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  #31   ^
Old Fri, Jun-16-17, 09:27
GRB5111's Avatar
GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,036
 
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
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Very positive one-year report. I find the Virta model positive in that the objective is to work with health insurance plans and to offer concierge services, as these are the two pathways that are popular today. It's an interesting model in that it provides a service for people who are not the outliers (people who are driven and enjoy doing their own research to find a WOE that moves them toward health) by providing information and support at every step. Those of us who frequent this forum are the outliers in that many of us independently took the action to improve our health without conventional support. Dare I say the majority of people are not like this and don't or can't take the path of self learning and N=1 discovery to achieve health. They do better with a framework of support and information guidance. Virta fills this gap, and it makes sense when providing this service that there are costs like any other health or medical service. This is the next step to take in health care, and there are other groups planning or doing similar things in many areas of health awareness and services. This is refreshing!
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  #32   ^
Old Fri, Jun-16-17, 09:27
thud123's Avatar
thud123 thud123 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 7,422
 
Plan: P:E=>1 (Q3-22)
Stats: 168/100/82 Male 182cm
BF:
Progress: 79%
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"...Use of medications continued to drop: insulin was reduced or halted in 97% of users."

WTF! incredible?
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  #33   ^
Old Sun, Jun-18-17, 22:48
mike_d's Avatar
mike_d mike_d is offline
Grease is the word!
Posts: 8,475
 
Plan: PSMF/IF
Stats: 236/181/180 Male 72 inches
BF:disappearing!
Progress: 98%
Location: Alamo city, Texas
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Good, but unfortunately there's more money in "keep em ill and sell em pills!"
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  #34   ^
Old Mon, Jun-19-17, 04:36
teaser's Avatar
teaser teaser is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 15,075
 
Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
BF:
Progress: 104%
Location: Ontario
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas...70613102019.htm

Quote:
Importance of taking diabetes medications as prescribed, exercising and managing weight
Study highlights health system's ability to track important factors which can impact better blood sugar control


Quote:
Researchers examined several lifestyle and demographic factors to determine which were most closely associated with poorly controlled blood sugar. They found that members who took their oral diabetes medications at least 80 percent of the time were 46 percent less likely to have poorly controlled blood sugar, compared to those who took their medications less than 80 percent of the time. Members who exercised four or more times a week were 25 percent less likely to have poorly controlled blood sugar, compared to members who exercised three or fewer times per week.


Let's see, 97 percent off their insulin, vs. 46 percent less likely to have poorly controlled blood sugar vs. people who mostly skip their medication. Well-controlled blood sugar was defined as HBA1c under 8, they could probably have made medication even more effective by defining it as under 10 or 11.
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  #35   ^
Old Fri, Sep-15-17, 05:30
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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Long new interview with Gary Taubes on sugar from a diabetes website, last question is on Virta: https://diatribe.org/gary-taubes-the-case-against-sugar

Quote:
diaTribe: Are you optimistic about companies like Virta Health that try to take nutrition into the realm of industry, align incentives, and prove the value of eating fewer carbs?

GARY: I think Virta Health is as likely as any organization to change the world. If their business model is viable, and that remains to be seen, and they continue to demonstrate that they can get people with type 2 diabetes off their meds and losing significant weight in the process, and if they continue to show that they can save insurers, corporations, and payer-providers money, then their approach is going to spread widely.

By targeting folks with type 2 diabetes and showing that they can reverse this disease, get people off meds, and make them healthy, then it negates or end-runs arguments that there’s something inherently unhealthy about eating low-carb, high-fat diets. It also counters the argument that the healthiest diet is a vegetarian or vegan diet, which would imply the problem is animal products and not the carbs we’re consuming.


For more up to date info about Virta, there is a new podcast with one of their doctors, Dr Jeff Stanley. He mentions in the new Boundless Health podcast with Bret Scher (eps #11) that they have the One Year results, hints they are very good, in the process of getting it accepted and prepared for publication. http://www.myboundlesshealth.com
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  #36   ^
Old Thu, Oct-05-17, 03:34
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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New post by Phinney & Volek, Reversing Type 2 Diabetes with Nutritional Ketosis

