Reversing Your Diabetes Dietary Guidelines

Do you sincerely believe that your current diabetic drug treatment is actually working? Do you believe the drugs will prevent a heart attack and early death? Just ask yourself: Do you feel any better since you started taking the drugs? Are you taking less drugs since you started?

Surely lowering your blood sugar is an effective strategy for reducing the risk of death and heart disease. It would seem obvious that if diabetes is a disease of high blood sugar, then reducing blood sugar would be beneficial. But, recent studies show that heart disease and deaths are up! Why is that?

Because since elevated blood sugar is only a symptom, and not the cause of the problem, the diabetes continues to progress and spread throughout your body!

You see, the real problem is a lot more than elevated blood sugar. It's a combination of cellular inflammation, excess oxidation, excess toxins, and elevated insulin going unchecked over decades from a highly refined carbohydrate diet, a sedentary lifestyle and environmental toxins. 

Most medications and insulin therapy are aimed at lowering your blood sugar by increasing the production of  insulin, which compounds the problem because most diabetics' bodies are already producing 2 to 4 times the amount of insulin that is really needed!.

This excess insulin leads to fat storage, elevated blood pressure, and arterial plaque formation, which, in turn, leads to elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, more heart attacks, more diabetic complications and more early deaths.

Yet we continue to pay $182+ billion annually for this type of care for diabetes, despite the evidence that dietary and lifestyle changes work a lot better than medications! We also pay for cardiac bypass and angioplasty in diabetics when evidence shows there is no reduction in death or heart attacks.

So now that we know what doesn’t work, let's take a look at what does work.

Dietary Recommendations to Reverse Diabetes

Eating in a way that balances your blood sugar, reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, and improves your liver detoxification is the key to preventing and reversing insulin resistance and diabetes.

This  way of eating is based on a whole foods and plant-based diet that is high in fiber, rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, and low in sugars and flours, with a low glycemic load, i.e. the Death to Diabetes Super Meal Diet.

This way of eating includes anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and detoxifying foods such as green vegetables, bright-colored vegetables, bright-colored whole fruits, raw green juices, Omega-3 fats, wild salmon, extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, organic macadamia nut oil, beans, nuts, and seeds.

All these foods help prevent and reverse Type 2  diabetes and insulin resistance. This is the way of eating than turns on all the right gene messages, promotes a healthy metabolism, initiates cell repair, and prevents aging and age-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Here are more specifics about this way of eating.

Meal Timing

When you eat and how often you eat are very important for controlling your blood glucose and diabetes during the day:

• Don't skip breakfast!If you don't have time, prepare a green smoothie with almond milk, filtered water, flaxseed, blueberries, and baby spinach.
• Eat a balanced meal or snack every 4-5 hours to keep your insulin and glucose levels stabilized.
• Eat small protein snacks in the morning and afternoon, such as a handful of almonds or walnuts.
• Drink a cup (8 oz.) of raw green juice 30 minutes before each major meal, if possible.
• Finish eating at least 2 to 3 hours before bed. If you have a snack earlier in the day, you won’t be as hungry, even if you eat a little later.
• Note: Make sure that you measure your blood glucose before breakfast and before dinner. Also, perform at least one 2-hour post-meal test (i.e. after dinner). These tests will verify that the program is working.

 
Meal Composition

Eating a balanced meal of quality carbs, proteins, and fats is important for controlling the glycemic load of your meals.

• You can do this by combining high quality proteins, fats, and whole-food carbohydrates from vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruit at every meal or snack.
• It is most important to avoid eating quickly absorbed carbohydrates alone, as they raise your sugar and insulin levels.
• Avoid foods made with flour, sugar, wheat, gluten, corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated oils. Also, avoid fast foods and processed foods.
  

Meal Content: What to Eat

Of course, what you eat is very important if you want to have the opportunity of reversing your diabetes. So, choose from a variety of the following real, whole foods and superfoods:

• Choose organic produce and organic animal products whenever possible. Gradually reduce the amount of meat you eat on a weekly basis.
• For breakfast, eat carbohydrates such as broccoli or spinach and proteins such as whole omega-3 eggs, canned wild salmon, or a flax (or soy) protein shake.
• For dinner, eat a vegetable-based meal with lots of vegetables and some lean protein. Avoid the heavy starchy meals with pasta, rice, corn or potatoes.
• If you want something sweet for a snack, try an apple, a pear or a handful of grapes along with a handful of walnuts to slow down the absorption of the sugar from the fruit. 
• Eat a cornucopia of fresh fruits and vegetables that contain phytonutrients like carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols, which are associated with a lower incidence of nearly all health problems, including obesity and age-related disease.
  
