To control blood sugar and successfully manage—or even reverse—diabetes, making changes to your diet is absolutely essential. To do that, one of the first things you need to become aware of is how quickly your body converts specific foods into glucose.
One way to evaluate foods is with the glycemic index (GI). Foods with a high GI—such as refined carbohydrates and sugars—are rapidly turned into glucose, driving up blood sugar levels. On the other hand, vegetables, legumes, and most fruits cause a slow, sustained release of glucose into the bloodstream. They’ll keep your insulin from spiking, provide a sustained source of energy, and satisfy your hunger over the long haul.
Another way to determine how a food may affect your blood sugar is by looking at its glycemic load (GL). Glycemic load is based on the same concept as the GI, but it takes into account the quality and quantity of a food. It’s determined by the GI of a food plus the amount of available, or net, carbohydrates in a standard serving.
Which is better?
I give the nod to GL, and here’s why. Some foods with a high GI actually have minimal effects on blood sugar levels when eaten in normal quantities, while others with a low GI are potentially problematic. For example, a large carrot and a cup of spaghetti have similar GIs. Yet that carrot contains only 5 g of available carbs (it’s mostly water), while the spaghetti contains 38 g, giving them GLs of 2 and 16, respectively.
Therefore, they have dramatically different effects on blood sugar. Carrots, watermelon, pineapple, and other fruits with a high GI that were once thought to be inappropriate for people with diabetes turn out to be acceptable, while the GL confirms the need to cut out pasta, bagels, and other starchy, carbohydrate-dense foods.
To quickly lighten your glycemic load, eat lots of salads, green vegetables, beans, and legumes. And another small secret is that eating a modest amount of healthy fats and moderate portions of lean protein with each meal can help to “cancel out” high glycemic foods, even in a single dish! One of my favorite meals is a hearty salad with a nice piece of salmon on top. It’s an easy way to get a tasty serving of healthy fats, plenty of protein, and lots of low GL carbs. What’s yours?
I know that controlling diabetes naturally may not seem possible. Living with this condition -- or even just the threat of pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome -- is difficult. Your doctors may have told you it's too late, permanent, or something worse.
I'm here to tell you, they're wrong. You CAN do it. And all it takes for most people are two things: knowledge and commitment. Ok, if there's a third thing, it's inspiration.
I can give you the knowledge. The power of knowing what's possible is what launched Health & Healing so many years ago. The commitment comes from you.
And to show you how making a commitment to lifestyle changes is one of the best ways to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes, here's a little inspiration, courtesy of a diabetes success story from Georgia newsletter subscriber J.D.:
“Four and a half years ago, I was 43 and in the worst shape of my life. At 6’2” I weighed 310 pounds, and the only exercise I got was mowing my yard. I insisted on going out for a fast food lunch every day because I just ‘had to get out of the office,’ and those meals were usually ‘supersized’ so I could get as much food as possible for my money.
“I already had hypertension and high cholesterol when a routine physical found a fasting blood sugar of 160, and I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Fortunately for me, my doctor gave me an ultimatum: I could either lose weight or I would have to go on medication for the rest of my life. My wife was determined that I would not take any drugs.
We checked out Dr. Whitaker’s book, Reversing Diabetes, and began utilizing many of his techniques. I started exercising and our whole family changed lifestyles.
“Today, four years later, I have lost over 100 pounds and it has stayed off. I have never taken medication for diabetes, and my cholesterol and blood pressure are also under control. I walk four miles, four days a week, and climb Stone Mountain two days a week. I feel better than I have in years.”
J.D. ends his letter with this. “I think the secret is that you have to decide that this is not just a ‘diet’ but rather a lifestyle change. You also need the support and encouragement of your family and friends.”
J.D. was lucky to have a doctor who told it like it was and a helpful wife. If you don’t have that support, create it. Find a new doctor, join an exercise group, keep reading this blog, enroll in a weight loss program—the possibilities are endless.
Just keep your eye on your goal and remember this: changing your diet or exercising may seem difficult, but it’s easier than dealing with the inevitable complications of diabetes down the line.
