Excerpt
I was 16 when I ended up in a hospital bed and heard three words that changed my life: type 1 diabetes. What I didn’t know then — and what too few doctors acknowledge today — is that dietary changes are often the best way to combat the disease.
For decades, doctors have treated type 1 diabetes as if insulin alone could manage it. But despite billions poured into drugs and devices, most people with type 1 diabetes still don’t achieve recommended blood sugar control. I know this firsthand, as both a scientist and someone living with type 1 diabetes.
When I was first diagnosed, I did what everyone told me to do: count carbs, take insulin, and hope the numbers balance out. Instead, I lived with constant blood sugar swings that left me exhausted and discouraged.
I tried different tools and strategies, but nothing took me off the rollercoaster. My health only began to improve when I tried a different approach — a diet that would put me into therapeutic ketosis. Because carbohydrates raise blood glucose higher and faster than insulin can lower glucose, cutting them out of my diet nearly entirely made my blood sugar levels far more predictable. Almost immediately, my blood glucose levels normalized and I needed less insulin. My mental health improved. Why? I wasn’t living on the rollercoaster anymore.