Certainly anyone these days cannot have missed the flurry of media coverage on the next impending disease epidemic in America—Type 2 diabetes. Whether it’s covered on the evening news, the talk shows populating the daily rotation, or almost any magazine, diabetes rivals obesity for the most talked-about, and in many cases, most avoidable and reversible of catastrophic diseases. If you are an African American, diabetes is likely no stranger in your family’s health history. I doubt the existence of a black American family who has not experienced the death of family member from at least one of “the big three”—cancer, diabetes and heart disease—resulting in the deaths of millions of African Americans.
Of course it is increasingly true that race is no longer the determining factor in contracting these diseases that it used to be; the rates of Type 2 diabetes in particular have soared to alarming proportions in most racial and ethnic groups, with African Americans having both the largest rates of occurrence and the greatest risk for contraction. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 1985, about 2.6% or a little over 6 million adults had all types of diabetes. Today, 8.3% of the population has it, almost 26 million Americans. So what are the contributing factors to the contemporary rise in rates? How do the increases relate to obesity, type of food consumption and food additives? Why should everyone, regardless of weight, be as concerned about eating to maintain healthy blood sugar levels as they are about eating to lose weight or heal the body’s ailments?
An increase from six to almost thirty million people with some form of diabetes in just twenty years has been attributed to a variety of factors, many of which can be mitigated to reverse effects. Not only is it possible to reverse a lot of Type 2 diabetes cases, many factors that increase diabetes risk also increase the risk of other diseases; and conversely, treating them can often reduce and reverse Type 2 diabetes. If obese, people are at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes; if diabetic, people are likely to have increased difficulty losing weight.
Mitigation of these companion diseases begins by controlling a significant factor in our health maintenance or demise—our sedentary work and leisure lives, which help to lower our insulin and leptin sensitivities. If we lose insulin sensitivity, the levels of sugar in our bloodstream rises; if we lose leptin sensitivity, our body is told to store more fat, increasing our weight. Daily moderate exercise has been shown to help maintain insulin and leptin sensitivity, ultimately helping us avoid insulin resistance and pre-diabetes. Correct insulin and leptin levels are going to send correct storage signals to the body, reducing the body’s weight to its naturally healthy level (which may not be skinny, by the way).
Related to our sedentary lifestyle is our habit of consuming too much processed foods. Of the many harmful substances contained in these, the worst for diabetes and obesity is processed sugar. Any excess sugar can cause the body to create and store fat, even fructose. Keep in mind that many foods—white carbs, alcohol, grains, chocolate, and components of processed foods—break down eventually into sugar. Diabetics and overweight people have been told to avoid sugar forever, but it is an addictive substance. Sugar also feeds cancer cells, so avoidance of excess sugar is a good way to discourage cancers from growing by starving them of their food supply.
Recent news has exposed the dangers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a highly process form of corn sugars, and studies have linked it to diabetes and obesity. The first step to take in reversing Type 2 diabetes to eliminate any and all processed sugars, significantly reduce natural sugars and never use artificial sugar. Keeping in mind that sugar is a substance that causes the body to perform its functions in excess, whether it is storing fat, increasing inflammation, growing and feeding yeast, and/or growing and feeding cancer cells. So elimination of processed sugar and significant reduction of natural sugar from the diet is a necessity for reduction of harmful substances and increase in optimal health. Even if you are not a diabetic or overweight, your body can suffer from any of the elements above exacerbated by sugar. Excess and the wrong types of sugars can bring on diseases of various kinds. Thus, dieting to avoid sugar is dieting to live a longer, healthier life with fewer ailments, excess inflammation for instance, that if left unchecked can lead to very serious ones, like arthritis.
How does a person successfully eat to maintain healthy blood sugar? After eliminating the bad habits above, the types of foods one should eat and how often these should be eaten is based on several factors. Everyone has different physiology and metabolic types. Knowing your own and arranging your diet and food intake in a fashion that responds to it is key in maintaining health, weight loss, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. I am a protein metabolism—I am absolutely starving without protein first. With a health dose, I can go for long periods without hunger. I am also a meat-eater. I have been a vegetarian for years, but my body can no longer function without some meat. So I have reduced the amounts, eat only organic meats, and eat a somewhat limited variety of meats and fowl. My body is happy this way. And, it loses weight well with protein first, then vegetables, then fruit. I do everything possible to heavily reduce processed carbs, grains and dairy. Explore and identify your metabolic type, then consider how you should arrange your foods and what types of foods that should and should not be eaten for the best health. Consider reading the book Eat Right For Your Blood Type, which suggests foods to eat and not eat according to our unique physiologies. Have faith in what works for you and your body.
How often should a person eat to maintain healthy blood sugar levels? The answer to this question varies depending on whose research is consulted. I have seen through actual practice that a combination of two ideas end up maintaining not only healthy blood sugar but also health in general, as well as elimination of diseases. The first is familiar to many who have explored popular contemporary diets—eating several small meals during about an 8 – 10 hour period during the day. The arrangement of these meals can vary according to diet, whether a breakfast load meal and decreasing size and calorie meals throughout the day; or 3 meals/2-3 snacks variety of eating with meals having more calories than snacks.
The second type of eating is gaining prominence—intermittent fasting. This method is based on the idea that eating fewer times during a 24-hour period significantly increases the health of the body’s organs, especially the heart, along with other benefits. While the idea of giving up one or two meals a couple of days a week might distress some, intermittent fasting is actually achieved in a fashion when following the average diet—predicated on eating within about an eight hour window and not eating for 16 hours each day.
During a period of 120 days, I followed a 3 meals/2-3 snacks within eight hours diet, which also had a very long period of those meals not totally more than 500 – 750 calories a day. Needless to say, I lost huge amounts of weight, but I wouldn’t recommend this method without doctor’s support and medically prescribed supplements. My blood sugar readings dropped to normal over the course of four months by eating this way after they had been in the high two hundreds; my A1C dropped from 17 to 5.
I experienced other health benefits from this combination of eating, which I continue to follow. I lowered my blood pressure, alleviated “fungus toes,” and experienced significant relief from arthritic pain. I also eliminated sugar cravings, making it much easier to maintain this eating regime. I highly recommend conducting a survey of what you are eating, regardless of your weight. Eliminate sugar and replace it with whole foods of the types the body requires. Try eating fewer times a day and increasing intake of water and whole juices. You’ll experience significant health benefits and health maintenance as a result.
By Melissa Prunty Kemp, M.A., M.F.A.
Disclaimer: Nothing written in this blog should be used as a substitute for consulting your doctor on matters pertaining to your health. You should be supervised by your health care professional. Melissa Prunty Kemp and her associates cannot and will not assume responsibility for your health. It is important that you visit your own doctor regularly for a physical examinations and check-ups, and consult her or him before making any health decisions.
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[…] and overweight people have been told to avoid sugar forever, but it is an addictive substance. Sugar also feeds cancer cells, so avoidance of excess sugar is a good way to discourage cancers from growing by starving them of […]