Health & Wellness

[Julie Le]

My brother is probably 50 pounds overweight and he is interested in getting healthier. I wanted to introduce some liver cleansing, parasite cleansing, and microbiome rebuilds protocols which I have built for others and executed on in the past. As far as his diet, he is fueling his body with lots of carbohydrates and experiencing pre-diabetic symptoms as a man in his early 30’s what is the strategy to wean people off carbohydrate addiction, Im of the opinion to change the structure of his body we should move it into a phase where protein is the main fuel source. Would cutting carbohydrates completely be too drastic of a move? Let me know your thoughts on all of this. Too be transparent hes 32 smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, was an alcoholic until a few years ago and cut the habit, doesn’t exercise, and weighs prob 250 pounds with 40% body fat, lives a high stress lifestyle and is financially successful through his work.

Discussion

[Amanda]

Hi Julie. It sounds crazy at first, but blocking blue light in the evenings, during any screen time, installing Iris software on devices to filter blue light & using only incandescent lightbulbs can be a HUGE help with hormones, namely leptin, often referred to as the satiety hormone. Add in getting some morning light in the naked eye for a minute & standing barefoot on the ground & he’ll be well on his way. This will all help reduce carbohydrate cravings. After that is in place, I would say cut the carbs back slowly, maybe by 50 grams a week. Replace with bioavailable protein. Add in lots of healthy salts (I like Celtic sea salt & Redmond Real salt) & fats, which should slowly replace the carbs. I’ve seen this simple formula would like gangbusters many times over. 🙂

[Julie Le]

Nice I like it!! thank you!

[Sherri]

Hi Julie, out of my own experience with pre diabetes, low metabolism, low carb diet, etc. I would caution against going too low carb but focus on balancing healthy carbs with healthy protein and fats. And for sure getting rid of all PUFA’s. It might benefit him to omit grains & legumes for a while and learn about how to properly prepare them before reintroducing them. It sounds like he needs to heal his metabolism and with that probably leptin resistance. Sarah Kleiner Wellness has a lot of free tips on leptin resistance and there’s a plethora of folks addressing metabolic healing out there. I’ve been on a crash course myself. Eating breakfast within an hour of rising (and having meals regularly throughout the day) has helped me regulate blood sugar and keep diabetes at bay-also taking berberine. I don’t think any of these suggestions are going to get at the root cause but they may help with the de-escalation of things while he goes deeper. Best wishes.

[maryschurr]

❤❤❤
Some people find it helps with hypothyroid type issues, too. Those related to blood sugar.

[Sherri]

Exactly! That was how I entered the Metabolic healing space-hypothyroidism. I’ve learned a lot since then, at least I hope I have…it’s a process.

[Kev]

Hi Julie.. Type 2 diabetic here, and I’ve been injecting insulin for 19 years.. I know quite a bit from my own experience about insulin resistance as it relates to carbohydrate consumption..

It may not be wise to go cold-turkey in regards to eliminating carbohydrates, but I’ve done it periodically without any issue, or any kind of “withdrawal”.. In fact, my body adjusts very quickly, and I rapidly get to a point where I *don’t* crave carbohydrates, especially sugar.. Keeping in mind, I have a *voracious* sweet tooth, so for that to subside is good evidence..

Recently, I went almost entirely carnivore (very very little carbs), and the carb/sugar cravings disappeared.. And so, I’ve found that a carnivore-centric diet is the best to calm the carb cravings and level out insulin resistance.. Healthy fats are a large part of my diet as well — animals fats (including homemade chicken bone broth), and supplemental oils like Flax oil.. With the Omega fats in Flax, I’ve been able to go off blood pressure drugs and control it with that alone..

Personally, I also eat one meal per day, in the afternoon, but sometimes a bit of grazing in the evening (maybe a snack of nuts).. The whole 3-meals-a-day thing is very stressful for a diabetic and the constant monitoring of blood glucose and insulin injections, etc.. For years I’ve done this approach of one big meal per day, which is when I take the insulin and do post-monitoring, and so it vastly simplifies it.. But all that’s probably rather irrelevant for your brother.. Not too many are keen on intermittent fasting/one meal per day..

But that approach has also cleared the way to give me insights into how carbs effect the body and glucose management and insulin resistance.. Decidedly, high carb loading is stressful to the body and insulin resistance instantly shoots up..

