Diabesity Decodified - Is Food the root cause of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus pandemic?

About Diabesity Decodified - Is Food the root cause of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus pandemic?

This is is not medical advice. This is food for thought. Please discuss with your doctor before making any change in your food and lifestyle. The escalating global incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) over the past five decades directly correlates with the parallel rise in overweight and obesity, forming an intertwined epidemic termed "diabesity." This podcast argues that the primary driver of this crisis is the pervasive consumption of "inappropriate food," particularly refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods, which disrupt metabolic homeostasis and promote weight gain. We propose that "appropriate food"—defined as whole, fresh, local, plant-based, minimally processed, or unprocessed foods, consumed in appropriate amounts and at appropriate times, and complemented by age-specific exercise—constitutes the fundamental and most effective intervention for T2DM prevention, management, and even remission. This lifestyle-centric approach, supported by emerging insights into the gut microbiome and personalized monitoring via continuous glucose monitors, often renders long-term pharmacotherapy unnecessary and potentially harmful. We critically examine the conventional reliance on chronic drug therapy, highlighting its significant side effects and questionable long-term morbidity/mortality benefits, advocating instead for its judicious use primarily in acute medical emergencies. This podcast calls for a paradigm shift in T2DM management, prioritizing sustainable, food-based lifestyle interventions over a drug-centric model. Disclaimer: This is an opinion podcast for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Listeners should consult their healthcare providers before making any decisions about diagnosis or treatment.

Publisher

Pandiyan Natarajan

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Aug 2025

Latest episode

10 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

58 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Oct 2026

   What Is Intelligence? The Farmer, the Fish, and the Spermatozoon

   What Is Intelligence? The Farmer, the Fish, and the Spermatozoon What is intelligence? Despite centuries of debate, we have no universally accepted definition. The author questions our habit of treating human cognition as the universal standard by which all life must be judged. We call ourselves Homo sapiens—the wise human. Yet our history includes slavery, caste discrimination, war, and environmental destruction. Our ingenuity has given us extraordinary power, but not the guarantee that we use it wisely. A traditional story about the Tamil poet Kambar offers another perspective. Kambar reportedly heard an unlettered farmer compose a verse about dew resting on a bamboo leaf and the sun drawing it away. The farmer's observation and poetic sensitivity impressed the celebrated poet. The story invites us to consider whether insight can exist beyond formal education and conventional measures of intelligence. Is intelligence a property of life itself? The author proposes that intelligence is a property of life itself, expressed differently in different living systems according to their biological organisation and circumstances. This is a philosophical thesis, not an established scientific consensus. Consider the spermatozoon, which responds to environmental signals and changes its movement. The cell membrane is not literally a brain, but it forms an important sensory interface with the environment. Membrane receptors and other cellular mechanisms detect chemical and physical signals and help initiate responses. Cells do not possess the five human senses in the familiar form we experience. Nevertheless, different cells can detect chemical cues, light, temperature, osmotic changes, and mechanical forces. This is a different biological sensory world—not evidence that cells experience human-like consciousness. Other examples broaden the discussion. The immune system can recognise threats and develop memory. Certain bacteria coordinate behaviour through quorum sensing. The slime mould Physarum polycephalum has demonstrated maze-solving behaviour in experiments. These observations do not prove that every biological response is intelligence, or that cells think as humans do. They do challenge the assumption that a brain is necessary for every form of adaptive biological activity. Evolution has no ladder to climb Evolution has no predetermined destination. Humans are one branch of a vast tree of life, not its inevitable culmination. We should study organisms on their own terms, neither denying their capabilities because they differ from ours nor attributing human consciousness without evidence. Cleverness is not wisdom Human intelligence can generate scientific discoveries and profound insights. It can also be used to rationalize prejudice, violence, and destructive behaviour. Knowledge concerns what we know; cleverness concerns what we can do with our abilities; wisdom involves judgement, an awareness of limitations, and consideration of consequences. The boundaries between these concepts are not absolute, but intellectual achievement does not automatically guarantee good judgement. The argument is not that animals are wiser than humans, or that one animal is wiser than another. It is that life should not be ranked on a single human-centred ladder. A point worth pondering. The issue is not whether humans are the most intelligent species. It is whether we can become humble enough to recognise the limits of our knowledge, wise enough to question our prejudices, and thoughtful enough to learn from the living world. Thiruvalluvar reminds us that learning much is not the same as learning to live in harmony with the world. We may be only one twig in the evolutionary tree. That need not diminish us. It should remind us that we are part of something far larger than ourselves.

2. 

