She left in early 2021. I presume she was fired–or at least asked to resign–as a result of her turning against big pharma and making it public that she reversed her type 2 diabetes by simply cutting carbohydrates. Below, the original story, published in 2020.
The Power of Anecdotal Evidence by the CEO
In February 2020, the then ADA CEO announced that she is on her way to reversing type 2 diabetes by her new way of eating: low carbs. She lost a lot of weight, and her type 2 diabetes was close to remission. But then the ADA is funded by pharmaceuticals, especially those that sell insulin for people with type 2 diabetes. Imagine the financial loss to ADA if the CEO can reverse her T2D without medications!
***The link here was updated on 9/15/2020 because the original was removed. Concerns have arisen that she may lose her job if she doesn’t stop advocating the low carbs diets, because the ADA receives it’s financial support from big pharma that sells insulin to those with T2D
As many of you know, I have been writing about nutrition for several years. Usually the story is disappointing because most of the time it’s about debunking a badly formulated peer reviewed academic publication. Well… here you are in for a bit of a surprise!
I have become the member of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to understand their mindset why they keep on pushing grains and a high carbohydrate diet some years ago. Although I am not an active member, I am listed on a few email servers and receive emails from dietitians and nutrition specialists when they post their questions on these servers. They usually are similar to: “So what do you recommend to a diabetic patient?”
I usually respond to these types of questions and send the member to the ADA’s Standard of Care that refers to the low carbohydrate diet for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) under the carbohydrates section, page S52, where the clinical trial referenced is an ongoing clinical trial of the reversal of T2D, which I believe is in its’ 4th of 5 years at the moment:
“Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated evidence for improving glycemia and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences (41). For people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, low-carbohydrate eating plans show potential to improve glycemia and lipid outcomes for up to 1 year (63,65,90,101–104).”
Millions of $ Spent on Research vs One Anecdotal Evidence
As we all know, often it is not what is said but who says it that matters. Nothing is truer than that, as shown by this case. After millions of dollars spent on clinical trials over several years of proving that low carbohydrate diets, especially the ketogenic diet, can reverse T2D, without making any of the success stories into any newsflash, the single anecdotal evidence, that the CEO of the ADA could reverse her T2D using the same way of eating, did make it as a newsflash.
Hip hip hurrah!
The low carbohydrate way of eating, be it the low carbs high fat (LCHF), or ketogenic, or carnivore diets, finally have a chance to become mainstream ways of eating because of this single person’s experience!
The ADA Email I Received:
Hi Angela,
In case you missed it, the CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Tracey Brown, recently gave an interview on the Sisters4Fitness Wellness Show where she discussed how a low-carb diet has drastically improved her diabetes. In the interview, Brown explains how a low-carb diet has helped her discontinue her use of insulin and reduce her dependence on prescription medications. Tracey Brown is just one of many amazing low-carb success stories currently out there.
Brown’s interview comes on the back of the ADA endorsing a low-carb diet as a viable option for Americans who have diabetes. The organization endorsed the diet over the “one size fits all” approach currently offered by our Dietary Guidelines.
The Low-Carb Action Network (L-CAN), a coalition of doctors, academics and average Americans fighting for a “real” low-carb diet to be included in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), was pleased to see the ADA recognize the value of a low-carb diet and is moved by Brown’s interview. Learn more about L-CAN’s efforts HERE.
Below is an article on Brown’s low-carb diet journey. Watch her interview HERE.
American Diabetes Association’s CEO Talks About her Low Carb Diet
A SweetLife
American Diabetes Association CEO Tracey Brown has revealed her personal success with a low-carbohydrate diet in a new interview with the Sisters4Fitness Wellness Show (update on 9/15/2020 with new link because the original was removed).
Declaring how seriously she takes the responsibility of being “the poster child of how to thrive while living with diabetes,” Ms. Brown tells how reducing her carbohydrate intake has had such a profound and positive impact on her health.
Remarkably, Ms. Brown has been able to discontinue her use of insulin, has significantly reduced her use of prescription medication, and even predicts that she’ll be able to drop her last medication by the end of the year.
You read that right: the first CEO of the ADA with diabetes may be beating her own condition into remission!
Along the way, Ms. Brown makes a persuasive case for carbohydrate restriction that goes well beyond mainstream recommendations to limit only sugars and highly processed foods:
“It’s pretty simple. Elevated blood sugars happen when you have sugars in your body and you don’t have insulin to manage the sugars in your body… Carbohydrates turn into sugar. So I just try to get people to be a little aware of how many carbohydrates you’re actually putting in your body. And carbohydrates come in many shapes and forms, right? Bread is a carbohydrate, pasta is a carbohydrate, actually, fruits … some fruits are high in carbohydrates.”
While she admits to enjoying French fries from time to time, she also tells us that she’ll toss the bun of a fast food sandwich into the trash, that she has stopped eating rice, and happily explains how pleased she has been with discovering a “whole new palette” of low-carb foods. She’s also changed her exercise regimen and devoted herself to getting better sleep and reducing stress. Whatever the specifics of Ms. Brown’s diet and lifestyle changes, they’re obviously working.
