Type 2 diabetes is when insulin struggles to move sugar out of the bloodstream and into the muscles and organs. This article links diabetes to practical causes and solutions: trace minerals (especially chromium and vanadium), gut biology, food quality, and the habits that drive appetite. It also explains why an eco-village can help people change routine through better food, gentle fasting, movement, and social support. The goal is not extreme dieting, but a flexible system that works in real life.
Colin Austin — 1 August 2016 — © Creative Commons. Reproduction allowed with source acknowledgment; commercial use requires a license.
Moving North
What has diabetes got to do with an eco-village, and wicking and sponge beds? A lot. Type 2 diabetes is when insulin fails to properly transfer sugar out of the blood stream and into the muscles and organs.
Minerals — particularly chromium and vanadium — are important for this transfer, and so is gut biology. Wicking beds, and especially sponge beds, are a practical way of improving minerals and supporting gut biology through better food.
For the last fourteen years I have lived in an eco-village experimenting with growing systems aimed at improving health by improving diet.
Why I Chose Bundaberg
Before this I lived in Melbourne near the Yarra Valley. Beautiful place, but the climate can be harsh. Cold wet winters seem to go on forever, then summer arrives suddenly and brutally.
After travelling around Australia I chose to settle near Bundaberg, which I consider one of the best climates in the country. It is far enough north to avoid most winter storms that run up the coast and often fade out around Gympie, about 200 km south. It is also far enough south that tropical cyclones often weaken before reaching us; many come down toward Rockhampton and then turn into tropical lows, bringing good rain without the destructive winds.
Winters are simply beautiful. It can be a bit cold in the morning, but that is solved by staying in bed until the sun warms things up. Summer is hot, but often a dry heat, not the sticky humidity you can get further north.
I live on my veranda. I cook and eat outside and go indoors mostly to sleep and write. I look out over bush and lakes. It is a good life.
Bundaberg is rural, but also a major horticultural region with abundant fresh fruit and vegetables. I often buy locally, including growers using organic principles. It is nice to know who is growing my food.
Grow the “Core,” Buy the Variety
The park is over 200 hectares but I live on one hectare (about three acres). I could grow all my own food. I tried self-sufficiency when I was younger, but now I think it is wiser to focus on growing the crops that provide minerals and gut support, and then eat a wider variety than I could grow alone.
I have two houses on my land. The second has been for family and friends, but I also want to float an idea. Would people, especially those with diabetes or those sick of freezing or frying climates, be interested in a “live-in” diet change experience in sunny Queensland? If so, email me and I will share details later.
Diabetes Has Exploded
Diabetes has exploded worldwide. Many people are diabetic or pre-diabetic without knowing. Type 2 diabetes used to be called “adult onset,” but now children as young as twelve and thirteen are being diagnosed. This never used to happen.
What has gone wrong? The simple answer is “the food we eat,” but that alone is too simple. The real issue includes how the body controls blood sugar, how appetite is regulated, and how modern food can damage the systems that keep everything balanced.
Sugar, Fat, and the Goldilocks Principle
At one time fat was blamed. Now sugar is blamed. Neither label captures the full truth. Every muscle in the body is powered by sugar. Without sugar to power the heart and brain we would drop dead. Sugar must circulate in the blood.
The trick is control. Blood sugar must be “just right” — the Goldilocks principle. The body can convert sugar into fat for storage in muscles and organs such as the liver and pancreas, and it can convert fat back into sugar when energy is needed. That ability to switch is why extreme low-fat or extreme low-carb diets can be questionable. What matters is whether the internal control mechanism is working.
Two Brains: Head Brain and Gut Brain
Blood sugar is controlled by hormones and chemical signals that come from the head brain and from the second brain in the gut. Part of this gut brain is not even human. It is the microbes — the gut biome — that we co-evolved with. They have become essential to how we function.
Every diabetic knows insulin: the hormone that tells cells to open up and take in sugar. Insulin resistance is when cells stop responding properly. It is often described as a “key” that no longer opens the “lock,” but the detailed mechanism is still debated.
I sometimes joke we are Mk 9 humans with a design flaw. Unlike phones, humans are not updated every six months, so we need to learn how to operate Mk 9 properly.
I have read about diabetes for over eight years since my wife Xiulan was diagnosed. The simplest explanation still looks like fat blocking the pathways in muscles and organs, especially the liver and pancreas.
Treating Symptoms Instead of Causes
Standard treatment for Type 2 diabetes is pills that increase insulin in the blood. If the door is locked, push harder. These pills can control blood sugar, and that can be essential in the short term.
The catch is that insulin makes us feel hungry. It can reduce the “full” signal, so we tend to eat more, gain fat, and become more insulin resistant. That creates a vicious loop. Over time the pancreas may fail, and then insulin injections can become permanent.
The mainstream medical view is often blunt: diabetes cannot be cured, only managed, and it steadily worsens. This ends in stronger medication, then injections, then complications like amputations, blindness, heart attacks, and early death.
The Alternative View: Remove the Blocking Fat
There is also an alternative medical view held by qualified practitioners. They argue that boosting insulin is a stop-gap. It can keep blood sugar down but can worsen the underlying insulin resistance. They say the long-term solution is to remove fat in the liver and pancreas that blocks the system.
In this view, diabetes can be reversed and people can reduce or stop insulin-boosting drugs. The problem is that these two views are in direct opposition, leaving ordinary people unsure which road to follow.
Why I Became My Own Guinea Pig
I decided to experiment on myself. I love food, tend to gain weight, and was diagnosed pre-diabetic. That made it safer for me to test ideas than it would be for a full diabetic.
