How I Reversed my Type 2 Diabetes with my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule in less than 3 Months

How I Reversed my Type 2 Diabetes with my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule in less than 3 Months

•       Good morning and thank you everyone for attending this Zoom Talk.

1] How I reversed my T2D successfully in 3 Months
• On 21/8/19, I was then having belly Fat, Overweight, Obese and officially I was told that I had T2D (FOOD)
• On 4/12/19, in 3 months I was no longer having belly Fat, Overweight, Obese and that I have reversed my T2D.
• Now, more than one year later, my T2D is still in reversal!!

• It is amazing that I am able to reverse my T2D in 3 months. The knowledge is so simple and easy that is why I am so keen to share it.

• Why do I concentrate on T2D? because the complications of T2D are horrible and T2D takes years to develop, some 15–20 years.
• I know of friends who have suffered from heart attack, stroke, blindness, on kidney dialysis n undergo amputations due to T2D. Many have to take medicine for life as T2D is supposed to be a chronic lifelong disease.
• Since, I am aware of these awful complications, I decided from the very start, from the very beginning not to take medicine or undergo surgery, if possible.

• Let me start with, “What causes Type 2 Diabetes?” All doctors agree that the root cause of T2D is too much sugar in the bloodstream of the individual.
• Too much sugar in the bloodstream is the same as measuring the blood glucose level or measuring the blood sugar level. The terms sugar in the bloodstream, blood glucose and blood sugar are all the same and are used interchangeably.

• I will elaborate as I go on—Where, How, What, Which, Why and When:
o Where do I get my sugar from?
o How I get so much sugar into my bloodstream?
o What Carb items give me the most sugar?
o Which Carb items to eat and which not to eat?
o Why I should avoid Carb items that contain too much sugar? And
o When I should get serious with T2D?

2] I spent more than 600 hours listening to the modern science-based doctors

• I was officially told on 28 Aug 2019 that I had T2D for years already. The news came as a shock to me.
• I was told that T2D is a life-long chronic disease. Chronic means there is no permanent cure. The current treatments are—medicines, bariatric surgery, liposuction surgery and a life style change that consists mainly of dieting. They are all temporary.

• I succeeded in reversing my T2D by adopting my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule instead of following the Locally Recommended HCLF Diet. In this talk, I would suggest that you deliberately focus mainly on what is LCHF Diet and what is HCLF Diet to get a clearer understanding of how to avoid T2D or reverse your T2D.

• Why did I go against the Locally Recommended HCLF Diet?
• Did I make a great mistake by not following the Locally Recommended HCLF Diet?
• What gave me the courage and audacity to experiment with the LCHF Diet?
• I hope that in sharing my personal experience of how I successfully reversed my T2D in less than 3 months with my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule, you may be encouraged to try it too, when your fasting glucose level is above 6.0mmol/l, which is prediabetic or diabetic.

• I didn’t know anyone doing the LCHF in Singapore then. No example to follow. It was a stab in the dark for me! I felt so alone.
• When I started to follow this LCHF Diet it was with great fear, anguish n stress.
• Imagine my emotions of doubt, anxiety, worry when I started something for me that is totally new in Singapore.
• Constantly I asked myself will LCHF Diet work!
• What if the LCHF Diet doesn’t work? But what have I to lose?

• Therefore, I told myself that I must keep a personal medical record to prove to myself that LCHF Diet can work and that T2D can be reversed.
• More than one year after following my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule, my T2D is still in reversal. Today, I don’t have belly Fat, I am not overweight or obese and I am free of T2D. I will show the concrete evidence later.
• What I eat daily with my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule is recorded in my Instagram since the beginning of Jan 2020. Again I will show later.

• I am not a medical doctor but I have spent more than 600 hours listening to what the modern science-based doctors have to say about LCHF Diet. Daily I spent some 5-7 hours listening to these doctors for more than 3 months.

• Often I wanted to give up listening as I did not understand most of what were said. But I persisted. Why? I wanted to find a solution for my T2D. I kept my Desire, my Incentive and my Motivation (DIM light) strong in order to force myself to look after my own health.

