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Superfoods For Diabetes
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, particularly with type 2 diabetes, then you understand how important your diet is. In fact, doctors often mention that changing what you do or don’t eat on a daily basis is one of the crucial ways to help manage your type 2 diabetes. This is where superfoods come in.
Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of diabetes, which is where you have a lot of the same effects of diabetes, but you are not dependent on insulin. This occurs more often when you are an adult, but some children and teens may also be diagnosed with it.
When you have type 2 diabetes, you can still produce some of your own insulin naturally, but it isn’t enough to sustain proper health. This is where your diet comes in. You need to be able to balance out the glucose levels in your body, which requires a specific level of nutrition.
With the right superfoods, they contain all the nutrients you need to keep your blood sugar levels low, and help to maintain your weight, which often leads to type 2 diabetes in the first place. Here are the top 10 superfoods that you should be eating if you have diabetes.
Dark Chocolate
Surprise! You still get to eat chocolate if you have diabetes, but you need to be careful about what type you choose. You should not be loading up on sugar and sweets, so avoid milk chocolate, white chocolate, and similar variations. Instead, go for the dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate has a lot of the crucial nutrients you should be having when you struggle with insulin resistance or insulin sensitivity, starting with flavonoids. These can actually help to lower your blood sugar levels and level out the insulin levels in your body. People who have diabetes often think they can’t have any more sugar, but that’s not true. You just need to be smart about it.
Go for dark chocolate that has a higher level of pure cacao in it. Try to avoid dark chocolate that contains a lot of preservatives and ingredients you don’t need. Buying your dark chocolate from a small chocolatier business or health food store is usually the way to go. These businesses typically avoid chocolate that has been highly processed.
Here are some yummy ways to enjoy your dark chocolate:
Use dark chocolate shavings to top your coffee or dessert
Have a handful of dark chocolate nibs with a piece of fruit for a healthy snack
Make some dark chocolate fudge, having one piece each night for an extra special treat
Reduced Fat Diary Products
You can also still have dairy when you have type 2 diabetes, but look for the low-fat or fat-free versions, avoiding the full fat type of dairy. This includes both milk and yogurt, which can be good for your overall health and actually help if you have diabetes.
Dairy products contain calcium and vitamin D, which are important for keeping your bones healthy, particularly when you struggle with all the side effects from your diabetes. Even when you choose any of the fat-free or reduced fat forms of milk or yogurt, it still contains fortified vitamin D, which is the most important nutrient from the dairy products. Plus, if you are on a diet, the fat-free versions like fat-free yogurt or skim milk won’t add too much to your total amount of fat or calories for the day.
Try to add more servings of reduced fat dairy to your daily diet. This is easy to do by having a yogurt for your early morning snack, enjoying a smoothie with fruits, veggies, milk, and yogurt, or having a glass of skim milk with dinner instead of a soft drink or other beverages that aren’t as good for you.
Tomatoes
In terms of fruits and vegetables that are good for you, tomatoes are at the top of the list. Tomatoes contain a nutrient called lycopene, which can help reduce your risk for macular degeneration, which as you might know, is a risk for people with diabetes. This same nutrient also helps to protect you from heart disease and some forms of cancer, like prostate cancer.
There is a low GI ranking in tomatoes, which is the Glycemic Index. You should try to find foods that have a low GI number, as these won’t cause a rise in your blood sugar levels. Most fruits that don’t have a lot of starch, including tomatoes, will be low on the GI ranking. Watch out for your portions, trying to keep the amount to 1-2 tomatoes a day.
The good thing is that the ways to add more tomatoes to your diet are practically endless. Here are just a few simple ideas:
- Have salsa with homemade baked tortilla chips
- Add tomato to your favorite sandwich for lunch
- Enjoy a side salad with tomato and cucumber
- Make scrambled eggs with tomatoes and bell peppers
- Eat a bowl of tomato soup for a light dinner
Oats
If you are looking for a healthy breakfast when you have diabetes, it doesn’t get much better than having a bowl of oatmeal. Oats can provide you with a lot of nutrients and are a popular superfood. Not only is it okay to eat oats when you have diabetes already as they have a low GI index, but eating them can actually prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
What you want to look for are steel-cut oats. You should avoid the packets of oatmeal that you just mix with water and in 3 minutes have a bowl of oatmeal. They are heavily processed and don’t contain as many nutrients. Look for steel-cut oats that you soak overnight, then enjoy your oatmeal the following morning.
