6 Changes You Can Make To Overcome Diabetes

This article is reproduced from an answer on Quora by Cher Pastore , Registered Dietician, Certified Diabetes Educator and Author, who responded to the question “What are the steps to be taken to overcome diabetes?“

Diabetes is a complex disease. There are many different types of diabetes including Type 1, Type 2, Pre diabetes and gestational. The information here pertains to Type 2 diabetes and pre diabetes. The most significant changes you can make are:

1. Avoid highly processed foods

People are consuming the greatest quantity of processed foods now more than any other time in history. However, most people don’t even know how dangerous they are. Recent studies show that processed foods are linked to many common diseases including diabetes,heart disease, certain cancers and obesity. Can you believe so many diseases can come from the foods you eat? The processed foods I am talking about are anything made with white flour, artificial sweeteners, cakes, cookies, pastries, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, sugary “fruit” drinks, cheese food, frozen dinners, and processed meat products (sausage, bologna, bacon, packaged ham, etc.) canned food, and refined sugars (including high fructose corn syrup). Most processed foods are stripped of all nutrients and are high in sugar, fat, salt and calories.

2. Avoid red meat and most animal products

In addition to avoiding highly processed foods, eating fewer animal products will have a huge impact on your health. Eating fewer animal products is the key to preventing chronic diseases including obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes because animal products are high in saturated fat and cholesterol and are often polluted by hormones and antibiotics. The biggest problems with animal products in this country are how they are produced and that we are consuming too much of them. Studies have shown that a small increase in red meat can increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes. Start to decrease your consumption of animal protein and you will reduce your risk of getting diabetes.

3. Eat whole natural foods

Eating a whole foods diet means maximizing your nutrient intake and obtaining your foods from natural sources while avoiding the highly processed foods. Whole natural foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes and whole grains.

When you consume more whole foods, the amount of highly processed foods you eat will naturally and easily fall by the wayside. Choose whole foods as often as possible while avoiding foods like white bread, crackers, chips, candies and cookies.

4. Eat your vegetables and (some) fruit

It may sound cliché and kind of boring but it is true and very important. The typical American diet today includes very little vegetables. Vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, water and fiber – all of which are important for your body to function optimally. In addition,they are low in calories so they are your best friend when trying to lose weight. Most vegetables can be eaten in abundance – some you have to count as a “carb”. For example the more starchy vegetables include corn, peas, potatoes, beets, and some squashes like acorn and butternut. While they are nutritious, you do have to monitor the quantity consumed for optimal blood sugar control. Studies show that people who eat more fruits and vegetables daily dramatically reduce their risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

5. Control your carbohydrate intake

It is important to limit your carbohydrate intake and know where your carbs are coming from. For an in depth review of this pick up a copy of my book The 28 Day Blood Sugar Miracle.

6. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!!

Being physically active is one of the most important things you can do for your body. Our society has evolved into one where if you didn’t go out of your way to exercise you wouldn’t have any physical activity at all. You could wake up, drive to work, sit at your desk all day, eat lunch at your desk, go home, eat dinner, watch television, go to sleep. Does that sound familiar? This is a big problem facing our society. This type of living is what leads to obesity, high blood pressure, prediabetes and potentially Type 2 diabetes. It really must change. You need to make physical activity part of your daily routine.

To learn more about overcoming type 2 or pre diabetes pick up a copy of my book: The 28-Day Blood Sugar Miracle: A Revolutionary Diet Plan to Get Your Diabetes Under Control in Less Than 30 Days: Cher Pastore MS RD CDE: 9781624142123: Amazon.com

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