Type 2 Diabetes is a life threatening disease.
Every year, 1.4 million people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the US and the numbers are increasing.
The good news is that Type 2 Diabetes is not a chronic disease, but a lifestyle disease which can be put into remission with the right understanding and the right actions. This article will help you understand diabetes and how to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally.
Understanding Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It is where your pancreas produce a sufficient amount of insulin but your body isn´t able to use it correctly. This is because the cells’ insulin receptors reject insulin, which is a hormone that acts as a key to unlock the cells’ insulin receptors so glucose (blood sugar) can get into the cells’.
The cells’ rejection of insulin is called insulin resistance, and it means that your cells’ won´t get the glucose (energy) they need to function optimally. This often results in fatigue and tiredness as the body can´t be fueled properly with energy. Only a small amount of glucose gets in, and as a result the cells’ don´t get the energy they need.
As a result, the blood sugar gets backed up in the blood stream causing high blood sugar levels known as Type 2 Diabetes.
A big cause of type 2 diabetes is stress. Usually the disease develops after a stress event, or a prolonged period of stress which affect your adrenal glands, causing them to be worn out. This also can affect your gut, resulting in a bad metabolism causing high blood sugars resulting in Type 2 diabetes. But it can also develop because of poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle, usually overeating the wrong foods (mainly refined carbohydrates and junk food).
High Blood Sugar is Only a Symptom of Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is known as high blood sugar. But in fact, that isn’t the disease itself but only a symptom of an underlying cause in the organism that needs to be dealt with in order to cure the high blood sugar.
Most people confuse the high blood sugar with their actual diabetes. And when they take medication and insulin injections that keep their blood sugar level at a good level, they think their diabetes is good. But the truth is, it’s not. Yes, they may have a good blood glucose level, but underneath they have a disease that hasn´t been dealt with, and which is rotting out their internal organs and at some time may cause them infections. Type 2 diabetes is also know as a rotting disease.
The underlying condition of type 2 diabetes is known as insulin resistance, which is caused by too much fat in the cells blocking out insulin so that the glucose cannot enter the cells.
When we overconsume foods predominantly refined carbohydrates and junk food we elevate our blood sugar levels and thus our insulin level. When we eat food, blood sugar increase from the food we eat, and at the same time the pancreas release insulin to bring the sugar into our cells’. When we eat too much fat, fat enters the cells and walls out insulin so that the glucose (sugar) cannot enter our cells. Fat is fuel like glucose, and when the cells are filled up with fat the insulin receptors pull back from the insulin because the cells are already well nourished.
How to Reverse Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance is caused by too much fat in the diet walling out insulin. So to decrease our insulin resistance and even reverse it, we must lower our fat intake drastically by consuming low fat foods and increase the complex carbohydrate foods which are salad and vegetables (including starchy vegetables) which actually are healthy and help cleanse the body and liver.
A low fat plant based diet is ideal for this purpose.
Note: we must never exclude fat because fat is necessary for optimal metabolism.
It´s important to keep your insulin levels low because many of the major illnesses like heart problems, stroke, alzheimers, PCOS etc. come from a too high insulin level.
Intermittent fasting is a very good way to lower your insulin levels more quickly. It is where you fast in between meals and/or you do a 16-hour fasting per day. To do a 16-hour daily fast you have to eat in an 8-hour window. Say you eat your breakfast at 8 am, you have your lunch at 12 pm, and your diner at 4 pm and then you don’t eat anything until breakfast at 8 o’clock the next morning. That’s a 16-hour fast, and that will help your pancreas rest from producing insulin. Doing this kind of fasting, over a prolonged period, will gradually decrease your insulin resistance and increase your insulin sensitivity.
Click here to learn how to reduce your a1c
It is important to reduce stress in overcoming Type 2 Diabetes
Because Type 2 diabetes usually develops after a stress event or prolonged stress, it is important to take time to de-stress. This can be through prayer and/or having faith that will calm the body. It can also be other relaxation methods like yoga.
