The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally

by Jason Fung

Those on a daily calorie-restricted diet saw their insulin levels drop but quickly reach a plateau. The intermittent fasting group, on the other hand, continued to reduce their fasting insulin levels, a key marker of improved insulin resistance, despite similar total caloric intake. Since type 2 diabetes is a disease of hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, the intermittent fasting strategy succeeded where caloric restriction did not. It was the intermittency of the diet that made

effective.

The most important conclusion was that fasting was a safe and effective therapy that anybody could reasonably follow. The fasting group not only lost more weight, but also almost twice as much of the more dangerous visceral fat. The portion-control group lost lean mass in addition to fat, but the fasting group

So why isn’t fasting more popular, despite its proven success? One of the

biggest deterrents is the starvation

m...

The secret to long-term weight loss is to maintain your basal metabolism. So what doesn’t put you into

starvation mode? Actual starvation! Or at least the controlled version: intermittent fasting. Fasting triggers numerous hormonal adaptations that do not happen with simple caloric

reduction. Insulin drops sharply, preventing insulin resistance. Noradrenaline rises, keeping metaboli...

maintaining le...

daily caloric reduction causes starvation

mode where fasting does not. The study concluded: “Importantly, ADF (Alternate Daily Fasting) was not associated with an increased risk for weight regain.” The

importance of this statement will not be lost on anybody who has ever tried to lose weight. You can lose weight on virtually a...

loss is the real...

Fasting works because...

basal metabolism high. W...

survival mec...

During fasting, the body opens up its ample supply of stored food—body fat. Basal metabolism stays high, and instead of using food as our fuel, we use food our bodies have stored as

body fat. After all, that’s exactly

why

we stored it in the fi...

During fasting, we first burn glycogen stored in the liver. When that is finished, we use body fat. Oh hey, good news: there’s plenty of fat

stored here. Burn, baby, burn. And since

there is plenty of fuel, there is no reason for ba...

d...

That’s the difference between long-term weight loss and a lifetime of despair. That’s the knife edge between success and failure. Simply put, fasting provides beneficial hormonal changes that are entirely prevented by the constant intake of food, even when ...

fasting that makes it so...

effec...

If we want our bodies t...

the sugar that is causing type 2 diabetes, we need the fire of our basal metabolism to remain stoked. We can forge our new diabetes-f...

Fasting lowers insulin maximally, so it is quite simply the quickest and most efficient method.

Still, the very low–carbohydrate diet does remarkably well, giving you 71

percent of the benefits of ...

without actual ...

the benefits of carbohydrate restriction on blood glucose were not simply due to calorie restriction. This is useful knowledge, considering how many health professionals keep parroting that “It’s all about the calories.” Actually, it’s not. If it were true, then a plate of brownies would be as fattening, and as likely to cause type 2 diabetes, as a kale salad with grilled salmon and olive oil, as long as the calories were equal. But this notion is clearly

ridiculous.

The more we eat ultra-processed, insulin-stimulating food, the more we need to fast to bring those insulin levels back down. And nothing beats fasting for bringing down ins...

It’s not a question of either/or. We can incorporate ...

LCHF diet for maximal...

FASTING ALLOWS US to naturally empty the sugar from our body (the sugar bowl). Once empty, any incoming sugar will no longer spill out into the blood, and we will no longer meet the criteria for diabetes. We

will have

reversed the ...

Intensifying the duration or frequency of your fasting regimen may improve the chances of getting results. Undertake shorter fasts more often. Extend a longer fast. Often it is useful to do a longer fast on a regular basis, say every three to six months. Or make your fast stricter, say, by shifting from a bone broth fast to a water-only fast. If you find fasting difficult, it can be useful to closely monitor your diet and try to lower your dietary carbohydrates further.

It’s not unusual to get hunger pains or headaches or even to experience muscle cramps or skin irritations. These side effects are often signs that the body is dumping its

toxic sugar load. Often, they will lessen and go away over a few weeks, but be sure to discuss them with your doctor. Another sign that the body is getting rid of its excess sugar is the dawn phenomenon.

The DP is created by the circadian rhythm. Just before awakening (around 4 am), the body secretes higher levels of adrenaline, growth hormone, glucagon, and cortisol to prepare for the upcoming day. Adrenaline gives our body some energy. Growth hormone helps repair and synthesize new protein. Glucagon

helps move glucose from storage into the blood so it’s ready to use as energy. Cortisol, the stress hormone, gets us ready for activity. After all, we are never quite so relaxed as in deep sleep. This normal circadian hormonal surge tells the liver to start pushing out some glucose and generally activates the body. It’s a good ol’ fashioned hormonal kick in the ass, so

In nondiabetic situations where there is no need to manage blood glucose artificially, the DP is a normal occurrence, but most people miss it because the magnitude of the rise is very small.

Like the overinflated balloon, the liver puts forth prodigious amounts of sugar in order to relieve itself of this toxic

sugar burden.