Becoming physically active and choosing wholesome foods such as lean meat and fish, lots of non-starchy vegetables, and whole grains is essential.

Type 2 Diabetes - Taking Control

An look at how to prevent and address type2 diabetes by following a blood sugar-balanced diet and using innovative natural products.

A heathful lifestyle can prevent 87 percent of type 2 diabetes. That sweeping statement, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, is based on decades of scientific investigation. Nevertheless, for many people, the changes required to prevent or even reverse the disease fall in the category of "easier said than done," but that doesn't mean the task is impossible.

Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas,is a case in point, In 2003, at the age of 47, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and given 10 years to live. During the next yes ear, by making dramatic changes to his diet and adopting daily exercise, he shed more than 100 pounds, controlled his diabetes, and transformed his lifestyle into an exceptionally healthful one. Given that he was raised on traditional Southern food and has always had an extremely hectic work schedule, the challenges were considerable. But then again, his life was at stake.

"If you really are serious about it, you'll be able to find healthy foods," says Huckabee. On the exercise front, he emphasizes the need to make, rather than find time. "I realized that if my still being alive a year from now was at least as important as cutting a ribbon at some industrial site, then I'd make time for that.

Lifestyle Basics. The same study that concluded most type 2 diabetes could be prevented also identified key lifestyle factors that prevent the diabetes for overweight people, losing as little as 5 percent of total body weight and becoming physically active (regardless of weight), eliminating trans fats and excessive alcohol, and eating more fiber and healthful fats. Choosing wholesome foods such as lean meat and fish, lots of nonstarchy vegetables, and whole (rather then refined) grains is also essential.

Stopping the Diabetic Cycle. Before type 2 diabetes develops neither's a prediabetic stage of insulin resistance, usually triggered by years of eating starchy and sugary foods. Insulin is a hormone that transports blood glucose to cells to be used as fuel, but in the prediabetic phase, cells become resistant to the insulin, refusing to accept glucose. The condition is most likely to occur in overwieght people.

Cathleen London, MD, in private practice in Brookline, Mass, recommends that overweight individuals get tested for levels of fasting insulin and blood glucose to detect if prediabetes exists. She recommends that same test for women with irregular periods, as this may be a sign of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). which can cause insulin resistance regardless of weight.

London recommends these basic steps to control or avoid diabetes:

• Make simple changes rather than typing to drastically change everything at once.
• Start by getting more exercise daily. Exercise will improve your cells' response to insulin and make you crave healthful foods. TO lose weight, build up to an hour a day. Do three days of resistance training per week, and cardiovascular exercise on the other days, varying the pace with fast and slow intervals for optimum results.
• Stay away from junk food, soda, and anything with sugar or white flour. These have no purpose in your body. As a guide, the South Beach Diet is a sensible way of eating.
• Take basic supplements to make sure you're getting adequate nutrients.

The Basic Supplement Program. These are the basics London recommends:

• Multivitamin/mineral: Take a quality supplement that includes at least 50 mg of the main B vitamins, 1,000 IU of vitamin D, and at least 10-15 mg of alpha-lipoic acid, chromium, and trace elements such as zinc, selenium, and boron, which tend to be deficient in nutrient-poor diets.
• Chromium picolinate:This form of chromium has been studied the most for improving insulin function, is easily absorbed, and may reduce cravings. For overall health, take 200 mcg daily, an amount that is found in some multis. For prediabets, take 200-500 mcg with each meal.
• Vitamin D: The vitamin prevents development and progression of diabetes. Take at least 1,000 IU daily. Up to 10,000 IU daily is safe.
• Fish oil and CoQ10: Both of these protect the heart, which is at risk when prediabetes or diabetes exist. Take 1 - 3 g of fish oil daily, or if you're vegan, get 1 g daily of omega 3 from algae. Take at least 30 mg of CoQ10 daily.
• Magnesium: Most diabetics are deficient in magnesium. Take half as much as your daily calcium dosage, in divided doses for better absorption. Up to age 50, take 500 mg magnesium with 1,000 mg calcium. After age 50, take 600 mg magnesium with 1,200 mg calcium.
• Special formulas:Blood for combinations of ingredients that are designed to improve insulin sensitivity and/or enhance cells' ability to convert glucose in the blood into energy. These may be added to mulivitamin/mineral products or sold in separate combination formulas. "Glucose" in the product name or description usually identifies these specialty formulas, which may include biotin, vanadium and Gymnema sylvestre, in addition to chromium and alpha-lipoic acid.
• Starch blockers: Using a starch blocker such as Phase 2 (see Below) can be helpful as long as it is used in addition to, rather than in place of a healthful diet. Studies have shown that 1 g of Phase 2, usually taken as two 500 mg capsules with a meal, or as powder mixed with or sprinkled on food, blocks approximately 75 percent of starch calories. For anyone taking diabetes mediation or insulin shots, starch blockers should be used under the supervision of health care professional, as medication or insulin dosages may need to be reduced to avoid lowering blood sugar levels too much.

If an improved lifestyle and basic supplements don't keep you health; see a health professional who is well versed in nutritional healing to resolve your individual situation.

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Blocking Starch

"we all want to eat approximately the same amounts and types of foods that our ancestors ate, even through we're not as active," says Steven Roseblatt, MD, PhD, coauthor of The Starch Blocker Diet. "We're programmed for potatoes." The net result is that we eat too much starch, a key contributor to diabetes, and cutting back is very difficult for more people. To make the process easier, Rosenblatt recommends Phase 2, a proprietary extract of white beans, which clocks absorption of approximately 75 percent of the starch we eat.

In the case of Charles Galletta, a Chicago-based Italian chef and restaurateur, bread and pasta were difficult habits to break after he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Mixing Phase 2 powder into homemade pasta helped him lose more than 20 pounds and embark on a more healthful path. recently, Galletta developed his recipe into a commercial product, Carbonlina, available in Chicago-area stores.

New York-based chef Cerard Viverito has used the starch blocker in many recipes and recommends adding Phase 2 powder to virtually any recipe or seasoning mix. "it has no texture, aroma, or taste," he says. However, it slightly enhances flavor and can be used in place of a pinch of salt in a pie crust or similar type of recipes (although Phase 2 doesn't contain salt), Pizzas, cakes, muffins, and breads made with Phase2 have received top marks in consumer taste tests.