Steel cut oats have a lot of important nutrients for people with diabetes, starting with a high level of magnesium. Magnesium is essential for keeping your glucose levels low, while helping with insulin resistance. There is also protein, fiber, and antioxidants to provide better overall health with steel cut oats.
Olive Oil
As far as healthy fats go, olive oil is one of the best ones when you have diabetes. What you might not know is that when people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they are often told to go on a diet called the Mediterranean Diet. This includes a lot of healthy foods and healthy fats, with olive oil high up on the list. Doctors actually recommend adding olive oil to your diet.
Olive oil is of course a superfood, thanks to the omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients it contains. All superfoods have that label because they have a higher-than-normal amount of vitamins and minerals per serving, and olive oil is no exception. It contains a lot of antioxidants that help to protect you from illness and disease, including heart disease and cell damage in your body.
You can easily replace other fats like butter or vegetable oil with olive oil and be eating a healthier diet. Try making fried eggs with olive oil and serving them with some fruits and veggies for breakfast, or using olive oil to make a healthy stir-fry for dinner. The options truly are endless.
Citrus Fruits
You can still enjoy your citrus fruits, but you want to be careful about the GI score and track it throughout the day. This doesn’t mean you should drink a glass of orange juice with every meal, but instead keep close track of how much you are eating or drinking in terms of citrus fruits and their GI scores.
However, citrus can be a really good source of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C, making them a powerful superfood for you if you have diabetes. Make sure you are eating the entire fruit and not just the juice. If you juice citrus fruits, you will get the most from them. You can also get a lot of nutrients from zest, so add that to meals as much as you can.
The lowest citrus fruit is grapefruit at just 25 for one serving. This is also one of the lowest GI scores for all fruits, not just citrus fruit. Unsweetened orange juice is around 50, while an orange itself is lower and closer to 40. It is better to just grab an orange than have a full glass of OJ, but tracking your food in a food journal will be very helpful for you.
Fatty Fish
There are certain types of fish that are not only good for you because they are low in fat and excellent sources of protein, but because of the omega-3 fatty acids. These fish options are frequently referred to as fatty fish, which are types of fish with the omega-3 nutrients, and are typically your cold water fish. These fish also have a lot of other nutrients, like selenium and vitamin D, both of which are equally important.
The vitamin D and selenium are good for improving the health of your bones, and provide excellent nutrients for your hair and skin. The omega-3 fatty acids are going to reduce your risk of heart disease and help keep your blood sugar levels on the lower side.
Some good fatty fish to enjoy is wild salmon, sardines, tuna, herring, and mackerel. You can have these fish in fillet form with veggies and other healthy sides, or slice up the grilled fish and place it on your salad. There are a lot of ways to enjoy fish, depending on what your taste preferences are.
Quinoa
There are also some whole grains that are considered superfoods and can also help if you have diabetes, including quinoa. Quinoa has a nutty flavor that is a bit earthy, but it is also very versatile. It isn’t heavily processed like white rice and other rice that comes in a box. Quinoa tastes more similarly like a grain, and goes great with just about any vegetable or protein source.
Quinoa is considered a complete protein with about 14 grams of protein for just ½ cup of it. It also contains all 9 amino acids in the same serving size, which is going to be wonderful for getting more nutrition each day. Quinoa is known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, help burn more fat and calories, and help convert fatty acids into energy. There is also a good amount of fiber with about 2.6 grams of fiber per serving.
It is easy to cook and prepare meals with quinoa. Many people even enjoy it at breakfast time. You can prepare a power bowl that includes quinoa, some veggies like tomatoes, onions, and peppers, with a fried egg on top. This is healthy, low in carbohydrates, and contains only healthy fats and protein that you need.
Cinnamon
Believe it or not, some herbs and spices are also considered superfoods, like turmeric and chia seeds. One of the spices that is a superfood and also ideal if you have diabetes is cinnamon. Cinnamon is commonly recommended for people with type 2 diabetes because it can help reduce your blood sugar and blood glucose levels. You can reduce your blood sugar efficiently with just a gram or more cinnamon each day.
