Whether you’re familiar with it or not, I urge you to read through to the end, because there’s something we all can — and must — do to change the finale.

This is a real story, even though it sounds too bizarre and incredible to be true…

Imagine you’ve been feeling sick for a week — and you finally ask your wife to take you to Urgent Care.

Suddenly you’re being rushed to a hospital, where a doctor announces that your blood sugar is so high (over 700!) that you’re heading into a diabetes-induced coma.

What a wake-up call!

When you’re finally out of danger, the doc explains that your A1C (blood sugar level) is too high to read. And so, to stay alive, he says you’ll need to stick your finger daily to measure your blood glucose — and then inject yourself with insulin four times a day for the rest of your life.

“Do I have any alternatives?” you ask him. And, of course, he has little to offer you.

So when you’re released, you hit the Internet and discover that your diet of Pepsi and Bojangles biscuits has given you a bad case of Type 2 diabetes.

After a little more research, you discover that some people say it’s possible to get completely better simply by improving your diet and getting some physical activity.

And so you give it a try…

Lo and behold: In a couple of weeks, your blood sugar levels start to drop.

In fact, they go back to normal — and you’re ecstatic because you no longer need insulin or any more drugs.

You’re so excited, in fact, that you want to yell about your “miracle” from the rooftops. So you start a blog to share your experience and the recipes that got you well.

Then, you receive a chilling phone call

Turns out that the American Dietetic Association (ADA) reported you to the state of North Carolina — and they’re not very happy with you.

A state official demands that you take your blog down immediately because you’re breaking the law.

“What law?” you innocently ask.

“The law that prohibits you from dispensing dietary advice without being a licensed dietitian,” the bureaucrat proclaims.

“But I’m not ‘dispensing’ anything,” you reply. “I’m just telling people about my experience.”

But it really doesn’t matter

Yes, folks, this really happened — right here in America — to a young man named Steve Cooksey. (You can read Steve’s personal story here).

Week after week, Steve continued to be hounded incessantly by North Carolina officials and the ADA.

They made him remove all claims of “curing” himself from his blog. They told him he couldn’t offer any dietary advice in his blog — even if it pertained to his personal experience.

What’s wrong with this picture?

The state of North Carolina and the ADA have tromped all over Steve’s First Amendment right that guarantees us of Freedom Of Speech. (His blog is still live, but only because Steve promised to delete some of his statements — and to add numerous legal disclaimers. Then they ominously reminded him: “We’ll be watching you.”)

What was Steve’s egregious crime?

He blew the whistle on the great scam that is Type 2 diabetes.

He dared to reveal how the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association are helping to perpetuate the current diabetes epidemic by advising patients to eat a low-fat/high carb diet, and then “controlling” their resulting high blood sugar with drugs.

And he exposed the little-known fact that both of these organizations are almost entirely supported by “contributions” from the manufacturers of processed carbohydrate food products, and diabetes drugs.

Type 2 diabetes: “The first corporate-sponsored disease”

Such is the insidious power that corporations now wield over our Constitutionally-guaranteed personal liberties.

This is a noticeable trend, my friends. And the more we allow it, the bolder these greedy, power crazed people will become.

How can we stop them? I can think of three ways (but I bet you can think of more):

First, quit buying their junky products. These corporations will crumble — or reform themselves — when enough of us withhold our dollars and our tacit support.

Second, get well. Really well. Because we have no real power when we are weak and ill. Health is the most revolutionary act we can undertake in a time when so many of our other important freedoms are threatened.

Then, once you get well, never stop “getting better.”

BTW … If you or a loved one has Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes — or you’re simply overweight and out of shape — it’s never been more important for you to reclaim your health and fitness. (If you’re in doubt about what you should do, our book, The 30-Day Diabetes Cure, will guide you step-by-step.

Finally, show your support for Steve Cooksey — and everyone’s Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech — by signing this petition, and asking your family and friends to pass it around.

You can start a “ripple effect”

In his excellent new book, The Willpower Instinct, Professor Kelly McGonigal, PhD, cites several studies showing that certain behaviors are “contagious.”

For example, when people see their friends and family members engage in behaviors such as overeating, smoking, binge drinking, and sedentary living — they are more likely to indulge too.

Prof. McGonigal explains that our indulgent friends are giving us “silent permission” to act the same way. And when we follow their example, we’re passing that permission on to others.

But other studies demonstrate that just the opposite also happens.

When someone in our circle decides to say no, get well, shape up, and reach higher — it has a positive effect on those around us. They are, in effect, helping to spread a “health virus.”

Say no to the “soft life”

We’ve been seduced by corporations to “take the easy way out” since the end of World War II.

And just look what — and where — it’s gotten us…

Two-thirds of all Americans are either overweight or obese. One-in-three have diabetes — or soon will. Half of us will develop a lifestyle-linked cancer in our lifetime.

We are drowning in a flood of products and services that seduce us with the promise of more “leisure” … “convenience” … “labor-saving” … and “immediate gratification.”

We’ve been trained by the media to give in to our every impulse, with no regard to the consequences of our actions or our uncontrolled desires.

Our willpower, like a muscle un-used, has gone flaccid and is nearly atrophied.

I say “nearly” because, with some regular practice and exertion, we can make it strong again. We still have a chance.

We are paying a dear price for our weakness — not the least of which is our freedom.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, as they say. Few things of real value are ever “easy.”

We lost our way when we began believing we could have something for nothing.

Now it’s time to find our way back to the path.

Who’s next, after Steve?

The Founding Fathers of America were no strangers to the effects of greed and oppression.

They put their lives on the line when British royalty (the 18th century equivalent of our modern corporations) denied them the basic freedoms we now take for granted.

But they wisely recognized the power of speaking and acting together. United. All for one and one for all. And they started a revolution.

In 1776, just before signing the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin declared: “We must, indeed, all hang together — or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Such is our situation today.

We ignore Ben’s advice at our peril.

What do you suggest we do?

How do you feel about food and drug corporations (through their official minions) being able to gag Steve Cooksey and take away his freedom of speech?

What can — and should — we all do about this?

Who, in your life, do you admire as a “health hero?”

What do you do to inspire your family and friends to get well and “keep getting better?”

What’s your personal practice for strengthening your willpower?

What’s the most important piece of health advice you’ve ever received?

Please share your comments and wisdom here to educate and inspire others — and to bring us together — so we can transform ourselves and our world for the sake of all beings.

And, please, “keep getting better!”

Anti-fat’s top three heavyweight organizations — the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — have just joined together to produce an HBO special, entitled The Weight of the Nation, which begins airing May 14.

The TV show kicks off “a nationwide community-based outreach campaign” to save America from itself by “sounding the alarm” about our obesity problem — particularly childhood obesity.

Pardon me, but this is more like calling the fire department after the house has burned to the ground — especially if you saw the headlines from their own study,  predicting that half of the US population will be obese by 2030.

So the IOM, CDC, and NIH have come up with a brilliant new idea that will turn this deadly trend around. Are you ready for this?

“Stop eating so much — and, please, get more exercise!”

In other words, we’re fat because we’re lazy and have no willpower.

If we could just control our impulses and push ourselves to exercise more, the obesity problem would shrink to nothing.

We need an HBO special for this?

Isn’t this the same tired advice they’ve been clobbering us with for decades?

It hasn’t worked then — and it won’t work now (no matter how many more millions they spend to spread the word).

The only thing this advice has accomplished is to make Americans feel bad about themselves because they’re so weak-willed.

But the real reason we have an obesity crisis is because the advice we’ve been getting from health officials is stuck in the Dark Ages — and completely out of touch with science.

“Too many calories” isn’t the problem

Thank goodness we have writers like Gary Taubes, author of “Why We Get Fat” and “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” to blow away this public health smokescreen and clear the air.

In his cover story “Why the Campaign to Stop America’s Obesity Crisis Keeps Failing”, in the current issue of Newsweek, Taubes reminds us that our weight problem isn’t caused by how much we’re eating — but rather what is going into our mouths.

It’s about the sugar, stupid

Taubes argues that certain foods — mainly sweeteners and refined grains—are at the heart of the problem because they trigger insulin, the hormone that regulates fat accumulation.

It’s not that we can’t control our impulses, but that our entire food system is dominated by sugar and cheap carbs — both of which are extremely fattening.

These carbs represent the cheapest calories in our food supply (thanks to generous government subsidies) — and the most attractive (because of massive ad campaigns).

They’re also the biggest profit items for food companies, which can afford to pay today’s sports heroes to endorse them — and Washington lobbyists to make sure the food industry receives favorable legislation.

The insulin connection

A few weeks ago I described in detail how insulin makes (and keeps) us fat.

In a nutshell, insulin traps fat in your fat cells so it can’t be burned as fuel by your body.

Consuming sugar, sweets, sodas, and refined carbs keep insulin levels high, so our fat cells never get a chance to empty out. It’s a vicious cycle.

Add to this, the fact that sugar and sweets are as physically addictive as narcotics and nicotine, and you can see what’s really causing our obesity crisis.

Taubes correctly points out that the real reason this new anti-obesity push won’t work (again) isn’t because we’re not heeding the “experts” advice — or that we’re weak-willed.

The fault is the guidance we’ve been getting. It just doesn’t jibe with the science of how the human body gains and loses weight.

And the next time someone admonishes you to start exercising to drop some pounds, tell them this…

“Exercise is pretty useless for weight loss.”

That’s the conclusion of Eric Ravussin, head of the Department of Diabetes and Metabolism at Louisiana State University (LSU), quoted in a TIME magazine cover story entitled, The Myth About Exercise; TIME magazine (August 17, 2009).

Research conducted at LSU, randomly assigned overweight women to four groups.

Women in three of the groups were asked to work out with a personal trainer for 72 minutes, 136 minutes, or 194 minutes every week for six months. Women in the fourth group (the control) were told to maintain their usual physical-activity routines. All the women were asked not to change their eating habits one bit.

The findings were surprising to say the least:

All the women lost weight, but those who sweated it out with a trainer several days a week lost no more than the control group did. Any many of the exercising women actually gained weight — with some adding 10 pounds or more!

