Wellness with Natalie: How to control diabetes through diet

There are two primary types of diabetes - Type 1 where the pancreas does not produce insulin, and Type 2 where the body becomes insulin-resistant so although you are producing a lot of insulin, your body can't utilize the sugar.

Interesting thing is that from long term chronic Type 2, your pancreas can burn out and create a hybrid of Type 1 and Type 2.

There are also other types less known by the general population such as "maturity onset diabetes of the young" (MODY) - aka monogenic diabetes. This is a genetic disorder where a gene mutates and disrupts insulin production.

There is “gestational diabetes” where you develop diabetes during pregnancy. And there is “latent autoimmune diabetes of adults” (LADA) which is a progressive form of Type 1 with a slow progression towards insulin dependence.

ALL forms of diabetes are disorders of carbohydrate metabolism. So the most reasonable thing to do is to avoid carbohydrates.

Think of diabetes as an allergy towards carbohydrates. If you had a peanut allergy, the recommendation would NOT be to eat peanuts in moderation then take your epi-pen (allergy medication). The recommendation would be to AVOID peanuts.

The best diet for a diabetic is to shift your diet away from legumes, whole grains, peas, sugars, fruits and ground provisions. You would then increase your levels of healthy fats (butter or ghee (clarified butter) , coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds), moderate protein and a ton of leafy green vegetables (callaloo, bok choy, spinach, lettuce, cabbage) and other low carbohydrate vegetables such as cucumbers, radishes.

There is no adverse reaction for cutting starchy carbohydrates out of your diet. Essential nutrients mean that you must consume these in your diet. There are essential fats (essential fatty acids), essential proteins (essential amino acids), but there are no essential carbohydrates. Studies show that a low carbohydrate diet can lower your blood sugar, lower your A1C for a Type 2 diabetic, and working with your doctor you can lower the insulin you have to take.

If you are a recently diagnosed diabetic or pre-diabetic, the best thing to do is control with diet. If you are uncontrolled with diet and then your doctor adds insulin, you will gain weight. This is because in the absence of insulin we break fat down so you do not store fat. Once you add in insulin, you will start to store the fat.

Essential oils can assist with the sugar cravings as you try to remove the carbohydrates from your diet. That’s a whole other article. But we are having a FREE on-line class tonight where we will share this information.

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Originally published by Loop