Daniel Darkes

Miraculously Cured From Type 1 Diabetes

Enjoyed this post?  Check out my post on ‘MORE Spontaneous Remissions From Type 1 Diabetes!’ too.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: This article discusses the ‘miraculous’ healing of the Type 1 Diabetes veteran Daniel Darkes, who healed after having T1D for multiple years.  His diet, exercise and vitamins regime are outlined, along with thoughts about how this information can help more to heal.

Who Is Daniel Darkes?

Daniel Darkes is the first man (in the Western World, at least) to be cured of Type 1 Diabetes.  He has become the talk of the town in diabetes communities as people try to understand how this incurable, lifelong condition is no longer incurable or lifelong!

Daniel Darkes was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2010, aged 23.  He has left the British Army Grenadier Guard just four weeks before his diagnosis.  He has stated that he was discharged from the army on medical grounds but it is not clear what medical issue this was.

Before Daniel’s body started to heal, he was originally taking 5-6 units of Novorapid for meals and 8 units of Lantus at night-time for a period of 7 years.

Daniel Stops Taking Insulin

In November 2016, Daniel started having episodes of recurrent hypoglycaemia at night.  Before this point, night-time hypo’s had been extremely rare for him.  Under the medical guidance of Northampton General Hospital, Daniel gradually reduced his insulin doses to try to prevent further hypoglycaemic episodes.  However, no matter how little he gave, he continued to hypo.  Eventually, it got to the point that Daniel’s consultant made the decision to stop insulin altogether.

The Impossible Becomes Possible

When I think about Miracle Dan (as Daniel Darkes has been named by his friends), I am reminded of the story of the four-minute mile.  On May 6th 1954, Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in under four minutes.  Athletes had tried since 1886 to break this barrier and none had succeeded.  It was therefore assumed that this was a feat beyond human capability, something that the human body just could not do.  However, once Bannister broke this barrier, many others followed.  The impossible had become possible.  Once they saw it could be done, many others did it too. 

For me, Daniel Darkes is the Roger Bannister of Type 1 Diabetes.  He has broken the barrier and shown that this ‘incurable’ condition is curable.  We now know the impossible is possible.

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

Reactions To Daniel Darkes’ Cure

The medical and diabetic communities have not been wholly receptive to the news of Daniel Darkes’ cure.  For example, Live Science wrote a piece highlighting what they believed to be inconsistencies in Daniel Darkes’ story.  Firstly, they questioned the validity of his original Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis.  They also used Daniel Darkes’ refusal to provide his medical records (actually, it was his NHS trust that refused due to patient confidently laws in the UK), plus the absence of a published medical case study, to infer that this may be some kind of hoax.

As I ponder this reaction, I am reminded of quote by Arthur Schopenhaueur:

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

It appears to me that, unfortunately, Daniel Darkes’ healing is encountering the first two stages of truth – ridicule and violent opposition.  Change in the medical world takes time.

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

Daniel Darkes has stumbled across the way to heal Type 1 Diabetes.  So, whilst the medical community is adjusting its lens to the new reality, I’d like to get on with actually learning as much as I can about how he achieved it!

What Do We Know About Daniel Darkes’ Miracle Cure?

Daniel’s Diet

Daniel appears to have a very healthy diet.  He runs a lot (see below) and therefore takes care of his nutrition for this.  When not running, his diet tends to consist of a lot of fish, chicken and vegetables, basically pretty low-carb.  He might eat fruits, nuts and crackers for lunch.  He doesn’t eat sweet stuff, chocolate or have sugar in his tea.  But, before I panic about such a restrictive diet, he does admit to also having the occasional beer or sweet treat or takeaway at weekends!!  

On days when Daniel is running a long run, he will increase his carbohydrate intake by adding in a serving of rice, pasta or sweet potato for dinner and/or porridge for lunch.  He will also have gels or sweets on the runs to top up his blood sugars, if needed. 

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

Foodstuffs Found In Daniel Darkes’ Diet

Daniel’s Vitamins and Supplements

Daniel has said that he takes the following vitamins and supplements on a daily basis:

Daniel’s Exercise Routine

Daniel is a long-distance runner.  He regularly runs marathons and ultra-marathons.  He is dedicated to his fitness.  He tends to run 15-30 miles a couple of times a week and then does a longer run at the weekend.