• Eat more low-glycemic vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.
• Create meals that are high in low-glycemic legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, and black beans (try edamame, the Japanese soybeans in a pod, quickly steamed with a little salt, as a snack). These foods slow the release of sugars into the bloodstream, which helps prevent the excess insulin release that can lead to health concerns like obesity, high blood pressure, and heart problems.
• Focus on anti-inflammatory foods, including wild fish and other sources of omega-3 fats, red and purple berries (these are rich in polyphenols), dark green leafy vegetables, orange sweet potatoes, and nuts.
• Eat more antioxidant-rich foods, including orange and yellow vegetables, dark green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, spinach, etc.), anthocyanidins (berries, beets, grapes, pomegranate), purple grapes, blueberries, bilberries, cranberries, and cherries. In fact, antioxidants are in all colorful fruits and vegetables.
• Eat high-quality protein, such as fish – especially fatty, cold-water fish like wild salmon, sable, small halibut, herring, and sardines – and shellfish.Eat up to eight Omega-3 eggs a week.
• Cold-water fish such as wild salmon, halibut, and sable contain an abundance of beneficial essential fatty acids, omega-3 oils that reduce inflammation. Choose smaller wild Alaskan salmon, sable, and halibut that are low in toxins. Canned wild salmon is a great “emergency” food.
  
• For optimal fruits, eat berries, cherries, peaches, plums, rhubarb, pears, and apples .Cantaloupes and other melons, grapes, and kiwifruit are suitable; however, they contain more sugar. You can use organic frozen berries (such as those from Cascadian Farms) in your protein shakes.
• Include detoxifying foods in your diet, such as cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, and Chinese broccoli), green tea, watercress, dandelion greens, cilantro, artichokes, garlic, citrus peels, pomegranate, and even cocoa.
• Garlic and onions contain antioxidants, enhance detoxification, act as anti-inflammatories, and help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
• A diet high in fiber further helps to stabilize blood sugar by slowing the absorption of carbohydrates and supports a healthy lower bowel and digestive tract. Try to gradually increase fiber to 30 to 50 grams a day and use predominantly soluble or viscous fiber (legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit), which slows sugar absorption from the gut. If you're not getting enough fiber, add freshly ground flaxseed (or flax hulls) to your salad or smoothie.
  
• Use extra virgin olive oil, which contains anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants, as your main cooking oil.
• Season your food with herbs such as rosemary, ginger, and turmeric, which are powerful antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and detoxifiers.
• Avoid excessive quantities of meat. Eat lean organic or grass-fed animal products, when possible. These include eggs, beef, chicken, pork, lamb, buffalo, and ostrich. There are good brands at Whole Foods and other local health-food stores (also see mail order sources).
• Increase your intake of nuts and seeds, including raw walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, and pumpkin and flax seeds.
• Soy products such as soy milk, miso, tempeh, and tofu are rich in antioxidants that can reduce cancer risk, lower cholesterol, and improve insulin and blood sugar metabolism.
• For beverages, drink filtered water, herbal teas, green tea, and raw juices. Avoid soda, diet soda, and bottled fruit juices.
• And yes -- chocolate can be healthy, too. But, choose only the darkest varieties and eat only 2 to 3 ounces a day. It should contain 70 percent cocoa.

Decrease (or ideally eliminate) your intake of the following foods:

• All processed foods, fast foods and junk foods
• Foods containing refined white flour and sugar, such as breads, cereals (cornflakes, Frosted Flakes, puffed wheat, and sweetened granola), flour-based pastas, bagels, and pastries
• All foods containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• All artificial sweeteners (aspartame, Sorbitol, etc.) and caffeine
• Starchy, high-glycemic cooked vegetables, such as potatoes, corn, and root vegetables such as rutabagas, parsnips, and turnips
• Bottled fruit juices, which are often loaded with sugars (Try juicing your own carrots, celery, and beets, or other fruit and vegetable combinations, instead)
• Processed canned vegetables (usually very high in sodium)
• Foods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (which become trans fatty acids in the bloodstream), such as most crackers, chips, cakes, candies, cookies, doughnuts, margarines, and processed cheese
• Processed oils such as corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut, and canola
• Red meats (unless organic or grass-fed) and organ meats
• Large predatory fish and river fish, which contain mercury and other contaminants in unacceptable amounts, including swordfish, tuna, tilefish and shark
• Dairy (cow's milk, cheese) — substitute unsweetened, gluten free soy milk, almond milk, or hazelnut milk products; soy cheese.
• Coffee — limit to 1 (decaffeinated) cup (8 oz.) a day.
• Alcohol — limit it to no more than 3 glasses a week of red wine.
• Tobacco — avoid at all cost.

