Are We Fighting the Wrong Battle in the Obesity War?

You don't need to be overweight to get diabetes, if Peter Attia feels contempt for his patients then he's in the wrong profession.

I think he is an honorable man to admit in a public venue how wrong he was to feel that way and he says, with much obvious emotion, that he hopes if she is listening that she can forgive him.

What this doesn't explain is the people (some whom I know personally) who lost weight and their diabetes disappeared. I've also heard studies done (sorry, I can't quote any right now and don't have time to research) that high fat--especially certain kinds of fat--can contribute to diabetes more than sugar. They did a study with healthy firemen and fed one high sugar and the other high fat. After a period of time, most of the high-fat group were pre-diabetic, and none of the high-sugar group were. If I remember correctly, none of the men had a family history of diabetes.

I also know that Mexicans tend to have high rates of diabetes. My grandfather (Mexican) died of complications to diabetes, and my mom (half Mexican) has diabetes. She is overweight but I don't think technically obese. I'm not sure. I have no signs so far, but I keep my fat intake moderate (roughly 30%).

I was "pre-diabetic" and when I went on a lower carb/no sugar diet for controlling my blood sugar, my blood pressure went to normal in a few weeks and over the course of three years, I have gradually lost 60 pounds. I think the blood sugar was controlled first, leading to weight loss. Just because weight loss is associated with curbing diabetes doesn't mean that the weight loss directly caused a cessation of diabetic pathology.

I agree with you--I think that high saturated fat consumption is probably also part of the picture as well. They know that high saturated fat intake is associated with inflammation in the body and that Type II diabetics almost always have high levels of markers for inflammation in their blood. I eat very little red meat because it always seems to cause a flare in my gouty arthritis (because it leads to higher uric acid levels in the body). Red meat is also rich in arachidonic acid, another pro-inflammatory. So it isn't a far stretch to think that the saturated fat is a problem.

In some ways, a high grain starch diet may do more to raise blood sugar than a bit of sugar. The researchers who put the glycemic index together noted that many starchy foods, like white bread and white rice, caused blood sugar to rise farther and faster than just taking in a few spoonfuls of sugar. I know from experience that just cutting out sugar will lower fasting blood glucose numbers some, but keeping a lid on total carbohydrates and eating low on the glycemic list for carbohydrates will lower blood glucose even more. What researchers have noted is that the bodies of some people are VERY efficient at converting starches into fructose and then starts the whole undesirable metabolic cascade because the fructose is then converted to uric acid. At first they were baffled because, even when the subjects of the study were given no fruit at all, the researchers noted fructose in the blood of the test subjects. Grain starch contains fructans that are quite easily converted to fructose.

I'm interested in this discussion. On my mom's side, they all have type 2 diabetes. They are all overweight except my grand-dad. He has aways been really thin and been active all of his life. He still got diabetes. So, I'm wondering why. My dad has always eaten tons of sugar (pies and desserts everyday), he's very active and thin. Not diabetic. So why would carbs affect some people and doesn't affect others?

(I haven't watched the video yet)

My wife is a doctor. Its simple. Humans were not designed to consume refined sugar. it is a pharacuetical grade. Once you injest it, your blood sugar skyrockets, thus causing your insulin to skyrocket to allow your cells to take in the sugars.

Just like any other drug (think alcohol), your tolerance to insulin builds if you are exposed too often.

Thus, type 2 diabetes.

Bam. Stop eating ****, and no diabetes.

Does everyone who eats a lot of sugar get diabetes? No. Does everyone who smokes get lung cancer? No, but I wouldnt ****ing risk it.

Yes--I think there is wisdom in this approach. How can any of us know whether we have the genetics to develop Type II under the "right" circumstances? It is likely best for the majority of the people to avoid those circumstances since so many people are becoming Type II diabetics these days. Perhaps a majority of us have the gene(s). The whole field of epigenetics is looking at how gene expression is influenced by diet, exercise, personal habits, etc.