Nutritional Approaches to Blood Sugar Control

The full name of diabetes is Diabetes Mellitus.  Translated, that means Sugar Diabetes.  It is an illness of sugar metabolism, where “sugar” is any form of simple carbohydrates.  This could be white sugar, brown sugar, confectioners sugar, white flour, high fructose corn syrup, and so on.  In 1900, studies showed that the average American consumed about 5 pounds of refined sugar per year.  Picture those small 5 lb bags of sugar at the supermarket, buy one of those, and that was your year’s supply.

That same study was repeated in the year 2000, and the results were a whopping 150 pounds, per person per year.  This is the equivalent of consuming 30 years worth of sugar in just one year.  This is clearly a big part of the picture for why diabetes is a top 10 cause of death. 

There has been more than 50 years of pharmaceutical and government propaganda pushing the standard “food pyramid” that strongly emphasized carbohydrates, and greatly minimized protein and especially fat.  Combined with the nutrient-deficient, heavily processed fast food culture, American health continues the downward spiral begun almost 100 years ago.  All these data are presented in full detail in my book, Heal Your Life, Heal the World. 

So this brings us to the question of “how should you really be eating if you are dealing with insulin resistance or overt diabetes?”

If you review the literature available in the general natural health community, you’’’ see there are two approaches.  One approach recommends basically a vegetarian diet.  Proponents point to studies they claim prove their point.  The second main approach recommends greatly minimizing carbohydrates, even in the form of vegetables, and to focus on protein and fats instead.  These diets include Ketogenic diets, carnivore diets, and so on.  There is likewise evidence in favor of these, as well.  As I presented in a previous blog in this series, it is carbohydrates that cause blood sugar to go up and down.  Proteins and fats, once digested by the body, will result in only very small changes to blood sugar.

Reminder: it is INSULIN RESISTANCE that causes blood sugar issues. The primary organ of insulin resistance is the liver.  The conventional approach tells the pancreas to make more insulin.  The vegetarian approach assumes that insulin resistance in the liver is the result of diets of meat and fat.  THIS IS A MAJOR MISTAKE.

Fatty liver, the main cause of insulin resistance is primarily the result of inflammation in your body, which ultimately has many potential causes, as shown in the figure associated with this blog post.  These include poor quality foods, lack of physical exercise, overload of environmental toxins, being overweight or obese, GI tract issues such as insufficient probiotics, and GI lining degradation from pro-inflammatory foods, chronic stress, mental or emotional isolation, and poor quality sleep.

Resuming our discussion of nutritional protocols to prevent or reverse insulin resistance or diabetes, it turns out that the most important aspect is the QUALITY of the foods you eat.  This too is presented in my book Heal Your Life, Heal the World. 

In general, I am a strong proponent of a nutritional plan that includes absolutely NO simple carbohydrates, minimal starches such as potatoes, pasta and breads, even if made from whole grains, and strongly emphasizes high quality proteins and fats.  Protein and fat are crucial first thing in the day, because it keeps you blood sugars more constant throughout the day, and that in turn can shut down the low blood sugar cravings that drive you to eat bad foods.

A good approximate percentage is about 75% of your caloric intake in the morning should be healthy proteins and fats, and no more than 25% should be healthy carbs.

Everyone’s blood sugar response is unique.  This is why you will need to keep detailed records of what you eat, how much you eat, and what your blood sugar response was.  This is the only reliable way to determine what YOUR body does.

I spend a great deal of time working with patients on foods, supplements, herbs and exercise helping them to regain mastery of their blood sugar and their lives.  Helping people in this way is one of the most rewarding things I do, especially since most patients are being told by the conventional medical system that reversing diabetes and insulin resistance is impossible.

Contact the office for a free, initial consultation.

Dr. Cage