In fact, exercise has never been proven effective for losing weight. But this doesn’t stop the experts from pushing this wrong-headed belief on overweight people.

I’m all for exercise and physical activity. It’s part of my daily life because it keeps me strong and energetic — and I love how good it makes me feel.

I also know my regular workouts will lengthen my life and protect my brain, while fostering peak mental performance and emotional well-being.

But one benefit it won’t provide me is weight loss.

Just do the math…

As Taubes points out, it takes a significant amount of exercise to burn even a modest amount of calories.

A three-mile run burns up roughly the amount of calories in a single candy bar, according to Cornell University researcher Brian Wansink.

And because exercise stimulates your hunger, you’re likely to eat that candy bar — and then some — after your workout.

Here too, the science is very clear: It’s what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that makes the difference when it comes to losing weight.

So please stop torturing yourself.

And another thing…

Despite plenty of good science to the contrary, the anti-obesity establishment continues to place the blame for our weight woes on meat, animal products, and dietary fat.

Since the mid-1970s, public health agencies have brainwashed us into believing that these foods cause colon cancer and heart disease (because of the saturated fat) — and now, because they supposedly makes us fat as well.

But surprise — eating dietary fat and animal protein doesn’t make us fat. Consuming sugar and refined carbs are the real culprits.

Yet, while the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars (our tax dollars, mind you) trying to prove that salt and saturated fat are killers, it has spent virtually nothing on warning us about the dangers of sugar.

So what should we eat?

The very best way to lose weight, as many of us have been saying for years, is to restrict sugar and refined carbs (because they trigger insulin production) — and fill your plate with green leafy vegetables and “clean” animal products, including fish, meat, eggs, and hormone-free (or raw) dairy products.

The pounds will fall off you like crazy on this diet. And if you want to exercise, it will accelerate the process (and improve your overall health).

What else can we do?

These new recommendations do make some good points. For example, they propose a tax on sodas and sweetened drinks. And they want to make fresh vegetables and whole foods more available.

They even suggest an end to farm subsidies to giant agribusiness corporations to make food prices more competitive. Finally, the coalition wants cities to provide more sidewalks and parks so we all can become less dependent on our cars.

Will these ideas help?

I’d like to know what you think of these proposals — and about your ideas for how we can turn the tide against the obesity tsunami.

Have you lost weight lately? What worked for you?

Please share your ideas here so we can all benefit from your experience.

To serve you better, I’d love to know how satisfied you are with the health information you’re receiving from me — and to receive any suggestions you may have for how I can improve my service to you.

In other words, I need your help.

Would you please take a few minutes to share your opinions and suggestions with me?

Look for the separate popup window for the survey on your screen.

Thanks for your help!

Keep Getting Better!

The news triggered a flurry of memories in me, harkening back to my pre-teen years when I used to hurry home from school to catch American Bandstand on TV.

There, in the privacy of my latchkey home, I practiced the latest dance steps in front of our Zenith console, memorized the words to the top 10 hit songs of the day, and generally aped how to dress and act “cool” like the big kids.

Here today, gone tomorrow

Clark’s sudden death was a sobering reminder of the impermanence of life.

It seems like “just yesterday” that I was a pimply punk who couldn’t wait to trade my trusty tube of Clearasil for a Gillette razor.

How could half a century have snuck by so quickly?

Of course, that’s how life is: Temporary and evanescent.

When an icon from our life passes on, it’s an unavoidable reminder that, one day, we will too.

Heeding the message

For me, there are three “messages” in Dick Clark’s passing.

First, it’s a reminder to take even better care of myself. (I’ll get to the other two in a bit.)

Clark was often called “America’s oldest teenager” because he never seemed to age and appeared to be the epitome of good health.

I never knew that he had Type 2 diabetes for almost 20 years.

He certainly didn’t fit our usual picture of diabetes because he was so slim. But this is a popular misconception.

Being fat doesn’t cause diabetes.

Is “diabesity” a real medical condition?

The latest medical fad making the rounds today is something called “diabesity” — a made-up medical condition popularized by Dr. Mark Hyman in his recent book, “The Blood Sugar Solution.”

Dr. Hyman uses the term to lump together “pre-diabetes,” Type 2 diabetes, and obesity (or being overweight) as a new “disease” — and he claims that more than half the US population is suffering from it.

The implication is that anyone who is overweight has diabesity, as well. But as Dick Clark’s example shows, this just isn’t necessarily true.

The fact is, 20-30% of all people with diabetes are slim or have normal weight.

And with regard to Dr. Hyman’s diabesity calculations, his numbers don’t add up.

Current statistics show that two-thirds of the US population is either overweight or obese. Yet, approximately 10% of American adults have Type 2 — while as many as 60 million could have undiagnosed prediabetes.

In other words, just because you’re overweight doesn’t mean you have undiagnosed diabetes. And if you happen to be slim, like Dick Clark was, it’s no guarantee that you don’t have — or won’t get — Type 2.

Putting the blame on being overweight or obese takes the focus off the real culprit, which is…

The incredible amount of sugar Americans consume

A lot of people these days are pinning the blame for our diabetes epidemic on obesity.

True, there are a number of health problems associated with carrying too much weight. But being overweight doesn’t mean that getting Type 2 diabetes is inevitable.

Let’s look again at Dick Clark, who was diagnosed with Type 2 at age 64.

Not long after, he became a spokesman for the American Association of Diabetes Educators and frequently spoke about “proper management,” which included controlling one’s weight, exercising more, eating better, watching your cholesterol, and keeping blood sugar under control with medication.

This was the conventional advice of his day — and remains so today, two decades later.

Yet, since that time, clinical research (such as the famous ACCORD study of 2008) has shown that tight management of blood sugar with drugs actually increases the incidence of heart attack and stroke.

And a separate section of ACCORD further revealed that cholesterol-lowering medications fail to protect against fatal cardiovascular events.

Heart attack and stroke (Clark had one in 2004), are the leading complications of diabetes. Together, they’re the cause in 75% of all diabetic fatalities.

While his death certificate may cite heart attack as the cause of death, diabetes — in all probability — is what really claimed Dick Clark’s life.

We’re still receiving the wrong information

What can we do about this?

Clearly, current medical treatment isn’t stopping the spread of Type 2. There’s a new diagnosis every 5 seconds somewhere in the world.

Simply eating fewer calories, cutting-out fatty foods, losing weight, and dutifully taking your meds — which sum up the recommendations of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and mainstream medicine — has misled an entire generation.

If we don’t understand what really causes and worsens Type 2 diabetes, how will we ever get it under control?

Diabetes isn’t about being fat.

It isn’t about eating too many fatty foods.

And it certainly isn’t about keeping your blood sugar and cholesterol under doctor-recommended limits with medications.

The truth about Type 2

Type 2 diabetes is about consuming too much sugar and refined carbs — and not getting enough physical activity to burn it off.

It’s about the massive amounts of inflammation that all this blood sugar and consequent insulin cause in our blood stream and organs.

This inflammation literally “burns us up” on the inside.

It destroys our blood vessels, cranks up our blood pressure, clogs up our kidneys, and sets our nerves on fire.

It steals our eyesight. Rots our limbs. And kills our brain cells.

As long as we keep eating sugar, gulping sodas, and wolfing down refined carbohydrates, our body never has a chance to heal itself.

We simply keep getting worse — and all the drugs in the world can’t possibly turn this around.

Our only hope

Our only hope is to cool this fire down. And the first place to start is by quitting sugar.

More and more people are coming to realize just how toxic and addictive sweeteners are.

As I wrote recently, this stuff is pure poison.

So please don’t fall for the seduction of doctors and the ADA, which promise that you can “have your cake and eat it too,” just as long as you take your blood sugar drugs.

You can no more make a compromise with diabetes than you can make a deal with the devil.

We already have plenty of scientific evidence exposing this lie.

We also have reams of clinical studies and thousands of successful case histories proving that Type 2 can be reversed simply by improving your diet and changing your lifestyle before it’s too late.

There are plenty of books that show how to achieve this, from William Banting’s Letter on Corpulence (published in 1863) to Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution to Dr. Hyman’s The Blood Sugar Solution — and to my own step-by-step program (written with Dr. Stefan Ripich), The 30-Day Diabetes Cure.

All these books agree on the basic methods for reversing Type 2 and rescuing your health.

Start cooling off your body now

In a nutshell, here are the important steps that can stop the raging fires of inflammation — and turn the tide against Type 2 diabetes…

Quit drinking sodas. These are pure sweetener. A 12-ounce can or bottle contains the equivalent of 9 teaspoons of sugar (usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which is even worse for your body). The same goes for sweetened teas, sports drinks, fancy coffee drinks, even fruit juice.

Avoid processed foods. Don’t eat anything that comes in a box or a bag. These food products also trigger inflammation because they’re “fast carbs” that are quickly converted to blood sugar. This includes bread and baked goods … breakfast cereals … chips and most commercial snacks … cookies and crackers … you get the idea.

Eat whole food. Build your diet around high-quality protein, fresh vegetables, and healthy fats. (You’ll find full details about the Diabetes Healing Superfoods in The 30-Day Diabetes Cure.)

Get more active. Regular physical activity burns up the excess glucose in your bloodstream. Coupled with avoiding sugar and refined carbs, physical activity will keep your insulin low, so your stored body fat can be burned as an energy supply. Exercise also re-sensitizes your cells to insulin, so you’ll use less (whether it’s your body’s own or your medication). Start by walking and build up to 30-60 minutes of vigorous, sweaty activity every day. It’s the best medicine you have — so use it.

Forget about “losing weight.” If you follow the above tips, your body will shed weight like crazy. You won’t have to worry about dieting, or portion control, or counting calories.

Experiment with supplements. There are several that keep inflammation in check and help lower your blood sugar. For example…

Omega-3 fish oil is loaded with healing EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) — both produce profound effects on your health.

Coenzyme Q 10 boosts the way your cells produce and utilize energy. Studies show it improves outcomes of people with diabetes.

Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant and essential fatty acid that helps control blood sugar, while reducing the pain of diabetic neuropathy.

Magnesium citrate helps several of your body’s glucose-processing enzymes work better. Adequate magnesium levels are essential for healthy blood sugar and efficient insulin activity.

Chromium picolinate has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity by increasing the number of insulin receptors on your cells.

Vitamin D3 is very important for all of us — but especially so for people with diabetes. Studies show that it helps the body control blood sugar. And newer research indicates that it reduces the risk of developing heart disease. (Read more about these healthy supplements — and more — at MyHealingKitchen.com.)

This is just the beginning

There are dozens and dozens of things you can do to save yourself from a lifetime of drugs, miserable complications, pain and suffering, and endless visits to doctors and hospitals.

“Time’s a wastin’,” as they say — so quit putting it off.

And that’s the second important message I got from Dick Clark’s death…

None of us has unlimited time

Denial is a terrible temptress that fools us into believing tomorrow will always be there.

But it won’t be — so don’t buy into this delusion.

Psychologists tell us that people on their deathbeds are plagued by two universal regrets…

1. They wish they hadn’t wasted so much of their life.

2. They’re sorry they hadn’t done more to help others.

This boils down to the three essential questions most people ask themselves at the end: “Did I live?” “Did I love?” “Did I matter?”

It took nearly losing my life — not once, but twice — to get me to see how precious this human life is.

That’s when I stopped putting my dreams on hold. Quit taking the easy way out. And started making the most of the time I have left.

“Mañana” never comes

If you’re smothering in a dead-end job … a bad relationship … a self-defeating habit … or a straitjacket of excuses that are keeping you stuck, now is the time to break free.

Do something right now, no matter how small, toward your dream.

Then keep doing something that moves you toward your goal every single day until it becomes a habit.

Until you develop momentum.

Until your actions take on a force of their own and can sweep you along with them.

Our world needs your success and happiness.

Your family needs your love. Your kids and grandkids need your example. Your neighbors need your help. And these challenging times need you to step up and elevate yourself.

“Now” is the only time you have. Use it or lose it.

Dick Clark’s third important message:

No one gets out of this life alive, as the saying goes.

The older we get, the more we see our friends and contemporaries drop away — reminding us that, sooner or later, our time will come too.

Will we be ready? Have we lived a life of meaning? Are we complete with our family, our friends, and most of all, with ourselves?

Just keep in mind that no matter how much we try to prepare, the end comes as a big surprise.

I remember the final months with my Mom, after a long struggle with lung disease.

She denied it and fought till the very end.

At last, on the night before she passed away — in her sleep — she quit resisting and finally let go. I heard it in the quality of her breathing.

She never regained consciousness, but she had a very peaceful death.

If you’re feeling a bit uncomfortable with these words — or have the urge to click away — it’s only natural.

Our culture protects us from the subject. It’s much easier to ignore and deny it.

But we can choose to see death as an ally and a teacher, not the enemy to fight and fear.

In Europe, they respond to death by saying: “Living well is the best revenge.”

Asians honor death because it gives meaning to life — and helps them live in the moment.

I say: “Live like there’s no tomorrow … make every day your best … and devote your time to what’s truly important.”

What do you say?

I’d like to hear what you think…

Do you have a dream or goal you’ve been putting off?

If you had a magic wand that could give you the perfect life, what would it look like?

What are the obstacles you believe to be blocking this perfect life?

What’s one small act you can do immediately that can move you forward?

If you have diabetes, what can you give up eating or drinking right now that will improve your blood sugar? What might you substitute in its place?

Do you have a personal story of transformation that might inspire others reading this right now?

Please share your story here to give others hope.

We’re all in this together — and that’s the good news.

A new study shows that that regularly shorting yourself on sleep can put you at serious risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Here’s why…

Going to bed too late or tossing turning all night can throw your body chemistry so out of whack that it cause your blood sugar to spike to unhealthy levels.

“The grim sleeper”

Findings from an experiment published online last week in Science Translational Medicine confirm what doctors have observed for years: Not getting enough sleep increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Before this study, doctors believed this was mostly a problem that affected people who worked the night shift.

But it turns out that diabetes can creep up on anyone not getting enough shut-eye, graveyard shift or not. Here’s the explanation…

Sleep disorders depress insulin

The human body and brain evolved with the natural rhythm of darkness and light. Breaking this rhythm, by staying awake during all or part of sleep time, throws off the body’s natural circadian rhythm and prevents truly restful sleep in daylight hours.

Doctors at Brigham Young Women’s Hospital in Boston studied 21 volunteers under varying sleep schedules in a laboratory setting for 39 days to see what would happen to their blood sugar levels and weight as they got less sleep at the wrong time of day.

As the volunteers slept less, the amount of insulin their bodies secreted after meals decreased and blood sugar levels stayed high.

We know from previous studies that poor sleep triggers more cortisol (the worry hormone) and leptin, the hormone that controls hunger. (Excess cortisol elevates blood sugar all but itself, and more leptin causes us to eat and snack more during the day.)

So, working a night shift — or for that matter, sleeping poorly — can pack on about 10 extra pounds a year and also raises your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (and if you already have it, can make managing your blood sugar more difficult).

In fact, several volunteers in the Brigham Young study displayed symptoms of diabetes within a few weeks.

This is why Dr. Ripich and I have made sound sleep an important tenet in our Type 2-reversing plan, The 30-Day Diabetes Cure.

Best tips for sleep hygiene

There are lots of reasons people don’t get enough sleep: Stress. Worry. Poor eating habits. Restless partners. Noisy environments.

But all of these can be outsmarted, so you can sleep like a baby every night.

Making a few deliberate, mindful changes in your sleeping habits can produce a dramatic improvement in your health — including cutting down your chances of developing diabetes, or making management much easier.

Here are some ways you can help yourself get to sleep, stay asleep, and improve the quality of your “shut-eye”…

Program your brain. Get accustomed to going to bed at the same time every night, ideally by 10 p.m. — or before. Let the sun wake you in the morning. Keep this same routine, even on the weekends and your days off. This will help transition your brain and body through the natural cycle of sleep and wakefulness.

During the day. Be conscious about what you eat and drink before going to bed. Avoiding caffeine 8 hours before your planned bedtime will help you fall asleep more easily. An alcoholic drink or two in the evening will certainly calm you in the evening, but this can also wake you up after just a few hours. Caffeine and alcohol are also diuretics, which may lead to a bathroom visit (or two) in the middle of the night.

Make sure your daytime schedule includes some vigorous exercise — but finish this at least 5 hours before bedtime to avoid stimulating your system, unless it’s an after-dinner stroll. Daily exercise will keep you in shape and facilitates better quality sleep.

Skip napping. Sleeping during the day takes away from hours you should be getting at night, when our bodies were meant to sleep. Take time in the afternoon to rest, write in your journal, or meditate if you need to recharge.

Time your dinner. Eat dinner at least three to four hours before going to bed. This gives your digestive system plenty of time to process the meal — and assures that you won’t be startled awake because your bloodstream is craving more glucose. If possible, make lunch your biggest meal of the day so dinner can be light. (This is also a smart way to control your weight.)

Prepare your sleep space. Use your bedroom for sleep and romance only, not as your office or entertainment center. Leave your laptop and cell phone in another room. Banish the TV. Your bedroom should be a sanctuary for sleeping.

Keep the temperature of your bedroom on the cool side to encourage better sleep. Use room-darkening shades or blinds to block outside light and remove nightlights. Light is a signal to wake you up, so keep lights off if you must get up in the middle of the night, because this interrupts the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin. If there’s too much street noise, use a white-noise machine, fan or ear plugs.

Getting ready for the Sandman. If you’re used to being lulled to sleep in front of the TV or falling asleep in your clothes on the couch, changing how you prepare for bed can improve how well you sleep during the night.

Pre-bedtime is an opportunity to calm your nervous system after a stressful day. Run a warm bath and sprinkle in calming lavender oil, then sink in, perhaps with some soothing music in the background.

After soaking, pull on a warm, comfortable robe … lower the lights … ease under the covers and read a few pages of a non-action book. Let the day’s cares fade away as you turn out the light and focus on feeling your body relax.

Eating for better sleep

Insomnia is an all-too-common sleep disorder that can prevent you from dropping into the REM stage of sleep (when the body heals itself).

Recent studies show that certain foods have the ability to increase melatonin production, restore exhausted adrenal glands, reduce the production of stress hormones that inhibit sleep, and ease fatigue. All of these qualities are important for consistent, deep sleep and energized days.

Sleep foods. If you suffer from insomnia, don’t eat a large meal of any kind too close to bedtime. You may find that a small a snack of a tryptophan-rich food, such as a slice of turkey meat plus a “finger” of a good cheese, can help you ease into sleep. Another sleep-inducing snack is almond butter (or peanut butter) on a whole-grain cracker with a small glass of warm milk. An alternative is a half-cup of full-fat yogurt with a spoonful of honey (if your blood sugar can tolerate the sweetener).

“Insomnia Healing Superfoods.” You can read more about the top 12 sleep superfoods at MyHealingKitchen.com, but the list includes…

Whole grains … broccoli … nuts … beans … wild salmon … honey … grass-fed meats … seaweed … extra virgin olive oil … omega-3 eggs … spinach … and full-fat yogurt.

I encourage you to eat more of these foods because they’re good for you in so many ways — especially for helping to reverse Type 2 diabetes … improving your heart health … and giving you more energy all day long.

Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids increase your levels of the important brain chemical serotonin. (Serotonin converts to melatonin, the hormone that helps lull you to sleep as it gets dark.)

Besides free-range eggs, other omega-3 foods include: sardines and other oily fish, meat, milk and dairy products from grass-fed cows, and bison (buffalo).

You also may elect to take fish oil capsules on a daily basis. In addition to helping control your blood sugar, fish oil supports heart health, improves moods and brain function, and eases all types of inflammation, including arthritis.

I take 3,000 International Units (I.U.) of high-quality fish oil twice a day. Make sure the brand you buy is certified to be free of mercury and other toxins.

