Healthy Eating for Overweight Diabetic

While a lot of folks walking around today are headed towards diabetes I think there is some specific advice I can give to those who are already overweight diabetics and looking for some healthy eating advice.  But before I do, remember: the only difference between the advice I'm going to give you and someone without diabetes is the fact that you have been diagnosed with the disease.  Most folks are just a few years behind.

Here is what I mean: I have a theory that many people in this country (and even in this world as American's eating style becomes popularized across the globe) are 'sub-clinical' diabetics.  In fact, I believe fifty years from now the medical community will be able to look back and see just how large a role poor insulin control is in many diseases - not just diabetes. 

What First Got My Attention

Take me for example.  One of my labs in pharmacy school required that we undergo a glucose stress test.  Basically we had to fast and then chug down a bunch of this sugar solution (essentially soda) and then measure, at 3 different points in time, how well my body handled the sugar load through finger prick testing and blood glucose measurements.

I failed two out of the three tests.  My instructor pulled me aside and asked if I had a family history of diabetes.  I did, both my grandmothers were diabetic.  He then went on to warn me that I was 'a borderline diabetic'.

The only problem?  At that point I wasn't overweight or suffering from any signs and or symptoms so I logged his warning in my mind but didn't take any action.  It wasn't until I ballooned up to 211 pounds, had a pot belly and was sick all the time that I committed to make a change.

But, I have no doubt that if I had not changed my eating style I would be diabetic within the next 5 years.

Fortunately, circumstances intervened and I changed things before it got too far along.  Fortunately for you, it sounds like you also have plenty of time for change.

I didn't hit on the perfect eating style for years.  But, through my own trial and error and research I discovered that diabetics really are just an advanced form of most overweight Americans with poor eating habits.

That's why my eating style is designed to limit insulin secretion and ultimately, improve your insulin resistance.

How do you do that?

Diabetes, particularly if you look at it in detail, is a confusing disease.  But the gist of it is this: when you eat something with sugar your body recognizes that and signals the pancreas to release insulin which then brings that sugar into your cells.

Simple enough, but with the amount of sugar that most Americans consume the stakes are raised because your body is constantly bombarded and your pancreas is constantly releasing insulin.  This has the effect of raising your baseline (or basal) insulin levels.

Your body now 'sees' higher insulin levels as normal and the insulin receptors now down-regulate to protect themselves.  In short, diabetics become insulin resistant.  Not because of some genetic abnormality but because of how they eat.

This is a viscous cycle because unless eating habits are changed most diabetics become more and more insulin resistant over time.

Compounding the problem is that when a glucose stress test is performed your doctor will likely read it as you having poor glucose control, which is partially true - you do have poor glucose control but it's not a receptor problem per say.  It's an eating problem.  The receptors never would have become resistant if there wasn't so much sugar being consumed. But rather than focus his efforts on scaring you with the facts of what your eating style is doing he will likely prescribe you any one of a couple dozen prescription drugs to improve your insulin sensitivity and glucose control.

Only one problem: these drugs are doing the exact opposite of what your body is trying to do...which is protect you!

Remember, your insulin receptors have down-regulated to protect your body from the ever-increasing insulin levels.  If your body stops producing so much insulin your body will recognize that too and in turn become more insulin sensitive.  But if you take a drug to do that and don't change your eating style you'll only compound the problem.  You're receptors will be chemically forced to become more sensitive and be bombarded with the same amount of sugar and insulin that forced them to protect themselves in the first place. 

Which explains why so many diabetics I see resort to polypharmacy.  Which is being on numerous medications to control their diabetes.

Over time I find these patients (I'm talking type 2 diabetics here) will convert to type 1 diabetics and have to start giving themselves insulin injections because their pancreas' have basically said, "the hell with this" and shut down.

This may sound odd to hear from a pharmacist, but prescription drugs for type 2 diabetics are often stop-gap measures that don't do anything to change the cause of what is going on and, over time, can make the problem worse.

4 Simple Steps You Must Take NOW

(1)   First of all you have to make a commitment to change.  Too many diabetics, and patients in general, wait    until they are already losing ground before they commit to change.  I was the same way.  You can't do that because sometimes you can do permanent damage.  Diabetics who wait too long lose their eyesight, touch sensations and even their limbs.

Heck, I know a doctor who died recently and it was all a result of his poor diabetes control!

(2)   Secondly, and this is where most folks eyes glaze over but you must, I repeat MUST stop eating processed foods.  Not only are they 'foreign' to your body but they are generally loaded with sugars that bombard your pancreas.

For the next 30 days you are required to only eat natural, unprocessed foods.  If it never stands the chance of going rancid, you shouldn't eat it.  Fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts and eggs should be your new mantra.  We'll get into more exceptions down the road.  But, for the next 30 days it natural foods only.

It's not all that I can say, but it will give you a good, solid start and avoid so many of the wives tales that are floating around about healthy eating today.

(3)   Finally, try to eat your foods in the 'rawest' state possible.  Obviously, meat is the exception there.  I don't trust our meat supply so cooking that is mandatory.

Some folks become squeamish when they even think about the fact of eating meat raw but our bodies are designed to handle it and many cultures still follow this eating style.  For example, during the Klondike rush of the mid-1800's many miners would travel north only to fall ill from scurvy.  But Eskimos, despite living in the same conditions and being limited by the lack of fruits and vegetables never succumbed to scurvy.  Why?  The answer was in the fact that the miners cooked their meat and the Eskimos ate it raw.

(4)    On occasion...FAST.  It doesn't have to be a 'formal' fast.  But randomly decide to skip supper and then have a late breakfast the next morning.

This has the effect of giving you and 18-20 hour fasting period with 8 hours worth in your sleep.  Making the fast more bearable.

Also, it gives your body (pancreas and insulin receptors) a break.

Finally, this is how your body is designed to eat.  You're not designed to have three square meals a day.  Your ancestors went without food occasionally.  You should too.

Frozen Fruits and Vegetables Less Healthy?

And yes, heating, freezing and cooking your vegetables and or fruits can cause a loss of nutrients.  But, since I've written that I've had readers pointing out that in some cases (no references) freezing can actually increase the amount of nutrients in some foods.

I'm not exactly sure how that happens and since they didn't include any references I can't verify the information.