In “Eat, Chew, Live,” Dr. John Poothullil argues it is time to reevaluate the accepted theory of insulin resistance as the cause of Type 2 diabetes, because medical research has yet to explain how it happens or why. In his view, it is illogical that millions of people are suddenly developing insulin resistance.
After 20 years of research, Poothullil has demonstrated that Type 2 diabetes is not caused by the hormonal disease of insulin resistance, but rather by a very normal metabolism that goes haywire when people over consume grains, according to a press release.
In Western nations, it is the consumption of wheat-flour breads, rice, corn, packaged foods, cakes, pizza, donuts, and other grain-based flour products. In many developing nations, it is the increasing consumption of rice.
With illustrations of the science involved, Poothullil explains that muscle cells, the largest share of cells in the body, can get their energy from glucose or fatty acids. When people over consume grains over a period of time, they eventually fill up their natural allotment of fat cells.
The further consumption of grains means that the fatty acids broken down from the glucose in grains have nowhere to be stored. The fatty acids thus start to flow freely in the bloodstream, and are easily used as fuel by muscle cells rather than glucose.
This metabolism, which Poothullil calls the “fatty acid burn switch,” leaves the glucose in the bloodstream, leading to high blood sugar and eventually to the diagnosis of diabetes.
The key to preventing or reversing Type 2 diabetes, Poothullil said, is to stop consuming grains as much as possible. Type 2 diabetes must be viewed as a nutritional condition that can be treated by a change of diet, rather than a hormonal disease that requires medication or insulin injections.