Diabetes affects over 30 million Americans and almost 10% of the population. That makes it one of the most common chronic diseases and it is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States.
(http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/).
While Type 1 diabetes is related to genetics, Type 2 diabetes which makes up the bulk of cases can often be prevented and even reversed. The Paleo diet is one of the most effective ways to regulate this condition.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition in which insulin cannot regulate blood sugar. In Type 1 diabetes, a person affected simply doesn’t make insulin. This type cannot be prevented but is treated with medications and diet.
Type 2 diabetes can often be prevented or reversed through diet. With this version of the disease a person makes insulin, but that insulin doesn’t bind well to sugar. We say that it is not “sensitive” to sugar. So one way to reduce problems is to reduce the amount of sugar that you eat.
Paleo and Sugar
With the Paleo diet you will remove some of the foods that are highest in carbohydrates such as grains, processed sugar, corn syrup, dairy, and beans and legumes. These foods tend to cause blood sugar to quickly increase and sharply drop.
By eliminating them you automatically decrease the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in your diet rapidly and this can have a positive effect on your insulin levels. Does that mean you don’t eat any sugar? Absolutely not.
With the Paleo diet you will be able to eat fruits, small amounts of honey and maple syrup, sweet potatoes, and other starchy vegetables. These can be high in carbohydrates. However, eliminating so many sources of carbohydrates will likely make a drastic reduction.
And if you do have diabetes, you may want to be cautious about how many fruits, natural sugars, and starchy vegetables you consume. Limiting fruit to one or two pieces a day can be helpful. And having only one serving of carbohydrates per meal can also be beneficial.
There’s no need to completely eliminate all carbohydrates, but you do want to keep that numbers fairly low. By choosing the Paleo diet you’ll naturally reduce carbs and that makes the process easier.
Paleo Helps But May Not Cure
In some people following the Paleo diet and reducing carbohydrates can completely reverse Type 2 diabetes illness. But for some people it helps but does not cure it. It’s important to do what you can to improve your health and accept that we can’t always control disease.
