Wellness Coaching – Decreasing Your Risk for Diabetes

A three-month study in Sweden compared the blood sugar effects of a paleo (very low-carb) diet with a diet comprised of whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, and unsaturated fats. After the three months, participants’ blood sugar levels dropped 26 percent with the paleo diet and only 7 percent with the diet containing dairy and whole grains.

Diabetes is not a disease of blood sugar but rather a disease of excess insulin in the blood. High blood sugar levels are only a symptom of diabetes, not the cause. So why does diabetes affect more than 15 million people in America — more than 20 times what it did less than 50 years ago? In order to answer this, you have to determine what kind of diet consistently increases the insulin and sugar levels in the blood. And that is a diet that is excessively high in starchy and sugary carbohydrates, which invokes excess insulin and leptin production in the body.

Concerning diabetes, certified nutritional therapist and author of the bestselling book, “Primal Body, Primal Mind,” Nora Gedgaudas says, “Type 2 diabetics who are made to take insulin are actually ultimately worsening their condition over time, though they may experience temporary relief or ‘improved’ blood sugar values.” She also believes that elevated insulin and leptin levels are causative factors for heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity.

But not just high carb diets lead to excess insulin production in the body. Diets too high in protein do as well. Excessive consumption of protein will ultimately lead to a conversion of the protein into sugar and stored via insulin as body fat. Because fat cells are the last tissues to become insulin resistant, becoming fat is your body’s last defense against the onset of diabetes.

Moderate protein consumption, on the other hand, promotes the release of glucagon and improves fat-burning efficiency. The more you overeat starchy carbs and protein, the more your body will convert it all into sugar, even if the protein consists of your muscles and bones. Perhaps a high-carb diet is also a contributing factor to yet another disease called osteoporosis. Americans are currently eating too much protein in their diet. The average adult only needs about 6 oz. to 7 oz. of protein per day. That’s a chicken breast and two eggs. Dividing it into 2 oz. per meal is ideal. Piling on the protein is excessive and only increases your risks for elevated blood sugar levels and diabetes.

Jason Lincoln Jeffers is a Wellness Coach, Online Life Coach and the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company devoted to teaching Spiritual Enlightenment to the world. His Online Life Coaching practice uniquely combines mystical wisdom with self transcendence, holistic wellness, life path astro-analysis, heart-based intention, the power of presence, and the law of attraction.