Diet focused Type 2 Diabetes management - avoiding Ultra Processed Foods & adding magnesium are two of the tips.

- a brand new paper by Paul Marik, Mobeen Syed, and Matthew Halma.

Avoiding “Ultra Processed Foods” (UPFs) is a very well cited point regarding diet strategies for preventing or improving Type 2 Diabetes provided in an open access paper by Halma, Syed, and Marik, 2023.

Their paper includes a nice infographic summary of the patient guidance points they provide which are based on results from other research studies. The graphic is not downloadable so the image quality here is not great - cellphone screenshot:

Ultra Processed Foods include products that are two or more steps away from a whole food, roughly. Extruded foods made with super high heat like shaped breakfast cereal or puffed snack things are ultra processed and the extreme high heat is likely forming cancer causing chemicals* that are also crispy and tasty (*acrylamide and other AGEs).

Pringles potato chips are a potato flour product with other chemical ingredients and is an Ultra Processed Food compared to a French Fry that was made by cutting a potato into strips rather than a reformed potato product pressed into a funny shape for a deep fried children’s Ultra Processed ‘food’. A baked potato eaten with the skin would be a whole good. A box of mashed potato flakes to mix with water would be an Ultra Processed Food

Ideally raise children to have a healthy understanding of hunger and fullness and help them to understand that eating is to give them energy and health. Food should be treated as food and toys are toys and food should not be treated as a cute toy or as a sweet reward if we want to help ourselves or our children to eat when hungry and stop when satisfied. Emotional overeating may grow out having been rewarded with treats for good behavior or the idea that you only get to have dessert if you ate all of some other food that you hate. That makes the other food a punishment and the dessert as something more desirable than the more filling or nutritious food.

“Increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with a greater risk of diabetes 88–90 and obesity, 91, possibly owing to their higher GI and lower satiety potential. 92 UPFs also contain lower levels of crucial nutrients and fibers, 93,94, and higher levels of sugar, 95–97 trans fats, 98 and additives, 99, which contribute to their higher GI relative to less processed food. 92” (Halma, Syed, and Marik, 2023)

The researchers are making an overall point that the current standard of care - GLP-1 agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors - are not the only way to manage Type 2 Diabetes. Both medications are quite expensive and GLP-1 agonists can cause digestive upset. A medication that is causing gut problems is really a ‘negative’ rather than adding a positive treatment to someone’s life, which is positively helping them instead of leading to worse malnutrition and microbiome dysbiosis.

“The major limitation with the use of GLP-1 agonists is the cost of the drug. In the U.S., a month’s supply costs between $936 and $1,349, although the list price of these drugs is significantly lower in other nations. 148 For cost-effectiveness to be achieved, the costs of GLP-1 agonists would have to fall by at least 90%. 149” […]

“Despite the benefits of SGLT-2 inhibitors and their acceptable safety profile, cost issues are paramount, and the cost of SGLT-2 would need to decrease by 70% to be considered cost effective. 149 The high costs of the GLP-1 agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors motivate the investigation of lower-cost interventions.” […]

“As diabetes has a higher prevalence in the lower income deciles,166 the poor carry a disproportionate share of the burden. The direct cost of diabetes to a patient is $800 per month.5 For insulin users, costs are rapidly increasing at an annual growth rate of 10%,167 and the price of insulin tripled between 2002 and 2013.168 Three companies (Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Eli Lilly) control 99% of the world’s market for insulin.169” […]

“In contrast to the above, the price of metformin has dropped by 93%.171 The supplements discussed above plus metformin, cost together around $200 per month.” (Halma, Syed, and Marik, 2023)

The researchers highlight as potentially helpful treatments for improving insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes: the phytonutrient berberine or medication with a similar mechanism of action - metformin; supplemental magnesium, melatonin, resveratrol, cinnamon, and/or omega 3 fatty acids. (Halma, Syed, and Marik, 2023)

Yeah! Magnesium got a mention - and in BOLD font in the article!

Is health worth $200 per month? Or $800 per month? Or $10,000 per month? At what point do we see that “healthcare” also needs to be affordable (and it should always be safe and effective - or why do it? Just to give money to a medical industry profiteer?).

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

Reference List

(Halma, Syed, and Marik, 2023) Halma, M., Syed, M., Marik, P., (2023). Potential Dietary and Lifestyle Interventions for Decreasing Insulin Resistance. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 28(428);1-9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376272583_Potential_Dietary_and_Lifestyle_Interventions_for_Decreasing_Insulin_Resistance