Many of you
know the Co-op’s good friend Mike Ciell, RPh, from his article
explaining Linus Pauling’s breakthroughs in
treating coronary heart disease. Our Heart Plus fans
love Mike’s article, as it explains in simple language why
cholesterol is merely a symptom of nutritional
deficiencies and not the cause of heart disease.
After
writing this article, Mike went on to do some amazing work with Dr.
John Young at
Foundational Health Clinic in Largo Florida in an integrative
clinic in Tampa, Florida. The pair got terrific results with
chronic disease patients using high-dose IV vitamin C therapy along
with nutritional supplements. However, Mike’s clinic had an
especially difficult patient population: chronically overweight and
clinically obese patients.
In working
with these patients, Mike began focusing on insulin resistance and a
weight-loss protocol called Ideal Protein. Over time, it was
clear that patients on the Ideal Protein program achieved important
health outcomes (reduced use of pharmaceuticals, improved blood
sugar management and blood pressure readings, reduced markers of
inflammation, etc.) in addition to satisfying weight loss.
As you
know, this kat is unusually skeptical about weight loss
products given the fact that scammers hawking new “miracle” weight
loss products keep sprouting up, a bit like mushrooms in the dark.
However,
I do know that we still have a number of fat kats out there, and
also thinner folks with subclinical insulin resistance issues.
Plus, our own former fat kat, Stephen, swears by the program. He
has lost more than
30 pounds and can personally vouch for Mike’s protocol, as
can his wife, Kelly, and a fair number of newly-svelte members. So
I decided it was time to catch up with Mike for a chat.
OHC: You’ve
been traveling around the country talking about the Ideal Protein
program. Could you share more about how you got involved?
Mike Ciell:
Sure. Four years ago my friend, Olivier, approached me about
Ideal Protein, but I was pretty skeptical. As a chronic dieter
with some central obesity at the time, I was working out like a dog
six days a week, but I couldn’t lose my gut and I sure wasn’t
gaining muscle. I even hired a trainer, but I was still gaining
weight.
I thought
my lack of success was just age – a slow metabolism, low
testosterone, and low growth hormone levels, the usual stuff.
Discouraged but not wanting to give up, I tried Ideal Protein
myself.
After the
first week, I had lost 9 lbs., and over the next 11 weeks, I lost 48
lbs. and I was also visibly gaining muscle. I was working out a lot
less, only one to two days a week, and yet I felt great. My
cholesterol dropped from 239 to 159, my HDL went from 45 to 68, and
my fasting insulin level below 2 (which is really, really good).
The guys at
the gym kept asking, “Dude, what are you doing? We know
you’re a pharmacist, you’ve got to be on steroids.” And I would
say, “No! Really.”
Turns out
my problems losing weight weren’t from age. My body just had way too
much insulin running the show, and I kept loading up on more
carbohydrates that spawned even more insulin.
OHC:
You lost almost 60 pounds. That must have made a huge
difference?”
Mike Ciell:
It did. Dr. Young and I then began offering the Ideal Protein
protocol to our patients. With people losing 10-12 pounds the first
week, we immediately had to adjust their anti-hypertensive
medications. Most patients also had to be taken off anti-diuretics
after the first week. Two weeks later, we had to drop the doses yet
again. We’d never seen anything like it.
After six
weeks, patient lipid panels were even more astounding –
triglycerides dropped from 1000 to 100 and cholesterol levels of 300
dropped to 150. Dr. Young didn’t believe it so he ordered new tests,
but the results came back the same.
People were
able to get off insulin and other meds. We saw GERD cured 100%
within two weeks, and we saw thyroid problems resolve during the
program. We saw people come off their inhalers, stop having skin
problems, eliminate Crohn’s symptoms, cease arthritis pain.
Pretty much
any kind of “itis” disease is related to inflammation and the
insulin-glucagon balance, so we saw lots of chronic disease symptoms
disappear.
OHC: Lots
of people know about insulin, but not about glucagon. Why is
glucagon important?