Cinnamon has also been known to have other positive health benefits for people with and without diabetes. It can help manage your cholesterol, balance your insulin levels, and reduce the triglycerides in your body. It also provides good antioxidants for protecting you against serious illnesses and diseases.
Try adding cinnamon to your meals with other superfoods if you can. This combination helps to get the most from what you are eating. For example, you can add some cinnamon to your fat-free yogurt to get both, or you can enjoy sweet potatoes, other superfood veggies, and some cinnamon on top for a fall harvest side dish. There are many ways to use cinnamon in your food and drinks.
Kale
Last up on the list is a leafy green. Most leafy green veggies are good for you and in the superfoods category, like collard greens and spinach, but kale is best when you have diabetes. Kale contains over 200% of your daily requirement for just vitamin A, and over 100% of your requirement for vitamin C. It has even more vitamin K, which is essential for preventing blood clots. This is all in just one cup of kale per day.
In addition to these important nutrients, kale also has lutein, which is good for preventing eye diseases. They are common in people with diabetes, so it is important that you protect yourself from them as much as possible.
Try adding kale to your scrambled eggs or soup, as it cooks down so you don’t notice it much. You can mix it in with other greens for a salad and top it with veggies and nuts, which is another way to get more superfoods into your meals.
These are not the only healthy foods recommended if you have diabetes, but they provide a good start. Remember that superfoods are that way because of the large amount of nutrients they have. By adding as many of them to your diet as you can, you will be healthier overall, and on your way to managing your diabetes a little better.
3 Foods That Will Make Your Type 2 Diabetes Even Worse
Did you know that some “safe” foods might be making your diabetes even worse?
You know to stay away from sweets, but some so-called “healthy” alternatives could be hijacking your blood sugar.
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Keep these blood sugar-boosters off the menu to maximize your energy level:
Fruit Smoothies
You’ve been told your whole lives to eat your fruits and veggies, but here’s what they didn’t tell you…
Many smoothies contain as much sugar as three cans of soda…
…especially fast-food and restaurant smoothies.
So how can you get the necessary vitamins and fiber while avoiding blood sugar spikes?
The solution: make smoothies yourself.
Just make sure to stay away from super-sugary fruits like bananas and peaches.
Try these instead:
Apples
Blueberries
Strawberries
Potatoes
I know what you’re thinking:
“What could go wrong with a food that’s fat-free, cholesterol-free, and full of fiber and vitamins?”
The problem with starchy foods, like potatoes, is that they’re digested into the bloodstream lightning-quick and can trigger sharp insulin spikes.
Don’t scrap your spuds just yet, though. The key to a diabetes-friendly potato is in the preparation and portion size.
Preparation tips:
Cook them with a healthy fat, like olive oil
Add leafy greens or vegetables
Chill the potato or add lemon juice to slow digestion
As for portion size, stick to about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes or a computer mouse sized baked potato.
White rice
In the diabetes world, white flour is like sugar’s evil minion.
Combine this with all the frying and processing involved with cooking flour, and your bloodstream is about to become a war-zone.
In fact, regularly eating white rice significantly increases your risk for Type 2 Diabetes. The risk increases 11% for each additional daily serving.
Thankfully, there is another option: brown rice.
Whole grains have fiber, which slows the rush of glucose into the bloodstream. Two servings of brown rice per week can actually lower your risk of diabetes, and help keep your blood sugar in check.
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Feed Your Body the Right Food for Diabetes
After ridding yourself of toxins that keep your body in a perpetual state of insulin dependency, you’ll want to begin reversing this health problem by feeding your body foods that help it maintain balance.
There are certain foods that are superb for diabetics to eat.
Start by trying to add dark, leafy green vegetables into your meal plan. From spinach with your omelet to a side of greens at lunch and dinner, this superfood helps diabetics feel full without overloading them on unhealthy carbs and too many calories.
Kale is one of the best leafy greens to eat. But there are others (in addition to spinach), too. You can try a variety to see what taste you prefer – such as mustard green, collard greens, and turnip greens.
While pizza might not be healthy for a diabetic, the tomato sauce is. Pasta isn’t usually a good option, so what you can do is get your supply of tomatoes either by eating them raw or in a sauce poured over whole grain pasts instead.
Tomatoes are healthy for diabetics because they’re full of vitamins and nutrients. They include vitamin E and C as well as plenty of iron. You can get tomatoes in the form of soup, too – but make sure that however you eat them, you’re checking to see how much added sugar is in the product and how many carbs it’s loaded with.
