A Cure for Type II Diabetes: Veganism

While the title may be a bit misleading, for some sufferers of Type II Diabetes this diet may just be what the doctor ordered. Although it is doubtful that a doctor would order that since the majority of the time a doctor is interested in treating the disease or the symptoms rather than the patient.
With the common American's diet worse than ever with all of the cheap food we devour, rather it is in the drive thru or whipped up with some 73/27 ground beef, a little milk and the 2 flavor packets that come with our Hamburger Helper, which consists of salt, food coloring, and artificial flavors and colors, lets not forget the preservatives. and some barely passable pasta that has been hanging out in cardboard for over a year before it hits your frying pan. Is it a wonder why we are not the picture of health? I submit to you it is no wonder.

Eat em if you Got em Boys

We are intended to be hunter gatherers, we are neither now. We are biologically programmed to crave two things above all others, sugar, and fat. This is why Ice Cream is nature's most perfect food, err wait nature doesn't make Ice Cream, it's almost like scientists know what we are programmed to crave and they stuff it into everything we eat. Even though in excess those two things cause horrific side effects to our bodies. Why would they do that? And why is the song "Money" by Pink Floyd suddenly stuck in my mind? Wait I know why, because it is all about making money not nourishing our bodies.
Let's look at WHY we crave fats and sugars above all else. The simple answer is that fats and sugars deliver more calories to our bodies than any other food source. And from a survival standpoint calories mean survival. When spring is here we are supposed to eat all the fruit we can, grab that low hanging fruit, shoot the fat deer, and eat up while the eating is good, try to pack on those pounds for the hard cold winter that is to come. The only problem is that, for us at least, the winter never comes. We just keep enjoying the milk shakes, and burgers, the 73/27 Hamburger Helper, The Hot Pockets, Pot Pies, and pre seasoned Pork Roasts right off the shelf of our local Grocer.

Delicious and Viscous

And by local Grocer I mean Wal-Mart that gets the beef that is fed GM Corn to get it as fat as possible as quickly as possible right before slaughter. It's almost like the scientists and bankers got together to deliver to us the cheapest, most horrible food substitutes available so that they can get rich, and fat, and we can get fat on the cheap. Wait a minute, that is what is happening.
Let's look at the Vegan Diet for a moment, not because I think its terrible to kill animals for food, it's actually awesome and natural. When we hunt for animals that eat natural foods etc etc. But all that to the side, I have no qualms about eating meat, Milk is good and darn it all if Hamburger Helper hasn't figured out the right mix of chemicals to make a really appetizing version of Cheese Burger Macaroni!
That being said the Vegan diet is high in soluble fiber, cholesterol free, and low in saturated fats. Which by the way is a prescription for a heart healthy diet.
So how can the Vegan Diet cure my Type II Diabetes? Take a look at the above photo. Look at how full your stomach becomes just on veggies and fruits. When you compare this to just eating chicken. Now let's add some Fried chicken in there, all that oil delivers a massive payload of calories. And it takes so much more to give you that satisfied feeling. Following a Vegan diet allows you to feel full on far fewer calories that you are probably used to. If you couple the diet with a moderate amount of exercise, this caloric deficit will start to shed the pounds very very quickly. How much and how long it stays off is up to the individual.
Back to the Diabetes question. By regulating the blood sugar, and keeping it under tight control, the medications needed to keep it in balance can be drastically reduced, and for many Vegan practicers it can be eliminated.
An additional benefit is that by eating such a heart healthy diet, the risk of cardiovascular disease can be severely reduced, this is great news for Type II Diabetes sufferers since this is a common complication of the Disease.
I think the most exciting news is that by cutting out the crap in your diet, and introducing some of the good, you can CURE DISEASE. That seems like such a foreign concept to so many people. I think that the masses expect the Doc to give me that pill that will cure my disease, or maybe let's think about gastric bypass so I will only eat a small amount of my 73/27 Bacon Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper, this way I'll lose weight and I don't have to exercise. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul however and Mother Nature doesn't reward shortcuts.

Vegans: Punching Type II Diabetes in the FACE!

I think with an understanding of what a Vegan diet can do is key to even starting the endeavor. As always consult your doctor before starting a new diet but think about ignoring him if he says no, or at least seeking a second opinion possibly from a nutritionist. Good luck and Cure yourself of disease. That's like a superhero!

Why High Intensity Interval Training works so well HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a training program that utilizes short intense nearly max effort exercise, followed by a reduction in intensity recovery period. There are several different methods to the exercise method.

Sebastian Coe 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist

The first introduction of a form interval training was by Peter Coe. Peter Coe was the track coach of the famous Olympian Sebastian Coe. In these sessions Peter would have his son run 200M as fast as possible, then rest for 30 seconds, then repeat. VO2 max is the maximum amount a person's muscles can transport and use blood during incremental workouts. A person's VO2 max is indicative of their total personal fitness. This pushes the body beyond its VO2 max for short periods of time, then allows a short recovery to get some oxygen back to the muscle tissue just long enough to recover for the next intense effort. Using this method Sebastian Coe was able to win several Olympic medals including the gold in 1980 and 1984.
By pushing the body past the VO2 threshold for short periods of time this increases the VO2 threshold which as earlier discussed is indicative of total personal fitness.

Professor Izumi Tabata Perfecting his Method

Professor Izumi Tabata improved on the HIIT by introducing the Tabata method. This involves 20 seconds of Ultra intense exercise at about 170% VO2 Max, followed by 10 seconds of rest, completing this circuit 8 times for a total of 4 minutes of exercise. Using this method 3 times a week an already fit athlete can expect to see increases of about 2% in as little as 7 weeks.
So great right? Thanks for the history lesson, how does this help me? There are numerous different training programs out there that have a HIIT backbone as their structure. Bootcamp for instance, but probably the most well known would be CrossFit. CrossFit is essentially a well disguised version of HIIT with better marketing. And by better I mean HIIT doesnt have any marketing while CrossFit is sponsored by Reebok.

CrossFit does have remarkable results

This is why CrossFit has the amazing results that people find, whether it be from increased strength or balance, most CrossFit gyms or "boxes" as they are called have an atmosphere that lends itself to a social setting in which people all work out together at the same time each day, reach personal bests, for friendships and encourage each other, because of the great results and the fast friends formed, it becomes "addicting"
It amuses me to hear a CrossFitter say something to someone that has never done CrossFit like, "you wouldn't understand, it's a CrossFit thing" Ironically the CrossFitter does not understand it is a HIIT thing. But then again I tend to think most CrossFitters are meatheads. At least my friends are at my local box. Enjoy your WODs (Work Out of the Day)