STOP PREDIABETES AND TYPE 2 DIABETES IN THEIR TRACKS!
If diabetes runs in your family, it might feel inevitable. But does it have to be? And with the rate we’re seeing people being diagnosed, is it just a given for all of us, is it simply a matter of time? It can sure feel that way!
Being told you’re prediabetic or even worse, receiving a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, can be terrifying and devastating. Especially if you’ve been told you’ll have it for life and will have to manage it with medication, most of which come with horrible side effects.
The thought of a disease that has the potential to impact your health in the way diabetes does, is pretty scary. It not only leads to weight gain, blurry vision, excessive thirst, poor sleep, and high blood pressure, but it is the leading cause of blindness, kidney disease, liver transplant, and nontraumatic amputations. Not to mention it greatly increases your risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Both of these conditions have become incredibly common. In just 30 years the number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has quadrupled, with numbers exceeding 500 million worldwide. And a staggering 88% of the adult population in the United States has Insulin Resistance, which is another way of saying prediabetes. Sadly, many of those 88% have no idea.
As doom and gloom as all that sounds, there is good news and a lot of it! Both prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, fall under the umbrella of Insulin Resistance, and both are a result of diet and lifestyle. And because of that, neither needs to be chronic. You can reverse symptoms, get your health back, improve your metabolism, and go on to live a long and healthy life disease-free.
Isn’t that just about the best news?
Now, that good news does come with a caveat. There is work that has to be done. Dietary and lifestyle changes are never easy, and in the beginning, may not feel very fun. But what’s really incredible is how quickly you can start seeing positive results. Our bodies really do want to take care of us and want us to be healthy, so when we make positive changes, give it the fuel it desires, it will quickly begin to reward us.
Before I get into how to begin to reverse your insulin resistance, let me tell you how the condition happens. I think understanding this is key to reversing it and then avoiding it happening again in the future.
Our body has two different options when it comes to storing energy, sugar or fat. Sugar is readily available and is a quick source of energy for our bodies. When we eat carbohydrates, it gives us that quick burst of energy. Our body uses what it can and will then store any that is leftover in our liver as glycogen.
The other way our body will store energy is as body fat. When we eat dietary fat, which is found in almost everything we eat, the individual fat molecules, called triglycerides, are absorbed into the bloodstream and will be delivered to fat cells.
When we eat too many carbohydrates and produce too much glucose (sugar) our liver can’t store it away for us, it can only store a small amount, so it will then convert the remaining glucose to triglycerides and will be moved into our fat cells.
So much of this hinges on hormones, the hormone insulin in particular. First, it signals the body that it’s time to convert our food into energy. Second, it regulates blood sugar levels assuring they don’t get too high or too low. And third, it is the fat-storage hormone. An overproduction of insulin not only results in weight gain but is also the driver of insulin resistance.
Just as our body can become resistant to a medication, our cells can become resistant to insulin. When our cells begin to become insulin resistant, the body has a real problem, it has to do something with all the circulating energy. Its solution is to produce more and more insulin in an attempt to force the cells open. This is a vicious cycle as the cells become more and more resistant and the body produces more and more insulin to combat it. And if you remember insulins’ third job as the fat-storage hormone, this is when we really begin to experience weight gain. And with all the circulating insulin, losing it becomes next to impossible!
As I’m sure you can imagine, producing all this insulin is stressful for the body, specifically the pancreas as that is the organ responsible for producing it. Over time, the pancreas isn’t able to keep up with the demand. This is when blood sugar levels rise and a diagnosis of prediabetes is given, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes.
Alright, now that you’ve got an understanding of how it happens, let’s talk about what you can do about it!
As you can see, a really big piece of the puzzle is insulin. So, controlling insulin is the solution. The two biggest factors are what you eat and when you eat.
Let’s start with what you eat. There are 3 macronutrients, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. When we’re talking about insulin, carbohydrates have the biggest impact, by far. Protein has a moderate impact, and fat has almost zero. So the key here is to eat fewer carbohydrates. Now some carbs definitely convert to sugar faster than others, and that is going to be the highly processed foods, including things like chips, cookies, pasta, bread, and soda. If you’re insulin resistant, prediabetic, or type 2 diabetic though, you also need to minimize the less processed carbs, those coming from whole grains, starchy veggies, and fruit. Those act exactly the same in the body and also turn to sugar leading to that insulin spike.
As you lower your level of carbohydrates, you’ll want to increase your consumption of fat and protein. Focus on getting healthy animal protein with every single meal. I find that with almost every client I work with, they are not getting enough protein and the amino acids we get from protein are the building blocks for the body. So put a real focus here and you’ll notice you feel much better very quickly! I recommend that you choose the fattier cuts of meat, which gives you more bang for your buck as you’re getting both fat and protein. To up your fat intake even more, add things like olives, avocado, nuts, and seeds to your plate.
As for enjoying some carbs, I would recommend getting the majority of them from green leafy veggies. Including some of the cruciferous veggies as well can also work, things like broccoli and cauliflower. Fruit is nature’s candy so if you want to include fruit in your diet, I would stick with the berries, they have the least amount of fructose and will have the smallest impact on your blood sugar and insulin.
Two great options for eating in a way to optimize metabolic health and reverse symptoms of insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes are the ketogenic diet and the carnivore diet.
What’s amazing about eating this way, getting more fat and protein in the diet, is that your hunger and cravings will disappear. Both are highly satiating, meaning you will feel and stay fuller longer. And that leads me to the second piece of the puzzle in controlling insulin, and that is in the timing of when you eat.
At the most basic level with this one, if you’re not eating, you’re not raising blood sugar or insulin. Meal timing is key here. We have been conditioned that we need to eat 3 meals a day and snack in between. Or, that we need to eat 5-6 small meals per day. Now that you know what happens when we eat, are you seeing why this is bad advice? Eating that many times per day, or grazing throughout the day, will keep your blood sugar high, and in turn your insulin high. This is a recipe for insulin resistance and weight gain.
That is another reason I love eating a higher fat and protein diet. It is hard to overeat fat and protein because they are so filling. Eating this way makes snacking much less appealing!
Besides cutting out the snacking, consider trying Intermittent Fasting, or time-restricted eating. This often feels intimidating as we’re so conditioned that being hungry is bad, but as you adjust to your new foods, you’ll find that fasting becomes easier and easier as you aren’t hungry and preoccupied with thoughts of food all day long.
A great place to start is by going 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. This is not only good for lowering blood sugar and insulin but will also improve the quality of your sleep. From there, give a 16:8 fast a try, stop eating by 7 pm, and don’t eat again until 11 am the next morning. If that feels like too much, back off and try 14:6. The goal here is really to minimize how often you are eating, so don’t worry about getting it just right, just start somewhere and experiment and see how you feel. Some days you may want to go longer, and others 12 hours will be more than enough. Either is great!
I hope all this has left you feeling hopeful and with some great ideas to begin healing your metabolism, increasing your insulin sensitivity, and reversing some really unpleasant symptoms. Taking control of your health, by controlling what goes on your plate, is one of the most empowering things you can do! I can’t wait to hear of all your successes!!!