Beans are a great food for diabetics. The fiber they pack is virtually unparalleled. They’re also very filing, and you get a lot of potassium and magnesium in each serving.
Even though they’re starches, they’re packed with protein, so you can forego the saturated fat that’s found in meat and eat healthy beans instead. The soluble fiber in beans binds to the carbs and helps slow the digestive process, keeping your insulin levels stable.
Potatoes are a food that aren’t usually good for diabetics, but those are Russet potatoes – not the sweet potatoes, which are one of the diabetic superfoods you can eat.
White potatoes have a high GI but sweet potatoes have a low GI, and they’re full of fiber and vitamin A. You can bake them whole or cut them into fries and bake them for a healthy snack.
If you’re diabetic, following a Mediterranean diet can be beneficial for you – especially if you eat fish that’s high in Omega-3 fatty acids. That includes salmon and tuna – but make sure it’s cooked in a healthy manner, like baked or broiled.
When it comes to fruit, not all fruit is good for a diabetic person to eat. But some can help – such as citrus options – oranges, grapefruit, and even lemons and limes – which you can put in your water for a flavorful option. You get fiber and vitamin C – and it helps boost your immune system in the process.
Bread is a hard thing to give up, but white bread is something that can cause a spike in your blood glucose. Go with whole grain options instead. That way you get some omega-3 fatty acids, folate and chromium to help your body heal, too.
Some of the other foods that are perfect for diabetics include berries (all kinds) – for their fiber and nutrients as well as nuts and seeds, such as walnuts and flax seeds, which fill you with fiber and help stave off hunger for long periods of time.
Diary products can be tricky. Just make sure you choose healthy diary that’s not flooded with sugar. You need the vitamin D for strong bones and healthy teeth, but you don’t want the spike in insulin.
When it comes to shopping for foods to treat and reverse diabetes, stick to the outer edge of the grocery store, away from the processed foods that won’t serve your body well.
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What Do I Eat Now? A Step-by-Step Guide to Eating Right with Type 2 Diabetes
Being diagnosed with diabetes can be a shock – especially if you weren’t expecting it. When you first learn the news, you’ll feel overwhelmed, uncertain and anxious. Some people even experience a period of depression as numerous questions plague them.
One of the most often asked questions among people with diabetes is what they can or can’t have to eat. It’s always best to have a guide that you can use while you learn how to manage your diabetes.
Knowing what to do can help you feel calmer and less worried about how you’re going to handle the diagnosis. In the book, What Do I Eat Now? A Step-by-Step Guide to Eating Right with Type 2 Diabetes, you’ll learn the basics of how nutrition impacts your diabetes.
You’ll also discover what carbohydrates do for your body and how they work in someone who has diabetes. The book also teaches how using portion sizes can help you be better able to manage your diabetes.
When you use the right portion sizes, not only does it help with blood glucose control, but it can stave off long term complications as well as help you lose excess weight. Portion control is one of the major steps in managing diabetes.
There’s also a chapter in the book on what to do at the grocery store. By shopping wisely and picking up foods that work with your diabetes rather than against it, you can have a healthier long term prognosis.
Also covered in the book is how to read food labels and understanding what the terms mean in relation to your diabetes. For a diabetic, eating out can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how it’s approached.
Eating out is something that some people with diabetes think will blow their healthy eating plan. But going out to restaurants, including fast food restaurants, doesn’t have to include meals that send your glucose levels skyrocketing.
In the chapter on eating out, you’ll learn how you can eat away from home, enjoy delicious food and still maintain good control over your diabetes. Another area that can cause problems for a diabetic is in the area of snacking – especially if you have certain food triggers or use food to feed emotions.
The book will teach you that it’s okay to snack, but it’s how you snack that matters. By choosing snacks that are good for you, it’s okay to have something to eat between meals or when you just want something to munch on.
This book contains a variety of meals that you can include as part of your daily and weekly eating plan. By understanding the breakdown of the nutrition provided for each meal, you can learn the foods to eat that will help you take care of your diabetes.
A Diet Plan for Prediabetes
Most people don’t pay attention to the risks involved with getting diabetes until it’s suddenly on their doorstep. When you’re diagnosed as having prediabetes, although it can be unsettling, it’s actually an opportunity to stop diabetes from happening to you.
