TravelerEastWest

I have read of people with low carb or Keto diets (both) who maintain perfect glucose levels which is a very good thing in general and great for diabetics. But and this is a big but as soon as they start to eat carbs at a party their glucose levels spike. Compare and contrast with a whole plant based low fat diet where glucose levels are also low because the fat that clogs insulin receptors are gone - they cane at a healthy (no junk or proccesed food) high carb diet and do this. Then they eat carbs and they don't have a glucose spike. Sound good? True some people hate a whole food plant based diet so for those folks your low carb option may work very well...

I agree low fat whole food diets are the best if you want to eat small amounts of healthy meat it should not be too bad The article seems to clearly say that eating fat promotes insulin resistance but I am not trained in the sciences or a doctor so I may be missing your point?

Maybe i don't know... I only speak on my experience a dramatic drop in my Hba1c after I changed my lifestyle to a whole food plant based diet - lets see how I am doing in 20 years from now...

First apologies if I was not clear my diet was not the same many years ago when I first got diabetes. Next no diet on the planet normally will reverse diabetes after you have had type 2 for 10 years as your beta cells are badly damaged. Now if diagnosed early yes it is possible to reverse diabetes and perhaps any diet that causes you to lose fat will work? But which diet is best for long term health? The studies that I have seen clearly show that a plant based whole food diet low fat diet is best for long term mortality key point long term mortality I am aware that some carnivores on a ketogenic diet are happy slim and full of energy - for now.... and maybe a keto diet could be useful as a short term tool if you enjoy eating meat?

I appreciate your point of view but we will have to agree to disagree - the science that i have seen tells a different story - but as I mentioned I will not try to change your mind only present an alternative point of view - as you have done thank you! Also if you have not had diabetes personally and tested your theory on yourself I would suggest that they may or may not work for you. I am there with diabetes daily - I have strong options based on what really works for me now and hopefully in the future... Professor Roy Taylor not only is not interested in a whole food plant based diet he is also not very concerned with exercise for practical reasons not theoretical reasons. Meaning exercise simply won't do a good enough job at first and the focus should be on diet that causes fat loss fast. Not sure if I would call him a Guru taht may be a term taht you use? I would call him a top researcher in the field who is helping many people. As for the low carb folks taht you mention seems like they are happy with good short term results - so great! But there is not much in the way of long term studies of a good size on the Keto diet that I have heard of - have you read some? As for good quality food taht is balanced I have an organic farm and eat fresh vegetables and beans every day moderate amounts of fresh fruit and grains and I take allow dose multi vitamin to be sure to get my B-12. No bread or pasta or candy etc Does that not sound good to you?

Looks like we will have to agree to disagree on some points. I have had diabetes for 30 years and whole food plant based diet has worked wonders for me (yes lab numbers have improved)- along with exercise also very good and stress reduction Balanced is determined by good science and common sense for me not the food industry. Whole foods need to be plant based for the best results eating meat raises all causes of mortality so those who eat lots of meat can lower their weight and have great short term results. I understand some omnivores disagree - and I won't try to change them. I wish them well...

You are correct some Thai people are struggling to make ends meet but this is the same in many places including the US. I have been here on a marriage visa until this month when I switched to a LTR 10 year visa. I had no problems with a marriage visa ever very easy. The first year I did it myself - after that I paid a small fee to a service that did my paperwork and got me an appointment. I love your Home Pro story! Sometimes I win like you did other times I lose... Recently we lost 3,000 baht with a discount airline but its not worth it to pursue it further...

Interesting how people see life differently I see Thailand as improving and a great place to live. Just for fun another perspective on your comments: I live in the countryside and recently got 3BB fiber internet better than an old friend has easily available and he lives in the SF Bay area in a wealthy county. Most governments worldwide have challenges just look at Trump... Yes, imported goods are high priced agreed but I don't eat most imported freshly cooked food I love Thai food - one of the reasons I love Thailand. Thailand is known for some of the best food in the world. I have never once had a problem with the Thai government or immigration in 20 years but I am polite and wear a tie. Lots of hope for a better future look at the new political parties. No idea what your point 6 means but sounds like your personal view about something that upsets you. Good education is not free in Thailand but there are good international schools. Keep in mind US schools are mostly locally funded as I remember from property taxes. Great public schools in affluent areas and good private schools. Public schools in poor areas are not so good... Lots of pollution problems worldwide nothing special about Thailand and they are trying to do better. Thailand is sometimes ahead of the curve example they outlawed public smoking before the US. China does not influence everyday life and Thailand is historically very clever about international affairs let's see what happens. Have no idea what you mean by dinosaurs If you mean rich old men who control a lot we have those in the us also maybe more? In summary, there are some challenges living in Thailand - we are not in Kansas anymore - but it is an amazing wonderful country and I wouldn't live here if I didn't love it. Point 8 no idea what you are saying...

