This article was originally posted in the USA Daily Post.
Your diet is the single most important factor you can control to lower your blood sugar—and even potentially to prevent or reverse Type 2 diabetes. If you are willing to try altering your diet for just a few weeks, you will see your blood sugar level go down, you may lose a few pounds, and you will feel healthier and more active.
I have written two books about diabetes in which I explain why I believe the insulin resistance theory is incorrect and why the modern diet high in complex carbohydrates is most certainly the cause of high blood sugar and diabetes. In those books, I provided general information about how to eat for nutrition—cutting out carbs and emphasizing fresh, seasonal vegetables, fruits, and nuts, plus, if desired, a variety of meats, fish, and dairy products. But my readers kept asking me to tell them more precisely what they should eat and how they should cook.
I therefore concluded that it was time to do a cookbook with great recipes to keep your blood sugar level down. The recipes in The Diabetes-Free Cookbook & Exercise Guide were created by a wonderfully creative nutritionist and chef, Colleen Cackowski, who put her heart and soul into crafting mouth-watering, flavorful meals that are easy and fun to make. In my new cookbook, you will find breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and dessert recipes that do use minimal amounts of grains or grain flour. You will be amazed at how various ingredients like black beans or riced cauliflower can be mixed with other ingredients to create the flavors and mouth-textures you will enjoy.
For the most part, these recipes do not require any special ingredients; most of what you will need you can find at a typical chain grocery store, such as Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, Food Lion, Giant, Publix, Meijer, Whole Foods, or by ordering from Amazon.
The greatest advantage of these recipes is that you will not lose your enjoyment of eating or be told to follow a lot of restrictions.
These recipes do not show how many calories are in them. I believe that most people have enough fat stored up in the body to have the energy they need to make it through any given day. Counting calories makes little sense for the average person—and most people struggle to stay within a calorie count anyway. What is more important is that we eat to acquire the nutrients the cells of the body need and that we learn to become more conscious of our eating behaviors.
Thus, you won’t see any portion sizes listed either, because neither Chef Colleen nor I know how much of what nutrient your body needs when you sit down to eat. Your brain, on the other hand, knows what your body needs and will create the sensation of enjoyment when you consume food that contains the needed nutrients. More importantly, your brain reduces the intensity of enjoying that food when a sufficient amount has been eaten.
Enjoy what you eat!
In my view, the more effective guideline is thus to eat whatever you enjoy but also pay attention to that arc of enjoyment and loss of enjoyment. To do this, you need to chew your food thoroughly; this is necessary to release the nutrients in your mouth at a rate at which your taste buds and olfactory sensors can record and report their findings to the control centers in the brain. If you pay attention to this “enjoyment / less enjoyment” cycle, you don’t need to pre-measure how much you eat.
I invite you to use The Diabetes-Free Cookbook & Exercise Guide as a stepping stone to a new lifestyle of healthy eating.
Begin by using the recipes for just one month as a starting point. Each recipe in this cookbook is composed of ingredients that will not cause your blood sugar to elevate too high or for too long after eating. In this way, you can achieve a more stable blood sugar level throughout the day. You’re bound to notice a difference in just a few weeks.
What is most important is for you to believe that you can control your blood sugar and your destiny starting right now. A fundamental change in your dietary practices is often painful and challenging to sustain. You may have come to believe that because of your family history—other family members who have diabetes—that you too are not likely to escape diabetes for the rest of your life.
However, keep in mind that science has not found any genetic cause for Type 2 diabetes.
Meanwhile, my hypothesis is supported by scientific, logical evidence, that the modern carbohydrate-heavy diet is what triggers high blood sugar and diabetes.
At moments when you are feeling hesitant and apprehensive about making the dietary changes I suggest, remember that the best guarantee of preserving the functions of your kidneys, keeping your eyesight, and avoiding amputation of your limbs is by controlling your blood sugar through lifestyle changes—particularly your diet—rather than by resorting to a lifetime of medications such as insulin. I assure you that as you take control of what you can accomplish on your own, many of the fears of a recurrence of demoralizing dietary failures of the past will vanish and you will feel emboldened.
This week’s article is an adapted excerpt from my book, “The Diabetes-Free Cookbook & Exercise Guide”.
Don’t let Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes control your life – start a delicious new journey to a healthier, happier you today!
Discover how you can live a diabetes-free life with Dr. John’s groundbreaking cookbook and exercise guide. With over 80 appetizing low-carb recipes created by Chef Colleen Cackowski, you’ll never miss the high-carb, high-sugar foods of your past.
Every recipe nourishes your body and keeps your blood sugar levels in check so you can enjoy tasty, satisfying meals. Dr. John also offers 12 easy-to-do exercises to boost your flexibility and balance and keep you healthy as you age.
What people are saying…
Filled with tons of easy-to-make meals and encourages enjoyable meal planning for moms like me. I highly recommend this book to diabetics and families trying to live and eat healthily. —Maria Chalissery, M.Sc., Diet Technician
If you are looking for ways to improve your health and add more zing to your meals, these recipes are exactly what you need. —Jyoti Veeramoney, Chef, Certified Yoga Instructor
These exercises are great because they focus on dynamic movement that improves joint range of motion and flexibility. They require no equipment, build core strength and stabilization, and incorporate movements that can correct posture, which can decrease the risk of falling. —Sophia LaValle, NASM Certified Personal Trainer
