"The fact is you're not getting the nutrition you need on a meat-based diet and you're going to get dramatically better nutrition on a plant-based diet."
--Neal D. Barnard, M.D., founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (pcrm.org)
Every
week, someone confides in me that they are scared and asks for help with their diabetes. Sometimes it is someone who was recently
diagnosed. More often, it is someone experiencing complications such as depression, neuropathy, or diabetic
retinopathy. Teaching people how to
control, reverse and prevent diabetes - and other chronic diseases - is central to my mission of making a
difference in the childhood obesity epidemic and why I started the charitable organization, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. No matter how busy I am, I always help when someone asks.
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| Nancy buying organic veggies in California |
Most
people who have diabetes or prediabetes have never been educated about it. They are given a prescription (or two or three) and
told to come back to see the doctor in 3 months. Drugs are not a replacement for education.
The
ABCs of Diabetes refer to the A1C, Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol. Becoming aware of what affects the A1C level, blood
pressure and cholesterol (sugar, salt and saturated fat) is the key to diabetes
management. In some cases, if diabetes
has been undiagnosed and/or uncontrolled for a long time, especially when an
individual has microvascular symptoms, it is not always possible to
reverse it.
Type 2 diabetes has been
referred to as “adult onset” diabetes, in contract to Type 1 diabetes where the pancreas makes no insulin and people are insulin-dependent. However, due to the childhood obesity epidemic,
kids are now being diagnosed with this “adult” disease in rising numbers. Teens diagnosed with diabetes can expect to live about 20 years less than if they did not develop diabetes.
The problem…
- Consuming added sugars (such as the high fructose corn syrup found in sodas, fruit drinks, snack foods and cookies) and refined grains (found in most breads, cookies, and crackers) clogs up the blood stream, slowing down the delivery of nutrients.
- Eating too much salt (found in most processed foods, aged meats, and fast foods) is the major cause of high blood pressure. There is a direct correlation: the more sodium you consume, the higher your blood pressure.
- Eating too many saturated fats, found in all foods that come from animals, is a major cause of high LDL cholesterol.
The
solution…A whole food plant-based way of eating is an evidence-based way to
control, reverse, and prevent diabetes. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Are
you ready?
With
love and gratitude,
Nancy
L. Heinrich, MPH
Founder,
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