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

Enjoyed this post?  Check out my post on ‘MORE Spontaneous Remissions From Type 1 Diabetes!’ too.

What The Experts Think

Daniel Darkes says that the experts on his case have identified a rare gene that he possesses that is acting as a back-up immune system by recharging the pancreatic cells to produce insulin.

What I Think

Issues With The Experts’ Explanation

Hang on a minute!  The old-school way of looking at diabetes said that the beta cells in the pancreas – the ones that produce the insulin – have been obliterated by our misfiring immune systems.  And now they can recharge?!  This fits in with what I have so far argued on my blog – that this theory of ‘burnt out beta cells’ has little scientific support and has actually been replaced with the finding that beta cells do still exist in the pancreas and can, under the right environmental conditions, start producing insulin again.  

I also have an issue with this ‘rare gene’ hypothesis… My issue sits in the findings of epigenetics.  Epigenetics argues that individuals are not necessarily destined to suffer (or enjoy!) the blueprints of their inherited DNA sequences.  In other words, you may receive programming, via your DNA, from one or other parent but that does not mean that you are destined to have that gene expressed and acted out in your life.  Instead, genes have been found to be affected throughout a person’s lifespan by a range of factors, including diet, exposure to pollutants and even emotions.  it is the epigenetics, influenced by this diverse range of factors, that determine whether genes are turned on or off.  Why this is relevant to Daniel Darkes is because this ‘rare gene’ may have in fact been created during his healing process, as a result of epigenetics.  Equally, this may be a gene that we all possess, but as yet Daniel is the only one who has found a way to get this gene turned on and working.

Western Medicine Has Not Undertaken A Holistic Investigation

I struggle with the findings, and lack of findings, that I have so far heard about Daniel’s case.  So far, all investigations seem to have proceeded down only the expected avenues… Inquiries into diet, exercise, supplements, blood sugar readings and so on.  In other words, all focus has been on medical questions, which treat the body as a machine with a broken component (see my post on Descartes for more information).  As such, I believe the lens of inquiry is too narrow.  

We Also Need To Be Asking Daniel About…

Nobody is asking Daniel about the wider healing that he may have undertaken.  As I highlighted in my post on neuropeptides, the brain is highly interrelated with the body via emotions.  Has anybody asked Daniel what his emotional journey has been like over the time his healing took place?  Were there any shifts in his emotional outlook, for example?  Candace Pert would argue that emotional healing is as likely to improve health as much as any medical intervention.

I also wonder about his running.  The experts have said that his long-distance running has somehow ‘shocked’ his immune system, via this rare gene, to start working again.  How do they know that it wasn’t some other factor to do with running that would have helped?  For example, Daniel is likely to have maintained good hydration to be able to run.  He is also likely to have spent a lot of time outdoors in nature, which in itself can be very healing.  The added benefit of sunshine on the body, and the resultant levels of vitamin D, are also worth questioning.  Perhaps it was any one of these factors, or the combination of all of them, rather than the running itself, that led to his healing. 

I have also heard about the great benefits of fasting and its ability to regenerate the immune system (although fasting can come with great risks for diabetics).  Did Daniel have any intentional or unintentional periods of fasting, perhaps due to long runs or periods of illness, which may have instead been responsible for kickstarting his immune system?

I have seen no evidence that the medical teams are asking these kinds of questions.  If they are not, they are not controlling for extraneous variables in their research design and, as such, according to the rules of scientific research, their method and findings are confounded.  No firm conclusions can be drawn.

Dr Kelly Turner

As this post comes to an end, I am thinking back to Dr Kelly Turner’s work on spontaneous remissions of cancer.  Kelly outlined how healing is based on a range of factors, only two of which were body-based (those of ‘radically changing your diet’ and ‘herbs and supplements’).  By asking Daniel only about the body-based activities and treatments he had, we are missing out on finding out about the majority of his healing journey.

