For type two diabetics, it seems as though we are constantly being fed conflicting information about the disease; what causes it, what exacerbates it, and what you can do aside from medication to improve your quality of life.
At the end of the day, this information overload makes it almost impossible to know what the truth is or even care! After you have been told many different things by many different health professionals, at some point you just think ‘screw it!’, I will just eat what I want and take my meds when I remember, that’s all I am going to do. The problem with this game plan and all the information (more often than not, misinformation) is that it can cause severe health problems that affect your quality of life and shorten your life span.
Today, I want to going through some of the lies and misinformation that many type 2 diabetics are told and debunk some of the myths about type 2 diabetes.
If you separate the fact from fiction surrounding your condition, there is hope. You can hope to have a normal hemoglobin A1C, not be dependent on medications, and not be worried about losing a leg or a foot, your vision or having bad kidney function.
So, let’s take a look at five of the most popular lies surrounding type 2 diabetes:
Lie Number One: Diabetes is progressive and incurable, no matter what you do or what you eat or what you avoid. You might be able to manage it or improve it a little bit, but you can never reverse it.
This is absolutely untrue! In fact, with the right lifestyle and nutrition choices, you can completely reverse your type two diabetes and have a normal A1C. If you are truly a type two diabetic, it is a self imposed and self-limiting condition that you can absolutely reverse without exception.
Lie Number Two: The cause of type 2 diabetes is genetic and the only treatment is a handful of pills and a visit to the doctor every three months.
This completely untrue. While genetics do play a roll and typically present as a genetic predisposition to have hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, you are not doomed by your genetics, this is 100% untrue. Type two diabetes is a chronic carbohydrate toxicity syndrome.
Lie Number Three: It’s all about high blood sugar. We just need to control high blood sugar or hyperglycemia with pills and injections.
Again, this is not the whole picture. High blood sugar is one of the important principles of type two diabetes, but the more important principle, is hyperinsulinemia, a condition in which there are excess levels of insulin circulating in the blood relative to the level of glucose. Most doctors don’t want to talk about this, because it puts a huge spotlight onto diet. If we focus on high blood sugar, then we can get away with a lot of dietary foolishness and advice. But when you start talking about hyperinsulinemia; what raised your blood sugar and what raised your insulin levels, it becomes apparent that your diet has a strong link and impact on type two diabetes.
Lie Number Four: Type 2 diabetes means that your metabolism or your body is irreversibly broken. While, your metabolism may not be working properly at the moment, it may be very sick, but it is not permanently broken. You can repair the metabolic damage that led to your type two diabetes, you can reverse it.
Lie Number Five: Type 2 diabetics have to have medications to control blood sugar and your hemoglobin A1C. While medications can control blood sugar and A1C, this is not the whole truth.
You can control your blood sugar, your insulin levels and your A1C, with diet alone. Some doctors and nutritionist, will emphasize diet and exercise, but truth be told, if your nutrition is on point, exercise is not essential. I am not telling you not to exercise, exercise is great for you, but it is not necessary. So, if you are unable to exercise for what ever reason, you can still have a normal A1C and reverse you type two diabetes.
This will be a two-part blog so make sure to stay tuned as we dive into more of these lies surrounding type 2 diabetes.
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