Can millet make you diabetic?

5. March 2009 William Davis (10)















If wheat is so bad, what about all the other grains?

First of all, I demonize wheat because of its top-of-the-list role in triggering:

--Appetite--Wheat increases hunger dramatically
--Insulin
--Blood sugar--Wheat is worse than table sugar in triggering a rapid, large rise in blood sugar
--Triglycerides
--Small LDL particles--the number one cause for heart disease in the U.S.
--Reduced HDL
--Diabetes
--Autoimmune diseases--Most notably celiac disease and thyroiditis.

Most other "healthy, whole grains" aren't quite as bad. It's a matter of degree.

Millet, quinoa, oats, sorghum, bulghur, spelt, barley, cornmeal--While they don't trigger appetite nor autoimmune diseases like wheat does (oat can in some people), they still pose a significant carbohydrate load sufficient to generate the other phenomena like excessive insulin and blood sugar responses. The grams of carbohydrate of these grains are virtually identical to wheat: 43.5 grams per 1/2 cup (uncooked). The exceptions are barley, which is especially loaded with carbohydrates: 104 grams per 1/2 cup, while oats are lower: 33 g per 1/2 cup.

It's all a matter of degree. Some people who are exceptionally carbohydrate-sensitive (like me) can have diabetic blood sugars with just slow-cooked oatmeal or quinoa. Others aren't quite so sensitive and can get away with eating them.

People with high blood sugars (100 mg/dl or greater) can be very sensitive to the blood sugar effects of these grain carbohydrates. The best marker of all are small LDL particles measured on a lipoprotein panel, such as NMR. Small LDL particles are exquisitely sensitive to your carbohydrate intake: small LDL gets worse with excessive sensitivity to grain carbohydrates, gets better with reduction or elimination.

Flagrant small LDL, in combination with low HDL, high triglycerides, and pre-diabetic or diabetic patterns all develop from carbohydrate indulgence, along with "wheat belly."

Don't believe it? The prove it to yourself: Go to Walmart and buy an inexpensive glucose meter and check your blood sugar one hour after eating. You can gauge the health of these foods by observing the blood sugar increases. (Small LDL closely parallels blood sugar rises.)

The grain that fails to trigger any of these abnormal patterns? Flaxseed. Flaxseed is entirely protein, fiber, and healthy oils, with virtually no digestible starches. In fact, flaxseed is one of the few foods that reduces the quantity of small LDL particles.
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Comments (10) -

  • Brock Cusick

    3/5/2009 1:44:00 PM |

    What you say is true, but the archaeological records tells us that insulin changes immediately after eating cannot be the whole story. Studies of carbohydrate-based cultures in Africa found that several of them were in very good health mostly free of the diseases of civilization despite a heavy carb load. A couple points for full disclosure:

    1. The majority of the carbohydrate load came from tubers and plantains, not grains, but grains were a part of the diet.

    2. The more carnivorous cultures also studied that avoided carbs were in better health, if slightly.

    3. What grains they consumed were ground, soaked and fermented to reduce the amount of phytic acid and other tannins and increase the availability of nutrients.

    So I will not be the one who insists that you can eat you're bread. I avoid wheat and rye because of the near-indigestible gluten, but the other grains can be healthy if prepared correctly.

    Here's a post from another blogger with medical training that has looked into this quite closely:

    http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-eat-grains.html

  • Anonymous

    3/5/2009 2:56:00 PM |

    Thank you for explaining this more thoroughly... I have been wondering about the other grains, besides wheat, so this is helpful.
    ------------
    Here's a (true) recent exchange with a high school friend in a Facebook posting:

    ::K***:: is back on her Diabetic food plan and unplugging the bread machine.

    ::Friend 1::
    that evil gluten!!!!!

    ::Friend 2: ME::
    Evil wheat... and other grains!

    ::K***::
    Whole grains are good for my diabetes, not just in large quantities!
    ------------
    It appears that with doctor or dietician-encouraged brainwashing about grains, and following an American Diabetes Assn. diet (with an occasional falling off the wagon to bake cinnamon rolls and other pastries), this woman is probably doomed to the ravages of this horrible disease.

    I'm not trying to be judgmental about this particular person, but rather illustrate how a carb addict can justify their carb addiction, and at the same time think they are actually following a "healthy" diet, cheered on by their well-meaning but uninformed doctors and dieticians.

