In Doctor Wilson’s continuing conversations with physicians and patients, he finds there is much to explain.
Dr. Wilson’s letter to another doctor:
You asked a question about why people with type I diabetes don’t get the disease I call CARB syndrome. In fact they do. I currently work as a Hospitalist in the Boston area because it gives me blocks of time off to write and work on my neuroscience projects. Tonight I admitted a 32 year old female with a 21 year history of type I diabetes. She was admitted with chest pain, weakness, labile hypertension and a long list of other recurring symptoms.
To me it seemed like she has some degree of autonomic dysfunction from her diabetes. When I took her history she stated that she had been diagnosed with ADHD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. Although she is not over-weight, I could tell by looking at her that her percent body fat was high. She has an insulin pump and has been encouraged by her primary care physician to eat a vegan diet. Initially when she switched to this diet her glucose levels improved, but lately her diabetes has been out of control.
When I went through the list of CARB syndrome symptoms, she had most of them. Many of these symptoms are not known to the medical profession and she and her husband we astonished that I would know these things about her. She thought I was reading her mind. Remember, diseases are predictable and she has a very predictable disease with a predictable clinical course.
Of course with her vegan diet, she was consuming a lot of fructose and high glycemic carbohydrates. As you know, when a type I diabetic consumes a lot of carbohydrates, it’s like a dog chasing its tail—you can never give the right amount of insulin. I assume you are familiar with Loren Cordain’s work. If not, I suggest that you read his “The Paleo Answer”, in my opinion one of the best books on how to eat a healthy diet based on solid science.
In my short time with this patient, I told her to stop eating vegan. I gave her and her husband links to web sites and books that might be helpful. I also told them to look up the speech by Dr. Lustig on sugar posted on U-tube. I also gave them some information on how I manage CARB syndrome. They were very thankful. Her husband stated both of them were very frustrated with the medical profession and I was the first physician to really talk to them about diet in a way that makes sense. To me, that’s a tragedy.