Last week I talked about the studies that illustrate the dangers of diabetes drugs. Yes, these medications do lower blood sugar, but that shouldn’t be the main goal of managing diabetes. What good is a therapy that can lower blood sugar if it increases your risk of heart attack and death from cardiovascular disease?
Unfortunately, the vast majority of physicians ignore this research—and jeopardize the health of trusting patients. The pharmaceutical industry shoulders much of the blame because they control the bulk of medical research, treatment guidelines, and physician “education.” As a result, not only is the effectiveness of drugs overstated and the risks minimized, but the emphasis on medication draws attention away from safe, natural therapies that truly improve health and longevity.
These therapies, which include weight loss and lifestyle changes, require work on the part of both physician and patient. Most doctors do recommend diet and exercise, but to be really effective, this requires ongoing counseling and monitoring of activity, diet, and weight. Many physicians just don’t have the time or desire to put forth that much effort. And patients accept this because it’s an easy out for them as well. What could be simpler than taking a “magic pill”?
If not drugs, then what? Here’s the treatment program we recommend at the Whitaker Wellness Institute for our patients with type 2 diabetes.
Weight Loss: Losing weight is the single best therapy for type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to weight loss. It requires diet changes, an exercise program, and determination.
Diet: The most therapeutic diet for diabetes is a low-glycemic, Mediterranean-style menu with lots of vegetables and lean protein, such as fish and poultry; modest amounts of fruit (one serving per day); and healthful fats like olive oil. Stay away from sugar and starches—bread, pasta, cereals, and other grain-based foods drive up blood sugar and increase appetite.
Exercise: I recommend a brisk 10-minute walk after meals and several sessions of resistance exercise weekly. Walking and other forms of aerobic exercise lower blood sugar and burn calories, while resistance exercise builds muscle and improves long-term insulin sensitivity.
Nutritional Supplements: To guard against complications of the blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys, take a potent, antioxidant-rich daily multivitamin to replace the nutrients that are inevitably lost as a result of the diabetic condition. To lower blood sugar, take vanadyl sulfate 100 mg, alpha lipoic acid 400-800 mg, chromium 200 mcg, cinnamon 500–1,000 mg, and Gymnema sylvestre 400 mg daily. These supplements may be taken individually or in combination formulas.
My book Reversing Diabetes outlines a step-by-step program for treating diabetes. You can order it at www.amazon.com or by calling (800) 810-6655.
You could fill a book with Dr. Whitaker's diabetes success stories--and, in fact, Dr. Whitaker's Reversing Diabetes is being re-released in paperback on November 1.
Since this groundbreaking book was first published, your supplement arsenal for controlling blood sugar--and beating syndrome X, pre-diabetes and even type 2 diabetes--continues to grow, as more research emerges that shows drugs and insulin aren't the only answers anymore.
One of the more exciting herbal blood sugar supplements is Gymnema sylvestre. This climbing plant native to India has been used since the sixth century B.C. to lower blood sugar, and may actually help repair damage to cells in the pancreas in the process.
Animal studies on diabetic rats showed fasting blood glucose levels returning to normal after 20 to 60 days of treatment, with a rise toward normal in serum insulin. An examination of the rats' pancreatic islet and beta cells, which produce insulin, showed the number of cells had doubled compared to those of the placebo group. As Dr. Whitaker points out, this flies in the face of everything we believed possible. Once beta cells are gone, they're gone...or so we thought.
Human studies have shown similar results: Five of 22 patients taking 400 mg per day for 18 to 20 months as a supplement to oral drugs could discontinue the drugs, and the rest reduced their dosages. There was a significant reduction in blood glucose and other parameters of insulin efficiency. Researchers concluded, "the beta cells may be regenerated in type II diabetic patients on (Gymnema sylvestre) supplementation."
Dr. Whitaker recommends that anyone with diabetes try 400 mg daily of Gymnema sylvestre. Or, if you are at high risk for developing diabetes, he recommends a maintenance dose of 200 mg daily.