Supplements that can help

Sometimes a supplement can provide an extra nudge into the land of Nod. Here are the natural sleep aids with the best research backing them up. Experiment one at a time, until you find the one that works best for you…

Melatonin. Choose “slow-release” formulations and take 300 mcg at least four hours before bedtime (before your pineal gland starts producing its own supply as darkness falls).

Valerian root. Used for thousands of years as a mild sedative, this herb can help you fall asleep quickly and improve the quality of your sleep, according to more than 200 studies. For most people, it seems to take two weeks for the body to become vulnerable to its effect. Take 800 to 900 milligrams (mg) with a little food about an hour before bedtime.

5-HTP. The full scientific name is 5-hydroxy-tryptophan — and yes, it is a form of tryptophan which transforms into serotonin in your brain to provide genuine support for sleeping. (You can also now find tryptophan supplements.) One caution: If you’re taking an SSRI anti-depressant, such as Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil or Zoloft, you’re already getting enough serotonin, so don’t take this supplement. Otherwise, take 100 to 150 mg about an hour before you head to bed.

Magnesium. This all-purpose mineral can really help you nod off. Chronic insomnia and magnesium deficiency go hand in hand, especially in modern times when more people are eating processed foods that have been stripped of important nutrients.

Magnesium is responsible for an astonishing 300 or more essential metabolic reactions in the body and is key to a healthy nervous system. Some of its most important tasks are helping manufacture serotonin, the mood-calming neurotransmitter that converts to sleep-inducing melatonin at bedtime, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main energy molecule used by your cells. It’s the spark that lights your fire and the smooth mover that calms you down.

Consuming magnesium supplements (be sure to choose magnesium citrate, because it’s more easily be absorbed) can be challenging because they tend to be large and difficult to digest. That’s why I like Natural Calm, a fruit-flavored magnesium powder that mixes easily in water. I take it in the evening because of its relaxing effect. Start with a low dose, because it can loosen your stools (not necessarily a bad thing if constipation is a problem).

Another alternative, which is becoming very popular, is a topical magnesium liquid spray (like Activation’s Magnesium Infusion) which is absorbed through the skin and won’t affect your bowels.

Calcium. If you take a calcium supplement, take it at night in combination with your magnesium for best results. Western medicine and popular media have emphasized the need to get adequate calcium for healthy bones without focusing to the same degree on the need to take magnesium and vitamin D, the “sunshine hormone,” with calcium. All three are needed to maintain health.

When it comes to good sleep, calcium relaxes your muscles and helps your brain in manufacture the calming amino acid tryptophan, which is converted to serotonin and melatonin. That’s another reason why having a warm milky drink full of calcium helps you sleep well.

Have you mastered the fine art of sleeping well?

Following these suggestions can help improve your sleep so you feel more rested in the morning and have more energy during the day.

More importantly, these tips will become permanent habits that can save your health and fend off devastating diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and Alzheimer’s.

Now I want to hear from you…

Are you having trouble getting enough high-quality sleep? What do you think is preventing you from sleeping well?

Have you suffered poor sleep in the past — and found a way to return to good sleep?

What has worked for you?

My passion is helping you achieve a higher level of good health and wellness so you can enjoy a longer, happier, active, and more independent life — and be your best possible self.

But that can’t happen without a good night’s sleep.

So please share your story here. Your comments could make a big difference for someone reading them.

Till next time — stay healthy!

Sugar has finally been outed as the secret killer in the modern American diet.

This surely is no “secret” to you — but mainstream America (doctors included) just the got the word on primetime TV via 60 Minutes.

In a scathing expose, the show’s medical investigator, Dr. Sanjay Gupta called sugar “toxic” and accused it of being the villain responsible for the current epidemics of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, stroke, hypertension, and a plethora of other medical conditions that are bankrupting our healthcare system by crippling and killing millions of us every year.

I honestly never thought I’d live to see this day

After decades of scapegoating dietary fat, salt, red meat, obesity, lack of exercise, pollution, and consumer laziness, the real culprit behind so many of our health woes is finally being unmasked.

People, this is a watershed moment in getting control over these utterly preventable degenerative diseases — because the very first step in healing any addiction is breaking the denial that there’s a problem.

Hats off to CBS and Dr. Gupta for having the courage to tell everyone the truth, even though it might offend their mega-buck advertisers that hawk sodas, beer, candy, fast food, breakfast cereals, and junky snacks hour after hour.

In case you missed the 60 Minutes expose, here’s a recap of what Dr. Gupta talked about…

It isn’t the “calories” that make us fat and sick

This has been the main defense of Big Sugar and the manufacturers’ associations. They blame our obesity crisis and the outbreak of diet-related diseases on “over-consumption.”

The implication is that the overweight consumer is weak-willed and merely needs to “eat less and exercise more” – while it bombastically defends your Constitutional “right” to eat yourself to death, if you so choose.

But sugar isn’t just toxic because of its calories.

A new study just published in the medical journal Circulation found men who consumed a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened drink every day had a 20% higher risk of heart disease compared to men who didn’t drink them.

If sugar is so innocent, how can one soda a day give us a heart attack?

“It’s not about the calories,” says Dr. Robert Lustig, a leading authority on obesity at the University of California, School of Medicine in San Francisco.  “It’s a poison by itself.”

Why sugar is so toxic

Dr. Lustig blew the whistle on sugar in a 2009 lecture entitled “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which was posted on  YouTube. Since then, it’s been viewed nearly 1,000,000 times.

In the video, he explains why sugar is singlehandedly responsible for the global explosion of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and many cancers over the past 50 years.

There’s been a pile of research studies pointing to this as far back as the 1950s, but health officials have ignored and rejected the notion.

Instead, we’ve been scolded to “eat more fruits and vegetables … consume less fat, red meat, and salt … serve smaller portions … and get more physical exercise.”

In other words, today’s heath and weight problems are our own fault – not because of the mind-boggling amounts of sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) added to practically every beverage and food product on supermarket shelves.

How convenient for all the parties involved – except the unassuming consumer.

Big Food escapes any responsibility (or possible regulations) for the harm its sugar-spiked products are causing.

Media executives rake in billions from food/beverage ads that bombard us (and our children) every single day.

And Big Medicine profits by treating more and more patients for a growing list of sugar-related ills.

No one, it seems, is to blame except the “lazy” consumer — who now has diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, budding Alzheimer’s, early-stage cancer…

…and now, no health care!

The politically correct solution, as envisioned in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program is to eat less, move more, reduce portion sizes, and cut back on snacks.

This way, no industry gets hurt.

But isn’t this like the Surgeon General telling smokers to cut back, buy smaller-size cigarettes, and take up running – while closing his eyes to the fact that nicotine is more addictive than heroin and ultimately causes lung cancer?

Sugar is addictive like nicotine

For decades, Big Tobacco denied that nicotine is addictive and that cigarettes caused lung cancer.

Today, this is common knowledge.

Years from now, the dangers of sugar will be just as obvious and accepted, but we are in the early stages of this awareness – and Big Sugar is fighting it like crazy.

Just like Big Tobacco’s denial, the sugar and beverage groups aren’t acknowledging that sugar and sweeteners have an addictive side. They stimulate the very same part of the brain, called the “reward center” (technically, the striatum), as do nicotine, cocaine, caffeine, and alcohol.

Sweets stimulate the release of the mood-elevating chemical called dopamine in the brain which creates feelings of euphoria. Some people refer to this as a “sugar high.”

Give a crying baby a lollipop and what happens?

He stops crying and starts smiling, that is, until the lollipop is gone. Then, he’ll start crying again.

Only this time it’s because he wants another “lolly.”

Dopamine creates feelings of pleasure and euphoria in the brain. And it’s natural to want what feels good.

But today we have unprecedented access to substances that have this “feel good” effect on the brain: Recreational drugs, alcohol, painkillers, nicotine, caffeine … and sugar.  And the more we use these substances, the more we want them.

This is because these substances drain our brain of our natural dopamine reserves, while simultaneously building up a tolerance to these drugs when we use them regularly.  Result? We need a stronger and more frequent dose to get the same effect.

That’s the nature of an addiction

And because we’ve wiped out our natural reserve of dopamine, if we don’t get our fix, our brain slides into withdrawal, which makes us feel sad, depressed, irritable, angry, and negative.

This yo-yo effect explains why some people constantly crave sweets, sodas, and carbohydrate “comfort foods.”

What’s really happening is that they are “self-medicating” their emotional problems with sugar and carbs – but with devastating effects on their blood sugar, their bodies, and their health.

This becomes a vicious cycle: Eating sugar increases body weight and health problems, which further lowers self-esteem and represses positive emotions (such as hope, confidence, and the courage to change).

Relieving this stress with still more sugar turns the situation into a downward spiral that usually ends very badly.

How your body adds to this carbo craving

Sugar addiction is a double-whammy because your body gets into the act, too. Here’s how…

Eating sweets and carbs triggers a gush of insulin into your bloodstream, which perpetuates your craving for these substances.

You may remember that insulin’s job is to control your blood sugar (glucose) level because your body “knows” that too much of it in your bloodstream is very bad for you.

There are two primary ways the hormone accomplishes this:  It either escorts glucose into muscle cells where it can be burned as fuel, or – if the cells have become “resistant” to it – insulin converts excess glucose into fat (triglycerides) and stores it in fat cells (usually around the belly area).

This makes the craving for sugar and carbs stronger

You see, when the bloodstream is cleared of glucose, hunger re-occurs because the body wants/needs quick energy (carbs). Besides making you hungry, low blood glucose makes you tired, sleepy, and fogs your brain.

The usual response is to reach for a soda or candy bar for a quick pick-me-up.

But guess what happens next? This snack triggers still more insulin.

And because insulin’s job is to keep glucose out of the bloodstream, its presence will not allow stored body fat to be released and utilized for nourishment (which normally happens between meals and during sleep, when insulin levels are supposed to be low).

So the result of chronically high insulin in your blood is a vicious cycle of constant hunger and the continual accumulation of body fat.

