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Diabetics Protest Rising Insulin Prices at Drug Company Headquarters

  • September 18, 2017

A rally at Eli Lilly headquarters in downtown Indianapolis Saturday focused on the skyrocketing cost of the company’s insulin, according to KPC News. With no affordable generic option, the drug used to cost $21, but now is $274. One protester said his insurance company was being billed $1,400, though. Still another, who said he was a Type 1 diabetic, told reporters when he can’t pay, he simply adjusts his eating and daily routine until he can pay. Lilly and the other two insulin manufacturers, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, are being sued for price-fixing.

On the surface this news rivals the EpiPen fiasco, which had a 461 percent price increase from 2007 to 2015. Like insulin, EpiPens also have no generic option, giving their maker, Mylan, a near monopoly on the drug and the lives of those who depend on EpiPens to stop life-threatening allergy reactions.

However, it was the comment by the Lilly protester who said he changes his diet when he can’t afford his insulin that raised the red flag for me. While admittedly some people can’t just quit their insulin at the drop of a hat, I couldn’t help but wonder why this protester doesn’t watch his diet all the time, if that’s all it takes to control his diabetes? The same goes with Type 2 diabetics, as one of the worst things conventional medicine does is treat Type 2 diabetics with insulin.

The key to treating and reversing Type 2 diabetes is to cut down on net carbs, replacing them with high amounts of healthy fats and moderate amounts of protein. With nearly half of Americans diabetic or prediabetic, we need to stress that what we all need, whether we’re diabetic or not, is a better diet, not more insulin.

Diabetes is rooted in insulin resistance and malfunctioning leptin signaling, caused by chronically elevated insulin and leptin levels. This is why treating Type 2 diabetes with insulin does not resolve the problem. Some of the best “superfoods” for diabetics include fatty fish such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines and herring; avocados, sunflower seeds; high fiber and digestive-resistant carb foods such as root vegetables, cauliflower and peas; walnuts and spinach.