Insulin Resistance Diet

     The best diabetes diet is the insulin resistance diet and it is NOT supported by the commercial food business.   By the way, this is not a diet but a way of life.

* To commit to this diet means that you are eating in a way that increases your insulin sensitivity and keeps your blood sugar low.   It could require a serious alteration in your lifestyle which could mean the difference between a great life and a seriously ill life. *

     Highly industrialized foods are making us sick!    White flour, sugar and heavily salted food products are extremely addictive.

      The insulin resistance diet consists primarily of fresh food in it's natural state.   You don't have to be afraid of fats or carbohydrates but it's essential to eat only low glycemic carbohydrates and mostly unsaturated fats.  

     This means that in addition to eating only low glycemic foods at each meal you will want to stay away from anything that tastes sweet until you have stabilized your blood sugar at normal levels.   The exception to that will be whole fruit but not the high glycemic fruits which are bananas, over ripe fruit, watermelon and dried fruit.

     Do NOT try to economize on good quality food.   Instead cut out the junk food, the soft drinks, the chips and store bought cookies.   Use the savings to buy good quality whole food instead of processed foods.

      Eat good quality fats – good for your nerves and brain function which means they will keep you healthy when you are under stress.    Following the insulin resistance diet means that you will be investing in your health so you won’t be paying expensive medical bills down the road.

 The basic principles to follow to be thinner, full of energy and vitality and free from disease are:

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EXERCISE IS MEDICINE - You must do some type of aerobic exercise 5 days a week

DO NOT DRINK SODAS, FRUIT JUICES OR OTHER SWEET DRINKS

DO NOT EAT ANYTHING WHITE OR PROCESSED.

DO NOT EAT ANYTHING THAT TASTES TOO SWEET

DO NOT EAT WHITE POTATOES OR CORN.

EAT ONLY UNREFINED, WHOLE GRAINS LIKE BARLEY, BULGUR, QUINOA, SPROUTED GRAINS OR BROWN RICE.

EAT LOTS OF FRESH VEGETABLES AND LOW GLYCEMIC FRUITS.

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Find the Exercise You Enjoy and Do It!

     Find ways to move more.  Park your car a few blocks away from your job.  Take the stairs not the escalator or elevator.  If you sit at a desk, get up and walk around the office every 20 minutes.  Leave your car at home.  Buy a used bicycle.  Get outside and walk every day.  Start at 20 minutes and build it up to 1 hour a day.  Buy yourself a pedometer and see how long it takes you to get up to 10,000 steps a day.  You will change your life because you will be improving the health of every cell in your body significantly!  Exercise is part of your insulin resistance diet.

FATS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM

     On the insulin resistance diet,  20 - 30% of the food you eat each day should be high quality fat, more omega 3 fatty acids (plant fats) than animal fats.   Greatly reduce the amount of saturated fats (from meat and dairy products.)  Eat more fish,  avocados, raw nuts, raw seeds, flaxseed meal, olive oil, seed and nut oils and virgin, unrefined, coconut oil.    Be sure to get cold pressed, expeller-expressed, unrefined oils.   Fats metabolize slowly and are filling.   They do not raise your blood sugar and you feel fuller longer.

     Eat more wild fish!   Fish helps you to burn fat.   You should minimize  the animal fats and eat only  high quality meats, eggs and a small amount of real butter.   Most people eat far too much low quality meat and are getting far more animal fats than the omega 3s.

     On your insulin resistance diet it is better to minimize beef  especially grain fed beef.    All beef is grain fed unless it is labeled grass fed.  It's best to eat grass fed, organic beef, chicken, turkey or  wild game and wild fish.   This is because commercial grains that are fed to cattle are highly refined, high glycemic carbohydrates.

     You need to look for range free and cage free chicken eggs.   Even farmed fish is being fed grains these days.    Human beings and animals need more green plants.   You do not need large servings of meat.   You can make stews or stir fries or pasta dishes or salads with just 4 oz. of meat in a meal.

EAT CULTURED DAIRY PRODUCTS

     The insulin resistance diet includes  fermented or cultured dairy products.   This means high quality yogurt with no added sugar.   You can add fresh fruit or frozen fruit.   Cultured milk products have natural probiotics for a healthy gut.  They also include kefir and cultured buttermilk.

     Many people are allergic to the lactose (milk sugar) or the casein (the milk protein) in milk.   The practice of fermenting or souring milk partially breaks down lactose and predigests casein.   They are far more digestible.   If you can find unpasteurized dairy products that are high quality all the better, because the enzymes and many vitamins and minerals haven't been destroyed by heat.   If you drink milk try to find milk from cows that have not been fed hormones.

ONLY NATURAL CHEESES

     Processed cheeses (in cans or boxes and full of preservatives) contain emulsifiers, extenders, phosphates and hydrogenated oils and should be avoided.   On an insulin resistance diet eat  a small amount of  natural, good quality cheese.

