QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine):
“When the American Diabetes Association says there is no cure for type 2 diabetes, what they mean is that there is no drug cure. However, these are two entirely different statements. We’ve long known that bariatric surgery can reverse type 2 diabetes by inducing a sudden, severe caloric deficit, which drops insulin levels. Simply put, bariatrics is surgically enforced fasting. A study directly comparing the two approaches shows that fasting is actually better than surgery at lowering weight and reducing blood glucose. Fasting produced almost twice the weight loss of bariatric surgery. Food rationing across Europe during World Wars I and II restricted all foods, not specifically sugar. These austerity measures also acted like an enforced fast and reduced calories suddenly and severely. During that time, the mortality rate from diabetes dropped precipitously. Between the wars, as people went back to their accustomed eating habits, mortality returned to its usual high level. While food rationing is now a thing of the past in most countries, the point is simply this: strictly reducing food intake has the potential to entirely reverse type 2 diabetes. Once again, this seems self-evident. As you lose weight, type 2 diabetes disappears. But surgery or wartime rationing is not the only way to create this sudden, severe caloric deprivation. We can simply stop eating. This is the time-tested, ancient healing tradition of fasting. Remember that at its very core, type 2 diabetes is simply too much sugar in the body. Thus, reversal depends upon two things: 1. Stop putting sugar in. 2. Burn remaining sugar off.” [1]
NOTE – What does it say?
Bariatric surgery works, and it is expensive. The average cost of lap-band surgery is $14,500, while gastric bypass costs an average of $23,000.[2]
… bariatric surgery can reverse type 2 diabetes by inducing a sudden, severe caloric deficit, which drops insulin levels. Simply put, bariatrics is surgically enforced fasting.
These surgeries have benefits beyond weight loss. If you’ve had gastric bypass surgery, you will have lost about 30% to 40% of excess body weight. With gastric banding surgery, you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week — so by six months, you’ll have lost 25 to 50 pounds.[3] Weight lost, at first, is visceral and ectopic weight, a significant health benefit. And type 2 diabetes simply disappears.
… strictly reducing food intake has the potential to entirely reverse type 2 diabetes.
Bariatric surgery will severely limit both the amount of food that you can eat and the sort of food you can eat, with painful and embarrassing consequences if you eat too much. For the first two months following surgery, your calorie intake should be between 300 and 600 calories a day, with a focus on thin and thicker liquids. Eventually, daily caloric intake should not exceed 1,000 calories.[4] In other words, the surgery forces a person to eat in a certain way for the rest of their lives, with painful consequences for overeating.
Not unlike hiring someone to violently kick you in the stomach whenever you go over 300, or 600 or 1000 calories in a day; it’s very persuasive.
Fasting produced almost twice the weight loss of bariatric surgery.
As Dr Fung says, this surgery works by inducing a sudden, severe caloric deficit, which drops insulin levels. Simply put, bariatrics is surgically enforced fasting. If you drop your calorie intake to 300-600 calories a day, you are going to lose weight. Over seven days, that is 2100 to 4200 calories each week for months. Or you could go without food – fast – drop your daily caloric intake to zero for 4-5 days per week. And save $14,500 or $23,000, depending on your choice of surgery and whether your health insurance will help with the cost.
Suddenly fasting – and the potential for a cure for type 2 diabetes – is a lot more attractive than bariatric surgery.
But the painful consequences of overeating after bariatric surgery make it easier to stick to the severe dietary changes. They provide the self-discipline needed. If we fast on our own, how can we find the willpower and self-discipline to stay with the fasting diet?
Consider the math:
Multiply your current weight by 11 – this is the number of calories consumed daily to maintain your current weight. Multiply that by seven to get the calories for a week.
How many days would you need to fast to consume 2100 calories per week (300 x 7)?
How many days would you need to fast to consume 2100 calories per week, if you consumed only half your daily calories on a non-eating day?
My own numbers:
313 pounds x 11 calories = 3443 calories per day to maintain that weight
x 7 = 24,101 calories per week.
Bariatric equivalents: 300-600 calories a day, 2100 to 4200 calories a week
#1. Fast 5 days a week and eat from 1050 to 2100 calories on each of 2 non-fasting days?
#2. Fast 4 days a week and eat from 700 to 1400 calories on each of 3 non-fasting days?
#3. Fast 3 days a week and eat from 525 to 1050 calories on each of 4 non-fasting days?
It is difficult … but perhaps not impossible. But alternating fasting and regular eating is far more effective than eating decreased calories uniformly over a week’s time.
MY STRATEGY: Stop putting sugar in; fast 3x a week, 24-36 hours, consume no sugar inducing foods.
QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?
SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1] Quote from The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally by Dr. Jason Fung; Greystone Books (April 3, 2018). Page 225.
[2] 6 Ways to Pay for Weight-Loss Surgery Without Insurance, Kat Tretina, from
https://studentloanhero.com/featured/how-to-pay-for-bariatric-surgery-without-insurance-ways/
[3] The Bariatric Diet is a Good Eating Plan for Everyone, https://www.atlantabariatrics.com/2017/04/bariatric-diet-good-eating-plan-everyone/
[4] Dietary Guidelines After Bariatric Surgery, from
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/dietary-guidelines-after-bariatric-surgery
Image “Off” by Hebi B. from Pixabay
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Key: Fung-17 Shipped: 05/04/2021. Updated 01/11/2022.