	March 19, 2008 \| Issue 160
	What is Pritikin \| Pritikin Center \| Request Information

“Will gastric bypass surgery control diabetes?”

"Will gastric bypass surgery control diabetes?"

"Type 2 diabetes is caused primarily by excessive calorie intake and fat storage, so it certainly makes sense that anything that reduces calorie intake and promotes the loss of body fat will reverse insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels in those with pre- or Type 2 diabetes,” states Jay Kenney, PhD, Nutrition Research Specialist at Pritikin.

PRITIKIN TIPS

You snooze, you lose (weight)

A recent study of 1,000+ people, the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort study, found that those who slept about 8 hours a night had lower BMIs, lower levels of ghrelin (a hormone that triggers appetite), and higher levels of leptin (a hormone that signals that the body is full) compared with those who slept only 5 hours nightly.

Restful sleep is important not only for weight control but also for overall health. While everyone occasionally has trouble sleeping, about 40 million Americans suffer chronic health problems due to long-term sleep deprivation.

Signs of a serious sleep disorder include fatigue/tiredness, headaches, anxiety, depression, memory changes, personality changes, as well as difficulty in losing weight.

To help guests diagnose sleep-related problems and get back to a good night’s sleep, physicians at Pritikin launched the Sleep Disorders Evaluation and Treatment Program last year. Notes Dr. Sam Sugar, director of the program: “For many the results have been very rewarding.”

Sleep Apnea May Be Keeping You From Losing Weight

“But why have your digestive tract mutilated and risk multiple long-term complications from the surgery, including nutritional deficiencies, when you can just follow the Pritikin Program, lose weight without hunger, and still reverse insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes?"

To be sure, a commitment to lifestyle changes like the Pritikin Program is no small task. But surgery is no easy solution either. After surgery, doctors routinely advise patients to make a complete change in lifestyle. Foods to be avoided include sugary foods, red meat, high-fat foods, high-fiber foods, and milk because they commonly provoke nausea, cramping, diarrhea, overall weakness and other nasty side effects.

And because most forms of weight-loss surgery leave patients with a stomach the size of an egg, post-surgery life means very small meals, eaten very slowly and chewed thoroughly, for the rest of one’s life. Overeating may cause vomiting, expansion of the stomach pouch, weight gain (think Al Roker of NBC’s Today Show), or even rupture of the stomach.

The fact is, the lifestyle changes required after weight-loss surgery are far more rigorous than Pritikin Program recommendations, observes Dr. Kenney. “A healthy diet like Pritikin allows you to enjoy a wide variety of foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, potatoes, corn, and whole grains like brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, and you can eat them in large satisfying portions.”

And the only side effect of Pritikin living is better health, better blood pressure, better cholesterol, freedom from angina pain and heart surgeries, and certainly, better diabetes control. It’s all good news.

For diabetes control, in particular, the Pritikin Program is very good news. In a recent meta-analysis of 864 Type 2 diabetics who came to the Pritikin Longevity Center, 74% on oral agents left Pritikin three weeks later free of such medications, their blood sugars in normal ranges; and 44% on insulin left insulin-free. (Journal of Applied Physiology, 98: 3, 2005).

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Pritikin Perspective - Healthy Living Made Easier
Pritikin Perspective is a publication for Alumni of the Pritikin Longevity Center. It is dedicated to helping people make healthy changes in their lives. The articles in this publication should not be considered specific medical advice, as each individual circumstance is different. You are strongly encouraged to seek medical advice before beginning a program of diet and exercise.
Editor/Writer: Eugenia Killoran.

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