Treatment of diabetes II type with caloric restriction

[Antiaging Europe]

Sara, from Finland, age 56, diagnosed with diabetes II type, came to our program with an intention to lose 10 kg (22 lb) in 3 weeks and to detoxify her body. She insisted on 21 days of water fasting. Usually we do not allow water fasting for more than 4-5 days if the client has no previous fasting experience. As Sara had such experience, we decided to try to go 2 weeks on water (0 Cal. per day) and a week on juice (200-300 Cal. per day).

Upon arrival, she was transferred to a spa hotel located in a park on an island on the River Danube. On the next day, we checked her cardiovascular system, as arrhythmic heartbeat is the main contraindication for fasting. Luckily, her heart was functioning normally. However, in addition to diabetes she had several symptoms of the metabolic syndrome, such as arthritis, thyroid gland disease, hypotyreos type 2, fibromyalgia, atherosclerosis and hypertension. Her had decided to try fasting as a last remedy to prevent the progression of diabetes.

After the medical checkup, we approved the preliminary plan described above. On her first day after arrival, Sara's meal was a fruit salad with carrot, apple and orange. Before going to bed she took a laxative to clean her gastrointestinal tract. Her blood sugar level next morning was 9.5 mmol/l (obvious diabetes). From the 2nd day she started drinking only water. During the first week, Sara was very active, walking in the morning in the park about an hour every day. She had a massage every second day. Budapest is famous for its thermal spas used for treatment of many health problems. Hence, she visited thermal spa pools, located in the hotel.

The first fasting week was very successful, Sara's general condition improved substantially. She dropped 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and experienced only minor side effects such as headache and sleepiness, which often occur in the beginning of fasting. On the 1st day blood pressure was 150/100, but gradually it lowered down and become normal 135/80. Her blood sugar level also gradually went down and on the 7th day of fasting it was 7.0 mmol/l. Pain reduced sufficiently.

So we went on the second week as planned before. Still, being experienced fasting practitioners, we knew that diabetes can bring us unpleasant surprises. Something happened on Sara's 12th day of fasting. She felt very irritated, had dizziness, vision problems, and weakness - typical syndromes of diabetic pre-coma conditions. We measured her blood sugar level and it was 3.2 mmol/l. It was interesting, that on this critical 12th day her blood pressure jumped to 170/110. But blood sugar level was more important for us. Usually for people without diabetes it is normal that blood sugar drops to 3.0, even 2.0. Non-diabetic people usually tolerate such low sugar well, as at that time after long fasting period the main fuel in the body becomes not glucose, but ketone bodies from fat. Even the brain, whose usual energy source is glucose, starts to use ketone bodies as up to 70 percent of source fuel after several days of fasting. So at that stage only 30% of energy used by the brain comes from glucose. After about a week of fasting, the whole body metabolism changes dramatically but in a good direction: the body uses fat as a main source of energy, and, most importantly, uses “wrong” tissues, like damaged proteins, weak old cells, etc.

Patients with advanced diabetes metabolism have no such flexibility as people free from diabetes. So, we had to be very cautious as for a person with diabetes much time is needed, that means more fasting days in order to start changing metabolism in a right direction. That is why we changed our tactic for Sara. We had to go something like “one step back and two steps ahead”. So we decided to break the water fast and switch Sara immediately to juice fasting, and we used mostly vegetable and fruit juices with low content of glucose and sucrose. So, the next morning after she started drinking juices her blood sugar was 7.6. On the 14th day it was 6.4, on the 16th day 5.5, on the 18th day 4.8, and on the 21st day - the day of her departure - blood sugar level stabilized at 5.0 that was an ideal value for a healthy person.

So, was Sara's diabetes cured? Obviously, it was a tactical victory over diabetes, not a strategic one. The main battle with this disease will be a homework for Sara. From now on she would change her nutrition style completely according to our recommendations. And what about her weight? In 21 days she dropped 9 kg (19.8 lb). Blood pressure dropped again to normal values during the third week.

Our suggestion: To prevent or treat serious chronic illnesses, one may follow a fasting regime not just once, but do it periodically, 2 or better 3 or even 4 times a year. We call such diet regime "Anti-Aging Cyclic Nutrition".