I want to help you manage your type 2 diabetes naturally. Controls For Diabetes may collect a share of sales or compensation from the links on this page.
Controlling Type 2 Diabetes Naturally
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of November 17, 2017 – 422 million people have diabetes. This does not account for the people that are prediabetic and people that do not know they have diabetes. 422 million is a very conservative number. Type 2 diabetes is a processed food disease with a very high content of sugar says Dr Robert Lustig. Controlling type 2 diabetes naturally can be accomplished by:
1. A Low-Carb High-Fat (LCHF) Diet
The LCHF diet consists of eating natural, high-fat foods. Stay within the recommended foods because there are very low carbs in the foods and high fats that have 0 carbs. Eat as much as you want until you are satisfied. Recommended foods are meats, beef, chicken, pork, fish, vegetables (grown above ground), avocados, lettuce, cabbage, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cheese, eggs, olive oil, butter, coffee, tea, water, coconut water, and coconut oil.
Not recommended foods are sugar, sugar sweeteners, starchy foods, processed foods, trans-fats, milk, grain, bread, noodles, rice, potatoes, pop, juice, sports drinks, pastries, pasta, and chemical additives. Eat the recommended foods there is no calorie counting or weighing the food, no pills, no low-fat products, no sugar additives, no meal replacement, and no processed food. The LCHF diet is simpler than any other diet. There are no restrictions, simply eat natural, delicious foods. How many ways can you make eggs? Omelets, scrambled, and boiled, delicious. You can eat up to 36 per day. Says Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt (dietdoctor.com).
The next level of Low-Carb High Fat diet is the Keto diet which is an even lower carb and protein intake. Either one will work. I will discuss this in another post.
If you are an insulin user, please take note of the reduction of carb intake and consult your doctor or health practitioner and adjust your insulin accordingly.
2. Exercise For 30 Minutes To 60 Minutes Per Day
The exercise consists of walking for up to 60 minutes per day. I like to keep my blood circulating, and my work schedule has me sitting in front of a computer all day. The way I break it down is work for 1.5 hours and break for 15 minutes. Walk, stretch and repeat the cycle for the rest of the day. You need to get in to some sort of routine, maybe do some push-up or chin-ups, whatever you are comfortable doing. In other words, get that blood circulating. There is no reason why you cannot do something as simple as this. You should be able to do this without thinking.
There is no need for strenuous exercise, unless you want to. Please note, for insulin users, if you are going to do strenuous workouts, please consult your doctor.
3. Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting consists of 2 days of 16-hour fasts during a week. The reason for this is because during the hours that you are not eating your system will be burning the fats. Your blood sugar will go down, and you will lose weight. You can fast for longer periods 20 hours or 24 hours. You should fast every day and you will notice a big difference. Cut out the snacking and get into the routine.
Please consult your doctor before you do this. You may get a headache, feel dizzy, these are common complaints and is normal. Do not fast if you are sick. You can drink plain water, unsweetened tea or unsweetened coffee during the fast, no snacking or munching in between as that is defeating the purpose of the fast. Says Dr. Jason Fung (idmprogram.com).
4. 6.5 to 9 Hours of Sleep
Studies have shown that sleep is a necessary part of body restoration, rejuvenation, for muscle growth, tissue repair and synthesizing hormones. Sleep plays a vital role in maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Less than 6.5 hours and it will affect your blood sugar.
In addition, sleep deprivation is a key factor to type 2 diabetes. How you ask? Your hormones and system gets thrown out of whack. Your ongoing sleep loss is causing a stress hormone called cortisol to be released. Cortisol causes blood glucose to be released through gluconeogenesis.
Gluconeogenesis is one of several main mechanisms used by humans and many other animals to maintain blood glucose levels[1]. The pancreas secretes insulin in response to the blood sugar, which in turn gives you energy causing you to stay awake. Furthermore, cortisol is a key contributor to high insulin, and Insulin resistance.
Too little sleep increases your appetite and reduces your level of satiety. Thus, causing consumption of carb food snacks, causing insulin to be released.
2 good nights of sleep will overcome sleep deprivation. Not to mention, try not to make a habit of this.
You have heard the phrase “I need to get caught up on my sleep” is really true. Additionally, 6.5 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night will keep your body functioning optimally[2].
My Hemoglobin A1c
I have gone from a high A1c of 7.8 % on Metformin 3 years ago to a current low of 5.3% because I have changed my lifestyle using the 4 points mentioned above. My A1c is now at a normal range and I have reversed my type 2 diabetes. In other words it has gone into remission. I lost 35 lbs of fat and 4 inches off of my wait. Of course, this does not mean I can start eating processed high carb junk food, oh no, far from it.
The change in lifestyle did not happen overnight I did a lot of searching, researching, reading books, glucose testing, and watching videos of diabetes. I know more on the subject of diabetes than most doctors and health practitioners. Furthermore, I am now an expert on controlling type 2 diabetes naturally.
A benefit of this education is that you should be able to go shopping and buy natural delicious food and cook it yourself. When you go to a restaurant, you do not know what they are putting in the foods. Have a look at some of the reality shows on TV. In addition, I cook all of my food and feed it to the dog too. Furthermore, no more canned or processed food for my family.