Dr Kelly Turner also discussed how valuable information about healing can be gained from asking the patient themselves what they believe healed them.  Daniel Darkes thinks his healing resulted from the combination of his running and his diet, which is high in zinc, nuts, oily fish and vegetables. 

I intend to use Daniel Darkes’ route to health as a roadmap for my own healing.  However, I am hoping that I won’t need to achieve the fitness of an ultra-marathon runner to heal my Type 1 Diabetes…  I dearly hope that my unique path to healing may  not require such a high level of physical exertion for the same results!!  Let’s wait and see.

Enjoyed this post?  Check out my post on ‘MORE Spontaneous Remissions From Type 1 Diabetes!’ too.

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healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

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    Picture of Natalie Leader
    Natalie Leader

    Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

    The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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    Review of Whole30 with Type 1 Diabetes

    I’ve done it!  Here’s My Experience Of The Latter Half Of The Experience…

    The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

    Summary: This article discusses the author’s experience of the second half of the Whole30 experience.  Blood sugar profiles and insulin dosages are discussed, along with the complete absence of tiger blood!

    HealingT1D (2)

    I have done it!  I have finished Whole30!!

    I am really proud of myself for having achieved it and I’m also pretty surprised at how (relatively) easy I found it.

    I’ve got a few highlights from my days to give an idea of what it was like for me…

    Day 8

    I really enjoyed my food today!  Breakfast was an egg, bacon and mushroom stack.  Lunch was a hot salad of minute steak with courgette, red pepper and onion.  Dinner was some cooked chicken with bubble and squeak (vegetables roughly chopped together and fried in a pan with no oil for just 5 minutes).  I felt satiated and had good energy.  My blood sugars were also incredibly stable…  

    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 8

    All-in-all, this day was a big WIN for me!

    Day 9

    My motivation for the programme dipped as the day went on until, by the evening, I seriously contemplated stopping.  Let’s just say, I had to dig deep!

    Insulin-wise, I’m now taking 1-2 units of Novorapid for each meal and 6 units of Lantus at bedtime.  With such a low night-time dose, I am not getting 24-hour coverage from the Lantus anymore, so from now on I plan to split the dose into 6 units of Lantus at bedtime plus 4 units of Lantus in the morning.  I’ll see how that goes.

    Day 11

    I have no cravings and haven’t had any for several days.  I’m feeling pretty good and my blood sugars are better today.  My motivation for the Whole30 programme is still lacking but I’m hanging in there!

    Days 13 and 14

    These days have been tough.  I am pretty tired and irritable.  I’m very thirsty so have been drinking more.  I also have no hunger at all and therefore only ate two meals a day.  I’m wondering if I might have gone into nutritional ketosis so I don’t actually feel hungry and needs more water to drink.  I’m going to push through and increase my meals back up to three per day to hopefully give me more energy in the forthcoming days.  My blood sugars, however, have been great…

    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 14
    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 14

    Day 15

    I am still not hungry!  And I am still tired and irritable.  I’m also feeling anxious today for the first time in a long time.  I’m going to keep an eye on this and see if it passes in a few days.  It might be because I have stopped taking my vitamins and supplements.

    I’m going to push myself to eat three meals today to see if that gives me more energy.  I am definitely looking forward to the infamous tiger blood arriving tomorrow!!

    Day 16

    Hmmm, no tiger blood.  Today, instead of feeling fantastic and energised, I feel… Normal.  There isn’t any great rush of tiger blood for me today!  I’m starting to feel a bit better, I guess.  A bit more energised.  I’m definitely not so tired as I was earlier in the week. 

    Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, the designers of the Whole30 programme, say that it can take longer for people with autoimmune diseases to experience the benefits of Whole30…  So I guess I’m going to have to patiently wait this one out! 

    My insulin levels are now at: 6 units  of Lantus first thing in the morning (which seems to be effective until about 10pm) and 5 units of Lantus at bedtime (which takes me through the night with stable blood sugars).  My meal times injections are now 1.5 units for breakfast, 2.0 units for lunch and 2.5 units for dinner.  My blood sugars are beautifully stable:
    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    24th Jan - Day 19

    Day 21

    I’m still not feeling any proper tiger blood.  In fact, I’m still having periods of lacking in energy.

