dealing with bad medical advice
 

A very good friend has just been (i.e. this afternoon) diagnosed as a Type II diabetic. I had mentioned previously the satisfying results I was seeing LC-ing, and he seemed interested but now his physician is telling him to neverr have butter, and use any margarine that says "no cholesterol" on the label. How woudl I best help?

1. Find the physician, and pound her into the ground like a tent peg?
2. Loan my copy of Protein Power to my friend, marking the chapter "Cholesterol Madness"?
3. Something else?

Thanks for your help!

Kipling

Protein Power is a good place to start, as well Protein Power Lifeplan is an excellent read on insulin resistance, blood fats and the importance of choosing non- or minimally processed foods.

Another book that I think will be useful for understanding blood sugar management, and the importance for keeping it low and stable with low carb diet is Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. There is much information on insulin and oral medications for diabetes, and chapters on accurate blood sugar measurement. He has a website, and several chapters of his book are posted online. Check it out here.

Margarine ... aacckkk!

Doreen

hmm, considering that pounding option....if you could convince a judge that a "jury of your peers" would mean only LCers...maybe. ;) I'm sure we'd let you off scott free. Thanks for the morning's laugh, Kipling

Dr. Bernstein for your friend, then a hunt for a competent local endocrinologist.

Margarine? geez, did that doc go to medical school in 1954? I'll call do's "ack" and raise a "blech!"

Thank you both for your advice and support! I have passed on a copy of PP, and am awaiting delivery of Bernstein. My friend seems receptive to what I've found, perhaps because I can offer experience while his GP can only offer theory.

FWIW, I have not suggested that he dump his GP, (or pound her into the ground like a tent peg!) but rather that he consider what physicians like the Drs. Eades and Bernstein have to say, being specialists, while a GP can only keep up with so much new information on a wide variety of topics.

Kipling

I agree to not ditch the dr, especially if there is otherwise a good rapport.

My own GP was skeptical and naysaying at first, but softened when I showed sample menus that I was eating lots of vegetables, salads, and olive oil. At my 6 month visit, when she saw I'd lost weight finally, after gaining for years with lowFAT, plus my blood pressure had come down and my cholesterol and triglycerides normalized as well. She was impressed, borrowed my copy of Protein Power for a couple of weeks, and has since recommended the program to other patients.

Perhaps your friend's success with a lowcarb plan will convince his dr too that low carb is very healthy, and helpful for treating many of today's health problems.

Doreen

Thanks Doreen! Congrats on your successful management too!

My friend does not yet know the phrase 'low-carb' but by eliminating white flour, sugar, rice, and potatoes for the last week, his sugars have gone down from 13 to 7.8! I have passed him the Fitday website to help with planning, and make suggestions if he forgets to consider the composition of things when using old recipes.

The current issue with his GP is that she wants him to take an 8 hour "Diabetic 101" course, and his schedule simply does not permit that amount of time away, so I suggested a defferal for a month, by which time his sugars may be down enough to obviate the need for the course.

Kipling