If it was an infectious disease, passed from one person
to another, public health officials would say we're in
the midst of an epidemic. This difficult disease is
striking an ever-growing number of adults. Even more
alarming, it's now beginning to show up in our teenagers
and children.
- 18 Million Americans have it.
- 20% of those over 65 have it.
- 1 in 3 people who have it don't know they have it.
- 90% of those cases are PREVENTABLE.
- It costs $132 Billion dollars a year to "treat" it.
Glucose (a.k.a blood sugar) is the fuel that provides
energy to the 10 Trillion cells that make up a human
being. When we eat, carbohydrates are converted into
glucose, the glucose then moves through the bloodstream
to feed the cells. It's important to have the right
amount of glucose in the blood, so your body has some
fairly complex "machinery" to get the job done. Anytime
your glucose levels rise, your brain tells your pancreas
to produce insulin. Insulin is a chemical messenger that
rings the "dinner bell" for your cells. When the "dinner
bell" rings, your cells come running to get their
glucose.
It is important to understand that carbohydrates come in
two forms natural (complex) and man-made (simple). The
man-made carbs are found in processed foods such as
white table sugar, candy, sodas, high fructose corn
syrup, and white bread. Eating man-made carbs causes
sudden and sustained spikes in your glucose levels. The
brain interprets this enormous rush of sugar as trauma
and signals the pancreas to produce insulin.
This constant over-stimulation of the pancreas, year
after year after year, causes your "machinery" to wear
out. In some cases, the pancreas gets tired and can't
produce enough insulin. In other cases, the "dinner
bell" rings so often that the cells get tired of hearing
it, and stop running to get their glucose. Either way,
when this happens, the health care industry declares
that you have type 2 diabetes. And yes, for only a few
hundred bucks a month they can keep you alive.
Natural sugars, like the sugars found in fruits and
other whole foods, are known as complex carbs. Your body
was designed to ingest them. They are much larger
molecules and cross the blood brain barrier very slowly.
They do not cause those sudden and sustained spikes in
glucose levels, so your "machinery" can last a lifetime.
It really is that simple.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, making
a few changes can dramatically lower your chances of
developing type 2 diabetes. The same changes can also
lower the chances of developing heart disease and some
cancers.
Control your weight. Excess weight is the single most
important cause of type 2 diabetes. Being overweight
increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes
seven-fold. Being obese makes you 20 to 40 times more
likely to develop diabetes than someone with a healthy
weight.
Losing weight can help if your weight is above the
healthy-weight range. Losing 7-10% of your current
weight can cut in half your chances of developing type 2
diabetes.
Get moving. Inactivity promotes type 2 diabetes. Every
two hours you spend watching TV instead of pursuing
something more active increases the changes of
developing diabetes by 14%. Working your muscles more
often and making them work harder improves their ability
to use insulin and absorb glucose. This puts less stress
on your insulin-making machinery.
Long bouts of hot, sweaty exercise aren't necessary to
reap this benefit. Findings from the Nurses' Health
Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study suggest
that walking briskly for a half hour every day reduces
the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30%.
This amount of exercise has a variety of other benefits
as well. And even greater cardiovascular and other
benefits can be attained by more, and more intense,
exercise.
Tune-up your diet. Two dietary changes can have a big
impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes.
1. Choose whole grains and whole-grain products over
highly processed carbohydrates. In other words, choose
whole foods instead of processed foods.
2. Choose good fats instead of bad fats. The types of
fats in your diet can also affect the development of
diabetes. Good fats, such as the polyunsaturated fats
found in tuna, salmon, liquid vegetable oils, and many
nuts, can help ward off type 2 diabetes. Trans fats do
just the opposite. These bad fats are found in many
margarines, packaged baked goods, fried foods in most
fast-food restaurants, and any product that lists
"partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" on the label. If
you already have diabetes, eating fish can help protect
you against a heart attack or dying from heart disease.
If you smoke, try to quit. Add type 2 diabetes to the
long list of health problems linked with smoking.
Smokers are 50% to 90% more likely to develop diabetes
than nonsmokers.
Alcohol now and then may help. A growing body of
evidence links moderate alcohol consumption with reduced
risks of heart disease. The same may be true for type 2
diabetes. Moderate amounts of alcohol-a drink a day for
men, a drink every other day for women-increases the
efficiency of insulin at getting glucose inside cells.
And some studies indicate that moderate alcohol
consumption decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes. If
you already drink alcohol, the key is to keep your
consumption in the moderate range. If you don't drink
alcohol, there's no need to start-you can get the same
benefits by losing weight, exercising more, and changing
your eating patterns.
The bottom line? They key to preventing type 2 diabetes
can be boiled down to five words: Stay lean and stay
active.
To that end, The Wholefood Farmacy offers you a
convenient way to enjoy the pure, nutrient dense, whole
foods that your body needs. Our
7 and 13 day programs of whole foods and water
can offer you a new beginning. Taking care of yourself
is the only way to lead your children towards a life of
self-care and prevention.
Visit The Wholefood Farmacy Here:
richm.thewholefoodfarmacy.com
