From the Desk of Carolyn Dean MD ND

Diabesity is a topic of the Food Revolution Summit that I watched recently. I’ve said for decades that carrying extra weight for 10 years is a sure pathway to prediabetes and diabetes, so the name does make sense.

Carolyn Dean MD ND

Food is not the Answer

It’s amazing to me that on this Summit they think by just repeating that a vegan diet is the answer to all your health problems that the audience will believe them. There is no mention of dietary supplements at all and not enough attention to eating organic, non-GMO, foods that unfortunately aren’t available to the majority of the population.

In my Food Failure blog I mentioned that food can’t be the answer to our health problems because food is so depleted of nutrients. Also, we are faced with food and water toxicity and an incredibly stressful environment, which means we absolutely require dietary supplements.

Working the Diets

So, we see both ends of the spectrum, Vegan and Keto diets making similar health claims. The Summit interviews cherry-picked studies that showed people on plant-based diets having less obesity and diabetes. You could also cherry-pic studies of animal protein diets that come to the same conclusion. A Healthline article says that “research shows that the ketogenic diet may be as effective for weight loss as a low-fat diet.”¹

But I say both diets are lacking the nutrients that we are supposed to be getting in our diet so the results for any diet are going to be arbitrary and inconsistent. It’s possible for any diet to work better if you also take the Completement Formulas. However, I’ve tried vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic diets and felt unwell on all of them, even while taking my formulas. So, personally I require animal protein to meet my health goals. You have to decide what diet makes you feel healthy and not be swayed by hyperbole and hype.

Stay Within the Lines

The other concern I have with the Food Revolution approach is that they say people aren’t responsible for their weight gain because the food industry has turned consumers into addicts causing sugar and fat cravings to help sell products.

One interview was with a recovering drug addict who embraces the food addiction diagnosis of overweight people and created a program called Bright Line Eating, which “sets clear, unambiguous boundaries that you just don’t cross.” The Bright Lines that you don’t cross sound like my decade on a yeast free diet that was incredibly restrictive: eliminate sugar and flour. The program also suggests that you set up a schedule for mealtimes and weigh your food. These measures can be helpful, but I think the reason why we “crave” food is because it’s next to impossible to get our nutrients from depleted food, so we just keep eating.

As I mentioned above, it’s important for you to eat what makes you feel good. Experiment with your diet. Cut out sugar, gluten and dairy and see if you feel better. Push the experiment by reintroducing one of these foods and see how you feel. Are your fingers tight when you make a fist? This indicates fluid retention from inflammation. Is your head swimmy and foggy – this can be a sign of yeast overgrowth. Above all, take the nutrient building blocks that we all need: picometer minerals and food-based vitamins.

Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future

¹ https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101#weight-loss