Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barbaro are the co-creators of Mastering Diabetes, an online program and support network for people living with all forms of the disease: type 1, type 2, type 1.5, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes.


And both have been living with type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, for most of their lives. Type 1 can't be reversed or cured through diet and lifestyle, so they must take synthetic insulin in order to remain alive.


According to mainstream diabetes protocols, Cyrus and Robby should limit their carbohydrate intake significantly, and get the majority of their calories from proteins and fats. Certainly the last thing they should do is live on a high-fruit raw diet.


They not only live on such a diet; they thrive on it. And they've taught thousands of others with diabetes to combat the condition with a whole food, plant-based diet.


Recently, they produced a brilliant video and blog post sharing the misconceptions and myths at the heart of today's most popular and dangerous dietary fad, the ketogenic diet. (See below for the video.)


Spoiler: the ketogenic diet can achieve flatlined blood glucose levels and weight control, but at the expense of long-term health.


If you are dealing with diabetes, you're also dealing with mountains of misinformation offered by both well-meaning and self-serving sources. It's easy to get frightened or bullied into avoiding fruits and vegetables and whole grains, even though the science is abundantly clear that the real issue is insulin resistance, not high blood glucose levels. (If the last sentence made no sense to you, it will after you finish listening to our conversation.)


To help people avoid dietary disaster based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the biochemistry of insulin and glucose metabolism, Cyrus and Robby have created the Mastering Diabetes Online Summit (https://plantyourself--masteringdiabetes.thrivecart.com/2018-summit-aap/) . It's been around for a couple of years now, and has helped tens of thousands of people gain control of their diabetes and their lives.


If you or anyone you know is struggling to thrive while living with diabetes, please check it out.


In our conversation, Cyrus and Robby and I covered:


Robby:



• getting diagnosed at age 12
• type 1 is just an inconvenience, and won't derail your life
• counting carbs on the Standard American Diet and getting sick (allergies, acne, plantar fasciitis, etc.)
• experimenting with different diets (animal-based keto, plant-based keto) and feeling terrible
• the difference between total insulin and insulin/carbohydrate efficiency ratio
• discovering Doug Graham and the high-carb raw world
• "the number one killer of type 1 diabetes is heart disease"
• reducing insulin to the lowest level possible is the wrong goal
Cyrus:



• getting diagnosed at age 22
• a collection of auto-immune diseases (Hashimoto's, alopecia)
• the failure of low carb diets to manage his blood sugar
• throwing his blood glucose meter against the wall and crying - and then looking for real answers
• eating nothing but fruits and vegetables, being terrified to go against prevailing wisdom, and cutting insulin by 40% within 7 days
• switching from mechanical engineering to nutritional biochemistry to figure out what was going on
Both:



• molecular mimicry and auto-immune disease
• meeting and starting to work together
• why keto is so popular (short-term gratification overrides long-term damage)
• fruits don't equal sugar
• lots of ways to reduce blood sugar, and only some of them are healthy
• the real role of insulin (it's not the enemy)
• empathy and positivity as strategic values
• embracing the wisdom of our bodies
• "type 1 diabetes is the most quantitative condition in the world"
• how to incorporate continuous blood glucose monitoring in a useful way
• details of the 2018 Mastering Diabetes Summit
• and much more...