Diabetes and the Mediterranean Diet

Diabetes Information Network

Diabetes and the Mediterranean Diet

Scientists have been searching the world looking for the best and most healthy overall diet. For now the leading candidate for the most healthy diet is to be found in the region around the Mediterranean Sea.

There they eat diets that include few fried foods, very little fat, moderate quantities of Olive Oil, grains, lots of seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables. Their diet includes very little meat or dairy products.

Brainwashed!

The American dairy industry spent over 300 million dollars last year to convince you that you never outgrow your need for milk. But recent research tells a completely different story.

First, there’s the fat problem. When it comes to fat, milk is badly mislabeled. The milk that says “1%” isn’t 1% fat at all. It’s more like 16% fat, but then the dairy producers don’t want you to know that they received special consideration from the government so they could use a different formula for calculating their fat content. (who would buy whole milk if they knew it contained over 25% pure saturated animal fat?)

No animal species consumes milk past adolescence. No animal species consumes the milk of another species. Cow’s milk was meant for baby cows, not humans. Human milk is not at all like cow’s milk. In short, milk is a very high fat food that is most widely consumed in countries where heart disease, osteoporosis and arthritis are rampant.

At the same time we’ve been carefully brainwashed to be very concerned about our daily need for protein when according to the most recent research a full grown adult doesn’t really need all that much. Fact is, the average American takes in far too much protein which can increase heart disease risk as a much as a high saturated fat diet!

The single best form of protein can be found in various Soy products. One study found that soy consumers experienced an average 9 percent drop in cholesterol levels and also a 13 percent drop in LDL levels. And if that wasn’t enough – triglyceride levels also fell 11 percent.

The Heart Healers

In this section we’re going to take a look at two nutrients that studies have shown can help prevent or even heal heart disease. They are two very interesting nutrients that prevent heart disease in very different yet complimentary ways.

Vitamin E is often called the “heart” vitamin and for good reason. It’s a powerful antioxidant that can prevent or partially reverse the formation of oxidized LDL cholesterol plaques that are the root cause of heart disease.

Way back in the late 1960s Dr. Shute wrote a groundbreaking book entitled “Vitamin E and your heart”. He then opened a clinic and began treating heart patients with large doses of vitamin E. His clinic is still in operation today and still using vitamin E more than ever.

First of all, vitamin E can help reduce or reverse heart disease. It performs this near miracle by neutralizing dangerous free radicals and thus keeps LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized in the first place. Only oxidized LDL can accumulate on the blood vessel linings so by interrupting the oxidation process, vitamin E helps keep the blood vessels open and the blood flowing freely.

The first symptom of heart disease usually involves shortness of breath or chest pain or both. These are the result of the heart being starved for blood due to it’s main arteries becoming blocked with plaque made up of oxidized LDL cholesterol deposits.

When the cardiac arteries are blocked to the point you’re disabled, you’ve then become a candidate for a coronary bypass or a less dangerous and less invasive procedure called angioplasty.

An angioplasty involves passing a small balloon tipped catheter into the clogged blood vessel. When it’s in the right spot, the balloon is then expanded which presses out against the artery lining and helps open up the blood vessels and restore normal blood flow to the heart.

Problem is, the artery doesn’t usually remain open for long. The factors that caused the blockage in the first place go right back to work and block the artery once again, usually after a few months to a year or two.

But in studies, subjects given doses of vitamin E before their angioplasty experienced relief that lasted 60% longer than those who didn’t take the vitamin. Clearly vitamin E prevented or postponed the formation of a new blockage.

Other studies have shown that coronary arteries blocked by excessive dietary saturated and hydrogenated fats can be partially or completely cleared over time by taking moderate amounts of Vitamin E and Vitamin C. Several studies have come to the conclusion that when it comes to protecting against heart disease, these two vitamins are more effective than any prescription drug known.

Subjects with confirmed heart disease who took Vitamin E experienced 77% less heart attacks! In short, their heart risk returned to the same level as healthy subjects of the same age.

But vitamin E has yet another helpful effect. The blood vessels of healthy individuals are normally capable of constricting and expanding around 15% while the vessels of most diabetics can manage only a 2-3% range. Diabetics are at a special risk in this regard as their blood vessels tend to be somewhat constricted due to the disease. This places diabetics at an increased risk of heart disease as anything that acts to reduce cardiac blood flow increases the risk of heart attack.

Thankfully, vitamin C has been shown to be effective in causing even highly diseased blood vessels to relax in a normal fashion. This effect can significantly boost blood flow to the heart. In one study 2,000mg of vitamin C increased blood flow to the arm of a heart disease patient a full 50%!

Vitamin C does this by protecting a substance called Nitric Oxide from free radical damage. By preventing it’s destruction, the level of Nitric Oxide in the blood is increased which then acts to relax the blood vessel walls.

The prescription drug Viagra promotes erections by increasing the level of Nitric Oxide in the blood this allows the blood vessels in the penis to relax and open up more fully - which produces fuller and firmer erections.

The viscosity or thickness of human blood can change radically following a meal. A low fat meal leaves blood viscosity relatively untouched, while a high-fat meal can thicken the blood and increase the tendency to form dangerous clots. And thicker blood isn’t as able to flow freely through restricted coronary arteries. This may help explain why so many lethal heart attacks occur within several hours of a high-fat meal.

In one study subjects were given a single 1,000mg dose of vitamin C before a high-fat meal. Despite the extremely high-fat food, their blood viscosity remained normal and their arteries remained open and fully relaxed.

And if that weren’t enough - vitamin C can also help control both LDL cholesterol and high blood pressure. 1,000mg of vitamin C taken daily reduced LDL cholesterol levels an average of 16% after one month while it reduced high blood pressure an average of 7%.

These essential vitamins should be taken in approximately the following dosages:

500-3,000mg of vitamin C per day

200-800IU of vitamin E per day

Some diabetics have a tendency toward high blood pressure or are taking medication to help lower your blood pressure. You should approach vitamin E with some caution. Start with a low dose of around 100 IU and slowly work your way up to 400 IU or so over a number of weeks. Read the warning in the antioxidants section for more information. Always be careful to keep your total vitamin E intake at or below 400IU per day, any more might thin the blood too much and thereby promote excessive bleeding.

Both vitamins are almost entirely non-toxic. If you take too much vitamin C, you may experience an acid stomach, loose stools or diarrhea. If this happens, simply reduce the dosage until you return to normal. Despite what you may have heard, vitamin C supplements do not create kidney stones as was once widely believed.

Back