I am comfortable that the tax advantage is also for current year income based on a conversation at the BOI office with a manager. She was 100% certain. But as an added level of safety I will use money that is one year plus old... What happens in the future no-one can say for sure...

Gifting is a possibility, I wonder if you gifted money for a house that also is in your wife's name and you divorced in the future would you have any rights to the house? I don't know but it seems like probably not... Also if lots of people start doing this to get around the law - the Thai government might start to presume your intent was tax fraud. Quite possible - something to think about. Governments assuming intent - that you have to prove otherwise happens often the US included.

You are certainly making a good point about bad foods. The latest medical research see Dr Roy Taylor in the UK clearly shows it is fat that causes the main problem of insulin resistance which then becomes diabetes. Sugar junk food etc make the problem worse. and lots of junk food has fat which causes the problem. Really high amounts of carbs can turn into triglycerides which also create a problem. Eat a balanced whole plant-based diet with moderate levels of calories and you will be doing well.

No company is involved with the LTR Wealthy Pension visa. You can easily do the paperwork yourself and the BOI staff helps you (not the same people as immigration). 50,000 baht is the fee to the Thai government for the ten-year visa. You can apply online https://www.thaievisa.go.th/ltr-visa If you have a good income or wealth or a job with a large company these visas take away the tax problem being talked about. If you have a very low retirement income and or your country has a tax treaty with Thailand there is little to no tax issues Only some people in the middle need to be concerned. They can bring in large amounts before January 1st (if possible)

"breaks the deal we made" Apologies I misread your statement I thought that you were of the opinion that you had a deal with the Thai government... Not sure what you mean by the use of assets? You can easily do the paperwork yourself the BOI staff are very friendly and helpful. The cost is 50,000 baht for ten years for the Pension version so 5,000 a year. and no need for 800,000 or any other amount in the bank here. So no use of assets that I see. But best of all no problems with taxes on foreign source income. So you would save your time and energy and costs to travel unless you want to do that anyway then all is well... No charge for a reentry visa and no wasted time for annual visits to immigration so overall for me it works very well and I save lots of money - I am still working so it is not easy for me to be out of the office to go to immigration. But I understand everyones situation is different. I was just trying to help you - feel free to disregard my thoughts.

You don't have to reserve your rights You're a free man you can leave Thailand for good reasons or no reason at all... The government has decided that overall it is to their benefit to create new laws. So I think the official position is to wish you well but you are a guest in this country and unless you have the right to vote you have no say in Thai laws. As a side note, Thailand has the BOI and they try actively to recruit foreign investment and certain individuals. The new LTR 10-year visas are very useful and easy to get if you meet the requirements. With one the current tax situation is a moot point. Except for the worker version which has a max 17% Thai tax

I understand your feelings and have been in Thailand for close to 20 years but you never had a deal with Thailand. Every country has laws and all countries reserve the right to change them as they feel it is best. So the 'deal" you had with Thailand was that you liked the old situation - which was liable to change at any time...

If your country has a tax treaty with Thailand you will probably be fine. If your country has no tax treaty with Thailand depending on your pension size and family situation etc you will pay perhaps nothing and maybe a small amount. Laws change so stay up to date...

In general, McDougall gives good advice based on years of experience. I am not sure if he advises moderation which is important when you are quite sick with diabetes...

A good post except that carbs that are whole food plant-based are fine in reasonable amounts. Type 1 normally can't be reversed. and Type 2 that a person has had for many years normally can't be reversed. Jamnadas and Lustig are interesting. Jamnadas is very interesting. Ekberg is not a real doctor and has lots of inaccurate advice but he seems like a very nice person. Fung has some good things to say but is very arrogant and is not always correct. Dr Roy Taylor is currently the top Diabetes researcher in the world: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#publicinformation

You are correct 100%. A good diet and exercise and getting enough sleep/keeping stress down will be the best things that you can do...!

The gift options may buy you time, but if the intent of the gifts are to evade taxes - quite possibly you may find yourself owing taxes, penalties and interest and maybe jail time... As for loans maybe it will work a maybe not - can you cite case studies or perhaps expert legal advice? Or revenue rulings? Again if the intent is to evade taxes over time these loopholes will be closed.

I bought an insurance policy for my LTR visa which I will probably never use sometimes these things are the cost of getting things done?

Thank you

What is the LTR email address for questions? I want to confirm that the annual report is not possible via the internet.

No bulletin just what I was told third hand... could easily be wrong

I understand completely I find the staff very friendly and helpful. Easy to ask them questions not like immigration...