Barbara Karafokas - Holistic Nutritionist MSc.
  • Home
  • About Barbara
  • Work With Me
  • Store
  • E-Courses
  • Blog
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Freebies
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Reversing Diabetes / Insulin Resistance with Food

15/3/2016

0 Comments

 
It’s been a well know fact for nearly 100 years, actually since the 1870 siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, that type 2 diabetes could be reversed by an extreme reduction in food intake. Since then this has been confirmed experimentally; by starving people enough, you can reverse diabetes. Diabetes specialists have long known that the tiny proportion of iron-willed diabetics who can substantially decrease their weight and maintain this can exhibit a return to normal metabolism.

A label is required to allow doctors to recognize and appropriately manage this subgroup who are willing to do anything to get rid of their diabetes. These are the Health-Motivated. At the time of diagnosis, the Health-Motivated individuals will benefit from being advised that they are likely to be able to reverse their diabetes completely by losing up to a fifth of their body weight. And then, only if they’re shown to be not sufficiently strongly motivated, should the routine guidelines for managing type 2 diabetes be rolled out, which include lots of drugs.

 Unfortunately, the control of blood sugar with medication has proven to be unsustainable and may actually exacerbate obesity, making us put on more weight, and, thus, creating a vicious cycle. There’s got to be a better way.

Instead of starving oneself by eating less food or taking a medication, what if there is a better way such as eating better food. Eating a diet that promotes eating unlimited greens, vegetables, beans, some whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and at least 90% plant-based. This may look like at least one big salad every day made of various raw greens, a vegetable bean stew, a handful of nuts and seeds, fruit at every meal, up to 450g of cooked greens, some whole grains, but no refined grains, junk food, or oil, and a restriction on animal products.

 Thirteen diabetic men and women sticking to this diet for an average of seven months. How’d they do? Hemoglobin A1C is considered the best measure of blood sugar control. Below six is normal, non-diabetic, but the official American Diabetes Association target is to get diabetics at least down to 7. And anything above seven is uncontrolled diabetes.

Here’s where they all started out after having diabetes for an average of more than seven years. Then, they started plowing in the plants: months 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.  After about seven months, their average A1C dropped from a diabetic 8.2 down to a non-diabetic 5.8. The majority dropped down to normal, and this is after dropping most of their medications.

Now, this was a pilot study, just a handful of people, no control group, and included only people who could actually stick to the diet, a retrospective case series, considered one of the weakest forms of published evidence. However, the magnitude of the effect they found indicates that a high nutrient density diet can be very effective for some people.

In conclusion, am sure that a diabetic or a person suffering from insulin resistance can immensely improve their condition through diet and exercise alone. They just need a little bit of a Health-Motivation attitude !

Excerpts. Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Barbara is a qualified nutritionist offering Health, Nutrition & Lifestyle Counseling. She gives Healthy weight loss advice and promotes the Mediterranean diet. She is the author of the Med Life Diet - creating healthy lifestyle habits and attitudes for life !

    Archives

    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About Barbara
  • Work With Me
  • Store
  • E-Courses
  • Blog
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Freebies
  • Testimonials
  • Contact