Final Note
I am a carb counter which has led me to write this post. You can help yourself by following these 4 points and take action. The biggest step will be an adjustment to the LCHF diet, I stress that you cut sugar from your diet. To the point where you do not intake any sugar, if I can do it so can you. Instead of a bag of potato chips or a cup of strawberry yogurt, have a stick of celery.
Finally, no one is going to help you manage your diabetes. You must take the initiative to educate yourself and then take action. Change your lifestyle get into a routine and the sooner you do it, the sooner you get rid of type 2 diabetes. If you do not, then you will die a slow and painful death from diabetes. Do you want that? Of course not. So, I urge you to take action. Then, go see your doctor and get a blood work up. Lastly, The minimum tests would include ALT, A1c, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and HDL.
Please get this message out to as many people as possible. I believe educated people can take action to help themselves and others. I help and educate type 2 diabetics.
I appreciate all comments, questions and or concerns. If you see something you do or do not like, please send me an email.
Many thanks for dropping by and reading this post.
References
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis
World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
Dr Robert Lustig http://www.robertlustig.com/
Dr. Jason Fung https://idmprogram.com/
Dr Andreas Eenfeldt https://www.dietdoctor.com/
Recommended Reading (See also Recommended Books To Read)
The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally, Jason Fung, Greystone Books, 2018.
The tips in this post is actually great and would be a huge help. Thanks for sharing.
Hello Alexander,
I thank you for dropping by and your comment.
Stay healthy.
Jimmy.
I have recently tried to cut out a bunch of carbs. It’s amazing how many thing have so much sugar in them! I am also trying to lower down my blood sugar. As I am not getting any younger, and my family has a history of diabetes. I learned a lot with your blog.
Thanks a lot!!
Hello ROJH,
I agree with you about cutting out a bunch of carbs, the main group of carbs to lower is sugar, sugar additives, sugar sweeteners and of course processed foods. I would also eliminate vegetable oils and hydrogenated oils. Diet and nutrition is the main factor contributing to insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, high triglycerides, low HDL and types 2 diabetes.
Stay healthy and thanks for dropping by.
Jimmy.
I have type 2 diabetes and I’ve learned a lot. Diet is very important as is exercise. I try and exercise at least thirty minutes a day by walking and bike riding.
I get enough sleep and recently reduced my A1C from 11.2 to 9.2
I’m on the right track and doing whatever I need to for the reversal of diabetes.
Drinking plenty of water is a must. I will look into the intermittent fasting you talk about. I never tried that before. Does it really work?
Hello Rob,
You are definitely on the right track. Change your diet to Low Carb High Fat and Intermittent Fasting. Once you can get your A1c down to below 6 %. You should be well on your way to good health. You will want to check your blood glucose at least once a day. Go out and purchase a blood glucose meter with many strips. I would start by fasting overnight, this means no snacks. Tea and coffee OK. No sugar, sugar additives or honey in your tea or coffee. Read my blog on “Can Too much Sugar cause Diabetes”. In the morning check your blood glucose. Build the fasting up so that you will be fasting 2 times a week for up to 16 hours. After a fast go easy on the food and do not over eat. You will notice your weight come down significantly, and you will be healthier. Then get your A1c checked again with your doctor. I wish you good luck.
Thanks for dropping by and reading this post.
Jimmy
Hi Jimmy and thanks for an informative and upbeat post about how to control your diabetes.
My brother-in-law has not long been diagnosed with this condition (he suffers from syndrome X so it was just a matter of time).
Can you tell me if you are still on Metaform or have you reduced your meds to zero. I think that sometimes the drugs that are prescribed actually exacerbate the problem in some instances, leaving the body with an added burden of dealing with the drugs as well as dealing with the condition.
I am positive that you do indeed know more about type 2 diabetes than most doctors. Why a patient does not research his own condition is a mystery to me. There is the problem, of course, of persuading your doctor that you do actually know what’s best for your body, perhaps more than he does! Great post.
Hello Ches,
Does your brother in-law suffer from Metabolic Syndrome? In the end all of the conditions are related to each other, this means high blood sugar or glucose. Rather than me trying to diagnose a specific problem best bet is for your brother-in-law to see a doctor that specializes in diabetes.
I have been off of Metformin for more than a year and my most recent Hemoglobin A1c was 5.8 %. I expect to reduce it even more. I have also lost 25 lbs or 11.4 kg and 4 inches off of my waistline since last November and I have defeated my diabetes. My A1c is now under control due to the LCHF diet and Intermittent fasting (See my web page for more information). The fasting burns fat and I can almost lose weight at will by fasting.
The only way that your brother-in-law is going to defeat his condition is by educating himself and recognizing the symptoms if there are any. Of course obesity and high sugar intake (carbohydrates) is a factor. Reducing or eliminating junk food carbohydrates and table sugar will increase your chances of good health. I do not consume added sugar at all. Sugar is a toxin that leads to bad health.
Of course if you are diabetic, have liver, kidney or pancreas problems you will want to do the same.
Thanks very much for your comments.
Jimmy.
Hello, Jimmy!
Thank you for this post, is very useful and informative.
I don’t suffer from this disease, but a lot of my relatives do.
I will let them know this information so they can at least control their disease.
Thank you again!
And I wish you the best
Hello Santiago
Appreciate you dropping by and reading the post. If you could have your diabetic relatives drop by and check out my site I would be extremely grateful.
Thanks.