Our latest headline in the medical journals stun us with the numbers: “two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese”. The cause is, of course, unidentified but the result is listed as a higher risk of “coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, joint disease, cancer, sleep apnea, asthma, and other chronic conditions”. The researchers emphasized that weight gain can cause the onset of diabetes. Here is a case of cart before the horse.

While in a general family practice setting in my office, I found that about one-third of my patients in any given day had pre-diabetes numbers on blood tests. But were not obese, nor was their main reason for seeing me related to the pre-diabetes issues. I am measuring blood tests that catch diabetes traits very early, so as to better treat and prevent any diabetes.

This diabetic gene that over 30% of people inherit is what ultimately causes the weight gain. The weight gain does not cause the diabetes.
If we keep seeing the weight as the cause of diabetes we are continually missing the “catching” these people at younger ages and before the high blood sugar has had a detrimental impact on their health. The FatBack Diet is a way of encouraging a diet that does not rely on carbohydrates as the main energy. It instead emphasizes three-meals-per-day with fats as the calorie of choice – served with vegetables/ legumes, whole proteins and some fermented foods.

Look for future posts to list the blood tests that are a must for everyone to screen for diabetes and prediabetes problems.