorite Italian dish. Now I know why. I just have to eliminate the cheese and the meat from it. Pasta indeed is good for the soul, body and mind! -
I respect Dr Neal Barnard a lot, for all his effort to promote healthy lifestyle and a predominantly plant based diet as opposed to solely relying on medication, and also rallying like-minded physicians to form the Physician's Committee to promote responsible medicine.
I read this book quickly. This approach makes overall good lifestyle sense:
1. Plant-based food (No meat, fish, dairy or eggs)
2. Low fat food
3. Low glycemic index food
The premise centres around fat and how it interferes with insulin and causes resistance.
But I must say that I am pretty confused between this approach and the approach by Dr Jason Fung in The Diabetes Code which says that sugar storage in cells is the problem, and to go low carb and intermittent fasting, and that it is ok to consume fats as they do not trigger insulin. So Dr Bernard encourages eating oatmeal for breakfast, while Dr Fung says eating oatmeal in the morning when your cortisol level is high and sugar level is high is the worse thing a diabetic can do. Dr Bernard encourages little or no fat, but Dr Fund says fat is ok. Dr Bernard says pasta does not cause sugar spike much but Dr Fung feels all carbs cause problem.
Both these approaches record success, not just from the examples cited in their respective books but also from readers' and their reviews. So maybe both methods work.
But I am not sure which to recommend to my family member. So I am going to do some more research and readings. -
Good clear explanations, backed up by good research findings. Good at explaining what the issue is and what can be done about it, and why the average western diet (especially the average American diet) is not terribly healthy.
I got my brother (medical doctor) to read the chapter on the medical science behind it, he thought it was sound, which was reassuring.
Read this because I'd been diagnosed with a higher than normal blood sugar level, which my doctor considered needed action. She recommended a lot more activity and exercise, which I've been doing (at least 10k steps per day, at least half of them high intensity).
I went looking for more information and answers. There are different ways of tackling pre or diabetes. I thought this one might work for me, and it certainly has.
In 4 months, I've lost over 6kg without a lot of stress or self-deprivation (other than shunning sweets, chocolate and biscuits) and my BSL has come down from 6.3 to 5.8. Still a bit high, but all going in the right direction! And it's a sane diet, not a fad one. Parts have been hard (no cheese), others have been easier than I thought. Never felt hungry, as whole foods are very satisfying. It has meant learning some new habits of cooking and some new ingredients, but his very positive approach and emphasis on the benefits and stories of people it has succeeded for really helped.