She also clearly hopes to inspire others along the way through her own successes: “Anybody can do what I did, and I’m not suffering for it.”
One can only hope that Ms. Brown’s personal journey also inspires some of the experts that work for her organization and help set the guidelines that are so influential in the medical establishment. While the ADA has recently made some baby steps towards an endorsement of low-carb diets, the organization is typically cautious and slow-moving, and has long been associated with high-carb diet advice and recipes. But Ms. Brown is such a singular and dynamic figure that we’ll allow ourselves a little optimism that great changes are now afoot at the ADA. She has already pledged to make the organization more agile and innovative. I wouldn’t bet against her.
For more information on the Low-Carb Action Network (L-CAN), please visit lowcarbaction.org.
My deepest congratulations to Tracey D. Brown, the CEO of ADA, for reversing her T2D and for making her lifestyle changes public.
If you watch the video interview–attached to the email via link above–you can hear her say that she cut out grains and rice and starchy fruits and vegetables. She also wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which measures blood glucose every 5 minutes for 2 weeks and the information is downloadable to smart phones. While she has access to CGM, my hope now is that insurance companies will be encouraged to cover the cost of providing CGM to all persons with T2D.
Let’s get T2D wiped off the planet! It is a metabolic disease caused by many factors, but most importantly by diet. It is preventable! So let’s prevent it!
Comments are welcomed, as always, and are monitored for appropriateness.
Angela
Tracey Brown changed her behavior in so many ways – how can we know it was low carb alone THE thing that helped her?
She mentions improving sleep and reducing stress – this is significant.
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KayT I don’t know her personally so I cannot say what else she may have done or didn’t do. She had no financial interest in suggesting that one can reverse T2D and stop taking tons of medications people with T2D are placed on today, including insulin and a host of other medications. And the end-game of those with T2D is the amputation of toes, then partial or whole limb. And she lost her job in the process of admitting that she could reverse her T2D and was off insulin. This was completely counter to her financial interest. Other then this, I cannot speculate.
However! We now have several clinical trials showing that T2D is completely reversible–in fact I reversed mine–by a simple diet change. The diet (it’s really not a “diet” per se but a way of eating and a new lifestyle) I have been doing for the past over 10 years is various forms of the low carbohydrate diet: LCHF, ketogenic, carnivore, and hypercarnivore. I have done all of these and now seasonally switch between these as I feel like it and I have completely reversed my T2D.
The things I cut out of my life:
Sugar, all sweeteners (naturals, real, fake, honey,… whatever), all grains (not just gluten but all grains), all starches, all vegetables, all vegetable/seed oils, all juices, soft drinks, flavored foods, drinks, processed foods, most fruits.
The things I added to my life:
Hell of a lot of red meat every day: beef, bison, pork, game, dark meat of poultry. lots of animal fat (my gosh, bring it on!), dairy (sipping my decaf with heavy cream and milk as we speck. This drink has 3 oz decaf, 3 oz heavy cream, and 6 oz frothed warm milk!), lots of protein powders as whey or casein, or milk protein powder (not plants), all unsweetened and unflavored. I use it for cooking awesome foods, lots of eggs daily, fish and seafood as much as I want. Of the plant kingdom I only eat strawberries, raspberries, lingonberries, and since I have a plum, kumquat, and pomegranate fruits trees and a single grape bush, I eat those fruits as well in season.
I now eat about twice as much as I used to eat when I still ate a ton of carbs and I lose weight; I have regained my youth as I got older as well. Were it not for Covid closing the gym and my world 2 years ago, today I would be lifting close to 200 lbs weight–I am turning 69 in less than a month.
So was Tracey Brown lying? I don’t know. But I am not lying. My record is verifiable. T2D is reversible, all autoimmune diseases are reversible, cardiovascular disease is reversible, etc. 95% of all modern diseases are the result of eating the high carbohydrate and vegetable/seed oil rich diet with loads of grains, as the dietary guidelines recommended. Trash the dietary guidelines! They harmed the whole world! I am no longer harmed by it. You can make your own decisions based on your own education by reading articles like mine and watching YouTube. And try it out. See what it does to you.
Good luck to you,
Angela
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This is good news and I hope more blinders are lifted about nutritional truth!
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Indeed!! I just wish she didn’t have to lose her job… At least we can see a strong person with integrity! A person I would hire anywhere for any job. I wish she has found an equal or better job than to be the CEO of the American Diabetes Association!
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Well I know it is tough to ha e to lose a job but as you do well
Know / when we speak truth that is so foreign to the mainstream thinking – it will cause riffs and bumps
And I have a feeling that she is going to make out even if the power job never comes / because she has health – and that is a gift that keeps on giving – right?
And hope you are doing well-
Peace and grace to you
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I totally agree! She is terrific, healthy (it is the best gift), has guts, and I think with all that the world is hers! 🙂
I am doing great! Thanks for asking. Hope you are well too!
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Great story…….thank you
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Thanks Paul. 🙂
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