Schwarzbein & Native American Diabetes

[Guest guest]

American Indian and Minority Health, Inc. presents diabetes conference

Posted: April 22, 2004 - 10:57am EST

by: Wilhelm Murg / Correspondent / Indian Country Today

TULSA, Okla. - American Indian and Minority Health, Inc. (AIMHI) will

present their annual American Indian diabetes conference, " Return to

Your Roots 3, " on May 18 and 19 at the Doubletree Hotel at Warren

Place in Tulsa. The goal of the organization is to assure the highest

possible health status for American Indians by promoting and lobbying

for a healthy diet that mirrors the traditional diet of their

ancestors. The organization embraced the concept of a low

carbohydrate/high fat diet for American Indians years before the

current popular interest in the Atkins diet. AIMHI is about to fund a

study which they believe will give them enough evidence to force a

change in the federal government's commodity program, which they see

as a key issue in the disastrous effects diabetes has had in the

Native community.

The group's Executive Director and founder, Gray first

became interested when one of her salesmen was diagnosed with

diabetes. He followed the standard American Diabetes Association

recommended diet of low fat and high carbohydrates and his blood

sugar doubled. Gray had read " The Schwarzbein Principle " whose

author, Dr. Schwarzbein, found that a low carb/high fat diet

helped patients eliminate the need for insulin and drastically

reduced their chances for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye

disease and limb loss. The salesman followed the diet and his blood

sugar returned to normal. Gray was so impressed with the results that

she built the organization around Schwarzbein's discoveries.

" I started researching it and found that prior to the invention of

insulin doctors prescribed high fat/low carb diets back in the

1920s, " Gray told Indian Country Today. " I spent a year running

around telling everybody that the sky is falling, the world is round,

and that carbohydrates are sugar. I discovered there was a movement

in Indian country of other people who realized the food guide pyramid

does not work for the American Indians' metabolism. I started finding

people in the outskirts of the medical community that understood this

and had cataloged supporting evidence. I invited them to speak at the

first conference. "

Now that the Atkins diet is not only accepted, but being paid

attention to by the major food companies, more people are listening

to what Gray has said all along. " Two and a half years ago when I was

doing this there was no Atkins diet movement, " Gray said. " A lot of

people were angry that I would speak against the American Diabetes

Association. Some people thought I was endangering American Indians

by promoting low carb/high fat, but then I started finding people

with legitimate reputations, like Dr. Walter Willet of Harvard

Nutrition Center. I sent him a list of the government commodities

that they dole out on reservations and he said that it's impossible

to eat healthy on this diet. The two main ingredients in government

commodities are the two main ingredients that cause diabetes,

hydrogenated fats and high carbs. "

Once Gray was convinced that federally recommended health standards

were harming the Indian people she began to ask why such a system

would even be in place. She looked on the ADA Web site and found that

the association's five biggest sponsors were the world's largest

pharmaceutical companies who produce insulin. The next two highest

sponsors were Kraft Food and General Mills, both makers of food that

is high in carbohydrates. Gray wrote a story on her discoveries and

posted the story on the Internet with links to research material on

the ADA Web site that supported her claims. The ADA Web site shut

down for 17 hours and when it came back up the webmaster had removed

all information on the organization's sponsors.

Gray contacted an Oklahoma senator with her discoveries and asked him

what was needed to change the law regarding the government's

commodity program. He said she needed solid evidence, so Gray is now

funding a study on Osages, where one control group will follow the

current ADA recommended guideline and another group will follow a

more traditional diet. " In Indian country we can't wait for the

government to change; we have to utilize the new gift the Creator has

given us in gaming money, " Gray said. " We may not have our large land

masses that we used to have to feed our people, but we have some

gaming revenue that we can use to give our people traditional food to

supplement their diets. "

For more information on the conference and AIMHI, visit

traditionalhealth.org.