    Yes, like many or most of us, I love carbs... but, due to extensive research (and a strong rebellious streak) I follow most of the TYP guidelines and I mostly eat Paleo now.  It's not always easy, but it's my best chance to avoid diabetes, and the ugly consequences of heart disease.

    I feel badly for my friend, but I don't think she wants conversion... rather, an easier way to continue to indulge in carbs via those 'healthy' whole grains.  It's not my job to change the world... I have enough trouble just with ::me::.

    madcook

  • Kiwi

    3/5/2009 8:46:00 PM |

    So what is it about wheat that makes it worse than the other grains? Is it the refining or is there something inherently bad about it's chemical structure. Anyone know?

  • Anonymous

    3/6/2009 12:48:00 AM |

    Question for Dr. Davis:

    Do you ever use glycated hemoglobin as a way to gauge patient's carb intake?

    How useful is it as an indicator, and what would you consider an optimal glycated hemoglobin level?

  • Anonymous

    3/6/2009 5:21:00 AM |

    What about oat bran?  It has a moderately high level of carbohydrates to fiber ratio, 25g carbs to 6g fiber, per 1/2 cup serving. It's just a little better ratio than a 1/2 cup of whole oats (27g:4g).  I'm just curious, because I gave it up a long while ago, is it now safe to say that oat bran is no longer blanketly recommended in the TYP protocol in decreasing LDL cholesterol?

    Here's my own personal daily "soluble fiber protocol" (ratio - carbs:fiber):

    - 1 tbsp Konsyl psyllium husk (not Metimucil which has sucrose or aspartame) - 2g;9g

    - 2 tbsp organic milled flax seed -  4g:4g

    - 2 tbsp white chia seeds - 6g:5g

    - 3 tbsp organic raw cacao nibs -  10g:9g

    I also regularly nibble on raw almonds, pistachios, and walnuts which are rich in fat, protein, and fiber, and contain little carbohydrates.

  • Anonymous

    3/6/2009 9:20:00 PM |

    i did not see any mention of rice, either brown or white.  is it relatively ok?  substantial populations eat large quantities of it with apparently little/no advese effect

  • Mary K

    3/7/2009 5:33:00 AM |

    Like anonymous, I am also curious about rice. Guam has rampant diabetes and the local diet is big on rice (and red rice, which is flavored with achiote seeds). It seems to me if they focused on taro, which is a root, they would have healthier diets (umm, as long as they eliminated all fried foods, too). Would this be a reasonable assumption?

  • Anne

    3/7/2009 3:12:00 PM |

    Six months ago I bought a glucometer and started checking my blood glucose as suggested in Blood Sugar 101 http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/ I discovered my blood sugar, although under 100 when fasting, was over 200 after eating. All grains and starchy vegetables cause a dangerous rise in my blood sugar. I have had to limit my fruits to only a couple of bites at a time. A handful of nuts does not raise my blood sugar.

    Great advice to check your own after meal blood glucose. Although post prandial blood glucose can become abnormal 10 years or more before the fasting level becomes abnormal, most doctors test fasting levels only. That is one reason why people often have complications of diabetes such as neuropathy and retinopathy by the time they get a diagnosed.

  • Trinkwasser

    3/7/2009 3:29:00 PM |

    Some of these reactions have a personal component, I wonder if differences in digestive enzymes are to blame. I can eat oatcakes even at breakfast (in sufficiently small quantities) and quinoa without shifting my BG, obviously I have no Phase 1 insulin but sufficient Phase 2 to deal with relatively low GI stuff.

    The only thing worse than wheat for me is wheat mixed with other carbs, the BG spike suggests they are converted to glucose in parallel rather than in series. Other grains are doable in sufficiently small quantities but in general I limit them all and prefer other veggies as carb sources except when I need to deliberately adjust my BG

  • buy jeans

    11/3/2010 3:50:56 PM |

    Don't believe it? The prove it to yourself: Go to Walmart and buy an inexpensive glucose meter and check your blood sugar one hour after eating. You can gauge the health of these foods by observing the blood sugar increases. (Small LDL closely parallels blood sugar rises.)

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What goes up can't come down

What goes up can't come down

28. November 2009 William Davis (13)
According to conventional wisdom, heart scan scores cannot be reduced.

In other words, say you begin with a heart scan score of 300. Conventional wisdom says you should take aspirin and a statin drug, eat a low-fat "heart healthy" diet, and take high blood pressure medications, if necessary.

