Safe Foods for Diabetes Type 2

 

I had a hard time accepting type 2 diabetes. I always associated it with people who are extremely overweight and eat fast food and drink soda pop. Then, reality hit me several years ago. 

My cholesterol was, as always, most excellent with incredible ratios. Labs were fantastic. But, this body that had always been slender and athletic had succumbed to stress and American lifestyle. I didn't drink soda or eat fast food more than once a week, but I was definitely diabetic.

I didn't understand why me and not others around me who were wearing an extra tire around the middle. Well, that is more a genetics issue. Some bodies forgive and others do not. 

India has a lot of diabetics and they are slender. They are, however, people who store fat around the middle. That was me.

In my desire to educate myself, I studied so many different philosophies. For example, eating fruit is okay because of the fiber content and natural sugar versus do not eat fruit it turns to sugar. 

Eventually, I moved from metformin to berberine as the side effects of metformin made me intestinally miserable for 3 years. I felt 100% better on berberine. Luckily, my doctor was okay with that, but at the time I had an A1c of 13 and a blood sugar of 299. 

I knew that losing weight would mean losing fat. With 37 pounds down, my A1c dropped to 7.5. I didn't need an "expert" to tell me that belly fat equals higher sugar.

I also knew that exercise isn't debatable. Luckily, my body recalled having been an athlete in many sports. Honestly, our lives generally don't have a lot of opportunity to exercise. In a day, we may walk to the car, drive to work, walk into the office, sit. Most homes don't offer much more than some housework in increments. 

The seated position might be the biggest poison. I ended up getting a desk to stand while working, play music, dance in place. One hour seated, one hour standing....

There were so many suggestions for add a protein to your carb and blah blah blah.

I decided my biggest issue was just figuring out what to put in the larder, freezer, fridge.

The happiest foods to have on hand depended not only on losing weight and maintaining, but also what I personally like to eat.

Protein - meats, nuts, legumes, seafood, cheese, whole fat milk, beans, eggs. As I have an amazing cholesterol no matter what I eat, I could load up on meats. I added things like peppered jerky (I love this and unlike teriyaki, no sugar). I added canned tuna, canned salmon, hamburger without bun (put it atop quinoa). Salads with meats are a very favorite - tons of colorful veggies that I chop to get a taste in every bite, top it with a cooked meat. The only issue became salad dressings. Primal Kitchen dressings have been a godsend. 

Fruits and veggies - berries, apples, citrus, green leafy veggies, brocolli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, tomatoes.

Beans and legumes - This wasn't hard. I love these. Just don't do baked beans as they are high in sugar. If doing canned, check salt content. I adore lentil soup and make a big batch with lots of veggies and freeze single portions for fast supper any night. 

Whole grains - not whole wheat, but whole grains. I use a very chewy nutty dense grain bread but I use it like I did growing up with a Norwegian father - open-faced. I love oatmeal, but I add a dollop of greek yogurt and add berries and nuts. Things like rice and bread stored in the fridge altered their release of carbs so that they are slower and less sugar spiking. Even if you reheat these items, they keep that quality of slow-acting.

Dairy - Cheeses, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and whole fat milk and cheese (lower in carbs, but higher in natural fat).

The very basis of my slender and healthy diet is dependent on protein and fiber. I don't sweat over it. Lots of produce, meat, beans, and some healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, coconut oil. I have supplemented with collagen as we lose it as we age and it affects skin, hair, nails, ligaments, muscles - we need it to stay resilient and strong. I take vitamin D3 with K2. As a fair redhead, I never get enough natural D. I take Omega-3 as I am very Scandinavian genetically and we like our fatty fish, but living in the desert, I'm not getting cold water fatty fish. 

A lot of people assume that your diet is limited with diabetes. It's only limited by the things you know you shouldn't eat (whether you have diabetes or not). But, the list of what you can eat is HUGE. 

The only key is to tweak some things you chose before. Instead of white bread - sourdough or whole grain. If you have to have white bread or whole wheat, you freeze it first. That actually makes the carbs digest differently. It doesn't mean, eat a half a loaf, but you won't feel like you're cheating if you have a toasted tuna sandwich with it. I simply allow 2 slices of bread a day max. If I don't do bread, I do rice. 

There's some truths too - if you reduce your weight by 5% alone, all risks lower. If you weigh 200 pounds, that's about 10 pounds. 

I lost almost 20% of my weight and my blood sugar halved from that alone. 

I'm not a doctor, but I share what I've experienced. Try not to beat yourself up about diabetes type 2 as if you're a failure. You have an early warning system. Those folks who are bigger than you or more sedentary without the issue are not lucky. They are either not yet where you are sugar wise or they have upped their risks in a lot of other arenas like inflammation, blood pressure, or cholesterol. 

We have crazy fast-moving lives these days, but sugar humbles you to slow down, eat slowly, consider your calories, move your body, and feel better than you have in a very long time. 

Warning - if you also have hypertension (they often go together), watch that BP as you drop weight. Mine went from as high as 200s/100s to -

I would get a head rush if I stood up quickly or bent over and stood up. I had to wean off the medications to maintain a normal blood pressure. This is a good problem to have. Monitor. Monitor. Monitor. Report to your doctor to work together.

It's an ongoing lifestyle. Eventually, you make decisions second nature. In fact, the sight of pizza or fast food gets a bit nauseating as your body wants the fuel it's used to. 

I am about 12 pounds from where I need to be so that I can be in diabetes remission. Each level of weight I lose (10 pound increments), I have stayed that that weight many months to be sure I know how to live at that weight. Then, going down to the next 10 pound level, I stay there for months on end so I know what it takes to stay that weight. I think the problem people often have with weight loss and regaining is you don't set up the lifestyle. You know how to lose - cut off calorie sources, but you didn't have time to adjust to that caloric level and lifestyle. It's like it happened overnight. 

The Berberine I use also has cinnamon - great for blood sugar. My dosage is 500 mg three times a day - one a half hour before meal.

Berberine

Good luck!