How to break the cycle

The easiest way to break this cycle is to eat protein and fatty foods, instead of carbs.

These two food groups don’t trigger the insulin response. And when insulin isn’t present to block the release of stored fat, it can be broken down into essential fatty acids (EFAs) which are released into the bloodstream, so that the nutrient-rich EFAs can feed and nourish the body.

In essence, you’re living off your body fat.

Interestingly, studies of starvation and fasting show that after the third day of not eating, hunger completely subsides and the body draws nutrition as needed from stored fat.

As Gary Taubes points out in his April 13, 2011 story for The New York Times Magazine, “Is Sugar Toxic?” your metabolism doesn’t care whether it’s being fed by calories from outside or inside. It just wants to be fed.

This is why diets that focus on high protein foods and healthy fats, such as the Paleo, Atkins, and The 30-Day Diabetes Cure are so successful for blood sugar control and weight loss.

These are also the most healthful diets

Diets that restrict sugar and refined carbs also dramatically reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, circulatory and heart disease, many cancers, and stroke and hypertension.

If the old “calorie-in, calorie-out” theory is correct, calorie-restriction would be an effective way to lose weight. But we know this method fails in 95% of all instances.

Calorie-restriction (commonly known as “dieting), completely ignores the underlying biochemical factors that cause overeating. It is not because we are gluttons or lack willpower.

Your body metabolizes calories from different foods differently

For instance, 100 calories from broccoli, fish, or cheese are metabolized differently than 100 calories of sugar or soda – and these metabolic differences on your blood sugar, your hormonal system, and your brain chemistry, are profound.

And today, we get most of our calories from refined carbohydrates!

The average American is consuming an incredible 180 pounds of sugar and HFCS annually – much of it “hidden” in processed foods.

This equates to a half-pound of the stuff every single day!

When you track the rise of sugar consumption in the US since 1900 alongside the increase of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, the paths are practically identical.

According to Taubes:  “In 1980, roughly one in seven Americans was obese, and almost six million were diabetic, and obesity rates, at least, hadn’t changed significantly in the 20 years previously. By the early 2000s, when sugar consumption peaked, one in every three Americans was obese, and 14 million were diabetic.”

Rather, it is the type of calories we are mostly eating – sugar and refined carbs — (which are cheap to produce because of farm subsidies, highly profitable, and heavily promoted to us through advertising) that keep us constantly hungry and craving more of them.

This is a metabolic problem, not the lack of willpower – so don’t buy into the guilt-trip that obesity and diabetes are your fault because you eat too much and exercise too little.

Your best “sugar defense”

Because sugar and refined carbs are every bit as addictive and toxic as tobacco. And, as consumers, we must treat them as such.

Big Sugar has gotten a pass for more than 70 years.

It’s high time that the medical community and the mainstream media blow the whistle on what’s really making us so fat and sick.

Now that sugar has been unmasked as the real killer in the American diet, here are some tips that can help you conquer your sweet tooth and control your carb cravings…

Keep your insulin levels low.  The best way to do this is to go “cold turkey” on sugar, sweets, sodas, beer, and desserts, plus anything made with white flour or refined corn.  This includes baked goods, chips, and commercial snacks.  In addition, because they have a high Glycemic Index rating (meaning they convert to blood glucose very quickly), you should also avoid white potatoes, pasta, and white rice. Pass on fruit juices too, because of their high sugar content and lack of fiber.

Eat real food. In general, if a “food” comes in bag or a box, leave it on the shelf. Pick foods as close to their natural state as possible.  (Canned and frozen vegetable and beans are okay.)  Following this strategy will insure that the foods you’re eating contain maximum fiber and nutrients to control your blood sugar and sugar craving.

Eat protein with every meal. Protein and fat quash your hunger – and satisfy you longer.  Choose eggs for breakfast (a veggie omelet is ideal).  Alternate with steel-cut “Irish” oats (not instant or quick-cook oatmeal), topped with full-fat, unsweetened yogurt, fresh berries, and a sprinkling of bran or flax meal.  Try a protein smoothie with whey powder or spirulina, plus hemp milk, berries, and flax meal. Eat chicken or tuna salad for lunch. And enjoy some high-quality fish or meat for dinner.  If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t eat anything after 8 p.m.

Have three meals and two snacks. Eating every three hours whether you’re hungry or not, will keep your hunger, blood sugar, and cravings under control.  You don’t have to eat a lot, but train yourself to get in the habit of frequent meals.  You might think this will increase your weight, but you’ll get just the opposite result.  Studies show that people who skip meals actually eat much more at the next meal.

Pack your snacks and food with you. This is a great survival tactic in today’s carb-crazy culture.  Make sure your snacks include some protein, fat, and complex carbohydrate.  Good examples are nuts, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, natural meat jerky, crunchy vegetable slices, and nut butters.

Tote healthy beverages. Always carry your own water.  For a change of pace, flavor it with a slice of lemon, lime, or orange. Chilled green tea or herbal tea is perfect, too. Hot tea and coffee are perfectly acceptable.  Avoid diet sodas and artificial sweeteners.  These actually increase your hunger and sugar cravings. If you need your beverage sweetened, use a tiny bit of stevia or non-bitter SLIMTEVIA.  Neither will spike your blood sugar.

Be patient. If you have a strong sweet tooth, the first three days may be uncomfortable. But I encourage you to be strong and stick it out.  The longer you abstain from sugar, the weaker your cravings will become. Break yourself from the habit of having dessert after every meal. (Have fresh fruit instead, if you simply must have something sweet.) During the day, if cravings get too intense, suck on an ice cube, a Lifesaver, or a frozen grape.  Some people find that chewing gum helps – or a timely tooth-brushing.

Accentuate the positive. Behavioral scientists have found that the best way to break a bad habit is to substitute a good one. Instead of focusing on giving up sugar, think about “eating more healthfully”—plus all the good benefits that will be yours as a result.

What are your secret tricks for beating your sweet tooth?

Are you having trouble giving up sugar, sweets, and sodas?  What seem to be your biggest obstacles?

Have you licked your sugar habit?  If so, how did you do it? What techniques or tricks really worked for you?

If you have diabetes, do you monitor your blood sugar after eating sweets or drinking a soda? What effect do these have on your readings?

Please share your story here so all of us can offer you help – or benefit from your success.

I’m here to help you.  And we’re all in this to learn from each other.  So please share freely.

Your comments could make a big difference for someone!

This apparent breakthrough was heralded without a dissenting voice on the TV networks and major newspapers.

But considering that current drug treatment for Type 2 is practically worthless (and this isn’t just my opinion), how much of a real leap forward is this new discovery? Let’s look…

Doctors finally admit Type 2 drugs are “ineffective”

Now that Big Medicine seems to have something better to offer diabetes patients, it isn’t being shy about dissing the effectiveness of diabetes drugs.

“Traditional treatments for diabetes do not work,” bluntly declared Dr. Neil E. Hutcher, MD.

“Even people with good medical control still go on dialysis, lose limbs, and have significant heart attacks, drug reactions and other complications,” he goes on to explain.

By “good medical control,” he means Type 2 patients who follow their doctor’s orders to a “T.” This requires testing their blood several times a day, while taking a battery of drugs to control their blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and other risk factors for diabetic complications.

But we’ve known since 2008 (thanks to the ACCORD study), that people on these medications do very poorly — and actually experience more deaths and complications because of these meds.

Reprinted from New England Journal of Medicine

Now they want to offer you “diabetes surgery”

One reason Dr. Hutcher isn’t shy about bashing diabetes drugs is because he’s a bariatric surgeon — and the past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

As one of his industry’s chief “salesmen,” he recently touted the gastric bypass as the new diabetes cure in front of millions on TV’s 60 Minutes (which should get these surgeons loads of new business).

Joining the push was Dr. Francesco Rubino, one of the study’s leaders, who claimed the procedure is such an excellent treatment that it should be called “diabetes surgery.”

These surgeons want the operation offered much sooner to people with Type 2 — not just as a last resort.

This is a significant shift in mindset for the general public — and there’s a well-intentioned marketing reason for it.

From “weight-loss surgery” to “diabetes surgery”

Gastric bypass and Lap-Band surgeries are currently recommend as weight loss procedures for patients with a body mass index (BMI) between 35-40 — especially if they have diabetes. (This would mean a 5′ 10″ man who weighs 245-280 lbs., and currently obese.)

Bariatric surgeons, including the entire ASMBS, are pushing for lower thresholds for the obvious reason: so they can perform more of these surgeries.

“We need trials that look at these surgeries in people with diabetes who have a BMI of 30 to 35,” he says current ASMBS president Dr. John W. Baker, MD. (That same 5′ 10″ man weighing just 210-245 lbs. currently labeled overweight.) If the studies are positive, bariatric surgeons will be able to perform this procedure on people with diabetes who have a lower BMI — with health insurance paying for them.

And it’s an attractive deal for insurance companies. The surgery costs less than one year’s worth of drug treatment for Type 2 diabetes (about $33,000).

But, in reality, the surgery isn’t the miracle cure surgeons are making it out to be. There are serious flaws in these studies, which I’ll point out in a moment. But first, let’s look at how they were conducted…

The study results “seem” impressive

The two studies are the first to compare stomach-reducing surgery to current drug therapy for obesity-related Type 2 diabetes, which some people are referring to as “diabesity.”

The Cleveland Clinic study involved 150 Type 2 diabetics who were given one of two types of surgery, plus a third group given medicines alone. At the start, their A1C levels — a key measure of blood sugar levels — were 9 or higher, on average. (A healthy, non-diabetic A1C is 6 or below.)

One year later, only 12% of the drug-only group had healthy blood sugar, compared to 42% and 37% in the two surgery groups.

The second study, which Dr. Rubino co-led, involved 60 patients given either surgery or drugs alone. Two years later, 95% and 75% of the two surgery groups maintained a sub-6% A1C without any diabetes drugs. None of those in the drug-only group achieved this.

The surgery produced immediate improvements

According to the press releases, the results were “dramatic.” And there are signs that the surgery itself, not any resulting weight loss, reversed the diabetes.

