I asked Jerry if I could interview him for this blog and he agreed. Now, I want to say that in no way should our conversation be construed as giving medical advice. The choices he made for his health were his own and my purpose in sharing this conversation is purely inspirational. Here we go...
TM: How old were you when you were diagnosed with Diabetes? From where you are now, what factors do you think contributed to your diagnosis?
JM: I was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus in the summer of 2000 - I was 35. At that time my blood sugars were over 200 about 2 hours after lunch.
Poor eating habits and lifestyle were the two elective contributors to the diagnosis. Of course DNA predisposition was a contributor, but as I say, not elective.
As a music producer I spend most of my life sitting down, using computers and software to create in the studio. Doing such fun work for 12-14 hours a day hardly inspired me to be physically active, hence the sedentary lifestyle. Compound that with very poor eating habits, including a dependency upon coffee and soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper for caffeine and sugar, and that eventuality is really not hard to fathom.
TM: You began your own healing path with dietary changes that you learned about from Dr. Neal Barnard (featured in the film "Supersize Me"). Can you say something about the process you went through in transitioning from a 'typical' 'foodie' to becoming Vegan for your health? Did you experience withdrawal or detoxification symptoms at that time, and what strategies did you use through that transition?
JM: I did not know Dr. Barnard was featured in "Supersize Me." I'm going to go back and watch that film again, now. I saw Dr. Barnard on a PBS special, in which he discussed the diabetes studies he and his team performed that suggested a cure for a predominantly large percentage of the type II cases could be achieved by diet and moderate exercise alone. He explained the reasons why a vegan diet was the most effective at reducing body fat, and therefore reducing insulin resistance.
I already knew that hormones of all kinds have a very difficult time functioning in a body system with too much fat, so this was a message that made perfect sense to me. So I made a plan - this cannot be over-emphasized - I MADE A PLAN to ease into being a vegan, with a PLANNED goal, timetable, and a methodology to gently return to a less strict diet once my goal had been achieved.
The first two weeks are the hardest, so part of my plan was to gradually wean myself of meat slowly. Beef I could quit cold turkey from day one. Chicken I gradually tapered over two weeks, and fish over three.
The end of week two was horribly hard. I joked that "I want to go into my backyard, kill something and eat it" but that was not far from the truth. Interestingly enough, holding out against those urges for only a few days - or passifying them with soy protein shakes - yielded a feeling of euphoria. Entering into my third week I felt like superman. Lots of energy, focus of mind, and my weight had begun to fall off.
There were times when I had to promise to myself over and over "Jerry, when we reach our goal weight, we are going to go to the steakhouse and get the nicest, juciest filet mignon on the menu..." It worked. Envisioning what was going to happen at the end of this cycle kept me focused upon getting through the moment.
Knowing you to be a 'foodie' it is hard to imagine you eating anything mundane. What became your favorite food at that time? What surprised you about making your dietary changes at that time?
Did you ever consider going gluten-free as well?
I used I3C, Chrysin and Saw Palmetto supplements to curb the production of DHT and Estradiol from my new-found Testosterone. That helped a lot to stabilize mood.
Enjoying the kitchen as I do, it was an opportunity to find some new exotic dishes. Eggplant became a common main dish, but served in wild ways. One night I combined a spicy puttanesca sauce with Tahini, and poured it over an eggplant stuffed with a soy-based ground-meat substitute, herbs, and chopped veggies and portabella mushrooms. It was really awesome.
The type of diet Dr. Barnard prescribes is also low-gluten, or 'No wheat if you can help it' kind of diet. When you take a vegan diet, add 'no wheat' and 'no sugar' and 'low fat' it starts to get pretty tough to find things. But it can be done. Ironically, mexican food starts to look pretty good - Legumes and rice. Legumes, Legumes, Legumes. Low glycemic, high in fiber and good protein.
Overall, would you recommend the Dr. Barnard diet to people with Type 2 Diabetes? What words of wisdom do you have for people with diabetes who want to heal themselves?
JM: I would recommend the Barnard Diet - Highly - for type II diabetes, along with a moderate exercise regimen. In the 4 months I was on the strict Barnard diet, I lost 25 pounds. My BGLs dropped sufficiently to reduce my meds. In fact, I was taking 2 grams of Metformin and 40 mg of Actos - 5 pills - per day, as well as a statin drug to combat the increased bad cholesterol associated with hyperglycemia. I was able to quit Actos and the statin drug completely, and was down to 500 mg of Metformin in the morning alone. That's 6 pills down to one per day, and my BGLs were 90 - 135.
TM: Will you say more about the hormone connection?
JM: Hormone balance is really important. What we don't know about these disorders fills volumes, and diabetes mellitus is specifically a hormone resistance issue. Many who suffer type II diabetes also eventually develop other hormone issues, such as hypothyroid and sex hormone deficiencies.
The hormone system is a huge web of interconnecting systems, with resonances and hysteresis, all inter-dependent. This came into a specific relief when I went to an endocrinologist to get advice regarding my lack of energy, and mood swings.
I began treatment for low testosterone, low thyroid, and soon will start growth hormone supplementation. The treatment for low testosterone included doses of Gonadotropin, an important hormone in both men and women. Almost immediately upon beginning the therapy my blood sugars dropped another 15%. Another indicator of the interdependency of the hormone system.
The big deal is mood, focus, energy. When these are not stable and dependable, one's quality of life is badly impeded. Often this is due to yet another soft-tissue resistance to our own hormones, directly attributable to fat. Almost all of our hormones are fat-soluable. Lose the fat, and deep stores of these hormones will come back. They will be able to function better.
