Last review and update: March 12, 2020.
Introduction.
Sami Inkinen is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Sami teamed up with Stephen Phinney, a PhD scientist, educator and proponent of a ketogenic diet, to create an online medical company Virta Health. Virta’s objective is to “reverse”(?) type 2 diabetes in millions.
The medical doctors and scientists, that the Silicon entrepreneur Inkinen managed to hire, do not always impress with their understanding of physiology. That is if we want to put it mildly.
Virta Health uses inappropriate terminology: “reversal” vs “remission” and “cure”.
Sami Inkenen himself and his medical and scientific team use questionable terminology. Here is what Inkenen wrote on a social network:
Already happening every day in every U.S. state by @virtahealth for patients’ benefit. A year or two and everyone has convenient (and free/cheap) access to professionally supported and provider-led safe T2 Diabetes reversal!
Analysis:
The term “reversal” is used inappropriately. Buse et al., 2009 (1):
“For a chronic illness such as diabetes, it may be more accurate to use the term remission than cure”.
The use of correct terminology is particularly important in the case of diabetes. Both medical practitioners and patients need to understand what a patient’s current status is. The status can be “in remission” or, in some rare cases, it can be “cured”. “Reversal” does not have a clear meaning.
Does Virta Health understand the physiology of ketosis?
We interacted with Sami Inkinen on social networks and proposed the following test on the understanding of human physiology.
Our readers may also want to take the test below. Medical doctors have to be able to answer the questions below intelligently.
A Test of Physiological Literacy:
Sami @samiinkinen , here is a case study for the brilliant scientists and MDs at @virtahealth (Virta Health):
A 52-y.-o. patient has ketones in the urine.
1. What is his level of blood ketones?
2. Does he experience the amazing benefits of ketosis?
3. Can it be Virta’s patient?
4. What are his blood glucose and HbA1c?
Thanks.
Selected references:
1. Buse et al., Diabetes Care Nov 2009, 32 (11) 2133-2135.