Health Care

by Nancy Gable

Diabetes is a condition that causes high blood glucose (sugar) levels. When your body breaks down the food you eat, some of it is turned into glucose. The glucose travels through the blood and enters the body cells where it supplies needed energy. Insulin, produced by the pancreas, helps the glucose enter the cells. With Type I (juvenile) diabetes, the body has stopped making insulin, so the glucose builds up in the blood stream, unable to enter the cells. In contrast, most Type II (adult-onset) diabetics, when diagnosed, have plenty of insulin but something blocks it from doing its job properly. About 95% of diabetics in the U.S. are Type II.

So what is the cause of Type II diabetes and what are the three keys to reversing it? Studies have demonstrated that the occurrence of Type II diabetes has a strong relationship to fat, both in the diet and on the body. In areas of the world where fat intake is low and obesity rare, diabetes is also rare. The resistance of the cells to insulin appears to relate directly to obesity and excess fat in the diet. By greatly reducing the amount of fat in the diet and increasing fiber, along with adding daily exercise, most Type II diabetics can normalize their blood sugar levels, often within a few weeks and sometimes in less than 30 days. And Type I diabetics can usually reduce the amount of insulin they need each day.

Two of the keys for disarming diabetes, less fat and more fiber, are found in a vegan diabetes diet. A vegan diet is one that uses no animal products for food. Animal products are not only high in fat but also contain no fiber. By eliminating animal products such as meat and milk, the fat that goes with them is automatically eliminated. And by eating more plant foods, fiber intake automatically increases. Fiber helps regulate the release of glucose into the blood stream and smoothes out the highs and lows in blood sugar levels.

A Type II diabetic who lowers fat intake to about 10-15% of total calories and increases fiber intake to 40 grams per day or more can often bring blood sugar levels to normal ranges in less than eight weeks. A safe natural way to get the low-fat, fiber-rich foods needed to normalize and reverse diabetes is through a vegan diabetes diet consisting of a wide variety of plant foods.

Combine the third key, daily exercise, with a vegan diet and you have a winning combination for defeating diabetes. Physical exercise burns up the excess sugar and fatty acids more rapidly and helps reduce body fat more quickly. Two 30-minute walks a day is ideal to help burn up the extra sugar in the blood. Even for those who cannot walk, exercise in any form every day will help.

Studies are proving that a vegan diabetes diet can be very effective in the control and reversal of diabetes. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine did a study with Type 2 diabetics in which a vegan diet was compared to the American Diabetic Association (ADA) diet for three months. Group results showed that those on the vegan diabetes diet used less medication and controlled their blood sugar levels better than those on the ADA diet. The vegans also lost twice as much weight and had lower cholesterol levels at the end of the three-month study. For details of the study, visit http://www.pcrm.org/health/clinres/diabetes.html.

Diabetics should work with a doctor experienced in the effects of dietary therapy to monitor and adjust insulin needs.

About the Author
andNancy Gable lost 77 lbs. and helped her husband lose 61 lbs. and reverse his diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol so that he no longer needs medications to control those issues. She provides resources, information, and support for those wanting to improve their health through natural lifestyle methods at http://www.theseriousway.comhttp://www.theseriouswayvegan.com.