Mike Ciell:
Insulin and glucagon play very different roles in blood sugar
management and other metabolic functions. Diet regulates which one
kicks in and when.
I wrote a
paper on this topic that I delivered to the Massachusetts
Osteopathic Medical Society’s Annual Meeting last year. In my paper,
I included a chart that compares the differences between insulin and
glucagon, which you can include for your readers to reference.
OHC:
Thanks, here it is!
|
Insulin |
Glucagon |
|
Lowers elevated
blood sugar |
Raises low blood
sugar |
|
Shifts metabolism to
storage mode |
Shifts metabolism to
burn mode |
|
Converts glucose and
protein to fat |
Converts protein and
fat to glucose |
|
Converts fat to
storage |
Converts fat to
energy |
|
Moves blood stream
fat to fat cells |
Releases fat from
cells to blood for energy |
|
Increases body’s
production of cholesterol |
Decreases body’s
production of cholesterol |
|
Makes kidneys retain
excess fluid |
Makes kidneys
release excess fluid |
|
Stimulates growth of
arterial smooth muscle cells |
Stimulates
regression of arterial smooth muscle cells |
|
Stimulates use of
glucose for energy |
Stimulates use of
fat for energy |
Figure 1 - Insulin and Glucagon Influences in the Body
Mike Ciell:
As you can see, too much insulin causes excess weight, fluid
retention, thick arteries, excess cholesterol, and other dangerous
conditions. Unfortunately, the typical American diet produces
massive amounts of insulin.
Food
combinations producing the most insulin are carbohydrates (breads,
cereals, sodas), carbohydrates with fat (bagels with cream cheese,
croissants, French fries, etc.), and carbohydrates with low protein
(most pasta dishes, rice dishes, etc).
Glucagon on
the other hand helps your metabolism gear up to convert protein and
fat to energy, balances insulin, and decreases cholesterol
production, all good things for weight loss and other health
benefits. Meals boosting glucagon levels emphasize protein and fat
combos (meat and cheese antipasto plates) or protein and low-carb
combos (meat and veggies).
OHC: Can
you describe the effects of too much insulin from the typical diet?
Just as
cholesterol is an important molecule that turns dangerous when it
sticks to arteries, insulin is vital but dangerous when levels get
too high.
Insulin
resistance results from diets consistently high in carbs that flood
your body with sugar. Since you can’t burn so much sugar all at
once, your pancreas releases insulin to gobble excess sugar up and
stores sugar as glycogen in your liver and muscles. When your
glycogen reserves are full, insulin converts excess sugar directly
into fat.
If you’re
eating lots of carbs, insulin is coursing through your veins all the
time. Your cells become insulin resistant because they are trying to
protect themselves from the toxic effects of too much insulin. Cells
eliminate some of their insulin receptors outright and also reduce
the sensitivity of remaining receptors to try to relieve
overstimulation. When that happens, your pancreas cranks into higher
gear and puts out more insulin because your body can’t tolerate all
that sugar running around.
Your
pancreas can't keep up and ultimately insulin production slows down,
while insulin resistance in cells continues to go up. Blood sugar
rises, diabetes sets in, and most people have to start pumping
insulin by medication. Just what you need, more insulin, right?
Actually, no. You can only pump so much insulin into a person
before a wheel-chair is the next step.
OHC: So how
does the Ideal Protein diet address insulin resistance?
Mike Ciell:
Most people don’t eat enough protein, especially those trying to eat
healthy.
Think about
some typical healthy choices. Orange juice and steel-cut Irish
oatmeal for breakfast. A salad with free-range chicken for lunch.
Fish and veggies for dinner with fresh fruit as dessert. These meals
are all low-fat and include whole foods, yes, but they don’t provide
enough protein to reduce insulin generation and rest an overworked
pancreas.
OHC: So
your diet helps promote glucogon to rest the pancreas, right?
