Diabetes

Introduction

“Matt, what would you do if you were at risk from diabetes?”

– anyone at risk from diabetes

This page contains what I’d do. This is what I’d tell my family and friends. The risk from diabetes could be that you’re already a diabetic or on the path. Watch the video. Use the resources.

The video is a condensed version of the best advice I’ve applied from all these resources. But the resources know this topic better. If you’re motivated to reduce your risk and take action, consume the information directly from the best sources. Watch the video first if you want an overview and pointers to specific resources.

Reduce Risk

Watch the video below or read my current top five ways to reduce diabetes risk whether you’re already a diabetic, pre-diabetic, overweight, or have a family history of diabetes. If you’re motivated to change, implementing these actions will add years to your life, prevent diabetes if you don’t have it, and significantly reduce your risk of complications if you do. With that said, it’s a long video. So don’t watch it for fun. Watch it because you need to learn more and up your diabetes game like I did in the last few years.

Now this is a long video. You won’t want to watch if you’re not motivated. And even if you are you might want to skip around. Go to 8:40 for the overview of the five actions or read the article with direct links to specific actions in the video.

Hearing some of this information is hard so be prepared. I accepted the harsh truth that I would likely live a shorter life and deal with awful complications from diabetes if I wasn’t uber-motivated to avoid them and took action every day to reduce the risk. If you’re not there, you might not like what you find. Come back when you’re ready.

I’ve lived almost twenty-five years free of major diabetes complications. My A1c is down to 5.5% from a 6% lifetime average with less than 3% time low from these actions. And most importantly my glucose is stable and more predictable. I don’t waste as much time high or low. I spend less time thinking about diabetes. I have less headaches. My sleep is better. Life is better.

Resources

This list is big and will get bigger over time. If I were a diabetic, at risk of getting diabetes, or a parent of one of those two wondering where to start, I’d order the Dr. Bernstein book first. Then listen to the Dr. Attia podcast with Dr. Jake Kushner if I’m Type 1 or Dr. Jason Fung if I’m Type 2 or at-risk. And then get one of Fung’s books if you’re Type 2. I’d start with The Diabetes Code.

Dr. Bernstein

Diatribe

Peter Attia

Attia does not focus just on diabetes but if you’re interested in living longer and healthier and appreciate the perspective of a doctor-engineer, check out his website and podcast The Drive. Sign up for a membership for a month to access several excellent AMAs (ask me anythings), short-form podcasts, and show notes on diabetes topics.

  • Insulin Resistance – This is a collection of articles, short, and long-form podcasts on insulin resistance and how to prevent and mitigate it.
  • Dr. Jake Kushner (pediatric endocrinologist) particularly for low-carb benefits for Type 1
  • Dr. Jason Fung (The Obesity Code, The Diabetes Code, The Complete Guide to Fasting) on fasting particularly for Type 2
  • Dr. Ronesh Sinha on metabolic syndrome which is another great listen
  • Dr. Sarah Hallberg on carb restriction for reversing obesity/Type 2, the importance of treating early, fatty acids overview, and metabolic markers
  • Kevin Sayer (Dexcom CEO) for continuous glucose monitors (CGM)
  • AMA: Deep dive into blood glucose – why A1c might catch diabetes risk too late, why to focus on the lowest average glucose, variability, and number of peaks, glucose dips and/or suppression of fatty acids may predict hunger/energy intake
  • AMA: Losing fat and gaining fat, the lessons of fat flux – particularly informative for Type 2s or those at-risk including a point on most patients in this situation needing to fix multiple issues with multiple tactics including sleep, stress, cortisol, thyroid, and other hormonal issues, carb restriction, prolonged fasting, etc
  • Buy a premium membership for a month to listen to all the old AMA podcasts with great information on keto, fasting, and diabetes and download the full show notes.
  • Check the topics page for more podcasts, articles, and email blogs on fasting, ketosis, sleep and other topics helpful for diabetes management. The disease page has the most on diabetes but includes other diseases too,
  • Reverse engineered approach to human longevity – this is not specifically focused on diabetes but has a good overall model for thinking about how to live a healthy life.

Loop

Keto

Dominic D’Agostino

Phinney and Volek

Fasting

Research Articles

My Articles

My Habits

Besides the articles above see my habits page for more articles to help with the facets of managing diabetes and life.

  • Movement and exercise
  • Mental health
  • Sleep

Diabetes has a large mental health component. Diabetics are much more likely to have anxiety and depression. Recharging helps. Managing stress helps. Moving more (and thinking less) helps. Good sleep helps.

Speeches

diabetes with sugar cube