I was going through health articles online the other day reading the usual garbage based on metadata and came across "Taking a 'Stand' for Diabetes" - a featured video on Fox News Health:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1241738029001/taking-stand-for-diabetesDr. Manny is interviewing "legendary" performer Ben Vereen (sorry, never heard but I guess I'm not artsy enough). Ben Vereen is using his fame to alert individuals to diabetes. It is great he is trying to inform individuals about diabetes, like the fact so many individuals are undiagnosed (like he was in 2007 when he suddenly collapsed). However, there are a few things that are scary about what he says. In a nutshell, his advice is:
1)Take your insulin
2)Exercise
3)Don't Diet
Let's look at each of his points:
1)Insulin - This is a necessary drug used to keep blood sugar stable early on in treatment. However, it is another "drug crutch" - meaning doctors and patients alike rely too much on drugs rather than attempting to change their lifestyle. This ties into #3.
2)Exercise - I'm going to drop a bomb. Most people don't need to exercise/lift weights. Obese individuals don't need to exercise. Sure it is fun, may make you feel better and tone your muscles, but for losing weight - the main reason it is suggested in conjunction with Type II Diabetes -
it will not work.
Why doesn't exercising help losing weight? There are several reasons:
A)When you exercise, your body goes into a hyper mode, burning carbs, then fat...and working extremely hard for your energy. When you are done, your body at the cellular level demands additional calories to replenish what was used. You get hungry, normally for carb-laden food. You essentially end up negating your efforts.
B)When you do get rid of a small amount of fat and turn it to muscle, muscle weighs more and thus there is very little net gain.
C)Exercise, especially hard-core exercise is an excellent way to teach your body to
store fat more efficiently. Why? Your body recognizes the need for additional fuel and this is the way it reacts. Counter-productive no?
3)Don't Diet. Ben states that the first three letters is "Diet" are "Die". He says, don't do that, have a great life, eat what you want and take your insulin. What a slap in the face. By looking at his physique, we know this is his mentality, but why is he pushing this damaging idea on everyone else? Diet is the number one way Type II Diabetics can
actually cure them selves of diabetes!
Basically, he is saying, I'd rather live with a dangerous disorder rather than change my diet. I suppose the exercise isn't working then?
So many individuals have removed all markers of having diabetes by lowering their blood sugar. They do this by cutting down on sugar - or going low-carb. Some doctors are beginning to push eating lower carbohydrate food, but generally, all the major associations (Heart, Diabetes, etc) are mirroring what Mr. Vereen is touting. Take your medicine, exercise, eat low-fat.
Ben Vereen should be ashamed of himself.