Ok, it’s time to get our priorities straight, unless we’ve got a bigger shark problem than I thought.A recent American Diabetes Association survey says that despite the devastating impact unchecked blood sugar and type 2 diabetes can have on your health, fewer Americans actually fear diabetes than plane crashes, snake bites, lightning strikes or shark attacks.
Even though shark attacks get the scary headlines, tens of thousands more lose limbs each year to diabetes than Great Whites, and the numbers diagnosed with diabetes – or on the verge of a pre-diabetes diagnosis due to elevated blood sugar, high triglycerides, increased weight or insulin resistance – are skyrocketing.
Comparing a few stats shows our misplaced fears beautifully. Less than 500 deaths were attributed to commercial aviation accidents in 2007, while in 2005, diabetes contributed to almost 234,000 deaths.
No doubt about it, diabetes is scary. If you have diabetes, you’re at least twice as likely to die of heart disease or stroke, perhaps as much as four times as likely. Nearly half of new cases of kidney disease are caused by diabetes. At least 12,000 new cases of blindness occur annually, thanks to unchecked blood sugar and insulin resistance.
According to the American Diabetes Association’s Ann Albright, “We can no longer sit back and politely tap people on the shoulder to get their attention. The future of our country – and the future of our children – is at stake.”
But why then are our fears so misplaced? I’d like to think that it’s because of the success Dr. Whitaker has had helping tens of thousands reverse diabetes and beat back blood sugar problems, going back decades.
If you know that blood sugar problems aren’t beyond your control, and your blood sugar can be managed naturally, easily, and permanently, it makes sense you’d fear something you can’t control, like being struck by lightning, I suppose.
“The good news is there are steps people with diabetes can take to manage their disease and prevent or delay these serious and deadly complications from developing,” says Albright, and I have to agree. Plus, many of the steps towards managing or reversing type 2 diabetes are natural, safe, and very effective.
Of course, you could argue that lifestyle changes make it easy to prevent shark attacks too. When you hear that “Jaws” theme music, get out of the water, pronto.
It's always nice when the mainsteam media wakes up to the realities of healthcare, particularly when it comes to the devastating damage of the rampant diabetes epidemic in the U.S. But an article in the July 12 USA Weekend underscores the importance of sticking with a doctor like Dr. Whitaker, someone who isn't afraid to come right out and state the brutally obvious.
On the one hand, Dr. Todd Mitchell's "HealthSmart" column does bring to light the scope of the diabetes problem, and the consquences of not bringing blood sugar under control. Without action, the more than 23 million Americans already diagnosed with diabetes -- not to mention those who have diabetes and don't know it, and the scores with Metabolic Syndrome or pre-diabetes -- are on a road to serious health problems, to say the least.
From comparatively minor skin and teeth concerns to truly frightening heart, eye, circulatory, and kidney diseases and increased risk for wounds and infections, Mitchell acknowledges that uncontrolled blood sugar is a recipe for disaster.
To his credit, Mitchell also points out that there are many effective ways to naturally lower blood sugar and keep Type 2 diabetes at bay, including following a diet low in high glycemic refined sugars, maintaining a healthy weight, getting adequate sleep, and maintaining an active lifestyle.
But that's as far as Mitchell is willing to go. Of course, it's not surprising that a diabetes article in USA Weekend fails to include a single mention of the many nutritional supplements that can not only lower blood sugar but directly impact the diabetes risk factors that lead to the complications he mentions. However, it's the waffle words about exercise and diabetes that truly surprised me.
In describing an "interesting" study of NFL players and blood sugar (not exactly your representative sample of the U.S. population) Mitchell points out that while the massive linemen and tackles weighed an average of 60 lbs. more than men in the control group, their fasting blood sugar was lower. Could exercise and rigorous physical activity have something to do with these blood sugar findings? Well, maybe, says Mitchell.
The kicker is the closer though. "More study is needed, but it does seem that, when it comes to diabetes, lifestyle habits matter."
Thanks for the newsflash, Dr. Mitchell.
