presumably has a close relationship to their higher rates of obesity, although there may be a genetic component as well.
The Answer We know that the first key to unlocking the solution to this epidemic is the acknowledgment of a well-established scientific fact; the second key is the implementation of treatment based on understanding this fact. For my money, there are still far too many health professionals who acknowledge the fact but don't put the solution into practice. The simple fact is that the earliest diagnosable state of Type II diabetes is associated with the production of excessive amounts of insulin. In such a condition, the body does not allow insulin to do its job (hence, the term insulin resistance); therefore, the glucose level in the blood remains elevated. High insulin levels cause additional health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure and two major cardiac risk factors: high triglycerides and low levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Scientists continue to uncover even more difficulties attributed to hyperinsulinism, including polycystic ovarian syndrome and an increased death rate from breast cancer. And I fear that, as time goes on, the list will grow. I pray that if you get nothing else out of this book, you get fixed in your mind the answer to following question: What causes a life-threatening elevation of insulin levels? The primary cause is eating too much of the wrong kind of carbohydrates. To a lesser degree eating excessive amounts of protein can affect blood-sugar levels; however, when protein is used for its primary function of building muscle mass, insulin is not produced. And, most significantly, insulin is not required to metabolize either our stored fat or the fat in the food we eat. Now that you know how to do Atkins, you know it bypasses the problem of excessive insulin by switching the body to a primarily fat-burning metabolism. All the millions of early-stage diabetics who are eating meals high in carbs and taking medications that may stimulate insulin production are quite innocently on a path to self-destruction. They may think that their present diet will protect them, but if those people are limiting their carbs by limiting their calorie intake, it is likely that after a while they will become bored or frustrated by their restrictive diet. Then they are likely to revert to consuming too much of the wrong kind of carbohydrate, putting them back on the high-insulin pathway to trouble. But individuals who are doing Atkins control their carbohydrate intake and eat foods with so little glycemic impact that they can normalize their blood sugar and become latent diabetics. (This term applies to those people with the disease who are able keep it under complete control.)
The Benefit of Experience What a dramatic difference! In my clinical experience-reading food diaries kept by patients-I have seen time and time again that a diabetic following a high-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet with the emphasis on fat restriction will usually find that such a meal raises his or her bloodsugar level an average of 100 points if tested about ninety minutes after the meal. That same
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