Which brings me to the natural quest for testosterone. DHEA is a pre-cursor to testosterone. Gonadotropin in males is a 'signaling' hormone which causes the testes to generate more testosterone. So when we found that my T levels had crashed, we began the HCG [Human Chorionic Gonadotropin] & DHEA supplementation.
Now for some additional data. As we get older, certain enzymes become more active in our bodies. In this case, we're talking about Aromatase and 5-Alpha Reductase. These enzymes 'attack' the Testosterone molecule and break it down, into DHT [Dihydrotestosterone] and Estradiol [Estrogen.] DHT does some pretty bad stuff, like contribute to prostate cancer and increase male pattern baldness. And Estradiol essentially gives men mood swings, breaks our concentration, and reduces our daily energy.
So any supplementation to increase testosterone levels MUST be accompanied by something to block the aforementioned enzymes, otherwise the increased production of T will simply increase the negative effects of DHT and Estradiol!
We do this with natural supplements such as Chrysin, I3C, and Saw Palmetto.
That's really the science behind 3 extra supplements I take per day. The result - a dramatic increase of my testosterone levels, a reduction of estradiol, which pulled on the web of my hormones sufficiently to cause another drop in blood sugar.
But the BIG success story is the change in my mood, energy & focus. Mostly the stability has become something I can depend upon. The drop in BGL has been amazing.
Which brings me back to the detox. When I entered the detox, I had picked 7 pounds back up from the holidays, so I was anxious to get to exercise. I figured the detox was going to push me over the edge to being cured of Diabetes. It absolutely did - for about 2 weeks.
Now as with all things Scientology, there are many articles on the web about it, mostly from anti-Scientologists. I have actually now gone through the program myself, and can say that everything horrible I read on the anti-web sites was pure, unadulterated trash. The program works, it works exactly the way they said it would.
More detail about the concept: I would arrive every morning. Sufficient sleep and a hearty breakfast are required. Gradually increasing doses of Niacin are administered, sufficient to cause vaso-dilation. You immediately begin fat-burning exercise for 30 minutes. As the Niacin dilates the blood vessels in your sub-cutaneous fat, your skin becomes flushed. The added blood flow combined with fat-burning exercise carries impurities and toxins stored in your fat to your liver and kidneys for evacuation. Then after 30 minutes of exercise you jump into a 160-degree dry sauna. 20 minutes in, 8 minutes out. Cold showers to keep your core temperature down, and you must drink 4 liters of water per day. After 5 hours of sauna cycling, you get some Vitamins, Oil and Lecithin.
You do this every day without fail until you experience an "End Phenomena" - an increase in a feeling of alertness, clarity of mind, and overall well-being. And it comes. Right when they say it should, around 30 days for me.
But it is not a weight-loss protocol. Fat is exchanged, not lost. The theory is that if you simply burned off the fat, then your body would fight to retain fat. Hence the oil and lecithin at the end of the day- to provide your body with good fat so that it doesn't go into 'deficit of supply' restriction. Combined with the meals that you must eat in order to stomach the niacin and vitamins, it is very common to gain weight on the "Purif." Which I did. Another 10 pounds.
So I come to the end of my detox and diet with my BGL shooting back up [partly from the Niacin, and partly from the increase in weight.] Mind you, working out for thirty minutes per day greatly increased my muscle mass, and some of the weight can be attributed to that. And that means higher metabolism. In the 4 days since I left detox, I've lost 5 of the pounds I gained, feel fantastic, BGLs are back under control, and my mind is clear, focused, [My IQ went up 12 points - they test you before and after to show you the difference!] And my energy is top-notch.
But I have resumed a modified Barnard diet to drop the weight again. I'm still at 1 metformin per day, and my BGLs are gradually coming back down into the control I was seeing before the holidays.
I am very confident that there will come a time very soon when my weight reaches my ideal. When it does, I will be 'cured' of this disease, thanks to all the treatments I've followed. But already the quality of my life is so drastically improved that I cannot overstate it. I would go as far to say I was not even alive compared to how I feel now. I haven't felt this good since I was 17.
TM: Wow! Amazing Jer. Thank you for taking the time to share it all.
It seems like one of the differences between this purification system you went on and other detoxes has to do with the burning of old fat. Other regimens seem to work on cleansing digestive system alone. Other than the regime you mention, there were no other dietary changes?
And one last question...what do you think it was that finally triggered you to take these steps- first the Barnard diet. You have been diabetic for a long time. Why now (or then, as the case may be)?
JM: The total calorie count required to do the detox regimen - and the fact that I came off of the 'Vegan' aspect of the Barnard diet before the holidays means my diet has been modulating constantly. My doctor has been encouraging, but suggests that a more healthy diet for me is a metabolic typing diet. Generally focusing mostly upon the ratio of 20/35/45, the percentage of fats, carbs, protein that work best for me.
Now that can be combined with the Barnard diet, and for the most part, my diet focuses on vegetables. But I no longer eliminate animal proteins. Fish and shellfish are my primary sources of animal protein, 3 times a week or so, but using chicken broth instead of oil in many cooking applications, and maybe having red meat once every 3-4 weeks. This is what I meant by "modified."
My impetus for starting this regimen has to have been simply wanting to feel better and lose weight. I remember how my body feels when it's highly functional, and I wanted at least some of that back.
with Love and Peace
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