3] As at 15 March 2014 1.7 Million Singaporeans Already at Risk of Obesity Related Diseases
• The Singapore Health Promotion Board stated in their webpage https://www.hpb.gov.sg/article/1.7-million-singaporeans-already-at-risk-of-obesity-related-diseases that as at 15 March 2014 there were 1.7 Million Singaporeans already at Risk of Obesity Related Diseases. Today there will be close to 2 Million. This is a huge number of Singaporeans.
• The Standard recommendation of “Eat less and exercise more” sounds very reasonable and achievable. In the immediate short term, reducing weight is achievable but in the long-term—Type 2 Diabetes will still be a problem. Why?
• Singapore has to change to a LCHF if Singapore wants to defeat this Type 2 Diabetes problem. Singapore will not be able to defeat this Sugar problem if it still recommends a HCLF diet. The enemy is the HC which is High Sugar. High Sugar will not be defeated if it has come in through the Trojan horse!!! The Trojan horse is already inside the gate.

• High Sugar consumption is the main contributor to belly fat, obesity, overweight n Type 2 Diabetes (FOOD). Singapore has to change to a LCHF if Singapore wants to defeat the Type 2 Diabetes problem like Sweden does.
• Sweden has to convince itself to switch from a HCLF Diet to a LCHF Diet to solve its T2D problems. See the article in my linktr.ee account under Dr Andreas Eenfeldt on how Sweden achieves it.
• https://jameslau88blog.wordpress.com/2020/05/13/dr-andreas-eenfeldt-on-lchf-in-sweden/

4] Recommended HCLF Diet from Singapore
• Let me recount my personal experience
• For many years my fasting glucose level was more than 6.1 mmol/l and on a few occasions, it was above 7.1 mmol/l.
• Unfortunately, the way SGH n NUH tabulated my fasting glucose level—did not ring the alarm bell for me that I was diabetic.
• All this time, No doctor told me that I had Type 2 Diabetes. Why? Why? Because NUH n SGH tabulated that anything between 3.9 – 6.0 mmol/l as normal and anything above 6.0 mmol/l as high. The indication High is vague to a patient and most doctors!

5] Where Does the Sugar Come From?
• All the food we eat, for simplicity, are Grouped under 3 Macronutrients. They are Carbs, Protein and Fat.
•      These Carbs, Protein and Fat when digested in our body are converted into many nutrients for our growth and energy.

•      This graph measures only one thing—only blood sugar level. Why? Because this glucose level will let the doctor know whether a person’s blood sugar level is normal, prediabetic or diabetic!!

• This graph is very important for me as it tells me clearly Where the sugar comes from. It let me decide which food to eat less and which food to eat more for me to manage my T2D condition.

• Let me start with Proteins. What are proteins? They are amino acid and are found in nuts n legumes and also present in animal products. Most of the science-based doctors ignore the proteins when they talk about LCHF Diet. Why? Because proteins are covered under the Carbs section and under the Fat section.

• What are Carbs? All Plant food we consume are Carbs or carbohydrates. The Carbs are converted into Glucose when digested. Glucose is also known as Blood Sugar or sugar in the blood. Any excess glucose that is not burnt as fuel, will eventually be stored as fat in our body.

• The graph shows very clearly to me that Carbs have the highest impact on the Blood Sugar Level in my body.
• Around 90-100% of the Carbs I consume will be converted into glucose or Blood Sugar within 15 mins to 2 hours.
• If I am healthy, it means my body can burn the Blood Sugar within 2 hours. Then my fasting glucose level will be normal at 4 – 6mmol/l and I will not have T2D.
• But if I am not healthy, then even after 2 hours, my body will not metabolize the Blood Sugar within the 2 hrs. My Blood Sugar level will remain high. When I go for the confirmation of the 2 hours sugar test, my glucose level test will still be high. If it is more than 11.1mmol/l  I will be considered to have T2D. Mine was 17.3mmol/l.

• Thus. I should take less Carbs i.e. I must eat a LC Diet.
• I must not eat a HC Diet. Unfortunately, I was advised to take a HC Diet according to the charts that were given to me by the Dietician Nurse.

