Type 2 diabetes: it can be reversed!

Diabetes is a serious disease; it can shorten your life and create many terrible long term health problems.  Diabetes is also an epidemic, it currently affects approximately 246 million people worldwide and the prediction is that in 20 years time there will be 380 million diabetics in the world! 

Diabetes is a disease that results in high blood sugar.  There are three main types of diabetes; type 1 diabetes, which usually occurs in childhood and requires daily insulin injections; type 2 diabetes, which predominantly occurs in overweight middle aged adults and gestational diabetes, which is a temporary form of diabetes that occurs in pregnancy.  All forms of diabetes are rising in incidence but it is particularly type 2 diabetes that is skyrocketing.

Type 2 diabetes is commonly referred to as a lifestyle disease because it is largely a result of poor diet, obesity and inactivity.  It is well known that most of the world is experiencing an obesity epidemic, and the rise in type 2 diabetes is just a natural consequence of this.  The frightening thing is that as childhood obesity has become a significant health concern in recent years, children are now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  Some of these children are even below the age of ten.  Diabetes produces some devastating health complications and the more years a person is a diabetic, the more complications they will likely develop.  That’s why it is frightening that children are developing a disease of middle age.  How can these children possibly be in good health when they are middle aged?  Some of the health complications that diabetes can produce include heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, erectile dysfunction and nerve damage.

The ironic thing is that type 2 diabetes is a preventable disease in most cases; you don’t have to become a diabetic.  Even if you have several family members with diabetes, you can prevent developing the condition yourself!  If you already have type 2 diabetes, implementing the right nutrition plan and lifestyle changes can actually reverse the disease in the majority of cases!  As long as your pancreas can still produce insulin, there is a great chance your type 2 diabetes can be reversed.  At the very least you should be able to reduce your dose of oral diabetes medication, lose weight and get your blood sugar down into a healthier range.  The higher your blood sugar level is above 97mg/dL, the more likely you are to develop diabetic complications.

Unfortunately, the standard dietary recommendations type 2 diabetics are given do nothing to help the condition, in fact they can make it worse.  Because most type 2 diabetics are overweight, and four out of five diabetics eventually die of heart disease, they are told to follow a low fat, high carbohydrate diet.  As high carbohydrate foods such as bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals and potatoes are low in fat, diabetics are told to base their diet on these foods.  Diabetics are also told to strictly limit their intake of fat, in the belief that this will help them to lose weight.

The problem with this approach is it fails to acknowledge that all carbohydrates are digested into sugar.  It doesn’t mater if the carbohydrates are high in fiber or low in fiber, high glycemic index or low glycemic index, simple or complex carbohydrates; they are all digested into sugar and raise blood sugar levels when consumed.  The last thing a diabetic needs is food that raises blood sugar; they need the opposite – an eating regime that lowers blood sugar.  Another problem with carbohydrates is they promote the release of insulin; this is a hormone that promotes weight gain, hunger and a rise in cholesterol and triglycerides; more things that a diabetic really doesn’t need.  Healthy fats on the other hand do not raise blood sugar or insulin levels; they help to make you feel full, are anti inflammatory and needed for hormone production.  Good fats for diabetics are found in foods like olive oil, avocados, raw nuts and seeds and oily fish such as salmon and sardines.

Protein is the most important nutrient for diabetics, as it does not raise blood sugar; it reduces hunger and assists weight loss.  Protein should be consumed at each meal, along with vegetables, salad or fruit.  Good sources of protein include fish, eggs, poultry, red meat and protein powder.

Our book Diabetes Type 2: You Can Reverse it Naturally contains a two week meal plan designed to reverse diabetes and help you lose weight. 
Our supplement called Glicemic Balance helps to stabilise the blood sugar level and reduce it if it is elevated.