Has anyone heard about the high-nutrient (Nutritarian) diet(Dr. Joel Fuhrman), the Alternative to low-carbohydrate diet like Dr Bernstein?
A nutritarian diet is one that includes mainly the foods that are highest in nutritional value. Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live diet is one example of a nutritarian diet. Nutritarians choose what foods to eat using the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index, or ANDI, which gives foods a score by dividing the amount of nutrients in the food by the amount of calories in the food.
I hope this works for you. Dr. Furman has a book called The End of Diabetes, which in itself sets off warning bells. Here's on quote from the book's description that is downright scary:
"Type 1 diabetics can take control of their health with Dr. Fuhrman’s plan. This simple and effective plan offers great food, starts working right away, and puts you on a direct path to a longer, better, fuller, disease-free life."
Claims like this, IMO, come from charlatans and often earn them a good living.
I'm not really a fan of Joel Fuhrman. I've posted on him before and don't trust his advice. He basically is an animal rights activist and likes to wrap his words in science but it all just seems a sham. Think about it, the Nutritarian Diet. This is a diet that contains "micronutrients," things that are vital to health but haven't been discovered. In other words, "magic." This is what is called Science Woo.
There are entirely valid reasons for following a diet like Fuhrman's or vegan or vegetarian. For instance religion, not liking meat or even a ethical reason like believing it "saves animals." But I get really irate when people like Fuhrman wave their hands perverting science with their woo and deceive people. There just isn't any evidence that his diet is healthy, let alone healthy for someone with diabetes.
ps. And it was Furhman that produced that film "Simply Raw" with that shaman Gabriel Cousens which claimed that raw vegan cured T1. pps. I am not against alternate diets or vegetarians. My daughter is a vegetarian. I am against bad science and deception.
I favor any " diabetic diet" that encourage eating NON GMO fruit, veggie, nut, seed, beans whole grain and limited meat(Flexitarian: Eats small amounts of animal products occasionally. I'm just not a fan of low carb "diet"/counting carbs. I would like to find an alternative.
Is there a need to follow any "diet?" I mean, if you like fruit and it doesn't wreak havoc on your sugar, eat it. Same for vegetables and nuts and seeds and grains, etc. If it isn't working for your body, won't your body tell you so?
I am not familiar with Dr. Furman but I would definitely steer clear of him now that I've see the earlier replies. I've been told that the 30 banana diet will cure my T1 diabetes. There's all kinds of stuff out there that's just plain scary.
There are lots of diets you can follow. I'm a little unclear about what you want. You say you want to limit animal products. Would you eat seafood? What about dairy?
No matter what diet you choose, I don't think you will get away from the fact that dietary carbs directly raise our blood sugars. Even if you don't follow a "low carb diet" you will always have to be aware of and manage the carbs you eat. After all, what brings us all together here is that we have diabetes.
His website claims that his book The End of Diabetes is a must read for all diabetics type 1&2 and their doctors. It then offers the book for sale with an option to have it signed for an additional fee. To me it seems more like a money making scandal than a massive scientific breakthrough in diabetes management . This is only my opinion feel free to disagree.
His nutrient dense approach is all about cleaning up the diet. Just so happens that those foods end up being low calorie and nutrient dense and anti inflammatory. Just what the diabetic as well as non diabetic can benefit from. Not too hard to figure out. Science and sense. The non low carb items would be beans or lentils mostly. When we look at a diet we not only have to think about what we re taking out but what we are putting in and vice versa.
I'm on a see food diet, I see food and eat it!! *munch munch* LOL,you are a hoot!! I just finished "running off" some tortilla corn chips I just Had to have. Exercise and bolus should stave off the spike.
Missrobbie, take a look at the vegan diet.While you are at it, research gluten intolerance and how it is linked to diabetes. When you are all done with that research the leaky gut and how it relates to diabetes and gluten intolerance.
I am type 2 diabetic and i am transitioning to a gluten free, vegan diet. I feel much better now and actually have some hope that instead of being sick all the time i can have renewed strength and actually reverse my disease.
For months, i had a terrible time controlling my blood sugar and my numbers reached the low 30's. My doctor is vegan and he told me i would need to revamp my diet, top to bottom. Oh, i said? And, what kind of diet should i take on? He said if you want to remain on insulin all your life stick with a conventional diet. If you want to reverse your diabetes eat a vegan diet.
