We are living in an age of health epidemics. One day it is the opioid crisis, the next day it is Ebola, and then there is diabetes – what some have called the ‘rich man’s disease’ because of the elevated incidents in developed countries. While the rise of diabetes has plagued millions of Americans, it is something of a windfall for drug companies. However, it doesn’t need to be like this and in this article, we will explore how you can beat diabetes without expensive drugs.
Why Diabetes?
The reasons for the rise of what the National Institutes of Health calls a chronic condition are relatively straightforward. More and more Americans are leading sedentary lives and eating process foods. It’s no surprise that this change in lifestyle has led to a spike in obesity and related ailments. No other than the current President noted in 2012 that he’s ‘never seen a skinny person drink a diet coke’ and in many ways, this points to the root cause.
Millions of Americans have forgotten how to cook and this has led to them choosing ‘healthy’ packaged foods over raw ingredients. While this might appear to be a good choice in the short-term, we are starting to realize the long-term effects of such a shift in eating habits through a spike in obesity levels at all ages.
In fact, it has gotten so bad that nearly one in three Americans currently has some form of diabetes. While this might seem alarming, researchers believe they have found a way to beat back the condition without overreliance on costly prescription medicines.
Ultra-Low-Calorie Diet
This might sound like torture, but Dr. Roy Taylor, M.D. from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom has discovered that a diet consisting of roughly 700 calories per day for only two months not only leads to stunning weight loss, but it can also reverse the signs of diabetes.
While the study was only preliminary research into the impact of calorie restriction on reversing diabetes, Dr. Taylor found that the Ketosis blood tests of nearly half of the subjects indicated that their blood sugar levels fell below the threshold of 126 milligrams per deciliter. In some cases, the results were so dramatic that subjects fell from the diabetic range to below ‘pre-diabetic’.
This is only part of the story as follow up research on the subject’s ability to keep within the limits of their expanded diet as well as larger study groups are needed. However, there is some reason to believe that Dr. Taylor’s group might be onto something as nearly all of the subjects in the initial test group were diabetes-free after six months.
Now, this does not mean six months on an ultra-low-calorie diet. Instead, subjects would only stick to the extreme diet for two months before expanding their daily caloric intake under the guidance of nutritionists.
As such, there is still some work to be done in the area and for those considering this measure, the best guidance is to only pursue it after consultation with a doctor and a nutritionist as such a diet needs to be carefully designed and managed.
Exercise
It’s no secret that a poorly designed diet can lead to diabetes, but what is often overlooked is the role that exercise has on one’s ability to fight back the condition. In fact, regular exercise coupled with the proper diet can not only help to reduce blood sugar levels but it can increase overall health. This can have a double benefit as not only do you save a bunch of money on diabetes medicines but you might also save on pills for other ailments.
In fact, today’s pharmaceutical industry has become something akin to the snake oil salesmen of days gone by. This is a shame as many of their drugs can help millions of people. However, the overreliance on magic pills has done nothing to increase the level of health for the average person. Instead, it has filled the coffers of the drug companies.
As such, a regime of mild exercise for 30-minutes, three to five times per week has been shown to have tremendous health benefits. Not only does this activity help to ward off diabetes but research indicated that being active also helps to improve brain function in the young and the old.
This is not to say that everyone should train to be an Olympic athlete. Rather the focus should be on a mix of mild intensity workouts that are not only enjoyable but are also beneficial. In fact, you can even start small – take the stairs instead of the elevator or quit your health club and instead go for walks, runs, or bike rides around your home.
Not only will you find yourself happier, you will have also beaten back diabetes without expensive drugs. You may also consider personalized and lifestyle medicine, which aims to customize treatment to every patient based on one’s genetic make up.
