I'm a type 1 diabetic, and that means that I don't produce insulin and am not going to be cured until medical science figures out how to do that.
But I've seen countless type 2 diabetics (non-insulin dependent...
though many actually DO take supplementary insulin) essentially "cured" through lifestyle.
This is a disease that can be totally reversed in many cases! You will always have the tendency to be diabetic if you don't take care of yourself...
but if you DO take care of yourself, the disease can totally vanish.
Arguably the most important thing in doing this is controlling your diet.
(I'm not a doctor, so take my advice as such, and always discuss any changes with your doctor.
) You'll want to control your carbohydrates.
Know how many grams you're consuming, and know the type.
This is a strategy called "carbohydrate counting" and is usually done to match insulin intake in type 1's.
But type 2's can actually benefit more.
I've had the most success with a diet like "The Zone.
" According to this diet, I'd eat around 45-50 grams of insulin-promoting carbohydrates per major meal.
(There's more to The Zone, but we're talking carbs here.
) That means you'd look on the side of any food that comes in a container and find the total number of carb grams, and then subtract out the fiber.
You want to keep your carbs moderate...
not low.
And you want carbs to make up about 1/3 of your total calories.
Different people should eat a different number of carb grams per meal, but all should have about 1/3 of their calories from carbs.
That's a lot less than you're probably used to eating.
Use a food diary or a food logging website like fitday or thedailyplate (which are a lot easier).
Try to shoot for that 1/3 mark.
Lastly -- and this is very important -- try to make those carbs come from non-bread or non-starch sources.
Fruits, vegetables, dairy.
As a result -- if this is done slowly, carefully, and under a doctor's supervision -- you'll probably see your blood sugars start to stabilize, without the big ups and downs.
As it stabilizes (and especially if you combine all of this with exercise), you'll start needing less medication.
You'll start to heal.
Try it out.
Don't rely on medicine -- you can fix this on your own.
But I've seen countless type 2 diabetics (non-insulin dependent...
though many actually DO take supplementary insulin) essentially "cured" through lifestyle.
This is a disease that can be totally reversed in many cases! You will always have the tendency to be diabetic if you don't take care of yourself...
but if you DO take care of yourself, the disease can totally vanish.
Arguably the most important thing in doing this is controlling your diet.
(I'm not a doctor, so take my advice as such, and always discuss any changes with your doctor.
) You'll want to control your carbohydrates.
Know how many grams you're consuming, and know the type.
This is a strategy called "carbohydrate counting" and is usually done to match insulin intake in type 1's.
But type 2's can actually benefit more.
I've had the most success with a diet like "The Zone.
" According to this diet, I'd eat around 45-50 grams of insulin-promoting carbohydrates per major meal.
(There's more to The Zone, but we're talking carbs here.
) That means you'd look on the side of any food that comes in a container and find the total number of carb grams, and then subtract out the fiber.
You want to keep your carbs moderate...
not low.
And you want carbs to make up about 1/3 of your total calories.
Different people should eat a different number of carb grams per meal, but all should have about 1/3 of their calories from carbs.
That's a lot less than you're probably used to eating.
Use a food diary or a food logging website like fitday or thedailyplate (which are a lot easier).
Try to shoot for that 1/3 mark.
Lastly -- and this is very important -- try to make those carbs come from non-bread or non-starch sources.
Fruits, vegetables, dairy.
As a result -- if this is done slowly, carefully, and under a doctor's supervision -- you'll probably see your blood sugars start to stabilize, without the big ups and downs.
As it stabilizes (and especially if you combine all of this with exercise), you'll start needing less medication.
You'll start to heal.
Try it out.
Don't rely on medicine -- you can fix this on your own.