|
Diabetes can be Reversed!
For Pre and Type 2 Diabetics
You could have a family history of type 2 diabetes, you may be carrying extra weight, typically around the abdomen. You may have had a visit to the doctor for a regular checkup or because you had a “turn” of some kind, or a glucose tolerance test has confirmed you're a diabetic or on the borderline. You've been given the information about the risks of diabetes and may have visited a dietician.
You're shaken but are you stirred????
If inaction is your problem, maybe realising that type 2 diabetes can be reversible is all you need to begin to help yourself.
IN A NUTSHELL (as opposed to a potato chip packet)..................
· the incidence of diabetes has tripled in the last 5 years
· well over 1 million people now have diabetes in Australia
· the “Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study” have indicated that 7.5% of the population over the age of 25 had diabetes, and that for every diagnosed case another undiagnosed case exists
· nearly 20 million people in the United States have diabetes and another 45 million have pre diabetes. More than 50% are not even aware they have the disease.
WHY? If I can be controversial, and I intend to be, I'd put it down to 3 things:-
· unscrupulous grab for cash by the food industry
· laziness and inactivity of the members of our “disposable” society and most importantly......................
· the education and tools people have been given to help combat the disease do not work!
Some facts about Type 2 diabetes and pre diabetes
1. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, where blood glucose levels are high and the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin.
2. The condition of pre diabetes almost always exists before people develop Type 2 diabetes. In this case blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classed as Type 2 diabetes.
3. If you have either type 2 diabetes or pre diabetes, excess carbohydrates that the body cannot use are converted into glucose and that glucose is converted into fat by insulin.
4. If you can't produce enough insulin or as in the case of syndrome X where the cells ignore the insulin, high blood glucose levels begin to damage the body. We're talking heart disease, kidney disease, circulatory failure leading to amputations, nerve damage leading to loss of sensation in limbs and bladder and bowel dysfunction, as well there's damage to the optic nerve and retina leading to blindness.
The sum result simply leads to a shorter life.
5. High insulin levels are dangerous too! Insulin signals cells NOT to release stored fat to provide energy. Insulin's a fat storing hormone and causes erratic fluctuations in blood glucose levels. High insulin levels lead to weight gain, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Demand for increased insulin levels to combat high blood glucose leads inevitably to a worn out pancreas - it just cannot produce the amount of insulin required. The result is confirmation of Type 2 diabetes. Time for a paradigm shift.....
If you do what you've always done you'll get what you've always got (or worse!)
Some estimates put the increase in diabetes at 700% in the last 50 years!!!
This means, logically, that the increase cannot primarily be attributed to a genetic cause as it has occurred within the same generation. The way we are treating diabetes and our understanding of it is what appears to be flawed!
The conventional approach used by so many medicos, dieticians and nutritionists, for so many years has been to direct people to a high complex carbohydrate, low fat diet and drug therapy. BUT, there is a death sentence correlation between the amount of carbohydrate consumed and dangerously high levels of blood glucose.
Excess carbohydrates that the body cannot use, yes even the low GI ones, are converted into glucose and then to fat. How? High blood glucose levels stimulate the pancreas gland to produce more insulin, and insulin converts excess glucose to be stored as body fat.
This is its main purpose - storing energy (glucose) as fat. Insulin's ability to lower glucose levels is a side effect of its main purpose. Yet modern medicine again treats the symptom - drugs elevate insulin levels to drop glucose. One disaster follows another!
So what is the solution?
Improve cellular communication between glucose and insulin by eating appropriately!
One could easily argue that people who are not presently at risk of type 2 diabetes or pre diabetes have efficient cellular communication between the levels of blood glucose and demand for insulin. And this comes about primarily because of what they eat and the exercise they do.
The high complex carbohydrate, low fat diet so readily handed out to pre and type 2 diabetics, as we've seen, does not work! It doesn't appear to improve cellular communication or raise metabolism long term.
Let's get a few things straight:-
· Eating carbohydrates (low GI or not) with every meal is not a part of a healthy meal plan if you are a pre or type 2 diabetic.
· The right fats are an essential dietary item. They do not convert to glucose easily, therefore DO NOT elevate insulin levels significantly.
They enhance metabolism so calories are burnt more efficiently.
· These fats, are called essential fats because the body cannot make them itself. They must come through the diet.
· The body prefers to use glucose as its energy source because it's expedient. If it can't find enough glucose to provide energy, IT WILL BURN FAT! If fat is burnt, WEIGHT IS LOST!
Losing weight is normally a type 2 and pre diabetic's number 1 priority. This enhances cellular communication and normalises the balance between glucose and insulin.
You are on your way to REVERSING pre and type 2 diabetes!!
WHAT TO DO
· People generally eat far too many carbohydrates for the exercise they do. For those inclined to put on weight, (slow metabolism) this is a one way street to pre and type 2 diabetes. Just get on a treadmill and see how long it takes to burn 100 calories! If you're an overweight pre or type 2 diabetic STOP including bread, rice, potatoes, cereals and pasta with meals, no matter how “wholemeal” they are. These starches and grains raise blood glucose levels. And if you consume ANYTHING sweeter than these, you're not serious about reversing your condition. VEGETABLES CONTAIN CARBOHYDRATES!!!!! (We're not including the starchy ones here like potatoes) So when you remove the starches and grains mentioned above from your diet, other vegetables provide enough energy to provide fuel for your brain and force the body to burn your own fat.
· Exercise, the more often the better, hastens the body's journey to produce ketones - the sign that you are in fat burning mode. .Despite what some say, there is nothing wrong with producing ketones, unless you are an insulin dependent diabetic. But we are talking pre and type 2 diabetics! And producing ketones signals the body is burning your own fat to fuel you - yes even your heart and brain. And burning your own fat means weight loss. Weight loss means increased communication between cells, better balance between insulin and glucose, and leads to normal blood glucose levels. Pre and type 2 diabetes can be reversed! You can choose how low your carbohydrate intake is depending on the approach you wish to take.
· Bear in mind also that to raise your metabolism, you have to eat smaller meals and more often, and protein foods have to be increased. So you might begin the day with a good quality wholegrain muesli, containing minimum dried fruit, plenty of raw nuts and seeds and fibre like psyllium or oatbran and add a dessertspoon of flax seed oil. Use light or full cream milk - skinny has too many carbs. This can be your only cereal laden carb meal for the day.
For the rest of the day grab some RAW nuts and seeds (not peanuts) buy a protein powder with a percentage of 78% or more and no more than 8% carbs and make a shake, add berries of any kind if you want. Have it a couple of times a day. Yes you could replace a meal with it if you want. Eat salads and vegies, grab some tuna or salmon, eat fresh fish, eggs, lean meats of any kind but no processed meats. Your naturopath or chosen healthcare professional should be able to provide you with planners for the high protein, low carb diet.
· Supplementation is vital for all pre and type 2 diabetics. The right protein powder, antioxidant, and something to help balance blood sugar are pre-requisites for losing weight and protecting cells against the legion of free radicals ready to cause injury. Get the pack specially put together by LONG LIFE HEALTH.
|
|
Email us!
Home Page
Reverse Pre and Type 2 Diabetes