What diet are you on?

One of the health issues I've been dealing with in my 'senior' years is prediabetes.  In talking to my primary care doc and a nutritionist I've learned that a diet high in simple carbohydrates (foods containing large amounts of refined sugar (sucrose) , white rice, french fries and white bread) combined with a somewhat sedentary life style are contributing greatly to the problem.  

This  led me to an exercise program and various books listing foods that have a relatively high glycemic index.  The bottom line to all of them was avoid carbs-some even took an extreme approach by saying ALL carms-not just the simple ones.

In contrast to this I recently had a conversation with someone who suggested I read a book called The China Study.  I'm nearly done with it. It is a long, tedious read full of original research and detailed information.

Here are the main points it makes:
-nearly all cardiac disease, cancer, diabetes, immune disorder diseases ranging from arthritis to multiple sclerosis and many others result from what we eat-not poor genes or growth hormones, etc.
-with the right diet you can not only prevent these diseases but reverse their progress.
-the culprit is animal based protein, i.e. beef, milk, cheese, yogurt and eggs. 
-the solution is to adopt a 100% vegan diet.  Eliminate all animal based protein. And contrary to other books, carbs are good.

The rest of the book helps you figure out how to do that.

When I was about three quarters of the way through the book, I went on line and found several studies that dispute some of the findings of The China Study.  One of the biggest critiques is that it fails to give sufficient attention to things like too little exercise, the effects of a protein based diet in moderation and confusion between correlation and cause and effect.

Here's my take on all this.
There is absolutely no question that we are a grossly overweight society. Just look in any classroom or sit in one of those comfy chairs in the mall and observe the people walking by.

Our diets are terrible and we don't exercise enough.  But the solution suggested in this book is like others that call for the total elimination of carbs from your diet, i.e the other extreme.

To me the solution is not extreme.  It's moderation and common sense-and exercise.   If you're pounding down a couple of big Macs and fries every day then you're headed for trouble.  Eat a well balanced, portion controlled diet with plenty of exercise and you'll probably be OK.

By the way, while I am prediabetic I have managed to control it through-not medication but diet and exercise!