Type 2 Diabetes used to be a somewhat marginal disease, but it is now an epidemic and one of the leading causes of death in Western countries such as the United States and Australia. In Australia alone, it is estimated that around 1 million people are living with diabetes, with many more who are pre-diabetic or yet to be diagnosed. Diabetes is said to be the fastest-growing chronic disease in Australia, growing at a rate faster than heart disease and cancer. Alarmingly, what was historically a disease only seen in adults, is now being widely observed in children too. This tells me that what we are doing to combat the disease is proving ineffective. At present, medical efforts focus on managing the disease, rather than applying comprehensive lifestyle changes that can, in many cases, be effective at reversing the disease. We owe it to ourselves. This is called insulin resistance. Patients are typically required to take pills or non-insulin injections on a daily basis to help lower their blood sugar.
Later I learned that carbs are not the enemy—fat is. Differential effects of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fat ingestion on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, sensitivity and clearance in overweight and obese, non-diabetic humans. After comparing diets and diabetes rates in different countries we know that as carbohydrate intake goes down and fat intake goes up, the number of diabetics rapidly increases [13]. As far back as the s, studies have been published on treating diabetes with a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet, [26] [27] [28] documenting the effectiveness of employing a predominantly vegetarian diet to treat diabetes. Meat consumption and risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the SUN Project: a highly educated middle-class population. Get the recipe app. There is a general consensus that the elements of a whole-foods plant-based diet—legumes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, with limited or no intake of refined foods and animal products—are highly beneficial for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes. Plant sources of protein have the benefit of being truly low fat in many cases e.
By Marc Ramirez, Apr 29, I grew up at the tip of southern Texas with four brothers and three sisters. When I was eight years old, my father abandoned our family, and my mother was left to raise eight children on her own. In search of better employment, she moved us to the Chicago area in In high school, I thrived as an athlete and earned a football scholarship to the University of Michigan. In those days, I could eat whatever I wanted and did not have weight issues, because I was so physically active. As a young adult, I witnessed my beloved mother, the rock of our family, battle type 2 diabetes and the complications that come with it. She suffered from kidney failure, vision problems, and heart disease. After 33 years of fighting diabetes, she passed away in April of I miss her dearly. Just two months later, my oldest brother David passed away from pancreatic cancer.