    I’m still not feeling any proper tiger blood.  In fact, I’m still having periods of lacking in energy.

    However, 5 units of Lantus was too much overnight…  I was 3.9 mmol/l this morning.  So now instead I’m going to try 3 units of Lantus at night and 3 in the morning.

    Day 22

    I still have no cravings!  My blood sugars have not been quite so fun, though… They have been jumping around a bit today.  I gave 4 units of Lantus overnight and they were stable through the night.  I still have no tiger blood and  I still feel tired.  But I feel fully committed to the programme and don’t feel stressed about being on it for another week.

    My total insulin doses are now: 0.5 units for breakfast, 1.5 units for lunch, 2 units for dinner.  4 units of Lantus in the morning and 4 units of Lantus in the evening.  Total 10 units.

    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 22/Day 23 (first part of the night)
    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 22/Day 23 (second part of the night)

    Days 29 and 30

    I feel I’ve got into a routine now.  I am not craving or missing any particular foods.  I feel satisfied by my meals and better in myself (which I think is due to much more stable blood sugars!).  However, there’s still no tiger blood.  As I’m now coming to the end of Whole30, I have decided that I will continue on the Whole30 for a bit longer, to see if the elusive tiger blood feeling arises!

    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 29
    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    Day 29
    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
    healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

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      Picture of Natalie Leader
      Natalie Leader

      Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

      The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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      Whole30 with Type 1 Diabetes – Week 1 Review

      Week 1 Review

      The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

      Summary: This article shares the author’s experience of implementing the Whole30 program with Type 1 Diabetes.  The effects on blood sugar profiles, insulin levels and general wellbeing are discussed.

      whole30
      One week of Whole30 down, hopefully not more than 23 days more to go…!

      I feel maybe my opening line is making me sound miserable about this week.  It has been a bit of a mixed bag but I’m still very positive about Whole30!

      The First Seven Days

      Day 1:

      Ready, steady, let’s go!  So today went pretty well… I had a satisfying breakfast of eggs and bacon.  I struggled to find something for lunch.  I had made some butternut squash soup but I didn’t like the texture or taste.  So I ended up just snacking on some cooked chicken and veggies.  By mid-afternoon, I was absolutely staaaaaarrrving!  Gotta sort my lunches out!  But, thankfully, for such a major food overhaul, my blood sugars were stable all day, ranging from 6 mmol/l to 9 mmol/l.  I did have a slightly hungover feeling in the morning and I was pretty thirsty all day…  I drank a lot of water!

      healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
      This is how I felt ALL day today...!!

      Day 2:

      A better day food-wise.  I ate ‘clean’… Just stuck to the basics.  Meat, veg, salad, eggs.  I bulked up on quantities so I was definitely more satisfied.  But my blood sugars were a bit more erratic.  The sweet potato I had for dinner (something I haven’t eaten before) had more carbohydrates than I had anticipated so my blood sugars spiked up to 12 mmol/l.  I then overcorrected so had to deal with a blood sugar reading of 3.8 mmol/l.  Because I have less Lantus at night and smaller Novorapid doses for each meal now, I didn’t need much to correct the hypo… One banana and I was back to normal.

      Day 3:

      So, I hypo’d overnight.  Not fun.  Yesterday evening, my blood sugars were a bit unstable and I thought that perhaps my insulin sensitivity had changed.  So I dropped my night-time Lantus injection from 18 units down to 16 units but it wasn’t enough.  I think 10 units might have been more like it!  I woke up in the night with a blood sugar reading of 3.9 mmol/l.  I munched on cubes of pineapple until I felt better.  (Whilst I am aware that it is not technically permitted to eat fruit on its own, I am also aware that Whole30 says medical needs trump the Whole30 protocol every time.)   I’ll try dropping my Lantus down to 10 units tonight and maybe also wake up to check during the night.  Other than that, today I am feeling just generally tired, jaded and a bit irritable.