The researchers claim that the surgery immediately normalizes blood glucose levels and reduces or eliminates the need for medications.

Some patients were able to stop taking insulin as early as three days after their surgery because their bodies started producing more of the hormone. Insulin resistance was also reduced, so that the body’s insulin is no longer ignored by the cells.

In one study, most surgery patients were able to stop all diabetes drugs immediately after their procedure.

The researchers admit they don’t understand why this occurs.

Some theorized that re-directing food to the lower intestine stimulates a substance called glucagon-like peptide 1, which can increase insulin production.

Another explanation suggests that hormones which trigger hunger may be dulled by rearranging the anatomy, resulting in fewer cravings for sugar and carbs, which means better blood sugar levels.

But both of these “explanations” ignore the obvious.

Could this be the real reason the surgery works?

What the surgeons are failing to mention is that post-surgical patients are put on a very strict low-calorie, low-carb diet that forbids sugar … fat … fried or breaded food … soda … sweetened drinks … syrups … candy … and any meat other than the leanest pork and chicken.

As I reported earlier, a diet like this has the power to reverse insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes almost immediately all by itself.

According to the original UK study, a drastically reduced-carb and calorie diet, just like the one that bariatric surgery patients are placed on, allowed Type 2 diabetics to eliminate their medications in one week or less by reversing most features of their diabetes.

All signs of Type 2 completely vanished by 8 weeks — and pancreatic function was restored to normal.

And this reversal lasted for as long as the study participants remained on the diet — which is exactly what happens with the post-surgery patients!

It’s the diet, stupid

Gastric bypass is grossly misunderstood by most lay people. You still have to eat right and exercise regularly to manage your weight and your diabetes. If you don’t, your weight and your diabetes will return, which they do in the vast majority of patients.

And, yes, you must exercise.

The main benefit I see is that compliance isn’t voluntary — it’s mandatory. If patients binge on any of the forbidden foods, they can get violently ill with vomiting and diarrhea.

This is why, far from representing the first line treatment for Type 2, as the surgery lobby is suggesting, I believe bariatric surgery should be reserved for morbidly obese patients who have failed repeatedly at diet-and-lifestyle modification.

For these Type 2s who can’t stop consuming the high-carb foods and beverages that trigger insulin (and thus drive fat storage), surgery may be a life-saving option.

But I feel that every effort must first be made to educate these patients about the foods and beverages that lead directly to obesity and insulin resistance. And doctors simply aren’t doing this.

One can’t help but wonder why.

In addition, the downside and dangers of the bariatric surgery should be thoroughly explained to these candidates.

The dark side of gastric bypass surgery

The first point that needs to be made to them is that the surgery is risky and dangerous.

The “one-in-a-hundred mortality rate” that the surgeons are boasting about may sound low, but compared to other procedures, this is a very high death rate indeed.

In fact, the one-year mortality rate for gastric bypass is actually 1.2% fatality rate in the first 30 days.

“My very first patient death was a 20-year-old woman who had just undergone gastric bypass surgery,” Dr. Stefan Ripich (my co-author of The 30-Day Diabetes Cure), told me recently.

“At the time, I was a young nurse working on a medical/surgical floor. She was being transferred from the surgical gurney back into her bed when she suddenly dropped dead from a blood clot that moved from her leg into her heart. She died in a second. There was no saving her.”

This occurs more frequently than we realize.

There are other risks, too — including hospital-bred infections, internal bleeding, anesthesia complications, ulcers, pulmonary problems, or the possible removal of the spleen.

Long-term success is rare

While the two-year success rate the researchers cite appears impressive, longer-term analysis shows that diabetes-reversal and weight-loss results are pretty dismal.

In reality, a majority of patients eventually revert to their old eating habits, thus regaining the weight and their Type 2.

A 2010 study published in Eating Disorders Review (Aarts, et al.) stated that “significant deterioration of diabetes control and hypertension became evident over time.”

Using weight loss of 25% of the patient’s pre-surgery body weight to define treatment success, the Dutch researchers found that about 80% of the patients retained their weight loss during the first three years. After this, there was a steady decline to 64% of patients at five years, and only 20% at 10 years.

Similarly, control of diabetes, hypertension, and gastro-esophageal reflux (GERD) all deteriorated significantly over time.

Besides regaining their weight and their Type 2, many patients experienced medical complications, some of which required multiple surgeries to correct the damage.

It’s also quite common for post-surgical patients to develop vitamin deficiencies and/or anemia because the surgery left the patients unable to absorb certain vitamins and nutrients

Patients also have had great difficulty obtaining adequate nutrition from the small portion of food they are able to eat. And many can’t even take vitamin and supplement pills without grinding them to a powder.

Is “diabesity” a true medical condition?

We hear much about the condition called “diabesity” these days. But is this a real medical condition — or a term fabricated by medical opportunists?

“The relationship between diabetes and obesity should be screamed from the rooftops,” says Christine Ren Fielding, MD, FACS, an associate professor of surgery at the New York University Program for Surgical Weight Loss.

“Many people don’t understand just how closely diabetes and obesity are related,” she says.

Well, let’s look…

Two-thirds of the US population is estimated to be either overweight or obese. Yet, less than 10% of the population has Type 2 diabetes.

In other words, there are more obese people walking around who do have diabetes than who don’t. Just as there are plenty of normal-weight people who have Type 2.

This doesn’t add up, does it?

If being obese were the cause of diabetes, every obese person in the country would have the disease. And that’s clearly not the case.

And if weight-loss is the reason bariatric surgery should be recommended for obese diabetics, how do the researchers explain the turnaround of Type 2 before the patients ever had a chance to lose weight?

Co-existence isn’t causality

As Dr. Ripich and I have demonstrated with people who have succeeded on The 30-Day Diabetes Cure plan, reversing Type 2 diabetes does not require weight loss.

In his excellent book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, author Gary Taubes explains that people don’t have Type 2 because they are overweight. Rather, he argues, they are overweight because they have some metabolic dysfunction.

If you want to understand exactly how this happens, please read my explanation here.

While it’s often true that losing significant weight can reverse Type 2, most people attempt weight-loss in very unproductive ways (exercise, diets, calorie-restriction, etc.).

They try, they fail, they get frustrated, and they give up.

But reversing insulin-resistance (by avoiding the foods and beverages that trigger insulin) will always result in significant weight loss — without ever “trying” to lose weight.

If you want to see how easily this can be achieved, I invite you to examine The 30-Day Diabetes Cure.

The real takeaway from these new studies

While these studies fail to prove (at least to me) that gastric bypass surgery is the solution to the current diabetes epidemic — or our obesity crisis — they did make a couple of things obvious.

One, is how miserably current drug treatments are failing people with Type 2 diabetes.

The second is how unwilling Big Medicine is to get behind the most effective treatment and “cure” we have for Type 2: a good diet and an active lifestyle.

Could it be that the researchers weren’t willing to add diet-and-lifestyle to this study because it might have beaten both the surgery and the drug therapy?

How would surgeons possibly make money by merely educating their patients?

As we’ve demonstrated with The 30-Day Diabetes Cure — plus numerous clinical trials that have proven the efficacy of diet-and-lifestyle — eating better and becoming more active work faster, better, and are more affordable than any other diabetes treatment we have today.

If physicians truly cared more about their patients than their profits, they’d heed the science and act to really help people.

Unfortunately, this is not going to happen in the near future. So it’s up to you to help yourself.

How do you feel about bariatric surgery?

Do you know someone who’s had it? What were his/her results?

Have you had the surgery? What was your experience?

Are you considering having the operation? What are you greatest hopes and fears?

Have you successfully reversed Type 2 diabetes? How did you do it? What was your biggest challenge?

Please post your comments here so others can benefit from your experience.

I’m looking forward to reading about your opinions and experiences.

When I first saw this news, I assumed the ADA was offering free blood tests to the public through some of their “partners” such as the Walgreens chain of pharmacies.

I was impressed — because it’s estimated that 80 million Americans live with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. Free blood tests could really save these people a lot of misery and suffering.

Oops, I was mistaken

When I checked out Walgreens’ website, there was nothing about a free diabetes blood test to be found anywhere.

In fact the only organizations offering free blood tests for diabetes are the Public Health Department in Richman, Washington and a small pharmacy in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hmmm.

So I went to the ADA’s site at www.stopdiabetes.com and saw their Diabetes Risk Test (“It’s Fast. It’s Easy. It’s Free.”), which is co-sponsored by Boar’s Head Lunch Meats. (I’ll explain why in a bit.)

So I took the “test” — which is actually a series of 7 simple questions about your gender, race, and BMI (body-mass index).

What’s wrong with the BMI

Normally, to calculate BMI, you multiply your weight in pounds by 703 and then divide the sum by your height in inches. (Confusing, right?)

The BMI was an equation developed in 1830 (!) by a Belgian mathematician to estimate human body fat, so you could say it’s just a bit outdated.

Why it’s still used as the agreed-upon measure of who’s overweight boggles my mind because it is hopelessly flawed and inaccurate. Example: Tom (The Hunk) Cruise is “obese” on the BMI because of his height.

But the ADA’s Diabetes Risk Test doesn’t actually calculate your BMI.

Instead, it gives you four convenient “ranges” to select from…

These are wide ranges indeed — and I suspect the ADA may have chosen this approach to make it easier to include as many folks in the “high risk” category as possible.

And, sure enough, it included me

So now what?

Well, based on my “high risk,” the ADA quiz referred me to its CheckUp America page — which is sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

BTW, if you’ve never heard of Janssen (I hadn’t either), a little investigation reveals that it is owned by drug giant Johnson & Johnson, which markets the OneTouch® Ping™ Glucose Management System (a wireless insulin pump), among other diabetes treatment products, including a new drug called canagliflozin that’s currently in trials.

A video at CheckUp America (staged in a graveyard to underscore the seriousness of their message), suggested that I lose weight to lower my risk of diabetes and its deadly complications.

Naturally, the video also recommended that I visit my doctor right away to get all the necessary (not for free) blood tests and diagnostics.