NO HYDROGENATED OILS and LIMIT FRIED FOODS

     An insulin resistance diet will not include any hydrogenated oils. These are cheap, rancid oils that are subjected to high heat and high pressure.   Then they have dyes and other tiny metal particles added to get the thick consistency.    This chemical transformation makes a trans fat and it is highly toxic. These are the margarines and shortenings. Avoid these like the plague.   Use virgin olive oil or coconut oil for sauté.   You only need 1 – 2 teaspoons.

EAT ONLY SEA SALT

     Use lots of seasonings and spices and minimize salt but do eat some but be sure it's unprocessed.   Yes, salt gets over processed too I am sorry to say!   Commercial salt is highly refined and is the product of a chemical and high temperature industrial process.   All the good minerals are removed and several harmful additives, including aluminum compounds are added.   You need the iodine and sodium and other trace minerals you get from sea salt.

NO PROCESSED FOODS

     I know I sound like a broken record but this is essential because of the hidden nature of the high glycemic ingredients that are the hidden fat traps.    They can spike your blood sugar and they are not labeled as sugars so it's easy to be fooled.   They are the preservatives like maltodextrin and corn syrup, dextrose and barley malt.   Processed foods found in boxes or cans are full of these high glycemic preservatives.

     Eat your food in it's natural state.   You will be getting the most nutrients this way.  This is the most important principle of the insulin resistance diet.

EAT BEANS AND LEGUMES

     These are low glycemic and contain lots of good nutrients and fiber. It's better to buy dried beans and cook them but if you get them in cans just drain well.   Watch your portions.   You can add beans to salads or eat them as side dishes to your meat or tacos.   You can eats beans as your main course.     When you combine them with brown rice you have a complete protein with all the essential amino acids.

ADD CINNAMON TO 2 DRINKS A DAY

     Cinnamon has been shown in studies to help control your blood sugar. You need to add water extracted cinnamon to your daily diet by adding ¼ - ½ teaspoon to your morning tea or a glass of water before your breakfast.    Stir the water and let the cinnamon settle at the bottom of the glass.    Drink the water or tea.   Do this before 2 meals a day.

     Test your blood sugar or have it tested and notice any changes. Studies confirm that cinnamon will boost your insulin sensitivity and lower your blood sugar.   For these reasons it is an essential component of your insulin resistance diet.

NO HEAVY MEALS AFTER 5:00 PM

     If you eat your lightest meal in the evening and eat it early you will be done digesting by the time you go to bed.   Since you’ll be expending the most energy during the day, you are far better off to eat your heaviest meal for lunch.    In today’s world that can be a challenge since if you are working you are packing a lunch and the evening meal is the one you share with your family.   This is why it’s important to pack as much nutrition as possible into your breakfast and lunch and to take low glycemic snacks with you to work.

     Your family will also benefit from lighter evening meals.   You can eat less of the main dish and more of the salad.   You can also skip a meal one night and make yourself a nutrition packed smoothie.   If you are hungry after dinner eat fresh fruit or yogurt and fresh fruit.

     Read Portion Control Tips to understand exactly what a reasonable portion looks like.   One portion is no bigger than the palm of your hand.

     Rest for 10 minutes before you decide if you are still hungry. It takes that long for your brain to tell you that you’re full.   Then if you are still hungry have a piece of fruit or 6 oz. of yogurt or both.   You need to adopt the most stringent measures of low glycemic eating when you have insulin resistance or you are pre-diabetic.

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     When you consume refined sugars and starches especially without protein or fats they cause your blood sugar to spike and insulin and other hormones flood into your bloodstream. 

     These foods are refined carbohydrates and they are devoid of essential nutrients including vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

      A steady diet of these carbs results first in pre-diabetes, then as your cells become less sensitive to insulin, in insulin resistance and finally to the disruption of your endocrine function, metabolic syndrome.

To incorporate the insulin resistance diet into your life you must print the glycemic food lists and take them with you shopping.   Get rid of all the high glycemic foods in your house.   It may take up to 3 months to stabilize your blood sugar.   Most people do not eat nearly enough fresh fruits and vegetables.   Try to eat 8 - 10 servings a day.   Eat a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables with every meal or snack.

     When your hormones are confused all sorts of illnesses occur and eventually diseases like obesity, allergies, fatigue, learning disabilities, even alcoholism and drug addiction will manifest.   Eventually all the dreaded diseases of diabetes kick in.   It is a fact, that as the consumption of sugar (and white flour and hydrogenated oils) have increased so have all the modern diseases.   You could call many modern diseases sugar eating diseases.   On an insulin resistance diet you will prevent sugar eating diseases.

     So the best insulin resistance diet is one free of refined carbohydrates, high glycemic foods, sodas, and even grain eating meat products.    Will it be hard to give these foods up?

     Yes, at first but you have this website to guide you in your food choices or you can get a weight management consultation and 3 months of coaching to make sure you make the lifestyle changes.

      Once you are over your sugar and white flour addictions and you stop craving anything other than fresh, whole foods, you will feel so much vitality that you will wonder how you managed before!

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