      Day 4:

      I feel better today!  Not so tired.  Feeling pretty optimistic!  My blood sugars have been playing along with readings between 6 mmol/l and 9.5 mmol/l for most of the day.  Again, I had no dawn phenomenon this morning, which I still don’t understand…  I thought it was a physiological thing that was guaranteed each day?!  My insulin levels are now at 10 units of Lantus at nighttime and between 1 and 4 units of Novorapid for meals.  For dinner, my lovely husband cooked me a jacket potato with a great chili (recipe below) that I loved more than life itself!  A good day.

      healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
      The gorgeous chili made by my lovely husband... Yummy!

      Day 5:

      Okay, so… Whole30 have called this day ‘Kill-All-The-Things Day’.  I now understand why!  I have woken up this morning just wanting everyone and everything (including inanimate objects!!) to die.  I want the world to leave me alone and I pretty much hate everything…!!  My husband is driving me crazy (yes yes, I know… the one I called ‘lovely’ only yesterday!) and I am bloomin’ angry about everything, nothing and all that lies in between!!

      This article by the celebrity nutritionist, entrepreneur, and best-selling author Kimberly Snyder says that my swinging emotions are to be expected…  And are, in fact, good news!  It is a great indication that my body is discharging toxins.  Since the mind and body are so interconnected (see my articles here, here and here for information on this), it’s no wonder I am having an emotional reaction!  So, for now, I will just keep telling myself… DO NOT KILL ANYTHING!!!

      Despite all the anger, though, I had a stellar blood sugar day….

      Day 6:

      I’m starting to feel like I’ve hit my stride with the Whole30 programme.  I am really surprised to see that I am not missing any of the things that  I thought I loved (okay, okay… the one thing – chocolate!!). Although I don’t know for sure, as I’m not weighing myself, I think I might have slimmed a bit this week.  I’m still feeling tired and less energised than I used to but feeling patient and optimistic about this passing.

      Day 7:

      I have officially made it through the first week!  I have had a few hypo’s, which are to be expected with completely transforming my diet.  However, each one has been easy to correct with just a bit of fruit.  I had my first outing today, meeting up with a friend for coffee.  We had originally planned breakfast but I couldn’t be sure that I would still be Whole30-compliant so we switched for a hot drink (I had green tea!) in a gorgeous cafe.  Job done!  My blood sugars were a bit bouncy today, going up to 10 mmol/l after lunch and then needing a correction dose to come down to 5 mmol/l but it was nothing scary.  Overall this week, my insulin levels have reduced from 10 to 18 units of Novorapid each meal and 18 units of Lantus at night to 1 to 3 units of Novorapid per meal and 10 units of Lantus at night.  I also now have NO dawn phenomenon…  I used to have to religiously inject 2 units of Novorapid two things but now… Nothing!  All-in-all, my reduced insulin doses are another good step towards healing! Onto week 2…!

      BONUS RECIPE…

      Having told you about the highs and lows (pun intended!) of my first week on Whole30, all that’s left to do now is leave you with my hubbie’s gorgeously satisfying chilli recipe, as promised.  With this, I dare you to try feeling deprived!!

      Chilli Con Carne

      Serves 6

      • 1.2kg of beef mince (5% fat)
      • 1 large or 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
      • Approx 1 tablespoon of beef dripping
      • 2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed
      • 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
      • 500 ml of beef stock or broth (make sure this has no non-compliant ingredients.  If possible, it’s always best to make it yourself)
      • 1 or 2 tsp of dried chilli powder (depending on how hot you want it!)
      • 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
      • 1 large green pepper, de-seeded and chopped.
      • Salt and pepper to taste
      1. Heat the beef dripping in a large deep-sided pan.  Once hot, gently cook the onions and garlic for about 6 minutes until soft and translucent.
      2. Turn up the heat and add the beef and brown it well for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
      3. Next combine the tomato purée with the stock/broth and add it gradually to the meat and onions.
      4. Add the chilli and tinned tomatoes then season with salt & pepper.
      5. When it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
      6. Stir in the chopped green pepper and cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve with a jacket potato or cauliflower rice.
      healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
      If you’re a Type 1 Diabetic and you’re doing Whole30, I’d love to hear how you’re getting on!  Leave me a comment below…

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        Picture of Natalie Leader
        Natalie Leader

        Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

        The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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        Creating My Healing Baseline – Whole30

