John McDougall’s Take on Diabetes

ACAM and AAEM shared resources at a November “Exchange” medical meeting in rainy Portland, Oregon. In my memory, it was the first time that ACAM held a convention in the Pacific Northwest in 30 years, enabling my driving to the event. Exchange reminded me of the old Northwest Academy of Preventive Medicine meetings usually held in Seattle. Keynote speakers included Dr. Jeffrey Bland and Jonathan Wright, MD, as well as Townsend Letter writer Marianne Marchese, ND. Bland’s exposition on epigenetics, biochemistry, and nutrition continues to amaze. Wright’s examination of laboratory and nutritional medicine in managing metabolic syndrome and diabetes was delivered with his usual wit. Perhaps the most impressive but unsettling lecture was delivered by John McDougall, MD, who describes himself as a “general medical doctor.” The author of 11 books, associate professor at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and director of a live-in McDougall Program hardly meets the criteria of a general medical doctor.

McDougall is a doctor on a mission. He wants to take on health and disease and he wants to do it in the simplest way possible. McDougall is not a big believer in medical intervention; for that matter, he is not an advocate of nutritional supplementation or alternative medicine interventions. Yes, he does want people to take care of themselves and prevent illness by eating right, exercising, and destressing, but he thinks hardly anybody is eating right. He’s not for a “prudent” diet and he’s definitely against Atkins’s high-fat diets. He zealously wants people to follow a plant-based diet – a diet primarily of rice and vegetables, low in fats, high in starches. In fact, his newest book to come out next spring will be titled The Starch Solution. Why? Against all logic, sugars and starches don’t foster elevated glucose and insulin dysfunction – animal proteins and fats do. McDougall brings up a study from 1927 showing that healthy medical students fed a carbohydrate diet have a normal glucose curve; students fed animal proteins had notable glucose elevation, while those fed high fats had dramatic persistent elevation of glucose.¹ McDougall’s review of the literature finds that the majority of medical interventions to control insulin, glucose, and diabetes fail to prevent micro- and macrovascular cardiovascular abnormalities. McDougall argues from his clinical experience that patients who adhere to a high-starch diet invariably lose weight and succeed in controlling diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

My brief survey of colleagues at the ACAM meeting did not find enthusiastic support for McDougall’s approach. In fact, most met the proposed diet with skepticism. Maybe there are some patients who would respond to high starches with considerable success. Just like the argument against vegetarianism, too many of us are wedded to animal-based diets. However, I think that we may need to give McDougall’s approach due consideration. T. Colin Campbell, PhD, couldn’t agree more!

Jonathan Collin, MD

Notes

1. Sweeney JS. Dietary factors that influence the dextrose tolerance test: a preliminary study. Arch. Intern. Med. 1927;40:818–830.