Problem
Mary is a 54-year-old type 2 diabetic. Over the past 10 years, she had gained weight, developed arthritis, cut back on playing tennis because of pain, and needed to increase her oral diabetic medications. Her doctor and nutritionist advised her to eat multiple small meals with carbohydrates to maintain her blood sugar levels.
Create a Foundation
Dr. Saltzman found Mary’s reduced insulin sensitivity was the real issue. He shifted Mary’s meals away from the high carbohydrate foods she believed she needed to maintain steady blood sugar levels to more raw and fermented foods. Within one month, Mary had adjusted well to this healthier foundational nutrition and didn’t experience low blood sugar episodes. Dr. Saltzman then reduced Mary’s daily number of meals from six to three in an attempt to increase her ability to burn stored body fat. She also resumed her exercise program. She felt stronger and more energetic.
Reach for the Sky
After she was used to the different way of eating, Mary transitioned to a ten hour time-restricted eating window. Ultimately, she discovered that eating nothing was actually easier for her system to manage than eating a little. This is because even small meals elevate blood sugar, causing an insulin response and triggering other hormones. Mary’s daily fasting period helped her burn body fat, reduce blood sugar, and increase her insulin sensitivity.
Conclusions
Mary continued her exercise program and time-restricted eating and was ultimately able to reduce her diabetic medication for the first time in a decade and hopes to wean off it eventually.