        My First Forays Into The Healing Potential Of Food

        The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

        Summary: This article explores the Whole30 nutritional approach as a baseline from which to start healing.  Food is used as the building blocks of health and therefore wholesome, nutritious food, stripped of processed products and potential inflammatory agents, intuitively makes sense as a place to start.

        healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

        Nutrition First…

        Kelly Turner discusses how diet (the food you eat NOT calorie restriction) as one of the key factors for healing (see my blog post here).  This intuitively makes sense to me…  After all, what I eat is used to manufacture each cell in my body!  However, our body only replaces itself every seven to ten years.  Therefore, I have chosen to make diet my first priority so my body has more time to create me some sparkly new pancreatic cells made of good nutrition!

        What Is Whole30?

        Whole30 is a dietary programme that promises ‘total health and food freedom’ at the end of a 30-day period of restriction and elimination.  It requires elimination of all foods that the creators Melissa and Dallas Hartwig have identified that ‘promote unhealthy cravings and habits, disrupt the metabolism, damage your digestive tract and burden your immune system’ [1].  These include, but are not limited to, dairy, sugar, wheat and legumes.

        By following Whole30, the authors suggest that I am committing to ‘an anti-inflammatory diet, designed to calm an overactive immune system and reduce or eliminate the symptoms of inflammation’.  This diet therefore appears to offer an opportunity to address the inflammation that is often associated with T1D (see my blog post here).   Having had a doctor suggest, but not confirm, that I may have gastroparesis and obviously having issues with my immune system (hello T1D!) and potentially also inflammation (although, in my case, not successfully measured, see here), this programme seems to be a natural fit.

        Why Am I Doing Whole30?

        As I discussed in my posts on ‘What Is Type 1 Diabetes?‘ and ‘Allostatic Load‘, I am conceptualising my T1D as resulting from an overload of stress and strain on the body.  I believe that the factors contributing to this build-up are multifaceted and are likely to include:

        • emotional factors (such as trauma, emotional stress, anxiety and depression),
        • physical factors (such as oscillating blood sugars, excess body fat, poor nutrition and insufficient exercise),
        • environmental factors (such as environmental toxins and a disordered home environment) and
        • spiritual factors.  

        Whole30 addresses the physical factor of ‘poor nutrition’.  It gives a method to strip my diet back to its most basic components from which I can then rebuild a diet (in the not-restricting-calories sense!) that is healthful and supportive of my body’s healing.   

        I am starting my path to healing with diet because my diet builds my body.  Every item of food I eat become the building blocks for each molecule in my system.  Therefore, if I want a better output, I need a better input.   If I want healthy pancreatic cells, I need to offer healthy raw materials from which they can be manufactured.  I might be able to change my mind in an instant (and, believe me, if you ask my husband he will confirm that I often do!).  However, changing my body takes more time.  The sooner I change my nutrition, the sooner a better body is built.  This is why I’m tackling my nutrition first.

        Whole30 With Type 1 Diabetes

        I anticipate that doing Whole30 as a Type 1 Diabetic will be even more challenging than for the average non-diabetic.  There are three reasons for this.

        Firstly, Whole30 often results in a reduction in the amount of carbohydrates that someone eats, purely as a result of eating more natural and fewer processed foods.  There is less (no!) added sugar.  I am therefore anticipating a reduction in the amount of insulin I am likely to need and/or a risk of increased hypo’s as I adjust my insulin intake.  I will also be eating different food items that are also likely to affect my insulin input. 

        Secondly, I think I am going to have issues if I have any hypo’s over the next month.  Sugar is out.  So my usual dextrose tablets and a snack is not Whole30-compliant.  Fruit is permitted but the Hartwigs recommend that this is not consumed on its own.  So that’s not a solution either.  In my search for answers, I came across a podcast by Rob Howe at ‘Diabetics Doing Things’.  He is a Type 1 Diabetic who successfully completed the Whole30.  In this episode, he discusses the tactics he used to do it, including how he addressed hypo’s using Whole30-compliant foods.  While they may not be fully Whole30-compliant in the strictest sense, I will use these (or alternatives) if it means keeping my blood sugars at a healthy level.  My health, after all, is the most important factor here.

