I was in for a disturbing surprise that day at the doctor’s office! My blood test results had arrived and my doctor informed me that my blood sugar was high, making me pre-diabetic.
She didn’t go too much into the details but suggested that I lose weight and exercise to reverse the condition and avoid taking medication.
Well, I thought that my diet was good, after all, I’d been a vegan for many years and couldn’t imagine what food was causing the high blood sugar, let alone making me obese.
This newfound news about my health prompted me to further investigate the topic of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
The Science Behind Diabetes
Just in case you want to know. 🙂
Did you know almost 80 to 90% of overweight people are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus? With such a high percentage as this one, it’s clear the foods that we eat are closely linked to diabetes. Many studies have shown that being overweight markedly increases a person’s risk for Type 2 Diabetes.
As the body begins to digest food after a meal, it will convert the food into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar that fuels the body’s cells giving us the energy we need to perform daily activities of living. However, glucose must be delivered into the cells from the bloodstream. Diabetes occurs when the body makes glucose but has problems getting glucose into the cells. High blood sugar or too much glucose in the bloodstream stems from a lack of insulin. Insulin is the hormone that triggers the cell to accept glucose.
The two major categories of diabetes are Type 1 Diabetes aka juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes. This occurs when no insulin is produced. If you’re a person labeled as type 1 diabetic, you’ll need regular injections and a proper diet to survive. Too much glucose staying in the bloodstream will lead to a diabetic coma and we definitely don’t want that.
Type 2 diabetes, aka adult-onset or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, on the other hand, produces some insulin, but not enough. We would need more insulin to properly break down food into energy. Type 2 diabetes is more widespread and can be controlled with proper diet and exercise.
Other factors to consider are age, heredity, diet, and movement. However, if you want to prevent Type 2 diabetes mellitus, a change in diet is necessary to restore normal blood sugar levels.
Snapshot of a Non-diabetic Lifestyle
In order to avoid the chronic effects of diabetes, such as nerve damage, kidney failure, and vision problems, health experts suggest a change in lifestyle. You’ll need to include regular physical activity that will help give you energy. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean an expensive gym membership. All you need to do is move your body more than you are sitting or inactive. Just choose the activity that you enjoy the most. Exercise 2.5 hours (150 minutes) of physical activity into your week.
Nutrition also plays a major role in keeping balanced blood sugars. As stated earlier, 60-70% of well-being is directly related to the foods and liquids you put into your body.
Scientists have discovered that proper nutrition can not only prevent prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus but reverse it as well.
So, the choice is up to you. You can choose to live a diabetic lifestyle, eating the wrong types of food and not exercise or you can change your diet and move your body more.
Just get started with your free guide 9 Natural Ways to Manage Weight & Reverse Type 2 Diabetes. Take one step at a time and enjoy the new experience of better health and well-being.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”You are what you eat and drink!” quote=”You are what you eat and drink!”]
