Dr. Ernie Garcia (MD) posted a passionate essay about his difficulty getting his patients with diabetes to follow a carbohydrate-restricted Paleolithic diet. He makes a good case for carbohydrate addiction. A few quotes:
Today I saw a lady at my office. Fairly typical middle-aged, over weight female with poorly controlled diabetes. She recently started on an insulin pump but her glucose control is no better at all. I had a suspicion why, and again started to question the details of what she eats. Of course, she eats carb after carb after carb. Whole wheat this, and low fat that. She has tried to cut the carbs in the past, and actually had pretty decent success, but quickly falls back into your carbilicious ways. Why? Why go back when a change in diet shows clear improvement in her sugars?
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What do addicts do? They generally know what they do is bad for them, and they have periods of clarity where they do better. Eventually though, the pull of their drug of choice draws them back in. Or, they slip up and use just a little and BAM…right back to square one. They feel shame for their addiction, people look down upon them for it, and they wish so badly they could make a permanent change, but they always fall back into old habits. Now, imagine a heroin addict who is advised to control the addition by sticking with “moderation” because of course, everything is good in moderation right?
Another issue that type 2 diabetics have is that they’ve been eating copious carbohydrates for over 40 years. It’s hard to break any habit with that type of longevity. It doesn’t help that they’re immersed in a carb-centric culture.
RTWT.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Paleo Diabetic 
Reblogged this on Simple Living Over 50.
Unfortunately like any addiction, it is the addiction problem that has to be dealt with first.
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