If you take immediate action, you can get on track to making sure you don’t move from prediabetes to diabetes. You take action by following a plan like what’s outlined in The Prediabetes Diet Plan.
This book is a helpful guide that can teach you how reverse your diagnosis without using any fancy, weird or expensive items. It takes diet, exercise and the mindset that you’re going to make some changes in order to stay healthy.
A diagnosis of prediabetes warns you that your blood glucose is above normal levels. If you work to get these numbers back down and make changes, you’ll feel better physically and lower your risk factors.
The book can help you understand what prediabetes is and how it can affect your body. You’ll learn about insulin resistance and how this impacts your cells. The book also covers why what you eat and how you eat is so important to getting rid of prediabetes.
You’ll know what carbohydrates mean in relation to prediabetes and the importance of watching the carbs that you eat in your meals. The book can show you how to eat so that you get the nutrients that you need, but not the carb overload.
You’ll learn the types of foods for meals and even smaller on the go snacks to eat and how to count your carbs while still being able to eat normal foods. The book has a focus on losing weight through nutritional savvy eating and exercise.
Losing weight when you have prediabetes is one of the keys to reversing the diagnosis because being overweight and prediabetes go hand in hand. It’s one of the things that leads to insulin resistance.
The book touches on the physical risks of prediabetes such as developing heart problems and what can happen if you don’t stop diabetes from occurring. You’ll learn about supplements and how to shop for food – as well as the food choices to make while you’re eating at restaurants.
Taking care of your emotions is also talked about and this step is important as well. By taking care of your emotions, you can impact your physical health for the better – especially when you manage the stress in your life.
This book offers a comprehensive plan on the lifestyle changes that you can make to turn your life around and stop diabetes.
How Long Does It Take to Reverse Diabetes?
Diabetes has often been called a progressive disease. When you hear the word progressive, that can discourage anyone and it can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that there’s nothing that you can do to stop the disease.
But this simply isn’t true. Yes, diabetes is a progressive disease – but only for those who don’t fight back. If you fight back against a diagnosis of diabetes, not only can you reverse the condition, but you can end up in better health that you’ve ever been in before.
When it comes to reversing the disease, there will be both immediate and long term actions that will make the difference. It all starts with control. You must control the disease or it will control you.
To topple the disease, you first have to gain control over your lifestyle. This will give you immediate help toward reversing the disease. Most people end up with diabetes because they’re overweight.
Obviously, you can’t change how much you weigh immediately because that’s a change that will have to take place over time – especially if you have a lot to lose. However, you can change what you eat now so that you’ll feel the benefits of a new eating plan immediately.
Your short term reversal benefit will be that you won’t need as much medicine if you’re already on pills for your diabetes. If you’re eating in such a way that it’s to control your glucose readings, you’ll be able to come off the medications faster.
You do this by eating only healthy foods. For faster results with reversing the disease, choose a low carb diet. That means that you’ll switch out the high carb items for low carb.
Use decadent treats only occasionally instead of several times a week. Stop drinking your calories in sugary drinks. Switch to water, unsweetened tea or other low calorie drinks.
Change your white flour foods for wheat flour. Make two thirds of the foods on your plate vegetables and fruits while the other portion is some type of protein. As you eat right, you’ll see immediate results in your blood sugar.
This can happen in a matter of hours or days. Reversing diabetes by taking off the weight will depend on how much you lose. Some people can reverse their diabetes diagnosis in a matter of weeks.
For others it takes several months or a year. What you’ll notice immediately though, when you change the way that you eat is that your A1c numbers are coming down. You can easily go from a reading of almost 9 to a normal A1c reading just by controlling the foods that you eat.
Since the A1c numbers are based on the average of your readings over a three month period, you can easily reverse your diagnosis in three months. However, you can immediately improve how sensitive your cells are to insulin in as little as 7-10 days.
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Fear of a Diabetes Diagnosis Often Leads to Poor Medical Choices
Sometimes, you can get a nagging suspicion that something isn’t quite right with your body’s health. Instead of going to the doctor, what some people do is ignore it. People ignore symptoms out of fear.
They imagine the worst possible outcome and they don’t want to think about it or get a diagnosis because they’re afraid that their worst fears will come true. Others don’t want to know what’s going on with their body because they’re accustomed to their lifestyle.
