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Excerpts
The right food choices can make a world of difference. In fact, several clinical studies have shown that people with Type 2 diabetes can often decrease or discontinue their medication and even reverse their condition with the right eating plan. Controlling blood glucose and cholesterol levels decreases the risk of serious complications that might otherwise occur. In study after study, the diet with the most profound and lasting effects is one made up exclusively of whole grain foods, such as hearty breads, pastas, and cereals, along with fresh fruit, a rich array of vegetables, and low-fat, protein-rich beans, peas, and lentils. From Chapter 2 Exciting research findings have emerged over the past two decades that have given us extraordinary power to change the course of diabetes even beyond the recommendations in the American Dietetic Association (ADA) guidelines. More than 40 years ago, researchers at the University of Minnesota began to study the eating habits of more than 25,000 Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group that has long been of interest to scientists because virtually all abstain from alcohol and smoking, and about half are vegetarian while half are not, providing an unusual opportunity to assess the effects of diet on health. Researchers followed them for 21 years to see what could be learned about diet and the occurrence of various diseases. The results were clear: Participants who regularly avoided meat had a much lower chance of getting diabetes. Since then, many studies in diverse groups of people have supported these findings. From Chapter 3 Growing up, you probably learned about the old Four Food Groups. A "balanced" diet meant having a serving of meat, dairy, starch, and a fruit or vegetable at every meal. What nutrition experts counted on as being a healthy food model turned out to be a food pattern that wasn't very healthy at all. Enter in the New Four Food Groups, proposed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in 1991. The meat and dairy products were laid off, and better foods were hired to fill their places. Fruits and vegetables, instead of being crammed into one cubicle, get their own offices. Grains still have their own space, with an emphasis on fiber-rich whole grains. Legumes, long thought of as a food only eaten when you're low on cash, are now thought of as food fit for a king. These protein and fiber powerhouses get their own place in the New Four Food Groups, too. Here's an easy-to-follow eating guide that is designed for health promotion and disease prevention…. From Chapter 4 Environmental factors implicated in Type 1 diabetes can either be triggers, also called initiators, or they can accelerate the progression of the disease (from the point of the trigger to diabetes). One of the key triggers of the autoimmune response is the proteins found in cow's milk and infant formula made from cow's milk. In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that avoiding cow's milk in infancy could likely reduce diabetes risk. Cow's milk proteins can even be passed from a milk-drinking mother to her breast-feeding baby. Mothers would do well to avoid dairy products, both during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Not only will this reduce her child's exposure to a known autoimmune trigger, but it often reduces problems with colic. From Chapter 5 When you restrict the number of calories your body needs, your body reacts. As you starve yourself, all you can think of is food. You dream of having a donut or envision eating a whole pizza by yourself. The fact is, your body is rebelling against your calorie reduction. It doesn't know you want to lose weight. All it knows is that something has gone terribly wrong and you are not able to get enough food. Not only will the diet make you preoccupied with food, your body also lowers your metabolism so you'll burn fewer calories. It's a cruel trick, but when you cut calories too low, your body struggles to hold onto the fat that's there (both from your food and even on your body). This is even true for people who are chronic breakfast skippers. If you don't eat breakfast and wait until noon to eat your first meal, your metabolism lowers to conserve its energy stores. From Chapter 6 Well-meaning doctors and nutritionists provide a wide variety of dietary advice to their patients with diabetes. Unfortunately, some of it is based upon older research and is now clearly outdated. For example, some doctors recommend limiting carbohydrate intake to less than 50 percent of calories; others recommend consuming more than 15 percent of calories from protein. While these doctors may be excellent at diagnosing diabetes, they would benefit from learning more about current approaches to managing it. From Chapter 7 With the discovery of insulin in the early 1920s, people living with diabetes were given a new lease on life. Many different diabetes medicines have been developed since then. This chapter will review the common types, how diet along with medication can help keep your blood sugar levels in check, and what to do if they go too high or too low. Only your doctor can determine your need for diabetes medication, which can change as time goes by. If you have Type 1 diabetes, you will need to take insulin, because your body can no longer make enough of it. If you have Type 2 diabetes, your eating habits, weight, and exercise can greatly influence your need for medication. From Chapter 8
From Chapter 9 The longer people have diabetes, the more likely they are to develop eye problems. After 20 years with diabetes, most people will have at least some problems with their eyes, especially if they have high blood pressure or persistent high blood sugar. But, there is a lot you can do to protect your eyes. First of all, retinopathy generally doesn't occur until after about ten years from the onset of diabetes. From the very beginning, the key to slowing or preventing the disease is to have tight control over your blood-sugar levels. You have learned from this book that vegetarian foods—along with regular exercise—can help enormously with blood sugar control. But these foods are also packed with nutrients that can help protect your eyes. Let's take a closer look at how retinopathy begins. From Chapter 10 Olympic athlete Gary Hall was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1996, but it didn't stop him from winning four medals—two gold, a silver, and a bronze—at the 2000 Olympics. And diabetes needn't stop you either. Do be aware that many factors can influence how your blood sugar responds to exercise, including the intensity, duration, and time of day that you exercise, as well as your glycogen stores, nutritional status, blood insulin levels, and fitness level. From Chapter 11 You can give your baby a major advantage even before you become pregnant. Most pregnancies are not planned. So, whether you have diabetes or not, if you're a woman of childbearing age, it's wise to stay on top of health and fitness. You'll want to include plenty of vegetables, fruits, and beans in your diet. They are rich in folic acid, which is essential for your baby's early nervous system development. It's not good waiting until you're pregnant to build these foods into your diet. By the time your pregnancy test comes back, your baby has already grown past the stage where folic acid plays its most critical role. From Chapter 12 We can accomplish these goals with a new and very different take on diet. Instead of rigidly adhering to old-fashioned exchange lists and counting every last carbohydrate gram, we will choose foods that jump-start our insulin sensitivity, help us slim down (or stay that way), and keep our heart and blood vessels healthy. In the process, we gain the freedom to enjoy foods that are tasty, familiar, and filling. With a few simple but important changes in our diet, we can control our blood sugar much better—to the point where, if we have Type 2 diabetes, it can even go away. |
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From Chapter 1