It is not easy to remove fat from vital organs. We have heard “eat less, exercise more” for decades, and it is now recognised that for many people it does not work long term.
I tried classic dieting but it did not work for me, especially because I spend time in China where food is delicious and social life revolves around shared meals. I wanted a tool that could work inside real life rather than against it.
Intermittent Fasting: Flexible, Not a Religion
I became interested in intermittent fasting. I tried the 5:2 approach (two days fasting per week, five days normal). I found it hard to stick to, so I moved to a daily routine: eating within an eight-hour window and fasting for fourteen hours.
Like many people, I lost weight quickly at the start, then had concerns. I felt low energy and hungry. Friends said I looked gaunt. I was not interested in becoming miserable or obsessed.
I have always liked the joke that giving up wine, women, and song does not make you live longer; it just makes it seem longer. I decided a life where I could not celebrate birthdays and feasts was not the goal.
The advantage of the fasting window is flexibility. If I pig out one night, I can tighten the window for a couple of days — for example, shift toward 16:8 — and my weight returns to a comfortable balance. Not too fat, not too thin, just right.
Basic Theory: Sugar First, Fat Second
The logic is simple. While there is sugar available in your bloodstream, the body uses that as the easiest energy source. It burns sugar before it burns stored fat. Once the sugar supply is depleted, the body starts converting fat back into sugar for energy. This is the idea behind ketosis.
People often say it takes around twelve hours for the body to use up the easy sugar supply (less with exercise), which is why a fourteen-hour fast can be useful.
What It Feels Like (And Why Support Helps)
At first, fasting felt difficult. I ate breakfast and a midday meal, then a light, mostly vegetable snack around 5 pm. In the evening I would feel hungry and restless, wanting to eat something. Then the feeling would pass.
My interpretation is that the hunger comes during the transition between burning sugar and burning fat. Once the body switches, the hunger pains fade.
After two or three weeks, that evening hunger phase mostly disappeared. My body adjusted. But I can see why people without support could struggle during that early transition.
Diet and Exercise: The Big Boosters
I found fasting alone was only moderately effective. When I combined it with diet and exercise it became far more effective. Working in the garden before breakfast made a noticeable difference to my waist.
The key is that the method is controllable. If I want to keep a little fat, I can. If I want to reduce it, I tighten the schedule. If I loosen the schedule for social reasons, I can bring it back later. That makes it sustainable.
Is Diabetes Reversible?
My conclusion is direct. The idea that Type 2 diabetes is always irreversible, and that the only path is stronger medication and then injections, is depressing — and often wrong.
There are enough cases reported by qualified doctors of diabetes being reversed through diet and lifestyle changes that it is worth serious effort. It may not work for every person, and not every case will respond the same way, but it is strong enough to justify trying.
What I Think Are the Practical Keys
First, reduce the massive amounts of high carbohydrates and fats that dominate modern diets. I do not believe in cutting them out entirely. We need some carbs and sugar, just not too much.
Second, trace minerals matter. The body needs them to build hormones and complex chemistry. I am not keen on relying on mineral supplements because absorption can be poor and imbalances can occur. My preference is to eat fruit and vegetables grown in mineral-rich soil with active soil biology that releases minerals naturally. This is what sponge beds aim to support.
Third, hunger pains need managing. For me, a high vegetable diet helps and even chewing a celery stick can ease the transition. Fruit and vegetables are not just “healthy in theory”; they make the routine workable in practice.
Fourth, social support matters. The early phase is easier when you are not doing it alone.
Why an Eco-Village Fits the Problem
Diabetes is not like pneumonia or a broken bone where one specialist fixes one fault. It is a system problem. Genetics can matter. Diet matters. Exercise matters. Gut biology matters. Stress matters. Often it is the combination that determines outcomes.
I have seen stress drive Xiulan’s blood sugar up sharply. I have seen routine, good food, and movement bring it down. This is one reason the environment matters. An eco-village can provide calm, fresh food, and a supportive rhythm.
A Health Stay Concept
I watch the news and feel for people caught in crises, including refugees. I have no expertise there. But I do have expertise in growing plants and exploring how food can help reverse diabetes. Diabetes is a massive global problem, affecting hundreds of millions.
That is why I think about practical use of my two houses. People could come to the eco-village, relax, and eat healthy food grown without chemical sprays, using balanced ecosystem principles. This is very different to antiseptic modern food production. It involves composting, minerals, soil biology, and living systems.
I estimate that a week of eating fruit and vegetables grown in biologically active soil can begin shifting gut biology, so I see a one-week stay as a sensible minimum. A simple cost model could be around $200 per person per week and would include fruit and vegetables grown on site.
There are excellent local farmers markets and suppliers for extra foods. I have a chef friend who can demonstrate cooking, but the approach is essentially self-catering. This is not a boot camp. Relaxation is part of the method.
For me, it took about a month to adjust, so a month would be ideal. A month in Queensland near beaches and markets does not sound like a terrible way to reset health. If the idea grew, I would be interested in a live-in manager to help coordinate.
Conclusion
This is still an idea, but the logic is practical. Diabetes can often be improved, and sometimes reversed, with an integrated approach: better food quality (minerals and soil biology), sensible reduction of high-carb and high-fat excess, flexible fasting windows, regular movement, lower stress, and supportive community.
If you want to react to the idea or ask questions, email me: co*********@*****nd.com. For more diabetes articles, see diabeteslinks.html.
Colin Austin — © Creative Commons. Reproduction allowed with source acknowledgment; commercial use requires a license.