They know that a diagnosis might shake up their comfort zone. That’s what happens to a lot of people who have all the classic symptoms of diabetes. Some of these symptoms are excessive thirst, frequent urination and slow healing wounds.
Other not so common signs of diabetes are numbness and tingling – especially around the lips. A lot of people live in fear of being tested for diabetes – especially if they have a family history of it.
Maybe they’ve seen some pretty poor examples of how diabetes has been managed among the people they care about. It could be that a relative had the disease and continues to live exactly as he or she pleases without any changes.
That attitude can be passed down in a family and diabetes can be thought of as a family disease that one can’t do anything to change. This resistance to change not only keeps a lot of people from being properly diagnosed, but it also keeps people who are diagnosed from making the changes that they really do need to make.
It’s easier to eat what you’ve always eaten than to change your diet. It’s easier to sit on the sofa in front of the television than it is to exercise. It’s easier to cope with stress by overeating and battling anxiety than it is to take steps to eliminate stress.
So what ends up happening is some people decide that they’d rather not know if they have diabetes or not so that they can continue living just as they always have. But what they don’t realize is that they’re shaving many years from their lives.
They’re limiting the time that they have left and they’re also gambling with the consequences of diabetes that’s not properly managed. Diabetes is like any other condition.
If you do your best to take care of it, you can live a long, healthy and happy life. But on the flip side, if you do nothing to take care of it and you don’t make the necessary changes, you will end up paying the price.
You can end up losing sight in one or both eyes. This can lead to a loss of independence. You can end up losing a limb to the disease due to poor blood circulation.
Some people end up with more than one limb amputated. You can have a stroke or a heart attack or you can die much younger than you should have, due to the toll diabetes takes on the body.
While change can be hard, you deserve a beautiful life with the people that you care about. It’s easier to get tested and make changes than it is to suffer the consequences and wish that you had after it’s too late.
A 3-Step Plan to Getting Off Diabetes Medications for Good
Getting a diagnosis of diabetes can be a shock – especially if you don’t know much about the disease – or if you do know about it but what you know is pretty negative.
Being told that you have diabetes doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that you can do. Contrary to the popular belief that diabetes is permanent, you can not only stop the disease, but you can reverse your diagnosis of it as well.
However, it will take a strong mindset on your part and the willingness to keep focused on the end goal. You don’t live a certain lifestyle that causes diabetes to occur and then change it in a day.
It might take several days or weeks to get your glucose levels under control, but you can do it. You can lose weight and change your health for the better by following a 3-step plan, which will take you off the diabetes medication and keep you off of it for good.
Step 1 is engaging in nutritional awareness. Nutrition is the key to coming off of diabetes medication. When you’re taking medicine for the disease, the reason is because your cells can’t properly use the insulin that your body makes.
They’ve become resistant and part of the reason is because there’s too many fat cells. But altering the way that you eat can change all of that. You need a diet that’s based on whole grains, moderate intake of fruits, with vegetables and lean protein.
The best diet for you to not need your medication is a low carb diet. Some people choose to follow a vegetarian diet and that works well also. What you want to do is to choose a diet that leaves the starches and sugary foods behind. These can trigger a desire to overeat and they’re just not that healthy for you.
Step #2 is to get moving! Exercise is another key to reversing your diabetes to the point where you no longer need to take medication. You’ll want to engage in aerobics exercise along with some type of strength or resistance training.
If it’s been awhile since you exercised, you can start out with brisk walking. But you’ll want to exercise for at least 20 minutes to half an hour every day. Get a pedometer, join an exercise group, or find buddy support system to help you stay motivated to work toward your goal. Every pound that you lose is helping you reserves diabetes and exercise can do that for you.
Step #3 is to get stress under control. Besides nutrition and exercise, keeping the stress you have to deal with to a minimum is also one of the key factors to getting off diabetes medication.
There are two types of stress that can affect someone with diabetes. Those are mental and physical stress. When you’re under stress, it can be harder to have the mindset that you want to control or reverse the diabetes.
When you’re under stress, it can trigger a hormone release. These stress hormones then raise the glucose levels higher than what they normally are. Keep the stress in your life as low as possible.
