of our population with chronic disability and disease.
Currently, 70 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, and this number is projected to be even higher in the next decade, as childhood obesity, which has tripled in the last thirty years, continues to increase.1 Over a hundred million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes, with increased risk of amputations, heart disease, and blindness.2 This means almost half of our population either has “diabesity” (obesity with insulin resistance, prediabetes, or diabetes) or is getting there quickly.
This horrifying trend is also an urgent matter of economic viability and national security that should be part of the conversation on national policy right now. The United States has already lost its manufacturing base to China, and much of what we have left is the service industries. The 17 percent of our GDP (gross domestic product) that we spend on disease care is unsustainable.3
It is looking more and more probable that type 2 diabetes will become a global epidemic (with projections that one in three individuals worldwide will eventually be affected), as the rest of the world becomes more affluent, relinquishing their original diet of real food in favor of a more Westernized diet of processed junk mislabeled as food. Diabetes and metabolic diseases cost the United States over $245 billion a year, which exceeds the entire GDP of countries like Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan. Emerging economies like India now have 25 percent of the worldwide burden of metabolic diseases like diabetes and its accompanying curse of heart disease and strokes.
Right now, about 63 percent of US food intake is processed grains, and 25 percent is animal food, leaving a mere 12 percent for plant food — and half of this is processed plant food, like French fries, potato chips, and ketchup.4
Over 60 percent of our meals are prepared outside the home: When we let someone else take charge of our most vital interaction with the environment, we have no idea what we are being fed. Restaurant food is prepared to make it look and taste good, usually by adding lots of salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats.
Exacerbating the situation are the faulty US Department of Agriculture (USDA) one-size-fits-all, meat- and dairy-heavy nutrition models (such as the one listed at MyPlate.gov). These are less guides to a “balanced diet” than “broken plates.” The USDA’s primary job is to protect the interests of the agriculture industry, and these guidelines are fueled and funded by the dairy, beef, and grain lobbies. Certainly, this is well-intended advice, but the advice suffers from this inherent conflict of interest, and the unintended consequences have been disastrous.
The typical American eats “bit” foods — or “because it’s there” foods — all day long. Donuts, candy, and processed “treats” are ubiquitous. However, the reality is that these are not treats; they are as dangerous and addictive as street drugs. The processed-food industry has figured out the formula for creating products that directly stimulate the reward centers of the brain (just like cocaine and heroin); as a result, the industry ensures that “You can’t eat just one.” Sadly, they are dead right, yet these substances are completely legal and socially acceptable.
Here’s the bottom line: “Diabesity” (insulin resistance), prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and obesity are human-made diseases. Some people may have been born with an increased genetic predisposition, but these conditions have manifested as a result of personal decisions — whether they were intentional or not. Genetics is like a loaded gun: It’s up to you to pull the trigger. You are holding the solution literally in your own hands right now.
Insulin resistance and unleashed inflammation are at the core of most of the diseases of Western civilization. Having just a few extra pounds of weight, especially on your belly, starts this process.
Find Your Reasons Why
When you change your mind-set, you can develop the motivation and ability to change your destiny. Something triggered you to pick up this book. When you buy in to the idea with your heart and soul and set up your environment for success, nothing can hold you back from living the life of your dreams.
Are you going to let anything stand in the way of awakening your inner “superhero” and living the best life you can, starting right now? Self-examination is the first step.
What is the purpose of your life on Earth? Close your eyes for a moment and think about it. What kind of person would you like to be? What would you like to have? What would you like to offer to the world? What would you like to do, see, experience, and accomplish with your time and energy? What does your ideal universe look like in terms of your own self, your relationships, and your finances? What does health have to do with it? Why are you even reading this book?
If your goal is to live with meaning, purpose, and joy; to spend time with loved ones and to make valuable contributions to the people in your community; to have more beautiful, meaningful, and enjoyable experiences; and to learn new things and grow and contribute, you will need to optimize your health so that you have the vitality you need for this journey.
Autonomy, freedom to choose, and the pursuit of happiness are fundamental to our existence as independent beings, and yet these basic rights can be snatched from us if we are not healthy. So the goal of optimizing our “health span” is also fundamental to our existence. The end result should be more “life in our years,” that is, a longer health span.
What would you be willing to give for an additional five, ten, or even fifteen years of vitality, productivity, fun, freedom, and enjoyment?
We have a culture of short-term fads and cycles: January to March is the time for making (and breaking!) New Year’s resolutions. April to June is the period for crash diets, for getting “ripped beach body abs and the perfect round tight booty” for the upcoming summer. July to September is the time for summer picnics and vacations with pizza, beer, and chips. October to December is the “holiday season” — watching football on TV and eating lots of beef, pork, turkey, pie, cookies, and cake, all washed down with alcoholic beverages wherever you go.
This book is not about the latest fad diet that might help you lose twenty-one pounds in twenty-one days. It is about changing your relationship with the environment. It’s about eliminating foods and habits that are making you weak and tired and replacing them with foods and activities that make you stronger. This includes optimizing food, water, and environmental exposures, as well as thought patterns. It’s not about deprivation or sacrifice. Rather, it’s about adopting an abundant new way of life that will give you the energy, vibrancy, and vitality that you deserve. It’s about living life to the fullest, to enjoy every adventure life has to offer without any limitation or handicap, to be able to keep up with your kids and grandkids, and to say yes to more adventures, fun, and freedom!
Nutritional excellence, an active lifestyle, and emotional resilience form the three legs of the stool on which your health rests.
So, go ahead and be greedy! Create the perfect world for yourself, as you strive for optimal health: Taking care of yourself is the most profound way in which you can make a positive impact on the world around you. As the novelist Richard Bach states in Illusions, “You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true.”5
How to Use This Book
This book follows my Turbo Metabolism program of diabetes and metabolic disease reversal, the same one I prescribe to my patients. The order of the chapters roughly corresponds to the way I present the material in my eight-week course, but it’s not necessary to follow the program in the chapter order. Under the counsel of their personal physicians, readers can adapt the advice in this book to create their own health-promoting, disease-reversing program, one that fits their particular needs.