   3 Oct 2026

   Our Microbial Menagerie

   Our Microbial Menagerie For centuries, medicine quite rightly taught us to fear microbes. Pasteur and Koch transformed our understanding of infection, while antibiotics, sanitation and vaccination saved countless lives. But perhaps this success left us with a lasting reflex: microbe = enemy. The microbial world tells a much bigger story. Microbes are among the great ecological engineers of our planet. They recycle the dead, drive the carbon and nitrogen cycles, support plant life and participate in processes as remarkable as the formation of atmospheric ice that can contribute to rainfall. And microbes are intimately woven into us. The familiar claim that bacteria outnumber human cells ten to one was revised in 2016. Estimates suggested roughly 38 trillion bacterial cells alongside about 30 trillion human cells in a reference adult—a relationship much closer to one-to-one. (PLOS (https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1002533&utm_source=chatgpt.com)) The numbers, however, are less important. Our largest microbial community lives in the gut. These organisms help digest components of food that we cannot digest ourselves and produce metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids that influence intestinal, metabolic and immune function. Microbial products also participate in a complex conversation between the gut and the brain. The reproductive tract provides another fascinating example. The vaginal microbiota is often dominated by Lactobacillus, which can help maintain an acidic environment and contribute to colonisation resistance. Yet microbial communities vary between individuals and change with circumstances. We did not simply acquire these organisms. We evolved with them. Human milk contains oligosaccharides that the infant cannot digest efficiently. These compounds help nourish particular bacteria, especially bifidobacteria. Breast milk therefore feeds the developing microbial community as well as the baby.. Antibiotics are among medicine’s greatest triumphs. My concern is their indiscriminate use. Broad-spectrum antibiotics can disrupt microbial communities. Recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection offers one of the clearest clinical demonstrations that disruption of the intestinal ecosystem can contribute to disease—and that restoration of the microbial community can sometimes be therapeutic.. For conditions such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease and autoimmune disorders, associations between microbiome changes and disease remain complex. Association is not proof of causation. Medicine should resist microbiome hype just as firmly as it resisted the old idea that all microbes are enemies. The answer is not to abandon hygiene. Clean water, sanitation, handwashing and vaccination remain fundamental to public health. Perhaps the lesson is more subtle: cleanliness is not the same as sterility. Use antibiotics when they are truly needed. Eat a varied, fibre-rich diet that can nourish microbial communities. Spend time in natural environments. And recognise that we live in intimate ecological partnership with organisms we once regarded almost exclusively as adversaries. Thiruvalluvar wrote: பகுத்துண்டு பல்லுயிர் ஓம்புதல் நூலோர் தொகுத்தவற்றுள் எல்லாம் தலை. To share one’s food and protect all living beings is foremost among the virtues described by the wise.. Yet the principle feels remarkably contemporary. Perhaps the next chapter of medicine is learning not merely how to kill microbes, but which ones to protect, which ones to restore, and which ones to leave alone. We are, after all, hosts. It is time we behaved like good ones.

3. 

   26 Sept 2026

   Is Love the Best Medicine? Charity begins at home, and so does loving

   Is Love the Best Medicine? After fifty years of practising medicine, I keep returning to a simple question: can love be considered a medicine? Not a substitute for medicine, certainly. A tablet may treat disease, a procedure may correct a disorder, a hormone may replace what is deficient, and an operation may remove what is harmful. But perhaps medicine itself works best when it is delivered with love. It begins with self-love—not narcissism, but self-respect. When we value ourselves, we have a reason to care for our health. Self-love does not make us perfect, but it can help us protect what we value. From the self, the circle of love can widen. It may begin with family, then include friends and neighbours, community, language and country. A child begins with a small circle; as the child grows, it should grow too. The ancient Tamil poet Kaniyan Poongundranar captured the ultimate expansion of that circle: “யாதும் ஊரே யாவரும் கேளிர்” Every place is my own; every person is my kin. The Sanskrit tradition expresses a similar ideal through Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the world is one family. Both traditions point to the same destination: love should keep expanding until there is no “other”. True love is therefore universal. Loving one person while deliberately hating another is not the highest expression of love. Love may not magically eliminate anger or disagreement, but it can prevent hatred from becoming the governing force. The same principle applies to work. When we love what we do, effort can become something we willingly give. Love can stimulate curiosity, learning, dedication and resilience. It does not prevent exhaustion or guarantee freedom from burnout, but meaningful work can provide resilience. And love needs no translation. At the bedside, a frightened patient may understand a gentle hand before understanding a single word. A smile, a reassuring touch, patience, a listening ear and simply being present can communicate something that language sometimes cannot. Yet true love is not blind. Sometimes love requires intervention. Sometimes it requires saying “no”. Sometimes it means allowing someone to fall, learn and grow. A child needs both roots and wings—the security of knowing there is a place to return to and the freedom to discover the world independently. This brings me back to medicine. My fifty years of observation have taught me that patients respond not only to what we do, but also to how we do it. Illness can feel profoundly different when a patient feels heard, respected, reassured and cared for. Research on social connection, social support and patient–clinician relationships provides a scientific framework for some of these observations. Human connection can influence wellbeing, health behaviours, treatment engagement and recovery. But love itself is difficult to measure as a clinical intervention. It cannot be prescribed at a particular dose or dispensed from a pharmacy. Perhaps that is why it matters. Love is not a substitute for medicine. But perhaps medicine itself works best when it is delivered with love. After fifty years, this is one prescription I have become increasingly convinced about: Begin with loving yourself. Let that love widen to your family. Let it widen further to your community and country. Then keep widening the circle until it embraces the whole of humanity—and ultimately all living things. Love may not be the only medicine. But it may be the medicine that makes us more human.

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