Plaque is the stuff of coronary heart disease. It is CONTROLLABLE, it is STOPPABLE, it is REVERSIBLE.
But you must be equipped with the right information on diet, nutritional supplements, and hopefully the avoidance of medication.
This is the blog that accompanies the 
As I suggested in a previous Heart Scan Blog post, a glucose meter is your best tool to:
1) Lose weight
2) Cure diabetes
3) Reduce or eliminate small LDL particles
4) Achieve anti-aging or age-slowing effects
But it means getting hold of a glucose meter and applying it in a very different way.
Diabetics typically check fasting morning glucose and again several times during the day to assess medication effects. But you and I can measure blood glucose to assess the immediate effects of food choices–two very different approaches.
The concept is simple: Check a blood glucose just prior to a food or meal of interest, then one hour after finishing.
Let’s take two hypothetical breakfasts. First, oatmeal, a so-called “low-glycemic index” food. Slow-cooked, stone ground oatmeal with skim milk, a handful of walnuts, just a few blueberries.
Blood glucose just prior: 95 mg/dl
Blood glucose one hour after finish: 175 mg/dl
I made those numbers up, but this is a fairly typical response for many adults. (This is why “low-glycemic index” is an absurd notion.) This kind of response causes 1) glycation, the adverse effects of glucose modification of proteins that leads to cataracts, kidney disease, cartilage damage and arthritis, atherosclerosis, skin wrinkles, etc., 2) high insulin response that cascades into fat deposition, especially visceral fat (“wheat belly”), and 3) glucotoxicity, i.e., direct damage to the pancreas that can, over years, lead to diabetes.
Next day, let’s try a breakfast of 3-egg omelet made with green peppers, sundried tomatoes, and olive oil.
Blood glucose just prior: 95 mg/dl
Blood glucose one hour after finish: 93 mg/dl
This is a meal of virtually zero-glycemic index. This kind of response triggers none of the effects experienced following the oatmeal. Repeated over time and you fail to trigger glycation, you stop provoking insulin, and visceral fat mobilizes rather than accumulates: you lose weight, particularly around the middle.
We therefore aim to keep the one-hour blood glucose 100 mg/dl or less. If you start with a high fasting blood glucose of, say, 118 mg/dl, then we aim to keep the one-hour after-eating blood glucose no higher than the pre-meal.
It works. Plain and simple.
This makes the primary care docs crazy: “How dare you check your blood sugar! You’re not diabetic.” In truth, blood glucose meters are relatively simple devices to use. The test strips and lancets will cost a few bucks. (The meters themselves are either low-cost or free, just like Gillette sometimes sends you a beautiful new razor for free but expects you to buy the blades). These are direct-to-consumer products. While a prescription written by your doctor for a glucose meter and supplies helps insurance cover the costs, you can easily get these devices without a prescription. Some stores, like Target, keep their devices out on the shelves with the shampoo and bath soap.
Warning: Anyone taking diabetes drugs will have to consult with their doctors about the safety of such an approach. Because this approach can actually cure diabetes in some people, if you are taking some diabetes drugs, especially glyburide, glipidize, and glimepiride, you can experience dangerously low blood sugars, just as any non-diabetic taking these drugs would.
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What about 1 carb whey protein isolate with unsweetened almond milk? Why does it raise blood glucose?
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/007893.html
Fructose Alters Brain Metabolism
One of the competing theories to explain the obesity epidemic is a rise in fructose consumption causing alterations in hormone levels that increase appetite. UCSF med school prof Robert Lustig has a pretty good rant-lecture on the evils of fructose. Well, here's another study on part of the mechanism in the brain of how fructose might be causing increased obesity.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The dietary concerns of too much fructose is well documented. High-fructose corn syrup has become the sweetener most commonly added to processed foods. Many dietary experts believe this increase directly correlates to the nation's growing obesity epidemic. Now, new research at Oregon Health & Science University demonstrates that the brain – which serves as a master control for body weight – reacts differently to fructose compared with another common sweetener, glucose. The research is published in the online edition of the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism and will appear in the March print edition.
In humans the cortical brain control areas of the brain were inhibited by the influx of fructose.
Functional MRI allows researchers to watch brain activity in real time. To conduct the research, nine normal-weight human study subjects were imaged as they received an infusion of fructose, glucose or a saline solution. When the resulting brain scans from these three groups were compared, the scientists observed distinct differences.
