Type 2 Diabetes: Natural Ways to Reverse It
Type 2 Diabetes: 3 All-Natural Ways to Reverse It in 30 Days
What if there was a simple, natural way for diabetics to live well—without worrying about medication or insulin shots ever again?
If you live with type 2 diabetes, you know how hard it can be. Stressing about your blood sugar levels, medication, and shots. Contemporary medicine primarily focuses on managfewfing the symptoms of diabetes. So buying into that way of thinking means a lifetime of worrying about everything you eat.
But let’s look at treating type 2 diabetes holistically. Let’s look at the root causes of the condition and find out how to turn it all around. In this article, we’ll examine three simple, natural ways you can change your life, enabling you to say bye-bye to the pills and needles—and hello to a whole new you.
What’s the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
When people use the word diabetes, they could mean one of two things. There’s type 1 diabetes, which we sometimes call juvenile diabetes. It usually affects people before they turn 20. And there’s type 2 diabetes which usually affects people over 40.
Juvenile diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. It attacks the beta cells of the pancreas. These are the cells responsible for producing insulin for the body. As a result, young people with this condition have a lifetime of pills and needles ahead of them.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that usually affects people with high blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar is elevated, your pancreas goes into overdrive to make enough insulin to take care of it. But over time, this fatigues the insulin receptors in your body. In a sense, you build up a tolerance to your own insulin to the point where it can’t do its job anymore.
People with type 2 diabetes also have a long road ahead of them with blood sugar tests, drugs like Metformin, and insulin shots. And since the condition often arises from unhealthy life choices, such as a poor diet, it often results in a decreased life expectancy. Sometimes by as much as ten years.
The good news is you can reverse type 2 diabetes. By tackling the choices that lead to it, you can actually send it into remission.
So why is insulin so important?
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. It regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in your body. And it helps glucose, or sugar, get from your blood to all the places that need it. Especially your muscles.
That’s why one of the biggest symptoms of diabetes is fatigue. Your body isn’t absorbing blood sugar properly anymore. And as a result, you feel drained of energy. Wiped out all the time.
The key to reversing type 2 diabetes naturally is to make your insulin receptors more receptive. To help turn them back on so they can do their job again. And you can be properly energized.
Let’s look now at three easy steps you can take to make that happen.
1. Reversing type 2 diabetes through diet
So type 2 diabetes is a built-up tolerance to insulin due to high blood sugar. It makes sense then that if you can control your blood sugar, you can control type 2 diabetes.
A simple way to do this is by using the glycemic index (GI). The GI is a guideline that estimates how certain foods will impact your blood sugar level. It assigns each food a number based on the effect it will have on your system.
The standard for the system is a value of 100 assigned to pure glucose. That’s the sugar your body converts all food into so your cells can harness that energy. But the scale goes higher than that. To choose an extreme example, Kellogg’s Cornflakes weighs in at a whopping 132.
It’s a good idea to focus on building a diet around foods with a low-GI. Anything under 55. This group includes:
These foods release glucose into your body at a slow and steady rate. Eating low-GI foods is a great way to prevent blood glucose spikes and those terrible sugar crashes that always accompany them.
Also, try to avoid foods in the high-GI group, which includes anything over 70. Things like:
These foods make your blood sugar soar. They should be reserved for replenishing the body after a heavy-duty workout. Or helping someone during a hypoglycemic crisis.
While you’re managing your blood glucose by taking control of your diet, it’s a perfect time to think about dietary supplements as well.
2. Supplements that can reverse type 2 diabetes
There are many all-natural supplements you can take to help with insulin resistant diabetes. Let’s look at five of the more effective: chromium picolinate, cinnamon, fish oil, alpha lipoic acid, and bitter melon extract.
You can think of chromium picolinate as an insulin alternative. It helps your body metabolize carbohydrates and lipids and improves your glucose tolerance. And it gets that glucose into your cells to re-energize you.
Studies show that chromium picolinate can lead to better cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It can also lead to a reduced need for hypoglycemia medication.
You can get chromium picolinate from foods like broccoli, raw cheese, and grass-fed beef. Or you can take it in capsule form with every meal.
Cinnamon helps lower your blood sugar level and leads to improved insulin sensitivity. While lowering LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, it also elevates your HDL cholesterol. (That’s the good cholesterol.)
You can add cinnamon to any meal or drink, either as a ground spice or an essential oil.
Fish oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, lowers your triglycerides and raises your HDL cholesterol. Omega-3s help with insulin production, prevent insulin intolerance, and help the body fight inflammation.
Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is something your body naturally produces to turn glucose into energy for your cells. But diabetics could always benefit from having just a little more. You can boost your ALA intake by eating vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes. Or you could also take a supplement.
Bitter melon comes from Asia. It’s one of the trickiest things to cook in Indian cuisine. As the name suggests, it’s powerfully bitter. And you must cook it just right to make it palatable.
To get around that problem, you can get bitter melon in extract form. Bitter melon helps lower blood sugar and regulate your insulin, in turn helping repair insulin resistance.
So that’s diet and supplements in a nutshell. But it begs the question. Now that you have this improved energy, what are you going to do with it all?
3. Reverse type 2 diabetes by getting more active
Nothing lowers your blood glucose, thereby leaving your insulin receptors more receptive, like physical activity. But let’s not get carried away with this. No one expects you to become a triathlete overnight.
The main culprit in developing type 2 diabetes is a sedentary lifestyle. And the best way to fight it is to get up and move around. Plan activities that require some walking around for starters.
Aim for low-impact activities that won’t demand too much of you. Instead of training for a marathon, consider taking a yoga class instead. Or take the dog for a good, long walk. He’ll love you for it, and you’ll get a lot out of it, too.
It’s simple, all-natural, and entirely doable
Living with type 2 diabetes can be a struggle. But by taking control of your diet, taking supplements, and getting a little more active, it’s possible to turn it all around. And never look back.
Learn more about managing your type 2 diabetes with naturopathy
Want to learn more about the all-natural remedies and treatments available to reverse type 2 diabetes? Looking for a personalized assessment for the best way to manage your diabetes? Longing for a day when you’ll be free of medication, needles, and worrying about your blood sugar?
Book an appointment with Dr. Tara Andresen today to learn the best ways to manage your type 2 diabetes naturally.