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Diabetic diet plan includes cutting sugar By Rosie Main Eat Foods with Protein, Fiber and Healthy Fats to Balance Your Blood Sugar – When it comes to diabetes natural treatment, we must start with diet. When it comes to diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, we really need to balance out blood sugar. Diet-wise, there are certain foods that help do that. First, let me kind of shape a meal for you. Ideally, your meals are going to be high in three things: protein, fiber and healthy fats. So protein foods like wild salmon and free-range eggs, high-fiber foods like split peas and figs, and healthy fats like coconut oil and MCT oil are going to help balance out those blood sugar levels. So include lots of protein in your new diabetic diet plan. After wild-caught salmon, go for grass-fed beef, organic chicken and turkey. Fiber-rich foods are even more important, including artichokes, green leafy vegetables, celery, nuts and seeds (like chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, celery). A high-fiber diet will support detoxification and healthy blood sugar levels. Also, start using coconut oil, which is great for burning fat. Coconut oil benefits blood glucose levels, too. Start cooking with coconut oil and using coconut milk or coconut oil in a morning superfood shake. Coconut oil, ghee or grass-fed butter all work for balancing out blood sugar levels. A good diabetic diet plan includes those healthy fatty acids. So remember to get in protein, fiber and healthy fats during all of your meals. Chromium Rich Foods – Ideally, you’re also going to get foods that are very high in a type of mineral called chromium. What is chromium? Chromium plays a role in the insulinsignaling pathways that allow our bodies to control the amount of sugar we take in, helping balance blood glucose levels and giving us stable energy. Chromium picolinate is found in high levels in vegetables like nutrition-rich broccoli, which is the ideal superfood for diabetics in helping balance out blood sugar levels. Consume Food Rich in Magnesium – Over 80 percent of us suffer from at least a low level of a magnesium deficiency, and it can result in leg cramps, insomnia and, yes, diabetes. Magnesium is essential for cellular health and is a critical component of over 300 biochemical functions in the body. Magnesium has been shown to also help blood sugar levels, so eat magnesium-rich foods like grass-fed beef, certain types of nuts and seeds, and vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. Stay Away from Sugar – What’s going to throw off your blood sugar? Sugar and carbohydrates. Now, you want some carbohydrates, but just a smaller amount alongside healthy fats, fiber and protein. If not, your blood sugar is going to go up and down. Of utmost importance, you want to stay away from all sugar the best you can. In particular, refined sugar rapidly spikes blood glucose – soda, fruit juice and other sugary beverages are the worst culprits. These forms of sugar enter the bloodstream rapidly and can cause extreme elevations in blood glucose. You want to replace sugar with stevia, a no-calorie natural sweetener. A little bit of raw honey in moderation can be okay, too. Once your diabetes is reversed and you’re where you should be, raw local honey is another sweetener you can consider, as well as blackstrap molasses.
34 May / June 2021 | Christian Living
Avoid Grains – Grains are another problem, especially gluten-containing grains, white flour products, wheat bread, even whole-grain breads and oatmeal. These all contain large amounts of carbohydrates that are broken down into sugar within a few minutes of consumption. What’s the deal with gluten? Well, it can cause intestinal inflammation, which affects hormones like cortisol and leptin, and can lead to spikes in blood sugar. I would remove all grains from your diet for your first 90 days on this diabetic diet plan and after that time, you can introduce back in sprouted ancient grains like sorghum flour and kamut in small amounts. Remove Dairy from Your Diet – The other foods you want to eliminate are going to be conventional dairy products. Conventional cow’s milk should be eliminated, especially for type 1 diabetics. While dairy can be a fantastic food for balancing blood sugar if it comes from sheep or goat milk, or A2 cows, I recommend that you stay away from all other forms of dairy because the A1 casein produced by conventional cows will harm the body and trigger an immune response similar to gluten. Supplements and Other Natural Ways to Treat Diabetes – The next thing you want to do in your diabetic diet plan is consider certain supplements, herbs, essential oils and lifestyle modifications for naturally reversing diabetes. 1. Chromium Picolinate: Number one, take a chromium picolinate supplement, 200 micrograms, three times a day with your meals. One study conducted by the Human Nutrition Research Center U.S. Department of Agriculture found that when individuals being treated for type 2 diabetes were either given a placebo or chromium supplements over a four-month period each day while continuing to take normal medications and not changing eating habits, insulin values and cholesterol levels decreased significantly in the group given supplemental chromium compared to the placebo group. 2. Cinnamon: The health benefits of cinnamon extend to preventing diabetes. It helps lower blood sugar levels and also can improve sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which is the vital hormone needed for keeping blood sugar levels balanced. Take one teaspoon in the morning for breakfast, and then one teaspoon for lunch or dinner. 3. Fish Oil: Fish oil benefits include reducing inflammation and fighting diabetes. While people with diabetes often have high triglyceride and low HDL levels, omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil can help lower triglycerides and apoproteins (markers of diabetes), and raise HDL. 4. Alpha-Lipoic Acid: Next, alpha-lipoic acid, known as ALA, exist in many omega-3 foods and work with your pancreas in naturally treating diabetics. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, studies suggest ALA helps lower blood sugar levels. Its ability to kill free radicals may help people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and researchers believe alpha-lipoic acid helps improve insulin sensitivity. 5. Magnesium: A magnesium supplement can also help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes because magnesium plays a role in glucose metabolism. In a magnesium Journal of Internal Medicine study, an increase of 100 milligrams a day was found to decrease the risk of diabetes by 15 percent in a metaanalysis of the data.
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