By Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon Psy.D., DABPS, C.HT.
Living with diabetes is complicated. From increased fat and fluctuating body weight to the increased risk of health conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and nerve damage, simply managing diabetes presents an everyday challenge for millions. But just because managing diabetes is challenging doesn’t mean it has to be debilitating, especially in today’s modern world.
When I was invited to speak on ABC7 news on this same subject four years ago, I offered listeners and viewers insight into the steps they could take to help manage and overcome their diabetes-related struggles. In this article, I want to revisit those same steps that those with diabetes can use to defeat their diabetes.
1. Regulate Your Blood Glucose Levels
The first step in defeating your diabetes is to regulate the glucose levels in your blood. Typically, the best and easiest way to do this is to fit more foods containing complex carbohydrates (such as fiber-rich vegetables) into your diet. This is because these kinds of foods are not as rich in insulin – the key compound our pancreas creates to regulate glucose in our blood – thus, making your body’s cells less resistant to insulin.
These foods that are rich in complex carbohydrates act as a kind of “insulin booster.” By not bombarding the cells in your body with insulin, you allow them to easier process insulin from the other foods in your diet.
2. Re-sensitize Your Body’s Insulin Receptors
Another way to state this step is to say, “boost your body’s insulin sensitivity,” which is a way to allow your body to naturally help regulate blood sugar levels, and thankfully there are a number of ways to do this.
Taking steps such as improving the quantity and quality of sleep you get each night, exercising more often, reducing stress and sugar intake. Adding spices like ginger, garlic, turmeric, and cinnamon to your cooking can also help reduce blood sugar levels to re-sensitize your body’s insulin receptors. Improving your diet with more complex carbohydrates as listed in the above step is another way to help re-sensitize your body’s insulin receptors, as well.
3. Stabilize and Repair Your Adrenal Glands
Our body’s adrenal gland is responsible for producing adrenaline – otherwise known as the “fight or flight” chemical, which is largely comprised of the compound cortisol, or the “stress hormone.” Because stress can have a wide impact on our body’s chemical balances, managing stress and balancing cortisol levels over a 24-hour period can help stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels.
4. Identify Food and Dietary Sensitivities
Everyone with diabetes knows they need to routinely check their blood sugars and adjust their food and beverage intake accordingly, but not everyone with diabetes possesses the same dietary restrictions. For example, one person with diabetes may also have a severe allergic reaction to gluten or dairy, while another may not.
Food allergies and sensitivities, when left untreated or unchecked, can cause inflammation in the digestive tract. This inflammation, in turn, causes a release of cortisol – the “stress hormone” – from our adrenal glands, and too much inflammation can likewise release too much cortisol, which can overload the adrenal glands and cause blood sugar levels to vary wildly. Identify which foods your body does and doesn’t react well to and plan your meals accordingly.
5. Correct Your Body’s Resistance to Leptin
Just as cortisol helps to regulate blood sugar levels via our adrenal glands’ response to stress, leptin is a bodily hormone that helps control and regulate our body’s food cravings and also assists in the metabolization of fat in our bodies.
If your levels of blood sugar, insulin, and/or cortisol are off-balance, this can create a natural resistance to leptin, leading to craving more sugary foods and only further harming your efforts to manage and defeat your diabetes. But by keeping your levels of stress, cortisol, blood sugar, and insulin properly in check, you will allow automatically adjust and correct your body’s response to creating and releasing leptin.
Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon Psy.D., DABPS, C.HT. is a double board certified integrative and interventional psychologist, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and master success coach. She’s considered an expert in integrative health and believes in a holistic approach-treating the body and the mind. As the founder and director of Dr. Aimee and Associates, and now The Center for Integrative and Functional Health and Wellness, Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon and her team of experts don’t just treat symptoms, they solve health problems, create better outcomes and change lives. FOR MORE INFO VISIT For more info visit thecifhw.com/