One can also implement low intensity walking for an hour every day into ones schedule as a way of reducing stress and replenishing ones adrenal glands. Low intensity walking is where you walk slowly for an hour and take time to notice your surroundings. This will get you out of your head, out of thinking mode, and will help replenish your adrenals. When the adrenal glands are stressed out we are in problem solving mode, trying to figure everything out through thinking. And this internal stress has an effect on your diabetes. So its very important to de-stress. And walking is one of the best exercise forms for diabetics and done in this way, even helps to reduce your stress level. It’s important that any exercise done is not too strenious as this will only put more stress on your body and make things worse.
Another way to de-stress is to do accupressure. You can press the acupressure points on your belly to take the stress out of your body.
Liver cleansing are important in combating Type 2 Diabetes
The liver is the main organ for sugar/fat metabolism.
When you have Type 2 Diabetes the liver is insulin resistant and does not metabolize optimally. Further, the liver has become fatty due to the excess fat mainly from refined carbohydrates and therefore needs to be cleansed for optimal metabolism.
Click here to learn my 10 step framework to achieve your best a1c ever.
I also can recommend the Mastering Diabetes Do it Yourself program for putting your diabetes into remission permanently. It is an online coaching program that will show you the right foods to consume for increased insulin sensitivity and debunk some of the myths about what’s healthy and what’s not. It uses food as medicine and promotes a low-fat plant based based whole foods diet to permanently reverse diabetes.
Conclusion
Type 2 diabetes is not a chronic disease, because it is a lifestyle disease caused by stress and/or poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle.
It is a condition that can be overcome through
- Creating a healthy lifestyle change, including the right foods for diabetics (food is your medicine).
- Getting daily gentle exercise (Low intensity walking daily for an hour is recommended).
- De-stressing
- Cleansing your liver
I likew your article on reversing type 2 diabetes and I totally agree that fasting is very good for the body and not eating between meals is the best. I have found if I eat bread at lunchtime I become very sleepy, so I avoid it and eat protein, some Sao’s, or diet biscuits.
Hello Yvonne. Thank you for your comment. Thats nice you like my article. I think your tiredness has to do with the rise in blood sugar when you eat bread compared to when you eat proteins which doesn’t raise the blood sugar so high. Its a sign of insulin resistance. I get the same sleepy feeling if I eat to much at a meal, or if I add too much cake (sugar) after a meal which sometimes happens.
I like your the concept, and focus of the article which is to focus on the underlying issue of Type II Diabetes. I have studied this as a nutritional science major, and love to read about topics like this. I like the intent of the article, however just wanted to provide some helpful information. First, walking isn’t necessarily the only form of exercise that can combat insulin sensitivity. Yes you certainly should consult with your doctor first, but there are many different forms of exercise you can do. Also exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity which is another benefit I think you can discuss. Second, the GI is helpful but it only serves a true useful purpose when carbohydrate containing food is eaten on its own, which is rarely the case. For example, if you eat bread, but eat with eggs that changes how the your blood glucose levels are affected. Certainly though dietary changes that focus less on processed sugars can help, just wanted to let you know the GI has limitations as a tool. Lastly, I think including citations is always a good idea as it improves credibility of source of information, even as someone who is a professional in a specific field it only benefits the credibility of your information. I’m not saying you didn’t know the information you discussed beforehand, but since this is a science-based topic, I would add some in. Other than that you certainly caught my attention with this article, and I am interested in your website and I look forward to your success. It’s good to have people that care about the world and want to help others on it, and I think this certainly what makes this community a great place.
Hello Emmanuel Thank you for your comment and feedback. Thats really great. I am glad I caught your attention with the article. Yes you are absolutely right, walking isn’t the only exercise for diabetes, there are many more. I will add more on exercise. Good point about the GI and citations. I agree.
What a great site! I had to bookmark it to come back to. I am not a Diabetic and hope it doesn’t happen but I have several friends that are and will pass this on to them. I am going to try and eat more healthy according to your suggestions as a preventative plan on my part. Thanks again,
Ken
Hello Ken. Thank you very much for your comment :). I really appreciate it. Yes you can definately use the suggestions to prevent it. Stay healthy, Jesper