Mike Ciell:
Yes. The goal is to boost availability of glucogon, which promotes
insulin sensitivity in formerly numbed out cells. With less insulin
assaulting your cells and more glucagon circulating, fat cells are
also instructed to open and begin burning fat stores. Your
metabolism gets the signal that it’s safe to shift into burn mode
for weight loss.
Ideal
Protein is a product line emphasizing protein, and it was designed
around the premise that resting the pancreas requires more protein
and fewer carbs. We make it easy for people to get enough protein.
The calculus goes like this: determine your weight, divide by two,
and you’ll have the number of grams of protein we aim for on the
diet.
If you are
200 pounds, that translates into 100 grams of protein a day. Think
about the meals I mentioned earlier. A full breast of chicken has
about 30 grams of protein. The fish adds 20 or so grams. With a
serving of broccoli or asparagus at dinner, you add about 3 grams of
protein. You’ve eaten around 53 grams of protein, which comes in 47
grams below what we would recommend for resting your pancreas.
With
protein-rich foods already packaged for breakfasts, lunches, and
snacks, we make it easy to boost daily protein intake. While people
eat regular dinners, we give our dieters basic guidelines for making
good high-protein/low-carb choices.
OHC:
A lot of our members are whole foods fanatics and are skeptical of
packaged foods. What would you say to them?
Mike Ciell:
Sure, it’s a common concern. I tell people that our program is like
a treatment, it’s not meant to be permanent. When people have
life-threatening infections, antibiotics can be lifesavers. That
doesn’t mean antibiotics should be used casually or as prevention,
as that leads to all sorts of resistant strains of bacteria.
Likewise if
you’re body is inundated with insulin and your cells have become
insulin resistant, we’re going to “treat” you with an intentionally
“unbalanced” diet to correct a slew of health problems created by
too much insulin.
Most weight
loss diets stick with keeping protein, carbs, and fats balanced.
They just cut the portions and calories in half. Unfortunately,
these diets don’t correct insulin problems because proportionally
there are still too many carbs. Plus, with half the calories,
dieters are always ravenous and easily fall off the wagon.
People
trying to lose weight with insulin resitance issues really have it
rough. Even if they have amazing self control, they can go crazy
with hunger and food cravings.
An
unintended result of these “balanced” diets is loss of muscle, since
protein goes down with carbs and fats. Your body will break down
muscles for its protein needs on such a diet. Muscle loss was a big
problem with people into the Fen-Phen craze so many years ago.
Dieters would lose too much muscle, including in their heart
muscles.
OHC: How do
you measure success on your Ideal Protein program?
Mike Ciell:
We don’t measure success by body mass index or the percentage of
body fat. We measure physical ailments, amount of medications, and
how people feel. We track these things each week. Our dieters
report ailments disappearing and reductions in meds even in the
first few weeks.
Seniors are
a special category and often need to gain weight. The trouble is
many people turn to products like Ensure, which is horrible stuff
loaded with sugar. Even if you don’t want to lose weight, we offer
modified protocols ti support normal blood sugar or even weight gain
but without spiking blood sugar.
OHC: How
long does one have to stay on the protocol?
Mike Ciell:
There are different phases of the protocol. Length depends on how
much you want to lose. Most men will lose 5-6 pounds a week. Most
women will lose 3-4 pounds a week. Phases I and II of the protocol
are the weight loss phases.
Phase III
reintroduces some complex carbs, which will add around 3 pounds of
weight, so I tell people to lose 3 pounds more than their ideal
weight because that 3 pounds will come back with the addition of
complex carbs in the diet at the end.
Once people
reach their ideal weights, they may return to Phase I and II every
year or so for a couple of weeks as maintenance. I do a maintenance
program myself at least every year, and I have never had more energy
or fewer health problems.
OHC: Thanks
for your time, Mike!
Mike Ciell:
You’re welcome. I am passionate about this program because I see the
medical results every day for people who had given up on feeling
better or losing weight.
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If you are
interested in learning more,
contact Teri. She can answer any questions you have as she has
been on the program and has helped a number of members successfully
lose weight and improve their health.
