Franklin House, M.D., a co-author of The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle, has served as President and Chairman of the Board of Lifestyle Center of America. In 1981, he was a founding member, and later served as chairman, of Canvasback Missions, Inc., In 1978, he co-founded Metroplex Hospital in Killeen, Texas, and served as its chief of staff for multiple terms. In 1972, he co-founded a long-term nursing care company, House/Cross Associates.

Dr. House has served as chief of staff for three years at Big Bend Regional Medical Center Hospital in Alpine, Texas and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army for two years as Captain Medical Officer in 1965. In 1965, he founded House Medical Clinic, which grew to an 11-physician multispecialty medical clinic, in Killeen, Texas. For 30 years he served as the Federal Aviation Administration Medical Examiner.

Guest Blogger Franklin House--

Insulin Resistance, I predict will be receiving increasing attention in health related websites from now on. It has been a topic of increasing interest in research and medical circles for the past twenty years. What we call Insulin Resistance (IR) here is known as Syndrome X and Metabolic Syndrome in other venues. It is a topic with wide ramifications concerning health and thus its discussion here.

Insulin is a word we usually associate with Diabetes. Insulin is a hormone produced by a small organ tucked behind the stomach called the pancreas. Insulin is vital to life and is responsible for ushering food energy (glucose) into cells.

As glucose enters the blood stream from the digestive tract the pancreas perceives both the quantity of energy in the food and the speed with which it is accumulating in the blood. Specialized cells in the pancreas (beta cells) respond by supplying an appropriate quantity of insulin for the body’s cells to take in the energy and do their work.

In the development of Insulin Resistance two variables are at play…speed and quantity.

First speed: Certain foods when eaten convert to sugar rapidly and can be measured as blood sugar almost instantly; others do so more slowly. Foods that are low in fiber (highly processed items such as sugar and white flour in all its manifestations) trigger overproduction of insulin (known as hyperinsulinemia).

Second quantity: If the quantity of energy (calories) contained in a meal exceeds the body’s energy demand it is stored as fat.

Insulin resistance occurs when our cells repeatedly encounter the effects of excessive insulin…they become resistant. Insulin is a growth hormone and in excess causes weight gain. Other not so delightful effects of insulin excess include “large blood vessel damage;" thus the increased probability of strokes and heart attacks in those with insulin resistance especially diabetes sufferers. IR is associated with many other conditions such as certain cancers, certain cases of infertility, high blood pressure and even Alzheimer’s disease

Type 2 Diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. The sequence is as follows. First our food and activity choices result in excess insulin production. During this phase weight gain is common. Ultimately the body’s ability to use and store excess energy is exceeded. Energy in the form of sugar begins to accumulate in the blood and a fasting blood sugar level of 126 mg% is reached at which point Diabetes Type 2 is diagnosed.

In our book, The 30 Day Diabetes Miracle, we discuss IR and its reversal. The trick is to supply the body with superior nutrition without excessive calories. Scientific studies indicate that the best way to achieve those two goals is a “plant-based diet” accompanied by physical activity that can be accomplished by anyone regardless of physical limitation.

Plant foods:

• Avoid the excessive fat and protein load of most animal source foods.
• Contain fiber which temporarily binds food energy and delivers that energy to the pancreas slowly over time thus avoiding both insulin and blood sugar spikes.
• Contain fiber which provides a sense of fullness and hunger satisfaction without excess calories.
• Contain no hydrogenated and minimal saturated fats that are blamed with clogging our arteries and adding to our waist size.

Related: The Real Cure For Type 2 Diabetes

               Pancreatic Cancer Will Cause Diabetes

Update on Apr 9, 2008 by At Basil & Spice

Seen At Reuters!