If your heart scan score goes up in a year or two, especially at an annual rate of 20% or more, then you are at very high risk for heart attack. If the heart scan score stays the same, then your risk is much reduced. These observations are well-established.

But more than 99% of physicians will tell you that reducing your heart scan score is impossible. Don't even try: Heart scan scores can go up, but they can't go down.

Baloney. Heart scan scores can indeed go down. And they can go down dramatically.

It is true that, following conventional advice like taking a statin drug, following a low-fat diet, and taking aspirin will fail to reduce your heart scan score. A more rational approach that 1) identifies all causes of coronary plaque, 2) corrects all causes while including crucial strategies like omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, vitamin D supplementation, and thyroid function normalization, is far more likely to yield a halt or reduction in score.

While not everybody who undertakes the Track Your Plaque program will succeed in reducing their heart scan score, a growing number are enjoying success.

A small portion of our experience was documented this past summer. (I collected and analyzed the data with the help of Rush University nutrition scientist, Dr. Susie Rockway, and statistician, Dr. Mary Kwasny.)


Effect of a combined therapeutic approach of intensive lipid management, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, and increased serum 25 (OH) vitamin D on coronary calcium scores in asymptomatic adults.

Davis W, Rockway S, Kwasny M.

The impact of intensive lipid management, omega-3 fatty acid, and vitamin D3 supplementation on atherosclerotic plaque was assessed through serial computed tomography coronary calcium scoring (CCS). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction with statin therapy has not been shown to reduce or slow progression of serial CCS in several recent studies, casting doubt on the usefulness of this approach for tracking atherosclerotic progression. In an open-label study, 45 male and female subjects with CCS of > or = 50 without symptoms of heart disease were treated with statin therapy, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation to achieve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides < or = 60 mg/dL; high-density lipoprotein > or = 60 mg/dL; and vitamin D3 supplementation to achieve serum levels of > or = 50 ng/mL 25(OH) vitamin D, in addition to diet advice. Lipid profiles of subjects were significantly changed as follows: total cholesterol -24%, low-density lipoprotein -41%; triglycerides -42%, high-density lipoprotein +19%, and mean serum 25(OH) vitamin D levels +83%. After a mean of 18 months, 20 subjects experienced decrease in CCS with mean change of -14.5% (range 0% to -64%); 22 subjects experienced no change or slow annual rate of CCS increase of +12% (range 1%-29%). Only 3 subjects experienced annual CCS progression exceeding 29% (44%-71%). Despite wide variation in response, substantial reduction of CCS was achieved in 44% of subjects and slowed plaque growth in 49% of the subjects applying a broad treatment program.
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Comments (13) -

  • karl

    11/28/2009 8:01:01 PM |

    Where is this published?

  • Nigel Kinbrum BSc(Hons)Eng

    11/28/2009 9:09:40 PM |

    Has anyone investigated the effect of Vitamin K2 on CCS?

  • Dr. William Davis

    11/28/2009 9:23:30 PM |

    Karl--

    In the American Journal of Therpeutics 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):326-32.

    For abstract, go to Pubmed and enter "Davis + Rockway" into the search.

  • Dr. William Davis

    11/28/2009 9:24:14 PM |

    Hi, Nigel--

    There are no studies in which K2 vs. placebo have been administered, only observations studies in which lower K2 intake has been related to greater risk for cardiovascular events.

  • David

    11/29/2009 2:17:29 AM |

    Hi Dr. Davis,

    Do you have any insight into what separated those that had reversal from that those that had slow and rapid progression?

    Thanks,
    David

  • drake

    11/29/2009 2:24:04 AM |

    My cardiologist said essentially the very point of your first sentence.  I had pestered my PCP to order a heart scan a month ago.  He relented only by stating that I should then go see a cardiologist.  

    The cardio stated that scores can't be decreased unless "they change the software reading the scan."  He further stated, "calcium is calcium; where's it going to go?"  Needless to say, he placed very little value on heart scans but it made for some lively discussion between he and I.

  • Paul Smith

    11/29/2009 2:36:20 AM |

    Dr. Davis - I'm 36YO in Australia with a 50% blockage on my LAD (vulnerable plaque). I have 1 tiny spec of calcium on a branch of my LAD so not much of a calcium score. I realise this is a serious problem.
    I guess 'track you plaque' would be harder for my with such a low calcium score so I haven't joined up.
    I've been using your techniques for 3months now - I'm sugar and carb free and I'm very close to 60/60/60 as you have recommend.
    With reference to your most recent posting, what is your experience with Vulnerable Plaque reduction in people with low or no calcium score? Its a bit harder to track I would have thought? PS - TIP for new bloggers - don't take 500mg of Niacin if its the first time your doing it! Ouch.

