Foods that Help Your Body to Regulate Blood Sugars
For people with adult onset diabetes who want to control their blood sugar
By Greg Lee

 

Recently on the east coast of the United States, several days of constant rain has caused flooding and destruction of property. Towns along the coast have been the hardest hit with whole areas reporting power outages and damaged homes which resulted in some areas to declaring a state of emergency.

How is flooding like diabetes and how can knowing this help you to heal it?

There is a high correlation between high rates of obesity and increased diabetes
Just like rising flood waters, eating excess sweets dumps a lot of sugars into your bloodstream. Excess sugars often get converted into body fat. Over a long period of time, your ability to process these sugars can get blocked. Years of excess sugars and high amounts of fats in the diet, can lead people to develop adult onset (type 2) diabetes.

Insulin regulates the amount of sugar in the bloodstream
Unfortunately, people with diabetes are unable to regulate the amount of sugar in their bloodstream. The hormone insulin helps to take the sugar out of the bloodstream into cells. Produced in the pancreas, insulin regulates blood sugar levels. In diabetics, not enough of the hormone insulin is made or it is blocked from reducing blood sugars. As a result, too much sugar is left wandering around the bloodstream.

When too much sugar is in the blood, the kidneys dump it into the urine
In Chinese medicine, excess sugar in the blood over a long period of time can create a situation called, "deficiency of yin fluids" in the body. Fluids are depleted when too much sugar in the blood gets eliminated through urination. Unfortunately, frequent urination can pull out minerals from the body that are important for regulating blood sugars. Not only excess sugars, but also fatty foods can create problems in diabetics.

High fats foods can aggravate how insulin removes sugar from the blood
Also in Chinese medicine, excess fats in the diet over time can create blockages which can interfere with insulin's ability to reduce blood sugars. It can lead to a condition called "liver stagnation" which can limit how the pancreas secretes insulin. It is important for people with diabetes to reduce greasy, fatty foods like:

• fatty meats like pork and duck
• eggs
• cheese
• butter
• excess oils
• nuts
• seeds

Eliminate foods that may aggravate blood sugar levels
Many foods that are highly processed can lead to an increase in blood sugars. Other additives or preservatives can interfere with insulin's ability to regulate blood sugars. Eliminate highly processed foods that contain:

• refined sugars
• high fructose corn syrup
• white flour
• hydrogenated, synthetic fats like margarine and shortening
• alcohol (aka: liquid sugar)
• preservatives and additives
• high amounts of salt
• high amounts of sweeteners
• highly spicey foods

People with diabetes should also avoid eating late at night and complex food combinations.

Eating frequent meals with small portions helps to stimulate insulin production
Eating approximately four to five small meals a day helps to increase insulin production. Chromium, zinc, and manganese are minerals which help to control blood sugar levels. These are often removed in the production of highly processed foods. In whole grains like brown rice, whole wheat, and whole oats, these minerals reside in the bran. Adding whole wheat bran has been shown to lower blood sugar levels. Bran also contains silicon, which is thought to also support the pancreas.

These foods help you to absorb minerals that support the pancreas
Chlorophyll helps the body to absorb important minerals. It also helps your body to repair cells which may assist in repairing damage in the pancreas. Foods like wheat and barley grass, chlorella, and spirulina contain high levels of chlorophyll, and other minerals, nutrients and enzymes. Six to twelve grams of spirulina or chlorella per day is a recommended dosage for people with diabetes.

Discerning between excess and deficient diabetes
According to Chinese medicine, diabetes due to deficiency shows symptoms of fatigue, loose or watery stools, shyness, lack of appetite. This kind of diabetes is more found in Third World countries and is not common in developed countries. However, many people with diabetes can have a combination of excess and deficiency diabetes.

Excess diabetes is more common in developed nations
This is typically found in people who have had a diet rich in meat, fats, and highly processed foods. Symptoms of excess diabetes are excess weight, constipation, a ruddy complexion, and an outgoing personality.

Foods that help people with excess diabetes
A person with this type of diabetes would benefit from cleansing foods like raw vegetables and acidic, sour fruits. Lemons and grapefruits lower blood sugar rapidly. Caution should be used to not over compensate with too much insulin. Medications should also be checked to see if they are compatible with grapefruit. Taking the supplement lecithin can help eliminate dietary fats more quickly by making them water soluable.

Stevia and licorice root can be used as sweeteners. Small amounts of oils that contain gamma linoleic acid (GLA), omega-3, linoleic fatty acid can also be beneficial in recovering from diabetes. Approximately 1 gram per day is a good dosage to start with.

List of foods that help to regulate blood sugars
Using the foods on this list can help to regulate your blood sugar, strengthen the pancreas, and improve how you metabolize fluids. Organic or minimally processed foods are recommended. Most of these items are available at your local health food store.

Whole grains

• millet
• brown rice
• oats
• fresh corn
• whole wheat
• whole wheat bran

Legumes / soy products

• soybeans
• tofu
• soy milk (unsweetened)
• miso (low salt)
• mung beans
• garbanzo beans

Chlorophyll-rich foods

• wheat grass
• barley grass
• spirulina
• chlorella
• liquid chlorophyll

Vegetables

• string beans
• carrots
• radish
• Jerusalem artichoke
• turnip
• asparagus
• yams
• spinach

Fruits / berries

• avocado
• pear
• plum
• lemon
• grapefruit (ask your doctor or pharmacist if this is contraindicated by your medications)
• lime
• blueberry
• huckleberry