Type 2 diabetes is looming as the biggest epidemic and public health issue in human history. Close to 300 million people are affected worldwide and another 150 million are forecast to be diagnosed by 2030.
Type 2 diabetes is looming as the biggest epidemic and public health issue in human history. Close to 300 million people are affected worldwide and another 150 million are forecast to be diagnosed by 2030. One half of Americans are diabetic or pre-diabetic and suffering from various side effects. These side effects can include blindness, nerve damage, amputations, brain fog, depression, kidney failure, and more.
Pharmaceutical companies are making lots of money on all of these conditions. One in three Medicare dollars goes to the care of diabetic and pre-diabetic patients. Many of these drugs may make symptoms worse and, in fact, cause new symptoms…which require more drugs.
What if we told you that it’s possible to manage these symptoms and reverse diabetes entirely without medication?
The average American consumes 152 pounds of sugar and 146 pounds of flour a year. This amount of intake is a primary cause of the 1.7 billion cases of obesity worldwide. Food is medicine. When you remove disease-causing, inflammatory food and put in the right food, healing happens quickly. A healthy lifestyle is key to maintaining optimal health in your body. This all starts with what we put into our mouth. The food we eat literally has the power to cause OR heal disease.
These 6 steps can greatly improve your chances of reversing your diabetes with a functional medicine approach:
- Drastically Reduce Your Sugar Intake- The most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and reverse its impact is to dramatically reduce sugar in all of its forms. Cutting out processed foods, refined carbohydrates, sodas, and added sugars is key.
- Eat More Organic Food- Organic, whole foods balance your blood sugar, reduce inflammation and improve organ function to reverse insulin resistance and diabetes. A diet full of fresh, organic fruits & vegetables, healthy fats full of omega-3 fats, organic, free-range animal protein in moderation, and plenty of hydration is so important for your overall long-term health.
- Exercise at Least Three Times A Week- Vigorous exercise (getting your heart rate up for 60 minutes up to 6 times a week) helps balance blood sugar and lower insulin levels. It’s important that you work up to this if you aren’t exercising regularly already. A daily walk or 15 minutes of yoga is a great place to start!
- Supplement Your Diet with Proper Vitamins and Nutrients– Supplements like a quality multivitamin, vitamin D3, and omega-3s combined with the right diet and lifestyle modifications, can help you balance blood sugar, prevent gut issues, and reverse or prevent diabetes. Our functional medicine providers would be happy to make recommendations that would best fit your needs.
- Get Enough GOOD Sleep- When we don’t get enough sleep, it damages our metabolism, spikes sugar and carb cravings, and increases your risk for numerous diseases including type 2 diabetes.
- Reduce Your Stress With Mindfulness- The world today is stressful. Chronic stress is rampant and this causes insulin and cortisol (the stress hormone) to increase. This, in turn, leads to weight gain, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes. The links between stress, weight gain, mental disorders, and blood sugar imbalances show that managing stress becomes a critical component of obesity and diabetes management. You can’t eliminate stress, but you can learn to control it. Meditation, deep breathing exercises, yoga, a massage, laughing, and dancing are among the best ways to manage stress and reverse type 2 diabetes.
Would you like help in balancing your blood sugar, losing weight, preventing diabetes, or reversing diabetes?
At Integrative Health Matters, we spend time with you to learn your complete history and what may be the root causes of your health issues. Our staff of nurse practitioners, doctors, and health coaches can create a custom wellness plan based on your specific symptoms and test results. We’ll make supplementation and diet recommendations and help get you on the road to healing.
Book your free 15-minute consultation and sign up for our FREE 15 Days of Nutrition email series. You will receive one email each day for 15 days containing valuable nutrition strategies!