Thin Diabetes, Fat Diabetes

Book excerpt: French people use the term thin diabetes (diabete maigre) to refer to type 1 diabetes: the severe, incurable form of diabetes mellitus that tends to strike children. French people use the term fat diabetes (diabete gras) to refer to type 2 diabetes: the milder, reversible form of diabetes mellitus that occurs in overweight people. In this fascinating book, Laurie Endicott Thomas provides clear and often surprising explanations of why people get diabetes, and what they can do about it. Diabetes does not result from eating too much sugar and starch. Type 2 diabetes results from eating too much fat, and type 1 diabetes results from a problem in the immune system. Type 2 diabetes is not really a disease. It is a defense mechanism. If you have type 2 diabetes, you are a naturally thin person, and your body is willing to sacrifice everything to keep you from gaining even more weight from a diet that is too rich in fat. The solution to this problem is to a low-fat vegan (purely plant-based) diet. Such a diet reverses type 2 diabetes and helps to improve the health of people with type 1 diabetes. If an entire family adopts this diet for the benefit of a diabetic family member, everyone will benefit! This book explains how to use food to fight diabetes. It even includes meal planning tips and quick and easy recipes."