For once, I agree with the ADA

(though not completely)

If you haven’t had a blood test for diabetes or prediabetes lately, I strongly urge you to get one as soon as possible — especially if any of these characteristics fit you…

> Your waist measures over 40 inches (men or women).
> You eat fast food at least twice per week.
> You have a “sweet tooth.”

> Your HDL cholesterol (the good kind) is under 50.

> You’ve been told that your blood pressure is “on the high side.”

> You have any diabetes in your family history.

But what if you don’t want to go through your physician or healthcare provider? No problem.

Many diagnostic labs (check your phone book for one near you) will provide the Hemoglobin A1C test (no fasting required) without a doctor’s prescription.

Alternatively, you can purchase an HbgA1C one-time test kit for $9 from Wal-Mart. You stick your finger, blot it with the strip, mail it back to the lab, and it sends you your result. (Your score should be below 5.5. A result of 5.5 – 6.2 indicates pre-diabetes.)

You usually need a doctor’s order for the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which is the Cadillac of diabetes tests. After fasting for 12 hours, you drink a glucose mixture and see how long it takes for your blood sugar to drop back into the normal range (this shows how well your insulin is working).

You can order the GTT online without a doctor from the Healthcare Blue Book. The cost is $80.

Here’s a “free” way to check your blood…

Do you have a friend or relative with diabetes?

You can get a rough idea of how healthy your blood sugar is for free, by asking him/her to show you how to use his/her glucose monitor. (Make sure you haven’t eaten within for hours of testing.)

Be sure you use a fresh lancet to pierce your skin. And offer to pay your friend for the lancet and strip.

A healthy reading is one that’s under 90. A reading of 100-120 indicates that you may be pre-diabetic. Anything over 120 says that you might already have Type 2 — and should send you to your doctor or heath care provider right away for further testing.

If you do have prediabetes or Type 2, don’t panic. Ask your doctor to let you try a diet-and-lifestyle program such as The 30-Day Diabetes Cure before putting you on drugs (unless you’re in an emergency situation).

It’s very likely that you can completely reverse your blood sugar problems without a bit of medication.

What’s Diabetes Awareness Day really about?

It appears to be mostly about raising money for the ADA.

That’s what the Boar’s Head Lunch Meat connection is all about. The company will donate $5 to the ADA for everyone who takes the Diabetes Risk Test (up to $50,000).

This money could have helped pay for free nationwide testing, but apparently the ADA has better uses for it.

In addition to this fund-raising promotion — plus various ads for their partners throughout the web pages — the ADA has included its customary appeal for a personal donation from you.

Its rationale for this? “With each person that takes the test and knows their risk, the ADA is that much closer to stopping diabetes.”

I’m not sure how a donation to the ADA “stops diabetes” because as I reported earlier, and only a very small portion of its $200+ million annual budget goes to researching a cure for Type 2 -or diet-and-lifestyle recommendations that can make drugs unnecessary.

Why the ADA recommends a diabetes-causing diet

In fact, the official ADA “low-fat diet” recommends that diabetics get the majority of their calories from carbohydrates — and then cover the blood sugar spike with medication.

Surprisingly, a large chunk of the ADA’s funding comes from food companies that sell some of the very products which contribute to Type 2 diabetes and obesity — including Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Hershey’s, Cadbury Chocolates, and various refined-carb breakfast cereals.

These companies essentially buy an endorsement from the ADA (at $500,000 a pop!), which includes the right to use its logo on their products.

Since most of its budget comes from “partnerships” with drug companies, food manufacturers, and firms that make money from diabetes treatments, I tend to doubt the ADA’s fervor to find a diabetes cure.

Why would the ADA want to kill its multi-billion dollar chash cow?

As I’ve written in the past, there’s far more money to be made from treating diabetes, than curing it.

Get tested, please. And soon.

Diabetes is a nasty condition that can slowly (but surely) steal your quality of life — and shorten your longevityt by 10 or 20 years.

And those final years will be filled with suffering from miserable complications such as loss of vision … painful neuropathy … circulatory problems … amputations … kidney failure … stroke … heart disease … and sudden heart attack (the cause of death in 75% of all diabetes-related fatalities).

You can avoid all this by getting a simple test now — and then improving your eating habits by eliminating sugar and the refined carbs that cause Type 2 in the first place.

Contrary to what the ADA says, you don’t have to lose weight or join a gym to reverse Type 2 or prediabetes.

Yes, it’s really that simple.

And following the day-by-day steps in The 30-Day Diabetes Cure actually makes it easy.

What do you have to say?

If you have Type 2 diabetes, do you have any words of advice for people who haven’t been tested yet?

If you haven’t been tested yet, what is the main obstacle that’s stopping you?

Did you get tested and, as a result, change your diet and reversed your problem? Please tell us your story below.

Your comments and advice here could really make a difference in a reader’s health — or save his/her life.

Please share yourself freely.

The first one was the Red Meat Consumption and Mortality study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study found that red meat consumption is associated with a 20% increased risk of death from heart disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality.

Vegans and vegetarians are having a field day with the study because they’re convinced it proves that consuming animal products isn’t just bad karma, but it’s also bad for your health.

A tragically flawed study

There are about a half-dozen reasons why you should ignore the conclusions of this research. A gaggle of scientists and health writers have already poked it full of holes.

The most serious flaw is that while the study may have shown an association between meat consumption and higher mortality, it fails to demonstrate causality.

There’s a big difference between finding a bunch of fire-fighters at a blazing house and assuming they started the fire.

When you look closer at this “observational study” (in which participants recalled what they ate over a multi-year period by answering questionnaires), some interesting data becomes apparent.

For one thing, men and women with higher intake of red meat were also less likely to be physically active. They were more likely to smoke … to drink alcohol … to weigh more … and to have a higher calorie intake per meal.

In addition, the participants with a higher red meat intake also reported lower consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

So why didn’t the headlines read…

“Not Eating Your Vegetables Will Kill You!”

Because as every reporter will tell you: “Sensational news sells.” And we already know that skipping your veggies and smoking are bad ideas.

Besides, headlines shouting that eating red meat raises your risk of heart disease “by 20%” sound really impressive and scary…

…until you realize this is the relative risk, not the absolute. Here’s the difference…

If your absolute risk of cardiovascular death is 5%, then a 20% increase only amounts to a measly 1% bump in absolute (read: real) risk, all the way to 6%.

Not really worth giving up meat over, is it?

Maybe not. But the other meat story making the news last week definitely is…

“Pink slime” is invading our meat supply

Maybe you caught this story?

If you aren’t familiar with pink slime, I urge you to Google it to see a photo. Just don’t do it on an empty stomach — because this stuff is truly gross.

Pink slime is a filler used in hamburger and ground meat. The meat industry makes it out of fatty beef “offcuts” (the leftover parts of a steer that it can’t sell anywhere else).

These questionable ”meat parts” are then treated with ammonia and pink dye to produce a meat-like substance. It’s then added to ground beef to “extend” it.

“Where’s the beef?”

This means you’re paying the same price for this cheap junk as you are the ground beef. Only you aren’t getting any beef.

I’ve seen reports claiming that this junk is currently in about 70% of supermarket ground beef — and doesn’t have to be labeled. So you don’t know you’re eating it.

While this has been going on for years, the story first broke when it was revealed that McDonald’s was using pink slime in its burgers. When grossed-out customers protested, McDonald’s agreed to stop.

Now comes the discovery that the USDA recently purchased 7 million pounds of pink slime to be added to school cafeteria lunches all over America.

If there ever was a reason to give up meat — this is it!

The disgraceful quality of feedlot meat (nearly 95% of all the beef eaten in the US) is already a shame and an embarrassment.

First, the steers are raised in deplorable, inhumane conditions. Then they are pumped up with antibiotics, steroids, and hormones to make them fatter and grow faster. Diseased animals that can’t walk, called “downers,” are routinely carried to slaughter on forklifts.

Worse: Because feedlot steers are fed corn and grain to fatten them up, their high fat content is mostly omega-6 fatty acids, which triggers widespread inflammation in the human body.

Adding insult to injury, the USDA permits meatpackers to pump the animals’ carcasses with up to 30% water. This is like jacking up price you pay by a third — because you get absolutely no value from it. What a rip!

Is it any wonder why American beef is banned by Canada, Europe, and Japan?

What you can do about this…

You should ban it from your kitchen too — until the USDA cleans up the feedlot beef and pink slime situations.

For now, the best way to protect your family’s health is to only purchase beef and bison labeled “100% free-range.” This is the cleanest, most healthful red meat you can consume.

Because free-range cattle and bison graze on fresh grass and wild herbs all day, the omega-3 content of their meat rivals that of certain fish varieties.

And forget the “organic” labels when you’re shopping. This is a common ruse that growers use to fool you. These are usually feedlot cattle which have been fed organic grain. But the steers may never munch a bit of grass.

Yes, “free-range” is more expensive

This is largely because growers who use free-range practices don’t qualify for federal farm subsidy payments. They’re actually penalized for raising a pure, nutritious, clean product.

But the extra expense you’ll pay is worth the superior flavor, nutrition, and health-nourishing properties.

To compensate, I suggest you save this delicious, nutritious meat for occasional treats.

Try eating more beans, legumes, whole grains, and canned wild salmon as affordable protein substitutes. You’ll be leaner and wealthier as a result.

To find truly “free-range” meat and animal products in your area, visit www.eatwild.com.

If you have children or grandkids, send them to school with a healthful brown bag lunch. This is the only way you’ll be sure they not being fed burgers or meatloaf containing pink slime.

And be careful of the lunchmeat you buy. Look for varieties that say “no nitrates, nitrites, or chemical preservatives.”

Send a message to the meat industry

Following these tips will send a powerful message to the US meat industry.

It says they won’t get another dime of your money until they start providing you with pure, healthful, humane products.

If enough of us do this, it won’t take long to get results.

This is because food manufacturers are closely attuned to consumer trends. If they see we’re serious, they’ll give us want we really want. And soon.

So be strong and unwavering.