One year results still not released, but they describe a new understanding how ketones can reverse diabetes.
Quote:
Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and Type 2 Diabetes
In the last decade, oxidative stress and inflammation have been identified as key underlying causes of T2D.4,5,6 This is potentially transformative, because while T2D has been known to be caused by insulin resistance, despite 50 years of intense research, no one has been able to pinpoint the root cause(s) of insulin resistance. Now we know that ketones at the normal levels characteristic of nutritional ketosis reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and these benefits can be traced to the actions of genes we are all born with.7,8 But without modest levels of circulating ketones, these inborn defenses don’t function properly. Stating this another way, eating a high carb diet turns off our defenses against oxidative stress and inflammation, and this deactivation in turn contributes to (if not causes) insulin resistance. Furthermore, as noted above, the more dietary carbs we consume, the greater the tide of glucose needing to be disposed of, which tends to further increase insulin resistance—a classic double whammy.


http://blog.virtahealth.com/reversi...tional-ketosis/
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  #37   ^
Old Sat, Oct-07-17, 07:15
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,602
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
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Quote:
GARY: I think Virta Health is as likely as any organization to change the world. If their business model is viable, and that remains to be seen, and they continue to demonstrate that they can get people with type 2 diabetes off their meds and losing significant weight in the process, and if they continue to show that they can save insurers, corporations, and payer-providers money, then their approach is going to spread widely.


This is the "good" side of capitalism: people will invest in something (literally) with proven results.
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  #38   ^
Old Thu, Feb-08-18, 04:08
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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Not launched today, but note that Virta only officially launched less than a year ago, March 2017! Have a new thread in the Diabetes forum from now on to post some of the excellent articles now on their blog.


The official, peer-reviewed one year results have finally been published in Diabetes Therapy.

One Year Clinical Trial Outcomes Provide Evidence for Changing the Way We Care for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Charts of improvements in IR, weight, BG, etc. at link.

https://blog.virtahealth.com/one-ye...ype-2-diabetes/

The Diet is the same restricted food list at 30g that anyone can do by themself if dedicated, but Virta provides continuous medical monitoring and diet support through new technologies. Initial target market is large groups, for example:

"Reversing Diabetes at Purdue University
Thousands of Purdue University employees and their family members live with diabetes, leading to millions of dollars in incremental health care expenses for the University. Learn how the Virta Treatment is helping reverse diabetes for Purdue employees, lowering university health care spend, and creating a happier and more productive workforce.".

Last edited by JEY100 : Thu, Feb-08-18 at 04:23.
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  #39   ^
Old Fri, Feb-09-18, 17:59
RawNut's Avatar
RawNut RawNut is offline
Lipivore
Posts: 1,208
 
Plan: Very Low Carb Paleo
Stats: 270/185/180 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 94%
Location: Florida
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Virta gets a mention in Politico:

Quote:
STARTUP ROUNDUP: A few interesting notes from the world of startups to share:

— Virta Health study: A few months back, people were very excited about startup Virta Health, which attracted tons of money and some bold-font talents, like former CMS administrator Don Berwick (who’s on the company’s board). The firm hopes to reverse type 2 diabetes through a combination of changed diet (extremely low-carbohydrate) plus remote monitoring and coaching. The theory had some very small-scale validation, and it was put into practice in one — albeit unrandomized — study conducted in Indiana.

The study, published yesterday in Diabetes Today, enrolled 349 adults, of whom 262 were sorted into Virta’s intervention.

Those patients had seemingly spectacular results. Mike Payne, the company’s head of commercial and policy, was ebullient, saying it showed six in 10 patients achieved diabetes reversal (though 35 percent continue single-agent metformin).

The study served as proof-of-concept for Purdue University, which is now a client, Payne said.

Arien Malec, an executive with health IT company RelayHealth, was excited — with caveats — on Twitter. “A small molecule oral drug that reversed T2D, eliminated insulin therapy, normalized HbA1c, & caused 30lb weight loss would be the biggest blockbuster in history,” he tweeted. “That being said, an oral drug would still be in phase II trial right now.”


https://www.politico.com/newsletter...get-deal-097047
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  #40   ^
Old Sat, Feb-10-18, 05:43
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,602
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RawNut
Arien Malec, an executive with health IT company RelayHealth, was excited — with caveats — on Twitter. “A small molecule oral drug that reversed T2D, eliminated insulin therapy, normalized HbA1c, & caused 30lb weight loss would be the biggest blockbuster in history,” he tweeted. “That being said, an oral drug would still be in phase II trial right now.”


Our era is obsessed with pharmaceuticals, and those of us on the forum are probably some of the few who realize just how limited our "age of miracle drugs" actually is. A lot of us have been on, or offered, drug after drug in an attempt to manage our health issues, and if that worked we wouldn't be here

The executive quoted above doesn't seem to understand that we have drug testing because there are serious risks of side effects with pharmaceuticals. Despite decades of study, the side effects of low carb eating are all beneficial or propaganda via dieticians and co-opted organizations. This science has been tested for years and years now; it is the delivery system that is new, not this way of eating.

