More than 2 million Canadians have been diagnosed with diabetes, and by the end of this decade, the number is expected to rise to 3 million. Unlike many other chronic diseases, type 2 diabetes is a condition that’s strongly influenced by diet and lifestyle. In fact, the more research we did in preparing to develop this book, the clearer it became that people could bring down their blood sugar levels by changing what they ate and how much they moved their bodies. In one of the most impressive studies we looked at, conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, type 2 diabetes patients dropped their fasting blood sugar levels by an average of 25 percent just by following a simple plan to help them lose weight. There was no structured diet, no carbohydrate counting, no specific fat or carbohydrate goals, no banned foods. The idea was to adopt a lifestyle, not to go on a “diet.”
The approach in the study was so effective that we based All-New, All-Natural Approach to Beating Diabetes on it. With this book, you’ll lose as much as 10 percent of your body weight on the 10 Percent Plan. You won’t do it by cutting out entire food groups or depriving yourself of snacks or desserts. Instead, you’ll follow the Plate Approach, a visual guide to eating that cuts calories but still lets you enjoy your food. There’s no math involved. What’s more, all foods are fair game, although you may need to eat some of them in smaller amounts or prepare them a little differently. (We’ve even repaired 18 popular “disaster foods” for you.)
Because exercise is so important, you’ll also follow the Forward by Five Walking Plan, which asks you to add just 5 minutes a week to the amount of time you walk each day. And you’ll use feel-good stress-reduction techniques and other lifestyle approaches (such as getting more sleep and even having a massage) to lower your blood sugar naturally.
ALL-NEW, ALL-NATURAL APPROACH TO BEATING DIABETES is a solution you can stick with for life. That simple fact puts it well ahead of trendy low-carb diets, which many people have an extremely hard time staying on because they’re too restrictive. And it’s effective — so effective, in fact, that it could help you use less diabetes medication or even get off medication altogether.
Better still, the steps you’ll take on the 10 Percent Plan actually help your body become less resistant to insulin — in effect, reversing your diabetes (although nothing can cure it). Best of all, they can help stave off complications such as heart attack, nerve pain, kidney disease, and serious eye problems, including blindness.
If you can change one small habit today, then another tomorrow, you can beat diabetes.
So start with Step One of this plan and consider it your first step toward a healthier, happier, more energetic future.
