How do you end up as a doctor treating patients with low-carb food? For many physicians who are using low-carb diets to help their patients, it all started with a personal health journey. And Dr. Jonah Lazarous Mulatya is one of these inspiring doctors.
After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and struggling for many years with conventional dietary advice, Dr. Lazarous Mulatya came across a presentation that changed his life.
Keep reading to find out how Dr. Lazarous Mulatya reversed his type 2 diabetes, how he's paying it forward in his home country Kenya, and his best tips for beginners.
His story has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Lazarous Mulatya's story
I'm Dr. Jonah Lazarous Mulatya, a 61-year-old consultant anaesthesiologist and general practitioner living in Kenya, East Africa.
In 2007, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and was started on a conventional diet for diabetes, as well as given the medications metformin, pioglitazone, glibenclamide, and atorvastatin.
Despite lifestyle changes, such as starting to exercise, my blood sugars were still high and erratic, and I was developing peripheral neuropathy.
In 2015, I came across a lecture by Dr. Sarah Hallberg - "Reversing type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines". After that, I started reading more about diabetes and ended up researching the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet.
In 2017, I started with the LCHF diet myself using locally available and affordable foods. I combined this diet with intermittent fasting and exercise.
In just four months, my hemoglobin A1c (HBA1c), a measure of long-term blood sugar, dropped from 9.8% to 5.5%, and I gradually deprescribed all medications. I had reversed my type 2 diabetes. Today, more than three years later, my HBA1c is still within the range of 5.5 to 5.8%.
In February 2018, we started an outpatient LCHF clinic in the rural hospital where I work. The results we got were very encouraging, and this prompted us to start an inpatient LCHF diet program that included patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, severe arthritis, hypertension, obesity, epilepsy, etc.
We've witnessed remarkable reversals of these chronic diseases and the sustainability of the diet.
We've witnessed remarkable reversals of these chronic diseases and the sustainability of the diet. Some patients have been without medications for more than two years.My personal journey with reversing type 2 diabetes, as well as the results of the observational study involving low-income patients in our rural African hospital, has compelled me to write a book, Diabetes And Other Chronic Diseases Reversed, which is now available through Amazon. The book shows that the LCHF diet is not just a fad diet for the rich.
These days, I personally practice 18:6 intermittent fasting for five days per week. That means I only ingest black tea with ginger or tea masala and some salt, between 8 am and 2 pm.
On most days, I have lunch at 2 pm. Oftentimes, it consists of one serving of local legumes, one serving of animal protein, two servings of local vegetables, and tea with milk.
Then, around 4 pm, I have two glasses of a vegetable smoothie made of kale, avocado, and lemon juice. For variety, I also add parsley, celery, carrot, ginger, and cucumber in varying amounts.
At 8 pm, I eat a very light dinner of cooked local vegetables with a small serving of animal protein, eggs, or fish.
Two days per week, I eat breakfast in the morning and eat a late lunch, but no dinner. Also, I do a weekly exercise that's either biking or walking.
My best advice for low-carb newbies is the following: be prepared for a full lifestyle change; get guidance by a low-carb doctor or nutritionist so you do LCHF correctly and successfully; and finally, use locally available and affordable foods.
Thank you, Diet Doctor. I've learned a lot from you and will continue to appreciate your support.
Best,
Dr. Jonah Lazarous Mulatya
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Comment
Thank you for sharing your journey wth us Dr. Lazarous Multaya. It is always inspiring to see people take their personal transformations and then go on to help hundreds of patients. Your message of a sustainable, healthy lifestyle echo our message here at Diet Doctor and we are thrilled to have you as one of our supporters. Keep up the great work!
Best,
/ Dr. Bret Scher
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