  • Red Sphynx

    11/29/2009 2:59:29 AM |

    Wow.

    Any general insight as to why this worked so markedly well for some of your patients, less well for others, and not at all for 3?  Obesity?  Tobacco?  Stress? Not taking their meds? Diabetes? Working in a refinery?  Or is It more about choosing the right ancestors?

  • Anonymous

    11/29/2009 4:48:45 AM |

    A major question remains: "Why are some patients NOT responsive to the TYP protocol"?

    Is their coronary artery disease being driven by a different cause?

  • billye

    11/29/2009 6:12:09 PM |

    Hi Dr. Davis,
    As usual you always provide great information.  I have been following a life style change that features the diet of our ancient ancestors, with great results for the last 12 month.  I use saturated fats exclusively, including MCT and coconut oil, Weight loss 55 pounds, Diabetes type 2 cured (A1c's of 4.7,4.8,and 5.0 all without medication). My doctor stopped all Staten's. I recently received the results of a VAP test 11/16/09.
    Some of the pertinent results are:
    Tot. LDL-C Direct 154 mg/dl
    Tot. HDL-C Direct  63 mg/dl
    Tot. TG    Direct  63 mg/dl
    Sum Tot. Cholesterol 233
    Real-LDL sz. Pat. A large buoyant
    Remnant Lipo (IDL+VLDL3) 26
    HDL-2(large,buoyant) 18
    HDL-3(small, dense)  45
    VLDL-3 (remnant lipo)9
    Recommendation: Consider lowering LDL-C goal.

    Because I am not a doctor, I am having trouble analyzing this VAP test.  I have started a course of Usher Smith 500mg SLO NIACIN.  Any other suggestions?  Is this  enough to  
    lower my LDL? I very much value your opinion, any input will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.
    Bill Eisenberg

  • Dr. William Davis

    11/29/2009 6:35:07 PM |

    Paul--

    I believe you may be misinterpreting what Track Your Plaque is intended to do. It is NOT  a program to reduce the amount of calcium in the coronary arteries; it is a program that uses the surrogate marker of coronary calcium as a means of reducing plaque.

    All the strategies we use in the program still apply, regardless of the proportion of calcium to non-calcified elements.

  • Anonymous

    12/8/2009 3:09:48 AM |

    new book is available when ?

  • buy jeans

    11/3/2010 10:05:27 PM |

    A small portion of our experience was documented this past summer. (I collected and analyzed the data with the help of Rush University nutrition scientist, Dr. Susie Rockway, and statistician, Dr. Mary Kwasny.)

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Big heart scan scores drop

Big heart scan scores drop

6. April 2007 William Davis (0)
High heart scan scores of, say, greater than 1000 are more difficult to reduce than lower scores.

I learned this lesson early in the experience of trying to drop scores. In the first few years of trying to drop scores, I saw relatively modest scores of 20, 50, or 100 drop readily, even when the usual targets were not fully achieved, and even before the incorporation of some of the more exciting recent additions to the Track Your Plaque program, like vitamin D.

But big scores of 1000, 2000, or 3000 are a tougher nut to crack. In the first few years, what I usually saw was a slowing , or "deceleration," of growth from the expected rate of annual score increase of 30% that would continue for a year or two, followed by zero change. In the first year of effort, for example, a score increase of 18% was common. 10% was common in year two, then finally zero change in year three. Somehow, the more plaque you begin with, the more "momentum" in growth is present and the longer it takes to stop it. Kind of like stopping a compact car versus stopping a freight train.

But more recently, I'm seeing faster drops. Today, Charlie came to the office to discuss his second heart scan. 18 months earlier, Charlie's first scan showed a score of 3,112, high by anybody's standard.

His repeat score: 3,048. While the drop is relatively small on a percentage basis and may even fall within the expected rate of error for heart scans (which tends to be <2% at this high a score), I told Charlie that it still represented a huge success. Not only did he not increase his score by the expected 30% per year, he also brought a charging locomotive to a rapid stop.

Next year, Charlie is targeting a big drop. Given the tools he now has available, I'm optimistic that he will succeed.

Watch for the Track Your Plaque May, 2007 Newsletter in which we will detail Charlie's story further.
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