• What is Fat? Fat is “fatty acids or lipids.”
•      The graph shows that only a small amount of the Fat I eat is converted into Blood Sugar or blood glucose.
•      Only around 10% of this Fat that I eat is turned into Blood Sugar n it is released very slowly over 8-10 hours.
•      This Fat has little impact on my Glucose Level—has little impact on my T2D.

•      Thus, consuming dietary Fat has the least impact on my glucose level and on my T2D. So, I can eat more Fat i.e. a HF Diet.
•      I should not eat less Fat as locally recommended.
•      Therefore, my food consumption should be a LCHF Diet as recommended by most of the modern science-based doctors and not according to the locally recommended HCLF Diet.

•      In order for me not to be fearful when I eat this dietary fat, I must fully understand that dietary fat is not the same fat that is in my body. Many people are under the mistaken idea that the fat they eat is converted to the same kind of fat in the body! That is not so!!
As an example, eating green vegetables doesn’t make our body green. Similarly, eating dietary fat doesn’t make our body fat.
• It is the Carbs that are turned into glucose. And it is the excess glucose which is ultimately stored as Fat in our body. It is the Carbs that make me have belly fat, overweight and obese!!! Not the dietary fat. Therefore I must eat a LCHF Diet.

6] Many Types of Sugar
• ALL plant food when digested turn into glucose (blood sugar). However there are many types of sugar. They are:

• The main sugars to avoid are fructose, glucose and sucrose that cause the T2D.

7] Types of Sugar in Processed Foods and Refined Foods
• Do we know How we get so much sugar in our bloodstream?
• Most of us do not know How we get so much sugar from the Processed Foods and Refined Foods we eat.
• Dr Paul Mason listed 44 types of sugar in processed food and refined food in his talk. But there are more than 60 types of sugar in the processed food and refined food. We eat these sugar without us realizing that—that is How we consume excess sugar!!

8]  Current Treatment for T2D
• What are the Current Treatment for T2D? There are roughly 4 types of treatments.
• Medicines  2. bariatric surgery  3. liposuction surgery  4. A life style change.

• I am for a life style change.

9] International glucose level chart
• The recording of the International glucose level chart shows immediately and clearly whether you are:
o Normal         which is at 4 – 6 mmol/l  = 1 TSF of Sugar / later
o Prediabetes   which is at 6.1 – 6.9 mmol/l
o Diabetes       which is at > 7.0 mmol/l  = 1.5 TSF of Sugar / later

• On 6 June 2019 my Cardiac doctor noticed that my fasting glucose was 7.3 mmol/l and sent me for a diabetic test on 21 Aug 2019.
• What the Hospital did was to measure my fasting glucose level and then gave me a sugary drink, waited for 2 hours, and took my glucose level measurement again. It showed that my glucose level was 17.3 mmol/l which was above the Diabetic level of 11.1mmol/l.  Mine at 17.3mmol/l is extremely high.
• When I saw the Cardiac doctor on 28/8/2019, he told me I have been having T2D for years. The Standard recommendation is to start on medicine.
• Since I know of the awful complications of Type 2 Diabetes, I told him that I would like to try dieting first.

• He sent me to see the Diabetic nurse and the Dietician nurse on 4 Sept 2019. The diabetic nurse explained to me how to monitor myself with Accu-Chek for glucose level, and the Dietician nurse gave me 2 booklets explaining what my diet should be, which is HCLF diet.
• This HCLF diet follows very closely to the Standard American Diet (SAD).

• I questioned myself why Americans following their own recommended HCLF Diet are fat and obese and have Type 2 Diabetes. From Google I discovered that 36.5% are obese and another 32.5% of American adult are overweight. In all, more than 69% of adults in US are overweight n obese.

• I went to Google to do research by listening for more than 600 hours what the modern science-based doctors have to say about diet. Most, not all, recommend a LCHF Diet.

10] My Research on listening to the modern science-based doctors.
• To manage my T2D, I decided to simplify my objectives in starting my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule into 2 milestones or 2 Goals:

o   1. A simple goal of reducing my weight
o   2. An ultimate goal of reversing my T2D

• I saw the Diabetic Doctor on 24 Sept 2019 n discussed with him what I have learnt by listening to the modern science-based doctors. I said that I would like to try LCHF Diet. He agreed.