One thing I learned is that animal protein is best *not* combined with any kind of carbohydrate.. This lowers stomach pH and improves bile production and quality.. I proved this out with myself.. Also, a good recommendation is to eliminate the entire grass family of grains, especially since they’re now GMO and sprayed with chemicals — wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn, rice, sugar, etc.. I’ve found great benefit with these eliminations.. If I eat them again, I can actually get pretty sick..

Hope this helps in some way.. Just my thoughts.. 🐦

[Kev]

Julie.. I wanted to do a follow-up to the above message.. I typed that out this morning and had to hit Enter and run, as I was running late to catch a bus.. 🤠

I wanted to emphasize that a low-carb, high-animal foods diet actually levels out insulin sensitivity and keeps things steady to the point that it’s predictable.. It’s when I added carbs back in at a higher level that things become compromised a little bit more, if that makes any sense..

I also thought it would be worth posting this video of a conversation between Dr. Kaufman and Dr. Ken Berry.. I listened to it about a week ago.. Dr. Berry is big advocate of carnivore, and especially animals fats as a fuel source (not carbs).. From what I remember, this is the cornerstone of his practice to help people overcome conditions, including metabolic disorders and high blood pressure, etc.. He developed a recommendation he calls BBBE — “beef, butter, bacon, eggs”.. I forget what he said about his results, statistically, but it sounds like most of his slightly-overweight patients lose a lot of weight on BBBE, and the other things resolve too (blood pressure, pre-diabetes, etc.).. I’ll have to go back and listen again before making any definitive conveyances about his results, but that’s the impression I got.. He’s not a big fan of plant-based carbs, or plants and fruits at all.. I don’t entirely align with that, but there is something to be said for animal fats leveling out metabolic disorders and getting one back on track.. — i.e. fats as your main fuel source, not carbohydrates..

Hope this helps..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53tNoKnC06w

[Julie Le]

Great information all thank you very much

[Julie Le]

To me it seems logical to eliminate carbs just as a note I think this works best for men and not women from the information I’ve read carbs are more necessary for women then men!

[Sonya]

Hiya, I’ve been that person….. running 2 stressful businesses, being on high alert all the time and pumping adrenaline, erratic sleeping and eating routines (nightclub DJ) and ending up overweight and diabetic (complicated by 2 accidents).

That he wants to do something himself is the first great thing. I used to use food to keep me pumping and going and also to bring me down and crash my blood sugar so that I could override the adrenaline buzzing and fall asleep. If he’s strong willed and successful he’s probably used to bypassing the wisdom and warning signs of his body and using his personality to just keep on keeping on. That strong will power can be its own worst enemy.

If he doesn’t make some changes his body will probably force him to. I’m not saying that very low carb is the way to go for ever, those are decisions for when you get to the next stage, but I did find it shifted weight quickly and that helps diabetic style symptoms too. It’s really easy, especially if you like meat and fish which I don’t. You don’t have to do a full on keto thing if you don’t want to, just meat/fish/tofu/seeds/nuts etc. with substantial veg like mushrooms and avocados plus lots of veg and salad. Go easy on the fruit and don’t have juices/alcohol/sweet drinks (don’t go for drinks with sweeteners, drink water!). I used to do a sort of intermittent fasting too and not eat until mid afternoon. Within a few days you can literally feel a rebalancing starting to happen and the cravings start to disappear. You question it as the “real you” feels buzz buzz all carbed up and this other way of feeling is kind of weird and good empty but not really empty. Non hardcore exercise helps too like walking or cycling. If his sleep patterns are out of whack then getting lots of natural light and walking barefoot on the earth helps with time, simple but powerful.

When you’ve done that fundamental carb drop and re-tuning then you can start looking at other protocols. I just jumped on cos I wanted to say that dropping the carbs is way easier than you think and fear, and your body will make the changes for you and stop the cravings too, it’s just the first week or so to get through until it physically clicks into place. When he feels rebalanced again he may naturally start looking at other aspects of his life and how he lives it but again that’s something for the future not right now. It’s a funny old place to find yourself as the making things happen/problem solving/creativity/ adrenaline-carb buzz is addictive and has its own sort of fulfillment and satisfaction but your body does pay the price at some point. Making the changes is really really worth it.

[Sonya]

And alcoholism can be heavily linked to blood sugar as well as all the other reasons for it. The carbs may well be filling some sort of hole blood sugar/emotionally/energetically wise.

[Author]

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