In the weeks and months ahead, MyHealingKitchen.com will be bringing you healthful, nutritious recipes featuring affordable protein sources. So please stay tuned

What are your ideas?

How do you meet your protein needs in these cash-strapped times?

How often do you eat meat? What are your favorite kinds and cuts?

What are your substitute protein sources — and your best recipes that feature them?

Are you willing to purchase only “free-range” meat and animal products in order to pressure the conventional meat industry to clean up its act?

Do you have other ideas for protecting our health and improving America’s food supply?

Please share your ideas and comments below for all to see.

Your tips could help others eat better and safer!

In the past, numerous studies have connected conventional milk and dairy products to a higher risk of developing cancers of the breast, prostate, and testicles.

Now, Harvard researcher, Dr.Ganmaa Davaasambuu, M.D., Ph.D. and her colleagues have confirmed this troubling cancer risk in the supermarket dairy case.

Got milk? Get cancer.

While doubts about the safety of commercial milk have existed for over a decade due to the presence of growth hormones given to dairy cows (rBGH, or genetically-engineered bovine growth hormone, and IGF-1, short for insulin-like growth factor 1…

…Dr. Davaasambuu’s team found dangerous levels of estrone sulfate in milk samples that have tested 33 times higher than “usual.”

Estrone sulfate is the cow’s natural equivalent of human estrogen, which is produced during the six or more months a year a cow is pregnant – and it is 100,000 times more potent than other natural estrogens.

These high levels result when dairy cows are milked during pregnancy, a standard practice on large, “factory-farm” dairy operations — and in direct contradiction to the way traditional dairy farmers milk their cows

Evaluating data from around the world, Dr. Davaasambuu and her colleagues found a clear link between consumption of this high-hormone milk and higher rates of hormone-dependent cancers.

In other words, contrary to what the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Big Milk lobby would have us believe, milk from factory farms may NOT “do a body good.”

Is factory farm milk safe?

This finding isn’t news to those of us who know what a health nightmare conventional milk is — starting with the cows it comes from.

These poor animals are trapped in small, filthy pens for their entire lives. (This situation is politely referred to as “concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) — but they are more like animal concentration camps. To learn more about CAFOs, click here).

Every day, conventional dairy cows are fed cheap grain, soybeans, and corn, which make them fat and give them gas. This is why they must be pumped full of antibiotics — to “prevent” the health problems that bad diet and horrible hygiene cause. (Grass is their natural diet because they have a four-compartment stomach.)

Shamefully, conventional dairy cows are treated, not as fellow sentient creatures, but as “milk machines” whose sole purpose in life is to churn out income for US dairy farmers.

If you can stomach it, take a look at this brief video, which documents some of the abuses these dairy cows routinely endure…

(In response to “negative public relations” fallout and lost sales due to investigative videos like this one, Iowa has just made it illegal for any animal rights activist or journalist to film CAFO animal abuse. Look for other states to quickly follow Iowa’s lead.)

“The measure of a society can be
how well its people treat its animals.” — Gandhi

This greed-driven mentality justifies doing anything — no matter how inhumane — that will boost the farmer’s bottom line, including constant breeding without interruption or rest, and taking their calves away soon after birth (which results in dangerous high levels of estrone sulfate in Dr. Davaasambuu’s milk samples).

To further increase their milk production, growth hormones rBGH and IGF-1 are fed to the cows, which are passed along to consumers. (This is why US dairy products are banned in Canada and Europe.)

Earlier studies linked these hormones to hormone-dependent cancers in humans, but the industry managed to obfuscate the findings.

In a Feb., 1995 letter to the FDA and other government agencies, Dr. Samuel Epstein, Chair of the Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC), included a summary of scientific evidence and “expressed grave concerns about the risks of breast cancer from consumption of rBGH milk.”

You can guess the FDA’s response, right? Nada.

Monsanto and the FDA want
to keep this a “secret” from you

Incredibly, Monsanto (the manufacturer of rBGH), has “influenced” US product safety laws to permit the sale of unlabeled rBGH milk. (Monsanto would lose billions of dollars if rBGH were banned in America — or if dairy products containing the hormone were labeled so that consumers knew what they were getting).

In fact, the CPC’s report noted that “the FDA has warned dairy farmers, retailers, and processors against the use of hormone-free labels to distinguish hormone-treated milk from untreated.”

Yes, this is the same FDA that’s supposed to be guarding your health and safety.

Then there’s the problem with pasteurization.

While Louis Pasteur saved millions of lives with his discovery that “germs” (bacteria) cause disease, the application of his process for killing pathogenic bacteria (pasteurization) to the commercial milk and dairy products we consume has had the unintended consequences of killing off many of milk’s natural benefits. (More about this in a bit.)

Raw milk is “rawesome!”

Before the modern dairy system, milk, in its virgin form — now referred to as “raw milk” — was a healthful, healing food.

For instance, raw milk contains more than 60 functional enzymes … 20 amino acids … and plenty of beneficial bacteria (called probiotics).

It’s naturally hypoallergenic — and people who are lactose-intolerant usually have no trouble digesting it. (Two large-scale European studies demonstrated that raw milk improves the condition of asthmatic children.)

Since raw dairy cows are generally pasture-raised and grass-fed, their milk is especially high in omega-3 fatty acids and therefore anti-inflammatory.

Raw milk also contains lactoferrin, which enhances the body’s ability to absorb iron — plus CLA (conjugated linoleum acid) which has been shown to inhibit cancer development and encourage weight loss. (CLA is absolutely missing from conventional milk.)

The government’s war against raw milk

With so many obvious benefits, you’d think raw dairy products would be more popular (and available) than they are today in the US.

But not so.

In fact, the FDA and USDA have declared war on raw milk and the dairy farmers who sell it.

Mike Adams of the website NaturalNews.com (Mike is, by far, the most passionate and vocal supporter of raw milk in America) reports that the CDC has put out a stunning piece of propaganda attacking raw milk, claiming it is “150 times more dangerous” than pasteurized milk.

As an example of the government’s determination to stamp out raw milk in America, the FDA just won its two-year fight to shut down an Amish farmer who was selling fresh raw milk to eager consumers in Washington, DC, who they raided in a pre-dawn, guns-drawn, sting operation.

“I can’t believe in 2012 the federal government is raiding Amish farmers at gunpoint over a basic human right to eat natural food,” one former customer said in the Washington Times.

NaturalNews also led the coverage of the FDA’s recent guns-drawn raid on, and shutdown of, Rawesome, a Venice, CA, raw milk “buying club.” Federal agents arrested the owner and destroyed Rawesome’s raw milk supply.

FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey told the New York Times that “raw milk products could be dangerous for those with compromised immune systems.”

“Dangerous,” how?

There have been no deaths in 38 years from consuming raw milk (the span of time in which data has been collected).

Indeed, the human race has done just fine on raw milk for tens of thousands of years.

But conventional milk? Well, that’s a bovine of a different color.

Modern milk has a health-wrecking rap sheet a mile long.

For starters, pasteurized dairy is produced in some of the filthiest conditions imaginable. As I mentioned earlier, these cows are imprisoned in feces-contaminated concrete and steel pens where they can barely move.

They never feel sunshine on their bodies … breathe fresh air … munch fresh, green grass … nor see the light of day. (So it comes as no surprise that CAFO cows live half as long as pasture-raised dairy cows.)

In addition to the cancer-causing growth hormones, NaturalNews reports that conventional milk has been found to contain “blood, pus, e.coli bacteria and other dangerous pathogens (that) are routinely bottled in milk containers and fed to consumers.”

And that’s the real purpose of pasteurization, you see.

It’s not to “make milk safe” as the CDC and USDA claim, but rather to allow the dairy industry to continue to operate under these dirty (read: low-cost) conditions.

The bottom line is that it’s much easier to sterilize this stuff, than to force factory farms to clean up their operations.

It’s all about production and profits
– not quality, health, or safety

The USDA encourages dairy farmers to “go CAFO” to maximize production and automate their operations.

Even more shocking, the 2012 USDA Farm Bill contains provisions that will incentivize dairy farmers to take their cows “off pasture” and house them in confined pens. Here’s how…

Under the present system, farmers are able to charge more for their milk if it contains higher levels of protein and butterfat.

But the USDA wants all milk to be priced the same, regardless of quality — which actually penalizes farmers who want to give their cows a better quality of life.

The government also subsidizes genetically-modified (GMO) grain, which makes it much cheaper than organic, pesticide-free, non-GMO grain.

Since this is the junk that CAFO cows eat, the factory farmer pays less to feed his herd. And the humane-minded, organic dairy farmer suffers.

It’s a rigged system that favors big chemical corporations such as Monsanto, and also the giant factory-farm, CAFO operators.

The health and safety of consumers, of our environment, or of the sustainability of our food supply are never considered.

What can you do about it?

Does this all seem totally hopeless? It’s not.

The most immediate way you can help overturn this deplorable, corrupt system is to withdraw your financial support of it.

This means never purchase any dairy product that fails to have “rBGH-free” on its label.

You also can support raw milk dairy farmers in your area. To find out if (and where) raw milk is available in your state, click here.

Though I doubt it will get any action, you can tell your representatives in Congress to legislate against CAFO dairies and factory farm operation — and to expand the Farm Bill to include support for organic foods.

Finally: whenever possible, reward the good people who devote their lives to providing your community with organic, produce, meat, poultry and dairy by shopping at your local farmer’s market.

Check here to locate the farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) near you.

Have you ever tasted raw milk?

Now it’s your turn to jump into the conversation…

Do you drink raw milk? Where do you get it? Have you ever had any trouble from the authorities because you do?

Would you drink raw milk if it were available in your grocery store?

What’s been your opinion of raw milk before reading this article? Has your opinion changed now?

Will you shop differently now? How?

Do you feel the US agricultural system is fair? Stable? On the right track? Or in trouble?

What should our government be doing to instead of its current farm policy?

I’d like to hear you opinions and ideas, so please take a moment to jot down your comments here so that all 100,00 of us can share them.

Remember: Social revolution begins when people change their minds.