•      I take my weight almost every day.
•      From 4 Sept 2019 (the day I saw the D & D Nurses) to 17 Oct 2019 I was able to lose weight from my original weight of 73.2kg (on 21 Aug 2019) to 68.9kg (4.3kg). It took me 1.6 months to lose 4.3kg. My success in losing weight encouraged me to want to lose more weight.
•      On the same day, I decided to lose further weight by practising intermittent fasting–that is no breakfast.
•      By 4/12/2019, in about 1.6 months after starting intermittent fasting, my weight went down from 68.9kg to 60.2kg a loss of 8.7kg.
•      Before fasting it took 1.6 months to lose 4.3kg. After fasting it took me 1.6 months to lose another 8.7kg—more than double the weight lost!! This convincingly showed me that I must do intermittent fasting to lose weight faster!!
•      From the day that I was tested to have T2D on 21/8/2019 to 4/12/2019 (3.2 months) I have lost 13.0kg n I have also reversed my T2D. I have recorded all this on page 146 in my Websites.
•      I have achieved my first goal—to lose weight.

•      Let me recount my second goal—to reverse my T2D. How did I achieve that? That’s where my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule comes into play.

11] Various Types of Diet and my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule
•      The science-based doctors propose their own set diets such as Atkins, Keto, Mediterranean, Vegan Diets etc. They have their own individual goals n objectives.
•      All doctors agree that glucose (Blood Sugar) is main culprit for T2D.

•      What is the reason for me to want to start another eating diet? My LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule. My objective, my goal is different from theirs.
•      I wanted to create a Diet that is simple for me to follow—what not to eat n what to eat—i.e. My LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule.

• I still follow most of the science-based doctors recommendation of a LCHF Diet BUT I added a 80/20 Eating rule.
•      What is My 80/20 Eating Rule? It is based on the Pareto Principle of 80/20—where we are aware that:
o   80% of the sales are generated by 20% of the sale staff.
o   80% of computer problems are caused by 20% of the bugs.
o   80% of the delay is caused by 20% of the critical items.
•      What this tells me—is that 80% of the T2D is caused by 20% of high Carb items.

•      This means I must concentrate my attention on the 20% of high Carb items that will give rise to 80% of T2D.
•      These 20% items have more power, more potency to cause T2D than 80% of the other items.
•      What are these 20% items? What are they? All the science-based doctors agree that it is SUGAR.
•      So I focus on the amount of Sugar in each of the common Carbs that I consume. Thus I must focus on the 20% of the Carbs that have the highest amount of sugar and have the most impact on my T2D. I must then Avoid the highest amount of Sugar Carb items!!
•      I Concentrate on the big items n the key issues. I Focus on the critical items. If I can’t See the big picture—I will be chasing one rabbit hole after another rabbit hole and get lost.
•      But, doesn’t the rest of the 80% of the Carb items affect T2D? Yes, they do!! As we say, don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on the big picture!
•      This is where I simplify My LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule of what not to eat n what to eat for myself.

12] My daily sugar intake in terms of equivalent teaspoonful of sugar.
• Do I know What is the amount of sugar I eat from the various carbs that I consume?
• Unfortunately, carbs are normally measured in glycaemic index or glycaemic load or calories in calories out or grams. These units of measurement are very difficult for me to grasp. They don’t gel with me. They don’t click with me. What do they mean in practical terms for me? What will work for me?
• It easier for me to understand when these carbs are converted or calculated as equivalent teaspoonful of sugar. I can easily visualize one teaspoonful of sugar. Everyone can understand one teaspoonful of sugar, which is a cube of sugar. I have weighed a cube of sugar and it is about 4.5gm. Show!!! Show!!

• Dr David Unwin has calculated and tabulated “How many teaspoonfuls of sugar are present in various kinds of carb food”  in https://youtu.be/sa7ggkDatps or https://phcuk.org/sugar/
• This list contains information regarding the equivalent teaspoonful of sugar found in each kind of Carb food I eat.
• This gives me the option to decide what not to eat and what to eat.

