Preventing and Dealing with Prediabetes
Functional medicine is a system approach which addresses the underlying cause of the disease. A functional medicine expert is a super generalist who aims to treat the body as a whole to suppress a disease condition. For an instance- A functional medicine expert will consider brain and gut connected and deals with body as a whole. Hence, functional medicine is also regarded as precision medicine.
According to Mona Johar a trained functional medicine expert-“Eating local, organic, and fresh food not only supplements good nutrition but also acts as a medicine to fight against many diseases”.
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are high but are not enough to be regarded as diabetes. However, if remain unchecked and uncontrolled prediabetes usually converts to diabetes.
According to Mona – prediabetes results due to the combination of genetic, environmental and unhealthy lifestyle factors.
There are no obvious signs and symptoms which can result in prediabetes, however a periodic blood test is the only method which can detect the spikes in the blood sugar levels.
It is myth that fat people are prone to diabetes. Mona says that it thin individuals are at an equal risk. She terms thin people as walking time bombs or TOFI (Thin from outside and fat from inside). Fats is not visible in such individuals, however it gets accumulated on the internal organs which leads to serious complications.
Causes of prediabetes
Prediabetes primarily results from factors such as:
- Poor diet
- Toxins in the environment
- Genetics
Mona addresses most of the concerns w.r.t food to curb prediabetes In spite of having a genetic predisposition towards the disease, genetic suppression for diabetes can be achieved by:
- Eating healthy
- Avoiding eating foods in plastics(minimize the use of plastics)
- Avoiding sugary foods and drinks-which shoots the blood sugar levels
- Including whole fruits and vegetables
- Eating foods which are low in glycemic index such as high fiber foods(green leafy vegetables, cauliflower and fruits )
- Refraining from foods high in glycemic index (e.g potatoes)
Mona says- Rule of the thumb is that high fiber foods are low in glycemic index e.g fruits and vegetables. She emphasizes on below mentioned points to prevent or deal with prediabetes:
Eating healthy
Art of stacking-Pairing the food appropriately-Just for an instance you are eating rice and dal, club it with foods rich in fibers such as vegetables and salads. Include proteins such as tofu. Non- vegetarians can add chicken, meat or fish.
- Consuming sweets in moderation-Try consuming sweets in moderation. Gradually reduce your sweet intake. Mona says- According to research it takes about 14 days to fully curb the craving of a particular food. So do not give your body a shock and try eating foods in moderation.
- Avoid artificial sweetners– Mona says – Artificial sweeteners can be regarded as poison. They attack our gut microbiome and kill good bacteria, which are essential for maintaining good health.
- Prediabetics can include dates, coconut to replace the sugar in their diet
Healthy lifestyle
According to Mona leading a active life and a 30 mins of daily physical activity can reduce the risk of prediabetes. So one must include a minimum of 30 mins work out schedule in daily regimen.
Stress
Keep stress at bay. Stress not only contributes to prediabetes condition but also contributes heavily to other lifestyle chronic conditions.
Foods recommended for prediabetics
- Lean proteins
- Foods rich in chromium like brocilli
- Foods rich in magnesium like almonds, spinach and pumpkin seeds
Karela juice is an age old Indian method which is scientifically proven to prevent diabetes and has exceptional benefits in lowering down the blood sugar levels.
Whenever you visit a restaurant it is a good idea to:
- Take time in understanding the menu
- Take time to order
- Select intelligently
- Ask questions to the server
- Customize food
- Avoid foods rich in sugars and carbs e.g bread basket
- Swap few items e.g remove french fries, avoid salad dressings instead use olive oil
- Avoid fried foods like chilli paneer
- Avoid cheesy pizza. Customize pizza and add more vegetables
- Share your food
- Eat fruit bowel instead of conventional desserts
Power foods to prevent diabetes:
- Green Tea
- Cinnamon
- Coriander
- Ginger
- Sprouted foods
To read more on Diabetes, click on the link below.
