Dr. Aajay Shah - Obesity, Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes

About 70% of the population is overweight or obese. As obesity reaches epidemic proportions, Dr. Shah explains how obesity is directly linked to things like heart disease, pre-diabetes/diabetes, sleep apnea and cancer. In this video, he specifically talks about the link between obesity and diabetes. A precursor to diabetes, pre-diabetes is defined by 5 criteria:

1. High blood pressure
2. A waist diameter above 35 inches for women and above 40 inches for men
3. Triglycerides above 150
4. HDL below 50 for women and below 40 for men
5. Blood sugar above 100

If you have 3 out of 5 criteria then you’re pre-diabetic. Without losing weight and exercising, most patients with pre-diabetes will eventually become diabetic. Keep in mind that diabetes is not an isolated disease. Rather, this is a multi-system/multi-organ condition that affects the entire body and can cause things like heart blockage/heart attack/stroke, blindness, kidney disease and neuropathy.

The hopeful bit of news about pre-diabetes and diabetes is that in most cases, they’re reversible with lifestyle modifications. Changes you can make to prevent and reverse diabetes include:

• Exercise for 30 minutes, 4-5 times a week
• Eat a whole food, plant-based diet (Americans eat nearly 4 times more the amount of meat that is typically recommended. Aim to get 10% of your calories from meat).

In terms of diet modifications, Dr. Shah recommends immersing yourself in the work of Joel Fuhrman as he has many books and videos on how to eat healthy and reverse diabetes. Specifically, there are five food groups that you want to include in your meals everyday and they’re known as GBOMBS:

Green vegetables
Beans
Onions
Mushrooms
Berries
Seeds

Following this advice will help you lose weight, avoid complications, and live a longer/healthier/happier life. As Dr. Shah says, “God only gives you one life. Let’s take care of it.”