So, i have been researching my little heart out to get to the bottom of all this and not one to just "follow orders" i wanted to find out for myself why the vegan diet is considered (by some) to be all that. Well, i found out and it did not take me long to start to make changes.
Take time to read this article. It might make a light bulb pop in your head if you are anything like me.
I've been slowly switching to NON GMO and gluten food already. Right now, I try to stick to the Myplate "diet" from the government eat fruit, veggie, whole grain carbs and protein (meat, bean, seed, nuts, eggs). My goal is not to become a vegan or vegetarian but Flexitarians- Nutritarian because I don't believe meat(limited portions of organic grass fed meat) is a diabetes enemy but genetically modified foods .
Flexitarians/Part time vegetarian : Flexitarians are people who do not want to give up animal products altogether, but for reasons such as health, ethics or religion are interested in eating a diet that includes more plant foods and less meat and other animal foods. meat is viewed as a garnish, or flavoring, rather than as a main course and focus is on plant-based entrees seasoned with small amounts of meat.
Nutritarian- a person who has a preference for foods that are high in micronutrients
Just be careful of your sodium with those meats. Seafood can be high in sodium. If you get shell fish from your butcher / meat counter that is cooked and has been previously frozen, ask them to check the packaging to check the amount of sodium per ounce, for instance. This is something you should check, even at a "natural foods" store like whole foods.
With chicken and turkey, if it is prepackaged, they sometimes brine it or inject some salty solution to puff it up which contains a ton of sodium. Read the labels when you can. You could have 4 times as much sodium in your raw chicken breast before you get it home, and not realize it. Easy for me, because I live in california and things are pretty well labeled here, but when I travel to other states, they are not as good about giving out that info easily.
I personally have extra medical problems, so I have a special diet and this one would not work for me. I really hope this works well for you.
I don't necessarily disagree with all of Fuhrman's diet, I disagree with the man and his activities. I also avoid many modern foods, not necessarily because they are GMO, but because their form has become unnatural and my body cannot tolerate them. Like wheat, it appears that the modern dwarf wheat just does not sit with me well. The same with much of today's fruit which is just a bag of sugar.
The foods at highest risk of being direct GMO are wheat, rice, flax, soy, corn, papaya, canola, sugar beets, squash and zucchini. But I consider this list to be misleading. In fact, humans have been modifying crops for thousands of years by selective breeding. Most fruits today are nothing like their traditional form. Compare a wild apple to an apple in your grocery store. Most fruits such as apples, citrus, bananas and so forth should probably be avoided and you should stick to berries that are very close to their wild form. Another food that we are told is not GMO is the potato, again that is deceptive, the modern Idaho potato is nothing like the wild form. If you choose to eat potatoes, try to get some of the heirloom varieties.
missrobbie, i researched Flexitarian, too, and i consider myself one at this time only because it describes how i am eating now as i transition over to a vegan diet.
The Flexitarian diet looks healthy to me but i don't do well with meat anymore. I do eat a little bit of chicken, though, and i seem to still want that meat and a little bit of fish. Red meats, pork, sausage, deli meats, all of which used to be my staples, i don't miss and don't digest any more. My body lets me know which foods i can eat and which foods i must eliminate.
The other night i went to bed feeling hungry. I had eaten plant foods all day with a little bit of chicken for dinner. I woke up in the night and devoured the left over chicken (2 small thighs.)I thought they tasted so good! Within 10 minutes of eating the chicken i threw it all up. My body is just refusing meats. Since doing all the research on the vegan diet, including reading on all the cruelty to animals issues, i have pretty well lost my appetite most of the time.
I am learning to eat again. Being diabetic i can't just skip a meal. I am rarely hungry at lunch time but i must eat all the same. I have to be so careful to eat the right nutrition as you know all too well.
After a full day yesterday of eating only a little bit my blood sugar dropped to 3.0. I felt like i was going to pass out and i felt like i might die. I laid in bed and prayed. I was so scared. Ate a chocolate bar and 2 oranges and some almond nut butter and got my BS back up to 6.8. In more than a year being diabetic, this has never happened to me before.
Yes, i am learning how to eat all over again and i believe how i eat now is going to save my life.
The Myplate diet is very healthy. I hope you have good success with it.
