Can Someone Who's Prediabetic Make Dietary Changes to Avoid Full-Blown Diabetes?
Answers
Yes -- and the single most important thing to do to reverse a prediabetic condition and make insulin resistance go away is to lose weight, preferably through a combination of diet and exercise.
The diet part doesn't require a special "diabetic diet," however. The very best diet for this situation is the quintessential approach to eating that everyone should follow: a plant-based, whole-grain, lean-protein, healthy-fat diet. This diet has been shown to protect against major health problems including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and Alzheimer's -- conditions for which someone with a history of diabetes is at increased risk.
Making a dietary about-face requires a commitment to changing one's lifestyle. Specifically:
Before you eat a carb, consider what type it is. Choose whole-grains over processed types. Eat whole fruit rather than juice. Avoid white flour and white sugar, which are found in many processed foods.
Boost the total amount of fiber you consume, especially soluble fiber. The average American eats 15 grams per day -- but adults need 45 grams per day. Of that total, half (20 to 25 grams) should be soluble fibers, the sticky-gummy fibers found in oatmeal, oat bran, legumes, barley, peas, and citrus fruits. Soluble fibers bind with cholesterol in the digestive system to help eliminate it, they lower lipids, and they help keep blood sugar in check. (Insoluble fibers include wheat, wheat bran, rye, and rice.)
To get 45 grams a day, you might start with a bowl of whole-grain cereal, such as steel-cut oats; add ground flaxseed and chopped nuts and a serving of fruit. Throughout the day, choose whole grains, beans, or whole-grain pasta. Substitute brown rice or barley for white rice.
Choose healthy fats for eating and cooking. Good choices include nuts, avocadoes, seeds, extra-virgin olive oil, and canola oil.
Add cinnamon to your diet. This spice helps to decrease insulin resistance -- and most people enjoy the taste. Use it to flavor oatmeal, sweet potatoes, coffee, or tea.
Choose protein that's lean, and eat less animal protein overall. Best choices: cold-water fish, whole soybeans, and any variety of legume, such as black beans, red beans, lentils, and edamame.
Take a good daily multivitamin. Choose one that provides 100 percent of the recommended daily value for most major vitamins and minerals. Certain microminerals, such as zinc and magnesium, are critical to blood sugar regulation. For most folks over 50 years of age, however, iron should not be included.
Check that your supplement contains the USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) seal of approval. It's possible to purchase an annual subscription to Consumerlab.com if you'd like to be able to review independent analyses of select supplements and vitamins.
I actually live on a high-protein/low fat/low carb diet because I need the protein for my muscles and I've found that iron pills don't work for me (of course, I also have Fibromyalgia). Agave syrup is on the good end of the glycemic index, so I use that for my tea & coffee. When I make oatmeal raisin cookies, I use the exact same amount of Polaner Allfruit instead of sugar as it counts as a fruit serving.
I am a 72 year old diabetic. My life and disease have been altered by reading three books: Gary Taubes Good Calories, Bad Calories, Bernsteins Diabetic Souution and Taubes Why We Are Fat….
Following the advice of these two authors I have lost 30 lbs and lowered my fast acting insulin dosage from 190 units to less than 5 units per day. For a diabetic ALL carbohydrates are bad! Some people argue that Taubes is not a medical professional, but Bernstein is both a diabetic and a doctor, who runs a diabetic clinic. Coming from different perspectives, they agree.
When I read the recipes recommended for diabetics and how much carb is in them I laugh. This article recommends one kind of carbohydrate over another. Any carbohydrate is bad for a diabetic!