Brain activity in the hypothalamus, one brain area involved in regulating food intake, was not affected by either fructose or glucose. However, activity in the cortical brain control areas showed the opposite response during infusions of the sugars. Activity in these areas was inhibited when fructose was given but activated during glucose infusion.
This is an important finding because these control brain areas included sites that are thought to be important in determining how we respond to food taste, smells, and pictures, which the American public is bombarded with daily.
The result increases the plausibility of fructose as a causal agent.
"This study provides evidence in humans that fructose and glucose elicits opposite responses in the brain. It supports the animal research that shows similar findings and links fructose with obesity," added Purnell.
If you want to reduce your weight also consider other theories for the cause of obesity including grains as a possible major cause.
By Randall Parker 2011 February 09 05:42 PM Brain Appetite
Oats are often cross contaminated with wheat. Would certified gluten free oats give the same results?
I think this post is really very important. Looking forward to future extensions of it.
I've been able to control my cholesterol cutting wheat to zero, a moderate version of paleo diet, and a little of supplements with DHA/EPA, as suggested by Dr. Davis. Now is the turn of glucose
After reading this post I bought a glucometer (Bayer USB device) and I'm slowly learning some important things. My fasting glucose is good, about 80, however I've just seen (measured) that a simple dish of rice with fried egg rises my glucose one hour after lunch to 170!. My wife experienced a similar change. Amazing. I have lunch at work, and these measures of glucose are going to be very helpful to help me decide what to choose for the menu. I plan to continue measuring my glucose for the next weeks, so I guess news surprise will come.
I just want to thank Dr. Davis for the great help he's providing to many people from his blog.
Best.
Hi,
I have bought a glucometer and wnted to ask you a question.
This morning my bg was 4.9 (fasting) so very good then I ate pork then I had cashews and at 5pm I felt shakey not right, hungry so I checked it and it was 4.3 (isnt it a bit low?) so I had a pear and an hour after the pear it was 6.1, is it normal? does it mean i should avoid fruits?
thanks for your help!
I know I'm late to this party, but I took your advice and got a free glucose meter from Walgreens (came with 10 strips). Fasting blood sugar 75, ate a giant meal of steak, eggs, bacon, sausage, and sliced tomatoes, it went up to 85. On seperate days, a plain protein shake with a tad of reds powder spiked it to 112 (!!!) and my "low-carb" meat chili (no beans, just meat) launched it to 102 (lots of tomato paste/sauce). Needless to say, it's been an eye opener, especially since so-called "healthy" foods are raising my blood sugar more than I'd like, and of course stopping fat loss in it's tracks.
Hi,
Am late to this party too but had a question.
I too bought a blood glucose monitor and, following almost exactly the info above, I’ve been tracking my numbers for a few days now. And I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with…
A few facts first:
Age – 45
Male
Do Crossfit 3-4 times per week
So far my BG levels have not gone over 108 and are averaging around 91/92, fasting BS is around 86.
The 108 number came 1 hour after a breakfast of uncooked oatmeal, some apple sauce. milk and a handful of almonds – all blended. BUT last night I ate a green salad, chicken and vegetables, with a piece of thin pie crust (!) and 2 lattes (!!) that only gave me a BS number of 85 after 1 hour and 83 after 3 hours.
Do these numbers sound right? And how ‘bad’ is a BS level of 108?
Hoping someone can advise…
Duncan
Insulin is meaningless. All the answers are on this site – http://carbsanity.blogspot.com/. Thank you and have a blessed day.
I’ve been testing stuff after 20 minutes. The highest things were: whole wheat bread, whole wheat cereal, potatoes, and whole oranges. But so far I’ve only had the ‘low carb flu’ or ‘reactive hypoglycemia’, and I’ve actually gained some weight. But I think I’m on the right track.
Dr. Davis,
If a person has a high fasting number, is the goal to stay at the original number? I have a fasting glucose number of 83-85, so should my ideal number one hour or so post meal be close to or identical to the start or just below 100? I’m a little confused.
At this low a starting value, just staying below 100 mg/dl is a great goal.
The “no higher” advice was meant for people who start at 100 mg/dl or higher blood sugar.
Those who can keep tight control of bg with diet are not “cured” of diabetes anymore than those who avoid peanuts are “cured” of peanut allergies.
Minimizing carb content keeps bg lower, yes, and many diabetics can control bg with just that. Others need meds regardless of how clean their diets are.
Managing the disease is NOT curing it. Unless they can pass a GTT, they’re still diabetic.