• Why is it vitally important for me to know how many teaspoonfuls of sugar in each Carb I eat? Why? Then it gives me the choice to select Which Carbs to eat or not to eat.
• Why do I also want to know how many teaspoonfuls of Sugar there is in the entire bloodstream of a healthy person?
• Dr Eric Westman in “The Science Behind Low Carb High Fat” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCGDAwp-y0o stated that the entire bloodstream of an adult contains only about 5 – 7 litres of blood. Out of this 5–7 litres there is 5.5 mmol/l (100 mg/dL) of sugar. This can be calculated mathematically to be 5 – 7 gm of sugar in the entire blood stream. This 5-7 gm is roughly equivalent to one teaspoonful of sugar. One cube of sugar!! Now I can then see why I should not add so much more sugar in my diet.

• A healthy individual needs only one teaspoonful of sugar in his entire bloodstream.
• Wikipedia confirms that the Blood sugar level of  “a healthy adult male of 75 kg with a blood volume of 5 litres, a blood glucose level of 5.5 mmol/l  (100 mg/dL) amounts to 5g, equivalent to about a teaspoonful of sugar.” I can see now that the normal blood glucose test of 4 – 6 mmol/l is equivalent to one teaspoonful of sugar. A cube of sugar!!

• A person is considered to have T2D if his blood glucose is above 7.0mmol/l.
• But a blood glucose test of above 7.0mmol/l (roughly 1.5 times of 5.5mmol/l), is equivalent to about 1.5 teaspoonfuls of sugar.
• Thus I now understand Why—when I have 1.5 teaspoonfuls of sugar in my entire bloodstream—I am medically considered to have Type 2 Diabetes!! Can you see this???

• Once we grasp this concept, we must then ask ourselves: Why do we want to add so many more teaspoonfuls of sugar in our diet daily? Why?
o A 150gm of brown rice contains 10.1 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Avoid it.
o   A can of Coca-Cola contains 10 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Avoid it.
o A 150gm of boiled potatoes contain 9.1 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Avoid it.
o A 60gm of Raisins contains 10.3 teaspoonfuls of sugar—whereas 120gm of Grapes contains 4.0 teaspoonfuls of sugar. So avoid dry fruits.
o A glass of apple juice contains 8.6 teaspoonfuls of sugar but one apple contains 2.3 teaspoonfuls of sugar. The fibre reduces the sugar absorption. So avoid fruit juices.
o A slice of white bread contains 3.7 teaspoonfuls of sugar. I normally take 2 slices=7.4 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Avoid it.

• This is the most important concept to grasp!!! You and I must get this concept right and perfectly clear in our mind. When I have 1.5 teaspoonfuls of sugar in my entire bloodstream—I am medically considered to have Type 2 Diabetes!! Why then do I want to add more amount of sugar in my diet?

• What do you think will happen to our body, if we do NOT avoid these high amount of sugar in the carb items we eat? What it means is that we attack or bombard our body with these high amounts of sugar in our breakfast, lunch and dinner daily for years continuously.
• Fortunately, it is a blessing that—God or Nature gives our body an opportunity of some 15 to 20 years to reverse our course.
• Sadly, it is also a curse that—many people are easily lulled into not taking any preventive action because the complications of T2D takes 15-20 years to develop.

• But the long-term complications of T2D will definitely strike—suddenly and unexpectedly. And people will be surprised when they or their loved ones have heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney dialysis or amputation. The complications are terrible. They are horrible.

13] Food I Avoid  (Mainly Simple Sugar—A HCLF Diet)
• Here is where I make it simple for myself in my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule.
• For me I concentrate on avoiding the carbs that have the highest amount of sugar. For me there are roughly some 20 Carb items to remember not to eat!!
• I have grouped the food that I should avoid eating under 7 main categories.
o   1. Fructose
o   2. Sugar
o   3. Starch
o   4. Simple Carbs
o   5. Additives
o   6. Oil
o   7. Processed Fat

14] Food I Eat (LCHF) in moderation
• Read out the list of Food I eat
o   We must understand that the body is dynamic and we react differently to the same food we consume at different times. For example, when I was working I was able to eat two large bowls of rice and my weight never went above 54kg. When I retired I eat one bowl of rice and my weight went steadily up to 73.2kg.
o   What is OK at one period may not be OK at another.
o   What is alright for one person may not be all right for another person.
o   We should thus experiment and adjust to the carbs and fruits that suit us at each particular period.

o   See what I eat. They are recorded daily in my Instagram since Jan 2020. Show!! Show!!
o   As you can see I don’t feel deprived or restricted in what I eat!!