After years of Big Pharma advertising in the US (which isn't allowed in more enlightened countries) the average American thinks there is a "pill for every ill" and they are correct. What they don't get is how badly the drug turns out to work, and how little they help.
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  #41   ^
Old Sat, Feb-10-18, 07:55
Zei Zei is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,596
 
Plan: Carb reduction in general
Stats: 230/185/180 Female 5 ft 9 in
BF:
Progress: 90%
Location: Texas
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It sounds to me like he's saying the healthy dietary/lifestyle changes Virta Health is promoting, if they could be magically bottled as a convenient pill would be a blockbuster seller but the downside is its help wouldn't be available for years due to needed safety testing. That he's not criticizing that testing need but rather observing an up side that unlike a distant hypothetical pill, the needed changes to make us healthy are available to us right now without years of waiting if only we are willing to make them. That's the tough part. A lot of people may be unwilling to make those changes, but for those of us who are, they're right here now, no waiting required.
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  #42   ^
Old Sat, Feb-10-18, 10:14
GRB5111's Avatar
GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,036
 
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
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Now that results are being reported, I believe the credibility provided by the physicians and scientists involved with VirtaHealth is something that will attract people who are reliant on medical experts to help them chart a course to health. Many people I know would never think of going against the advice of a doctor no matter how ill informed. Some of us here are outliers in this case taking the time to learn, become informed, and apply new knowledge to our eating and nutritional methods despite the fact that these approaches are in conflict with health advisories and beliefs (myths) that are still being strongly communicated today. For this reason, companies like VirtaHealth have the potential to attract people who otherwise wouldn't know how or dare to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
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  #43   ^
Old Sat, Feb-10-18, 10:52
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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Why would people rather take multiple meds with so many
life threatening side effects is beyond me.

During Christmas dinner, I had to listen to my DD3's future MIL talk about her illnesses and all the meds she takes. I really love the lady but all of it made me almost sick to see and hear.

She drank three to four full bottles of cokes throughout dinner (no water). Plus she ate tons of carbs. Toward the end of dinner, she began grasping her chest and telling me about how her heart goes into a spasm where the rhythm goes crazy and she has had to be taken to the hospital to have them do whatever to get the rhythm back in sync and if it didn't stop we would have to take her. Then she said that she isn't supposed to have caffeine, then (in my head I thought) and that much SUGAR in one sitting because she's diabetic! Honestly, I think it's the sugar and not the caffeine.

Later back at our house, while opening presents she was announcing how she eats candy bars every single afternoon at work and usually also has Little Debbies snack cakes. She was almost bragging for a reaction from me I guess, since I've talked a lot about LC.
She takes a ton of pills and IDK what but why would someone do this to themselves and then brag about it?

I gave her an Adkins book last year to read but she holds on to her sugar like it's the end of the world to even think of not having it. It's almost like an attention getting tactic when she actually boasts about the sugar she eats, which she has done many times not just that day.

It's like a drug attic boasting about their drug...
Then her son, my DD's BF was diabetic when he was living with her but since I've given him and my DD the book,(and lots of coaching) he is finally coming down to normal BS but she encourages him to have sugar...still! At her house is a carbathon with tons of those boxed pasta mixes that she buys and buys to the point that DD says there must be 25 of those in her pantry and half of them were expired.
When she lived with other DS a while back she complained that their children ate her Little Debbies and talked like she would die if she didn't have them...

It's like she's hooked to the point of having no common sense anymore.
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  #44   ^
Old Sat, Feb-10-18, 11:37
cotonpal's Avatar
cotonpal cotonpal is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 5,283
 
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meme#1
Why would people rather take multiple meds with so many
life threatening side effects is beyond me.


It would be hard to sit at a table and listen to this. I am so convinced that eating low carb is the only way to go that it continually amazes me that everyone doesn't embrace it.

Jean
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  #45   ^
Old Sat, Feb-10-18, 12:36
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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I just can't understand the mentality that choses to be so sick and on so many meds plus emergency room intervention for the addiction to sugar.

Her repeated talking about eating candy and sugar was odd but DD says that's what she does all of the time.
I think the last thing I said in response to the repeated bragging about eating sugar, and (I think that's the tough part that it was almost like a child saying "look what I can do"), but I said that sugar is like a poison, then a second later I said...as a matter of fact it is a poison to the body... It just came out of my mouth, second nature now I guess.
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