American Diabetes Association Alert Day

Happy National Type 2 Diabetes Awareness Day

The odds are good that you know someone with type 2 diabetes or you may be a person with diabetes yourself or you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes.  The prevalence of diabetes is continually increasing.  In the U.S., 1 in 3 adults has pre-diabetes and is at risk for type 2 diabetes, yet nearly 90% don’t know they have it.

By the year 2050, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that up to 1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes, most having type 2.  The amount of money that we spend on type 2 diabetes is crazy stupid high.  Per the American Diabetes Association, the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. in 2012 was 245 BILLION dollars: $176 billion for direct medical cost and $69 billion in reduced productivity.  This has to change. 

Learning about diabetes and how to prevent it is the first step toward living a longer, healthier life.

What is Diabetes?

There are three types of diabetes and all are related to the body’s inability to manage its insulin and glucose levels. 

Normal Blood Sugar Response.
1. Carbohydrates, regardless of the source (bread, rice, crackers, pasta, fruits, vegetables,  cookies, candy, soda) turn into sugar in the bloodstream (glucose).
2. Glucose in the bloodstream stimulates the production of insulin by the pancreas.
3. Insulin allows glucose entrance into the cells for use as energy and drives blood sugar levels down to normal. This only works if cells respond to insulin.

Insulin Resistance. When our cells are exposed to too much sugar, too much insulin, they become desensitized. Insulin resistance occurs when the cells become resistant to the blood sugar lowering effects of insulin. This develops over time, as a result of eating too much sugar or processed carbs on a regular basis for many years.  The great news is that if we reduce our sugar, processed carbohydrate intake, limit our fruit and eat more balanced meals and snacks, we can prevent or reverse the damage in our cells!

Type 1 diabetes (autoimmune diabetes) is when the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t make it. Type 1 diabetes typically begins in childhood and onset is sudden. While type 1 diabetes is not reversible, it can be possible to decrease insulin dependence and pharmaceutical drugs by managing blood sugar levels nutritionally.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes. It use to be called adult-onset diabetes because the diagnosis typically happened later in life. Today, we are seeing more diagnoses in young children. In type 2 diabetes the pancreas produces insulin, but the body becomes desensitized to its effects. Type 2 diabetes develops gradually over time and for the majority of people, it is both preventable and reversible by making dietary and lifestyle changes.

Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy and often disappears after the baby is born. However, high blood sugar levels often lead to high birth weight infants, childhood obesity, and increased risk for type 2 diabetes in the child. Women who experience diabetes while pregnant will have a greater chance of reoccurring gestational diabetes in subsequent pregnancies and developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

Conventional/Medical Treatment

The current diabetes treatment approach is to manage blood glucose levels with medication instead of using nutrition to address the root cause of diabetes.  

Nutrition Approach

The most effective way to manage your blood sugar is to eat fewer processed carbs and more protein, healthy fats.  Carbs raise blood sugars, fats don’t. Healthy fats help slow the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, helping our blood sugar levels stay stable instead of spiking and dropping. Eating a balanced diet by including protein and fat along with carbs is the best way to keep blood sugar levels stable and reduce the need for diabetes medications.

Nutrition Savvy Tips for Healthy Blood Sugar Regulation

 Eliminate added sugar.  The best first step is to remove the foods that spike blood sugar levels the most.   Look at your nutrition labels and remove any foods that have more than 3 – 5 grams of added sugar.  Cook more of meals from home using real whole food ingredients that come from the produce and meat departments. 

Choose better carbs.  Processed carbs like bread, pasta, cake, crackers, cookies, and soda turn into a lot more sugar than fresh veggies.  Avoid the foods that are marketed as whole-grain bread, pasta and crackers. Whole-grain or not, they are still processed and break down quickly into sugar once they are digested.  Aim for 5 – 8 servings of veggies and 1 – 2 small pieces of fruit per day. 

A healthy intake of starchy veggies and whole grains – We need a eat a healthy balance of all 3 macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbs for our body to function at it’s best.  Our body’s are all different and finding the right serving size of carbs for you is key.  Start with having ½ cup of a starchy veggie or whole grain per meal.  If your energy seems low, add a bit more till you find the right balance for you.  Root veggies and winter squashes are great starchy veggies to add in.  Whole grains to include are rice, quinoa and oatmeal. 

Don’t fear fat -  Eating plenty of healthy fat will fill you up to help you consume few carbs and increase your satiety.  Add in a couple tablespoons of healthy fat at every meal and snack.  Healthy fats are: avocado, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds, olives, and full-fat coconut milk from the can.    

Move – Physical inactivity and obesity are strongly related to the development of type 2 diabetes.  Exercise is so important to lower your risk for diabetes and control the symptoms and lower the risk for complication for those living with diabetes. Start with a 10 minute walk 2 - 3 times per day and add on more every week.

Be proactive - I’m always surprised that doctors more often than not just test glucose levels. Make sure to have your A1C tested, it will give you a better picture of your body’s sugar control.   Below is a list of risk factors associated with Type 2 Diabetes. 

Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes
Diet high in sugars and processed carbs
Age 45 or older
Overweight or obese
Family history of diabetes
Hypertension
Depression
Physical inactivity
History of gestational diabetes
HDL-C levels under 35mg/dL
Fasting triglycerides over 150mg/dL
Sleep apnea or chronic sleep deprivation
Member of a high-risk population (African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native or Asian American)

There is hope -  The best way to get off the blood sugar roller coaster is to eat balanced meals that are based on protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates coming from lots of veggies.

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