Western Diet Implicated in African American Diabetes

PUT THE SODA DOWN, NOW!

Okay, now that I've got your attention, I want to tell you why. Diabetes has a very large footprint in the African American community and researchers have been looking for the reason why. Here I have a novel paper that says that it is genetic and that we are the victims of the FDA food pyramid. To put it concisely, people of African descent have a problem with processing carbohydrates at a genetic level. This may very well be the cause of a good deal of the metabolic problems noted in African Americans.

Stable Patterns of Gene Expression Regulating Carbohydrate Metabolism Determined by Geographic Ancestry

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008183#pone.0008183-Lindquist1

Individuals of African descent in the United States suffer disproportionately from diseases with a metabolic etiology (obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes), and from the pathological consequences of these disorders (hypertension and cardiovascular disease)...

...Differences in expression of several carbohydrate metabolism genes suggest both genetic and transcriptional mechanisms contribute to these patterns and may play a role in exacerbating the disproportionate levels of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease observed in Americans with African ancestry.

The KPD's I've spoken to all have lamented their problems with post prandial spikes. This specifically refers to the hour after a person has taken their first bite of a meal. This blood sugar should never go over 140. A normal blood sugar doesn't and there is a very good reason why. Research has shown this is the point where damage begins to occur throughout the body.

This link is to "Blood Sugar 101": http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php . It is run by Janet (Jenny) Ruel and any time you spend there will be profitable if you're really interested in the ins and outs of diabetes.

If you have a genetic problem handling carbohydrates and have the added problem of being Ketosis Prone this combination will eventually move you into hyperglycemia and / or DKA. The eating of carbs will force your blood sugar up which will create glucostoxicity. This is glucose poisoning. Beta cells in the pancreases of KPD's are very sensitive to this and will slowly shutdown. The more carbs ingested the worse the condition will come and god help you, if you drink soda or juice to try to slack your thirst because they are almost pure carbs and filled with High Porn Corn.

The truth is there is almost no average American meal that will not push your blood sugar beyond the 140 mark. I can't handle better than 20 grams of carbs at any setting and those carbs need to be very complex to keep me from spiking my blood sugar. Even the supposedly healthy diet is problematic here. Whole grains, potatoes, brown rice, apples, bananas, oranges and pastas are just a few things that I have to avoid.

This doesn't match what you would get from a dietitian but you have to recognize that most of the research has been done on Europeans and the minority communities have not been factored into this. Some might claim this is racism but it more neglect than anything. We, much like the LADA and MODY community, must look after ourselves here. I've got one more piece of the puzzle that I want to put out and then I can really lay this out in a logical fashion.

Mike