Meal Suggestions When Traveling

Two handfuls of almonds and walnuts in a zip-lock bag make a great snack. You can eat them with a piece of whole fruit. Remember, real food is the best.

Balance Blood Sugar with Exercise

Exercise is critical for the improvement of insulin sensitivity. It helps reduce central body fat, improving sugar metabolism. Regular exercise will help prevent diabetes, reduce your risk of complications, and even help reverse it.

Ideally you should do 30 minutes of walking every day. Walking before breakfast and after dinner are two powerful ways to reduce your blood sugar.

More vigorous exercise and sustained exercise is often needed to reverse severe insulin resistance or diabetes. Doing sustained aerobic exercise for up to 45-60 minutes 5 to 6 times a week is often necessary to get diabetes under full control. You want to work at 70 to 85 percent of your target heart rate, which you can find by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying that number by 0.70 to 0.85.

Interval training can be an added benefit to helping improve your metabolism, mitochondrial function and muscle cell sensitivity. Interval training helps to increase your calorie burning efficiency such that you burn more calories and energy during the time you are not exercising.

Resistance training also helps maintain and build muscle, which can help also with your overall blood sugar and energy metabolism. Resistance training helps to increase the glucose uptake into your muscle cells; and, reduce your insulin resistance.

Supplements that Can Help Reverse Diabetes

Nutritional supplements can be very effective for Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. I recommend a number of different supplements, depending on the severity of the problem:

• A multivitamin and mineral (without additives).
• Calcium, magnesium and vitamin D3.
• Omega-3 fish oil (1,000 to 4,000 mg) a day improves insulin sensitivity, lowers cholesterol, and reduces inflammation.
• Extra magnesium (200 to 600 mg a day) helps with glucose metabolism and is often deficient in diabetics.
• Chromium (500 to 1,000 mcg day) is very important for proper sugar metabolism.
• Antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E) are important in helping to reduce and balance blood sugar.
• B-complex vitamins are important and are part of a good multivitamin. Extra vitamin B6 (50 to 150 mg a day) and B12 (1,000 to 3,000 mcg) are especially helpful in protecting against diabetic neuropathy or nerve damage.
• Biotin (2,000 to 4,000 mcg a day) enhances insulin sensitivity.
• Alpha lipoic acid (300 mg twice a day) is a powerful antioxidant that can reduce blood sugar significantly. It also can be effective for diabetic nerve damage or neuropathy.
• Evening primrose oil (500 to 1,000 mg twice a day) helps diabetics with neuropathy.
• Use cinnamon as a supplement. One to two 500 mg capsules twice a day can help blood sugar control.
• Other herbs and supplements that can be helpful include bilberry, green tea, ginseng, bitter melon, gymnema, ginkgo, fenugreek, onions, and garlic.
• Banana leaf (Lagerstroemia speciosa) can be an effective herb. Take 24 mg twice a day.
• Use konjac fiber 10 minutes before meals with a glass of water. This helps reduce blood sugar after meals and improves long-term blood sugar control while reducing appetite and cholesterol.
• Key Point: Make sure that you're eating properly -- don't rely solely on supplements!

Detox
Eat detox foods such as green salads, organic apple cider vinegar and lemons/limes. If necessary, use organic herbs and herbal tinctures to help with your detox.

Stress and Emotional Support

Stress plays a dramatic role in blood sugar imbalances. It triggers insulin resistance, promotes weight gain around the middle, increases inflammation, and ultimately can cause diabetes.

Stress can also lead you to making bad decisions when it comes to selecting the right foods to eat.

So it’s essential to engage in relaxation practices on a regular basis, such as yoga, breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, hot baths, exercise, meditation, massage, biofeedback, hypnosis, or even making love. And, don't forget to find a friend or partner to provide emotional support (i.e. encouragement) when you need it. Your survival depends on it.

Summary

By following these guidelines, your Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable and often reversible through aggressive lifestyle changes, supplements, and exercise and stress management.

Diabetes is the biggest health epidemic triggered by the obesity epidemic, but all of our medical efforts to treat it are focused on medications and insulin. It is simply the wrong approach.

If you follow these guidelines instead, you will see a dramatic change very quickly in your health, your weight, and your diabetes.

Note: Refer to the Death to Diabetes website for more detail about these dietary recommendations.