As an eye doctor, I frequently check diabetics to make sure that they don’t have diabetic retinopathy. The primary care physician (PCP) is responsible for diabetes control. The patient’s job is compliance. My job is to simply detect retinopathy and refer when present, warn when at risk, and monitor when stable.

This model seems fine and dandy, but I know something that most patients and PCPs don’t: diet is more important than medications in diabetes. If you severely restrict carbohydrates and mostly eat fats and a little protein, your health will improve in all areas. Diabetes is effectively cured. Research is beginning to show that this diet lifestyle even improves cancer, seizures, eczema, and other inflammatory conditions.

If you value helping patients more than drug companies, then please do your own research on low carbohydrate diets. They go under various names like ketogenic, Atkins, or Paleo, but they have in common that carb intake is limited to 20-50 grams per day, and even then mostly via real foods like vegetables and some fruit. One has to be on this diet for 2-3 weeks before becoming keto-adapted. I’ve included excellent resources below to help you get started. If you only read one book, then the first one mentioned is the best summary.

Resources:

Books:

• The Keto Reset Diet: Reboot Your Metabolism in 21 Days and Burn Fat Forever by Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns
• The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health and boundless energy by Mark Sisson
• The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable by Stephen D. Phinney MD, PhD and Jeff S. Volek PhD, RD.
• The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Jeff S. Volek, PhD, RD and Stephen D. Phinney, MD, PhD.
• Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes
• Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes
• The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle: The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast! by Mary Dan Eades, M.D. and Michael R. Eades, M.D. (BTW, while the title sounds scammy, this book is a fantastic read for doctors and lay people alike about why chronic carbs=>insulin resistance=>fatty liver=>visceral fat=>obesity, HTN, DM, inflammation, etc)
• The Diet Cure: The 8-Step Program to Rebalance Your Body Chemistry and End Food Cravings, Weight Gain, and Mood Swings–Naturally by Julia Ross
• The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions–Today by Julia Ross

Websites

• The best Primal lifestyle website: Mark’s Daily Apple
  • MDA’s Definitive Guide to Cholesterol 
  • MDA’s The Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar and Type 2 Diabetes
• Colin Champ, M.D.
• Low Carb Pediatrician
• Why yeast is bad: Know the Cause buy Doug Kaufmann and see also CandidaDiet.com

Podcasts:
Steven Gibson – Security Now Podcast low carb series

Primal Blueprint Podcast

The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show All of these are pertinent. Here is a small sample of notable episodes:

• 667: LLVLC Classic – Dr. James Carlson On How Your Doctor’s Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You
• 661: LLVLC Classic – Doug Kaufmann On The Role Fungus Plays On Health
• 650: Elaine Cantin Beat Her Breast Cancer, Son’s Type 1 Diabetes With Ketogenic Diet
• 642: Ultramarathon Runner Timothy Olson Thrives On A Low-Carb Diet
• 170: The Atkins Teleconference With Dr. Stephen Phinney And Dr. Jeff Volek (Part 1)
• 171: The Atkins Teleconference With Dr. Stephen Phinney And Dr. Jeff Volek (Part 2)
• 172: The Atkins Teleconference With Dr. Stephen Phinney And Dr. Jeff Volek (Part 3)
• 479: Legendary Low-Carb Researcher Dr. Steve Phinney Says There’s An ‘Art And Science’ To Living Low-Carb
• 236: Leading Low-Carb Diet Researcher And Author Dr. Jeff Volek
• 139: An Interview With ‘Good Calories Bad Calories’ Author Gary Taubes (Part 1)
• 140: An Interview With ‘Good Calories Bad Calories’ Author Gary Taubes (Part 2)
• 401: Gary Taubes Update With Preview Of ‘Why We Get Fat’
• 439 (Part 1): Gary Taubes Responds To His Critics
• 439 (Part 2): Gary Taubes Answers Listener Questions

Videos:

• Dr. Stephen Phinney interviewed by dietdoctor.com (27:30)

My Blog Posts on Diet and Eye Health

• Corneal Arcus and Cholesterol

I’m confident that in the future we’ll see that the typical American carbohydrate diet plays a role in eye diseases like macular degeneration, dry eye, and glaucoma, but this remains uninvestigated since high fat, low carb diet research is only beginning to finally see the light amongst researchers.