15] 16] n 17] Importance of Recorded Data

18] My Glucose Level Records n BMI

Records Normal NUH 21/8/2019 SGH 7/1/2020 NUH 10/3/2020 SGH 15/9/2020
Fasting Glucose mmol/l 3.9 – 6.0 7.9 4.9 5.8 5.6
Glucose 2 hrs mmol/l <7.8
>11.1 T2D 17.3
HbA1c mmol/l 53 38 30 29 31
HbA1c % <7 5.6 4.9 4.8 5.0
My Height m 1.68
Weight kg 52.2 – 64.6 73.2 60.2 56.6 61.8
Asian-Pacific BMI kg/m2 18.5 – 22.9 25.94
>25 obese 21.33 20.05 21.90

• It is now more than 12 months and my records show that I do not have belly fat, I am not overweight, or obese and more importantly my T2D is still in reversal! My diabetic doctor has scheduled me to take the next fasting glucose and HbA1c tests in 9 months’ time. Thus, if I continue to take my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule I am certain I will not have T2D.

• In 3 months, I have proved conclusively with concrete evidence that I can reverse my Type 2 Diabetes.

• A few individuals had followed my example and have reversed their Type 2 Diabetes.

19]  I Proved with Concrete Evidence that T2D can be Reversed
• All I do is eat 2 LCHF meals a day and a 45-minute walk daily. No snack between meals.

• What this means is 3 simple steps to lose weight:
o   1. A LCHF Diet
o   2. Intermittent fasting of 18:6 hours. No breakfast
o   3. Exercise by walking 45 minutes a day.
(Listen to “Sky high cholesterol on Keto/ Carnivore! Should you take a statin? A conversation with Dr Nadir Ali” https://youtu.be/Qwmbt5vJSqo at 16.20min to 18.40min)

• What I do is so simple. I am surprised it is so easy. I am amazed that I am able to reverse my Type 2 Diabetes.

• This is why I am so passionate to share my knowledge and understanding of how I reverse my Type 2 Diabetes and how to avoid it too!!!

• I can do it at 82 years old. I am sure you can do it too. Give it a try. What have you to lose?

20] A Friend who has followed my example and successfully Reversed his Type 2 Diabetes

21] My Websites and Takeaway
www.jameslau88.com
https://jameslau88blog.wordpress.com
https://jameslau88com.wordpress.com
www.Instagram.com/jameslau8888
https://linktr.ee/jameslau8888

My Takeaway from this Zoom talk
They are 3 Items:
1. When your fasting glucose is above 6.0 mmol/l, I strongly recommend that you go for confirmation with 2 hours sugar test. Until you know for certain whether you are prediabetic or diabetic, you will not do much for your own health. You will not take the positive action for yourself. You hope nothing will happen to you. You just depend on doctors who may prescribe medicine for life or propose surgery for you. But you have a duty of care for your own health. I can only share my experience with you. But, your Desire, your Incentive and your Motive (DIM) must come from within yourself to force or goad you to do something for yourself!! Pl, pl, as a critical first step, go for the confirmation with 2 hours sugar test for diabetic. I believe No One will do anything, if he does not have it confirmed that he is having Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes. Why? For years my daughter n my son have been telling me that I was obese, overweight and having belly fat and I just ignored them! I did nothing!!
This test is so vital. So necessary!! I can’t emphasize this enough.

2. First objective—lose weight.
o Eat 2 LCHF meals a day n takes a 45-minute walk daily. Try it for one month. Measure your weight regularly and see the result. You will be amazed by your weight loss!

3. Second objective—try my LCHF 80/20 Eating Rule to reverse your T2D.
o You Only need to remember what NOT to eat. No set Diet. No need any discipline.
o As for all the rest of the food—just eat in moderation.

The Zoom Talk was captured by phone in the videos below:
https://youtu.be/VlWZcyAGlI0