Complications and Herbal Supplements for Diabetes
There have been more than 400 different traditional plant medicines documented for treating diabetes. Few of these plants have been studied for their efficiency, although, in undeveloped countries they are often the main choice for non-insulin dependent diabetes.
Under no circumstances should children or adults who are insulin dependent discontinue their insulin injections. Herbal treatments may be used after consultation with your family doctor. If you do implement any dietary supplementation, it is wise to advise your doctor of any changes so they can have all of the facts when monitoring your health.
Certain minerals such as: Zinc 25mg; Chromium 50mcg-125mcg; Magnesium 300mg; and Manganese 15mg have been useful to help glucose metabolism normalize. Note that mg stands for “milligrams” and mcg for “micrograms”.
Other helpful supplements include: Vitamin B6 and B-Complex, Brewer’s yeast and Vitamins A, C and D. Brewer’s yeast naturally contains chromium and this mineral assists in the metabolism of sugar.
Some popular herbs for reducing sugar in the urine include: Sweet Sumach, Pipsissewa, Olive leaves, Jambul seeds and onions. Bitter Melon and Balsam pear have also been used successfully. Guar gum has been used in hyperglycemia to reduce the sugar in the blood.
Where the pancreas is still functioning, hypoglycemic herbs can be effective. Popular hypoglycaemic herbs used to raise blood sugar levels include: Goldenseal, Dandelion root, and German Chamomile.
Additional “anti-diabetic action” herbs include: Goat’s Rue, Bilberry berries, Fringe Tree, Fenugreek seeds, Aloe Vera and garlic.
Diabetic Neuralgia
Cayenne pepper has been successfully used for Diabetic Neuralgia. There are creams containing the active ingredient capsicum that may be applied and capsules are available for internal consumption. Cayenne is beneficial for increasing the circulation and this can be beneficial for some of the cardiovascular side effects of diabetes as well.
Diabetic Gangrene
Tinctures with equal parts of Echinacea and Thuja have been very helpful for this necrotic condition. The tincture can be taken internally, 30-60 drops and also rubbed externally onto the affected area.
Blindness, Glaucoma and Detachment of the Retina
Developing cataracts is a common occurrence in diabetes. Although surgery may be necessary, herbs can be supportive for these issues. Preventative checkups with the eye doctor and related health care specialists are the best defense for this complication.
Heart Disease and Kidney Strain
Coronary Heart Disease is common in diabetics. Women in particular need to be proactive so as not to develop atherosclerosis at an early age. Taking essential fatty acids can greatly benefit the heart and the cardiovascular system. They can help lower triglyceride levels and bring high blood pressure down. High blood pressure unfortunately can place extra strain on the kidneys. The kidneys may become exhausted from excreting too much protein.
Lime flowers, Hawthorn and Yarrow can be helpful for this situation.
Foot Ulcers
Feet that are exposed to unconscious bruising and chafing may develop an injury from which septic ulceration may occur. Chamomile foot baths are a very soothing and healing treatment that can be easily done at home. Remember to check the temperature of the water before soaking the feet.
This Very Expensive Diabetes Drug Helps Promote Weight Loss
A new promising diabetes drug has been announced but it’s also very very expensive:
Saxenda: This Diabetes Drug Helps Promote Weight Loss, But There’s A Catch
Saxenda is a treatment for diabetes that could also help people looking to lose weight. People who injected the drug every day for a year lost an average of 18.5 pounds, compared with six pounds among a control group taking a placebo.
Liraglutide (popularly known as Saxenda) was studied in 3,700 overweight and obese people who have not been diagnosed with diabetes. However, around half the subjects in the study exhibited prediabetes. Subjects in the study were divided into an experimental group of 2,500 participants who received injections of the drug, and a control population of 1,200 people were provided with a placebo. All the subjects in the experiment were provided with lifestyle counseling aimed at teaching methods to promote weight loss.
After 56 weeks, 63 percent of subjects receiving the drug lost 5 percent or more of their body weight, while 33 percent lost at least 10 percent of their initial body mass. This compared with 27 percent and 10 percent, respectively, among participants receiving a placebo.
“It is a very effective drug. It seems to be as good as any of the others on the market, so it adds another possibility for doctors to treat patients who are having trouble either losing weight or maintaining weight loss once they get the weight off,” Xavier Pi-Sunyer from the Columbia University Medical Center said…