Welcome to the newly released Beating Diabetes Podcast with Dr. Michele.

This year the podcast will be focusing on all things diabetes. As your host, I’ll be recording solo episodes which will answer some of the most common questions I’m asked as a physician such as “what CAN I eat as a diabetic?”, “how can I lose the extra weight that I’ve put on recently?”, “is it really possible to reverse type 2 diabetes?”, “What can I do to prevent my children from getting diabetes since it runs in the family?” and more. I will also be coaching patients and clients live on-air, and conducting interviews with other diabetic experts.

Today Dr. Michele is telling you what you need to know about reversing diabetes. 

Someone asked me today “why is it so difficult to work with diabetics?”

My answer: “It’s complicated.” There are so many things to consider when working with a diabetic patient or client. Diabetes affects all areas of your life. It’s not just about the sugar. You have to consider everything you eat and drink. Diabetes affects your eyes, the fine muscles of your hands, the feeling in your feet, your kidneys, your heart, your circulation, your moods, your sleep, your mind. It can cause dementia, blindness, numbness in your hands and feet, kidney disease. It can lead to gangrene and amputations. It can cause depression.

So when I hear of health coaches and other health care professionals who are working with diabetic patients and clients, but they have not been trained specifically in treating all areas of diabetes, I wonder if they’re in over their heads. It’s not easy. It’s like taking one step forward and two steps back much of the time.

I’ve been doing this work for over 20 years. I have seen it all with my patients. I have seen the denial, the heartbreak, the struggles, the devastation, the loss of limbs, the loss of life, and I have seen the triumphs. I have seen people overcome their diagnosis. I have helped my patients and clients reverse type II diabetes. I have saved limbs and toes from amputation. This is my mission, by the way, to help people reverse the disease so that they don’t end up dying from it or losing a limb. It’s possible. But you have to work with someone who knows what they’re doing.

You can beat type II diabetes and borderline diabetes. You can. You may need help, but you can do it. I’m tired of people steering you the wrong way. I’m tired of hearing my patients report that their primary care physician didn’t explain diabetes to them, tell them what they could eat, or give them at least a handout that they could take home to read about it. Many patients are reporting that their primary care physicians just told them not to eat sweets, not to put sugar in their coffee, and to lay off of desserts. I ask them, “What about bread? What about other carbs? What about healthy fats vs other fats? Did they explain any of that to you?” No is usually the answer.

I ask them if their primary care physicans have explained neuropathy, retinopathy, and nephropathy to them…again, the answer is no.

We need to do a better job of educating our patients. We should be steering them in the right direction, giving them resources, checking in with them more often, helping them…not just sending them out into the world with a prescription for oral hypoglycemics or insulin.

We can do a better job, doctors!

And you can beat this. You just need help, direction, a leader, and the willingness to do the work. I know you can do it. I’ll help you.

Patients, Clients, and Family Members Want To Know: Is It Possible To Reverse Diabetes?

In the not too distant past, a diagnosis of type II diabetes was devastating, and doctors told patients it was a chronic condition that could be managed, but could not be truly “cured.”

Today, research is showing something very different. Individuals with a diagnosis of either prediabetes or type II diabetes can, in fact, reverse the condition and re-program their bodies to use the naturally produced insulin to control their blood sugar levels.

What Most Doctors Don’t Tell You

Exercise, careful choice of foods, and losing excess weight are all components of reversing a diagnosis of type II diabetes. For many doctors, the natural option is to prescribe insulin or hypoglycemic oral agents and instruct the patient simply how to manage their blood sugar, rather than getting to the root cause of the insulin resistance and weight loss resistance in their body.

The reason that many doctors don’t tell patients this, despite the current research indicating it is possible, is that it is a lifelong commitment. The eating changes, the increase in activity, and the monitoring of weight has to continue, and many doctors simply don’t see their patients capable of sustaining this lifestyle choice.

Not Up To Date

Many doctors are also behind the times when it comes to current diabetes research. They may not be effectively working with patients at the prediabetic stage to assist patients in understanding the role that excessive weight, high carbohydrates and refined sugar intake have on their bodies.

Studies by the Centers for Disease control on dieting and weight loss show positive results in naturally managing fasting blood sugar levels, which is a key indicator in the diagnosis of prediabetes and type II diabetes.

Patients that are committed to healthy eating and exercise and who are able to sustain these changes can and do lose the weight and keep it off, can return their blood sugar levels back to normal levels without the use of insulin. 

While not all people will be able to control their diabetes through diet alone, the lack of information provided by doctors may be limiting this valuable research to patients. By managing eating, exercise and weight they can not only prevent the health issues associated with the disease, but continue to live an active, healthy life without the need for insulin and constant blood sugar monitoring. 

TWO SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW TO START REVERSING DIABETES:

The Key Is Changing Your Diet!

People with type II diabetes or those diagnosed with prediabetes can control and even reverse their diagnosis through simple changes in their lifestyle. Adding more activity and carefully managing the foods you consume to lower your blood sugar can have dramatic effects and limit your future health risks.

Two of the biggest factors for developing diabetes include excess weight and lack of physical activity. Of course, genetics also contributes, but genetics is not something that anyone can control and plays a much smaller risk than was originally believed in type II diabetes. Food choices are within your control, and there are some great tasting and healthy options that cannot just limit diabetes, but actually turn back the clock and get your body responding properly to the insulin it produces.

Here are two simple things you can start doing today to begin the process of reversing diabetes in your life:

(1) Choose Low Glycemic Foods

Carbohydrates are the biggest cause of sudden spikes in blood sugar. By learning how to choose from low carbohydrate foods or foods with complex carbohydrates that digest more slowly and avoid those blood sugar spikes.

The glycemic index (GI) is a simple way to determine if food is high in carbohydrates. Anything over 70 on the index is high, which means it is digested quickly and creates a spike in blood sugar. Anything less than 55 is considered low, meaning it is a healthier carbohydrate that digests more slowly to release blood sugars.

Low GI foods include many whole grains, green vegetables, sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta and all of the non-starchy vegetables. Most fruits are also low GI, but it is important to choose whole fruits or try juicing at home and use the pulp to keep the low GI rating.

Processed foods, baked sweets and desserts, prepared juices and most types of pre-packaged foods have a very high GI and should be eliminated from the diet. There are alternatives to these high sugar, high calorie and high fat foods, and you will soon find tasty alternatives that are every bit as good as those unhealthy options.

(2) Portion Control is Essential

Too much of even a healthy food isn’t really healthy anymore. Instead, choose a balanced diet that has lots of fiber, limited simple carbohydrates and lower GI fruits and vegetables.

Try to use a general guide of half of your plate with low GI vegetables per meal, and choose lean proteins and limited healthy fats to help to lose weight and manage blood sugar levels.

By eliminating a few foods from your diet and adding in some new, healthy options, you can manage your type 2 and prediabetes. Talk to your doctor and develop an eating plan that works for you, your lifestyle, and your current and future health goals.

If you have any of these conditions or type II diabetes and would like to discuss how we can work together to prevent or reverse diabetes, schedule a free consultation with me so we can dive deeper to find out what is going on and come up with a plan of action for you: drmichele.com/schedule