There's no maybe about it. Exercise is one of the best, safest, most logical and truly natural ways to control blood sugar and prevent, manage, and even reverse diabetes. That's because exercise is one of the best ways to improve insulin resistance and make your cells more sensitive to insulin.
To get more exercise into your daily routine, the first thing you should try is taking a brisk 10-minute walk after meals whenever you can. Even mild aerobic exercise causes your muscles to soak up the glucose in your blood more quickly, keeping those post-meal blood sugar spikes to a minimum. Also, shoot for several sessions of resistance training (such as weightlifting) in your weekly routine to build muscle and improve your insulin sensitivity long-term.
At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, Dr. Whitaker has been helping thousands of patients over the years use diet, exercise and targeted nutritional supplements to beat back diabetes for good.
And as a 2001 NIH study showed, this type of natural program works better than the most prescribed diabetes drug, Glucophage. No maybe about that either, Dr. Mitchell.
According to a recent report by Mintel on recessionary food choices, pasta is enjoying a resurgence as the ultimate inexpensive comfort food, making controlling blood sugar even more difficult in already trying times.
From 2007-2008, the pasta and related meals market jumped almost 10%, reaching $3.9 billion. Good news for pasta makers, but yet another complication for diabetics.
Kantha Shelke, who holds a doctorate in cereal chemistry and technology and is the author of an upcoming book on the history of pasta, explains the difficulty for diabetics in the latest issue of Functional Ingredients Magazine.
"The way pasta was originally manufacturered, it was very good for people with diabetes," Shelke told Functional Ingredients. "But the way industry went, the need for speed and greed in manufacturing, typical semolina pasta (coarse durum wheat) is now made in a much finer particle size with much less fiber," turning a once healthy choice into a challenge as you manage diabetes on a daily basis.
Pasta need not be avoided by diabetics -- in fact, it can be an economical staple of a healthy blood sugar diet if you choose the right pasta, according to Dr. Whitaker. Whole grain pasta, along with sprouted grain breads, can actually be theraputic carb choices.
Since the 1930s, numerous studies have shown that patients could stop taking insulin if they were given high complex-carbohydrate diets. And in 1976, Dr. James Anderson from the University of Kentucky demonstrated that the high-carbohydrate, high-fiber diet could eliminate the need for insulin and oral diabetic drugs in close to 70% of diabetic patients.
The bottom line: even with escalating prices, a careful shopper can still eat well and control blood sugar too. And defeating diabetes isn't just a boon for your health, but also for your wallet.
The connection between exercise and diabetes treatment and prevention is not exactly new news, but this is: a new study shows that less than 10 minutes a week may actually be enough to make a difference!
Researchers studying Type 2 diabetes at Scotland's Heriot-Watt University assigned 16 subjects in their 20s to very short exercise sessions, lasting only 30-seconds each. In addition to a set of 4-6 sprints, subjects drank a 75 gram glucose solution, to determine how long blood sugar and insulin levels remained elevated, and the impact of intense exercise on glucose control.
The result: after only two weeks, blood sugar levels decreased 12 percent, and the duration of elevated blood sugar decreased 37 percent.
While we all know exercise has tremendous benefits -- not just to manage diabetes and control blood sugar, but to treat and prevent heart disease and boost overall health -- we still come up with excuses not to do it.
Exercise dramatically improves diabetes and insulin resistance. It actually acts like insulin -- exercising muscles take up glucose. Furthermore, the benefits are lasting because exercise increases insulin sensitivity.
Exercise also helps you lose weight, key to managing diabetes and blood sugar control. In an NIH study, regular exercise (just 30 minutes, five days a week) and a low-fat diet resulted in an average sustained weight loss of 10-15 pounds. This alone can prevent or reverse diabetes.
Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming --what you do doesn't matter as long as you actually do it. Dr. Whitaker recommends you aim for at least 30 minutes, five days a week, and if you can add a session or two of weight training, so much the better.
But this new research shows that even a few sprints around the block, a quick bike ride or a run up a hill or set of stairs can deliver lasting health benefits too.
No excuses -- start moving. I'll race ya!
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