Staying healthy isn’t easy. It’s a common challenge for adults to find themselves in. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly half of all adult Americans are experiencing symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

We’re facing an epidemic of skyrocketing blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a rise in cases of diabetes and obesity. It’s time to rethink our health. While lifestyle changes and medication can make conditions like diabetes more manageable, evidence shows that improving your diet can reverse them.

At Myyy Reality, we’re on a mission to help you reverse chronic health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, and high blood pressure through diet and exercise. Read on to discover how to reverse type 2 diabetes and lower blood sugar with diet changes.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

It’s important to understand the differences between type 2 vs. type 1 diabetes. While type 1 diabetes is when the body produces little to no insulin, type 2 diabetes is when your body develops insulin resistance, causing blood glucose levels to rise.

With type 2 diabetes, your pancreas can develop a condition known as ‘hyperglycaemia’, which can lead to further health complications, including kidney failure, stroke, heart attack, blindness, and even the need for amputations.

Your body may go through prediabetes for several years before developing type 2 diabetes. Hypertension, obesity, and high cholesterol levels often go hand-in-hand with type 2 diabetes.

Dietary Changes for Reversing Insulin Resistance

If you’re prediabetic or have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you can reverse your body’s insulin resistance by changing your diet. It’s key to make your body more insulin sensitive, for better glucose absorption. Improving your sleep pattern, reducing stress, and exercising for weight loss can help reverse insulin resistance.  

A diet to reverse type 2 diabetes should focus on a moderate sodium and carbohydrate intake with low saturated fat and prioritising lean proteins. Research also shows that weight loss can improve blood sugar levels.

Here are three dietary changes to tackle type 2 diabetes:

• Eat more protein: Protein helps to slow down your body’s digestion of carbohydrates and improve glucose absorption to stabilise blood sugar levels. Incorporate protein like meat, eggs, fish, and chicken into your daily diet. Proteins also help you feel fuller for longer.
• High-fibre food: Foods high in fibre prevent blood sugar spikes, improving overall health. Add high-fibre food such as whole grains, beans, lentils, and fruits to lower blood sugar levels.
• Reduce sugar and simple carbohydrates: Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates as they can spike your blood sugar levels and avoid food and drinks with added sugar. Switch drinks with no-added sugar as an easy diet change.

What Foods to Eat to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes:

One in three adults are estimated to have prediabetes, a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes. The best way to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes is to lose weight by switching to a healthier diet and reducing stress. The focus of your healthier diet should be to tackle your body’s growing insulin resistance.

Here are foods to eat to reverse type 2 diabetes:

• Meat: Chicken, lean beef, and turkey.
• Fish: Salmon, cod, and trout.
• Fibre: Beans, lentils, and whole grains.
• Oils: Olive and avocado oil
• Fruits: Apples, avocado, berries, and pears.
• Other: Greek yoghurt and nuts, including nut butter without added sugar.

How to Naturally Lower Your Blood Sugar Levels

Combining exercise with diet and lifestyle changes can transform your body and reverse chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood sugar. Focusing on lowering your blood sugar levels is key to optimising your overall health.

Here are three ways to naturally lower your blood sugar:

• Eat More Soluble Fibres

Fibre is a carbohydrate that doesn’t get broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream. Soluble (carbohydrate-rich) fibres slow digestion and won’t raise your blood sugar, preventing a post-meal blood sugar spike.

• Choose a Protein-Rich Breakfast

A protein-rich breakfast will set you up for success by balancing your blood sugar levels throughout the day. Eating a breakfast high in protein will reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes during later meals, including lunch and dinner, compared to eating a breakfast with lower protein.

• Incorporate Fermented Foods

Fermented foods, such as kimchi, kombucha, and tempeh support digestive health and slow carbohydrate absorption. Eating more fermented foods will lower your blood sugar.

Prediabetes: Exercise Ideas to Lose Weight

Even moderate exercise can help tackle prediabetes and reverse type 2 diabetes. Start small and gradually build your exercise routine. The American Diabetes Association recommend cardio exercise with strength training to lower blood sugar. Get your body moving even for a few minutes after each meal. Sitting less and moving more is the key to optimising your health.

Make lifestyle changes like going on a walk after meals to move your muscles and make your body more insulin sensitive to prevent blood sugar spikes. Strength training before meals can stabilise your blood sugars to prevent obesity and prediabetes.

There’s an exercise routine for everyone with adaptions you can make to suit your fitness and mobility levels. Yoga is a great way to improve your circulation levels and lower blood sugars without needing a gym membership.

Focus on changing your workout routine as you progress to stop your body hitting a plateau. Keep your workouts interesting to prevent you from getting bored and to optimise your weight loss potential. Curate a workout schedule with cardio, strength training, and activities like swimming or walking.

Go From Fat to Fat and Tackle Chronic Conditions like Diabetes and High Blood Sugar

Take control of your future by taking your body from fat to fit. We work with people over 40 who struggle with chronic health conditions like sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, and high blood pressure to improve or reverse their conditions through lifestyle changes.

Start living life to the fullest by joining our body transformation program to take back control of your health. Contact us today to create a healthier tomorrow today.

References:

1. The Guardian, ‘I Reversed My Type 2 Diabetes. Here How I Did It’, Neil Barksy: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/04/diabetes-diet-solution
2. NHS, High Blood Sugar (Hyperglycaemia) https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-blood-sugar-hyperglycaemia/
3. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, ‘Finishing the race’ – a cohort study of weight and blood glucose change among the first 36,000 patients in a large-scale diabetes prevention programme’ https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-022-01249-5
4. Yale Medicine, ‘Prediabetes Is On The Rise – But It Can Be Reversed’ https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/prediabetes
5. BBC Good Food, ‘Top 12 Healthiest Fermented Food’ https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/nutrition/top-12-healthiest-fermented-foods
6. American Diabetes Association, ‘Blood Glucose and Exercise’ https://diabetes.org/health-wellness/fitness/blood-glucose-and-exercise