        Thirdly, Melissa and Dallas Hartwig kindly informed me in their book ‘The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom’ that those with autoimmune disorders can take longer than 30 days to feel the beneficial effects of the programme.  They stated that it could possibly be even 60 or 90 days!  So I’m going to have to tackle it with a different mindset…  Not just counting down the 30 days till I can start eating ‘normal’ foods again!

        The Preparation Phase

        Preparing for Whole30 is even more crucial as a Type 1 Diabetic.  I can’t just grab those glucose tablets or Jelly Babies out of the cupboard when my blood sugars drop.  And I’m also not a fan of just randomly adjusting insulin levels in response to whatever random number of carbohydrates end up on my plate at mealtime.  In other words… I’m a planner!  So I took this phase very seriously!  My planning consisted of:

        1. Planning 7 breakfast options, 7 lunch options and 7 dinner options that I could easily make and that I would like (or at least wouldn’t mind) eating. So, if everything went wrong, I always had a meal option (or a week of meal options!) to fall back on.
        2. Reading and reading and reading (did I mention reading?!) labels of all the food items in my home. OMG, most of it I won’t be eating!
        3. Planning my food shops into my diary for the entire 30 days.
        4. Stocking up on simple meats, plus fruits and vegetables
        5. Batch cooking Whole30-compliant soups that I froze in separate containers in my freezer, ready to be grabbed and defrosted at a moment’s notice.
        6. Made some sausages using the recipe in the Whole30 book and put them in the freezer in individual portion sizes.
        I was surprised to find during my preparatory phase that some of my vitamins were not compliant with Whole30.  Thankfully, it was only the evening primrose oil and my multivitamin.  I anticipate that my vitamin and mineral intake is likely to greatly increase with the addition of so many more fruits and vegetables (after all, that’s mainly what I’m going to be eating!).  The only real sacrifice is likely to be the evening primrose oil.  I take evening primrose oil for its general health benefits, rather than for a specific physical or mental health benefit.  Therefore, for now, I will see how I do without it.  If I find that I feel less well as Whole30 progresses, I may seek an alternative, Whole30-compliant evening primrose oil capsule.

        The Reintroduction Phase

        Upon completion of Whole30, a period of reintroduction of the previously non-permitted foods is required.  For me, the reintroduction phase of the Whole30 programme is key.  I know people seem to skip this phase but I anticipate that this will be the time when I gain the most from the programme.  Whole30 states that you need to reintroduce foods one at a time so you can feel what each one does to your body.  For me, this is the most crucial bit.  It acknowledges the importance of being guided by my intuition (see my post here on intuition) to work out what feels best for my body. If I don’t feel good after eating a food, it is my body’s way of telling me that that particular food is leading me away from my best possible health.  So why would I want to eat it?

        As I said above, the concept of ‘Allostatic Load‘ is crucial.  If I keep chipping away at my body’s health with foods that are not healthful, I am the one losing out.  So I need to know which foods are chipping away at my health.  The reintroduction does this for me (although, as the critics argue, it is not in a scientifically-assessed way).  However, for me, I would prefer to trust my body’s intuition to lead me to health rather than the results writing on a doctor’s pad.  Getting my body naturally feeling as good as possible definitely feels like something I should be doing!

        Following a successful and complete reintroduction phase, I will be armed with the knowledge of what my body can and can’t process.  This will then be the basis of my nutrition going forward.  Interestingly, this idea of adjusting my nutrition for my health fits nicely with Kelly Turner’s findings on healing cancer (see my blog post here).  Kelly Turner found that radically changing your diet is key to healing.  Like Whole30, she names greatly reducing or eliminating sugar, meat, dairy and refined foods, as well as greatly increasing vegetable and fruit intake, as key [2].

        Watch out for my forthcoming updates as I make way through my month of Whole30!

        References:

        1. Hartwig, M. and Hartwig, D. (2015).  The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom.  London: Hodder & Stoughton. (p. 2) [Link]
        2. Turner, K. A. (2014).  Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds.  New York: HarperCollins. [Link]
        whole30 with type 1 diabetes

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          Natalie Leader

          Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

          The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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