What You Can Do Today to Defeat Diabetes Naturally

Diabetes in the United States

West Virginia has the highest rate of diabetes at 15 percent. The 11 states with the highest type 2 diabetes rates are in the South. Nationwide, diabetes rates have nearly doubled in the past 20 years — from 5.5 percent (1994) to 9.3 percent in 2012. More than 29 million American adults have diabetes and another 86 million have prediabetes. The CDC projects that one in three adults could have diabetes by 2050. More than one quarter of seniors (ages 65 and older) have diabetes (25.9 percent, or 11 million seniors). Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for around $245 billion in medical costs and lost productivity each year. (Note: The reported diabetes rates are crude rates from 2011-2014 and age-adjusted rates for 2015 and 2016.)

Nutrition and Meal Timing for Diabetes

Eating a balanced diet is vital for people who have diabetes, so work with your doctor or dietitian to set up a menu plan. If you have type 1 diabetes, the timing of your insulin dosage is determined by activity and diet. When you eat and how much you eat are just as important as what you eat. Usually, doctors recommend three small meals and three to four snacks every day to maintain the proper balance between sugar and insulin in the blood. A healthy balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in your diet will help keep your blood glucose on target. How much of each will depend on many factors, including your weight and your personal preferences. Watching your carbohydrates -- knowing how much you need and how many you are eating -- is key to blood sugar control. If you are overweight, either a low-carbohydrate, low-fat/low calorie, or Mediterranean diet may help you get your weight to goal. No more than 7% of your diet should come from saturated fat, and you should try to avoid trans fats altogether.

Exercise for Diabetes

Another crucial element in a treatment program for diabetes is exercise. With either type of diabetes, check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. Exercise improves your body's use of insulin and may lower blood sugar levels. To prevent your blood sugar from falling to dangerously low levels, check your blood sugar and, if necessary, eat a carbohydrate snack about half an hour before exercising. If you start to feel symptoms of low blood sugar (called hypoglycemia), stop exercising and have a carbohydrate snack or drink. Wait 15 minutes and check again. Have another snack again if it is still too low. 

Exercise helps some people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood glucose levels and may help prevent the disease in those at risk. For people with either type of diabetes, exercise can lower the chance of having a heart attack or stroke and can improve circulation. It may offer stress relief, as well. People with type 2 diabetes who need to lose weight can benefit from moderate exercise. Most people with diabetes are encouraged to get at least 150 minutes each week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, like walking. Strength training is often recommended at least twice a week. Talk to your doctor about what type of exercise is right for you.

Whole-body Vibration May Improve Diabetes Control, Study Finds

Researchers have found that a less strenuous form of exercise known as whole-body vibration may work just as well as regular exercise in helping to control diabetes. WBV, as it's called, could also benefit people who find it difficult to exercise.

 



Scientists say WBV transmits energy through the body when someone is standing, sitting or lying on a gently vibrating device, causing muscles to contract and relax many times each second. The effect may be to strengthen and increase muscle mass, improving blood sugar control along with other problems seen in diabetes. At least, that's what studies in mice suggest. Bearing in mind that exercise is good for everyone, including people with diabetes, researchers at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia, studied five-week-old male rodents, comparing the effects of whole-body vibration to that of running on a treadmill.

Vibrating platform A cage containing both normal and specially bred obese, diabetic mice was placed on a gently vibrating platform for 20 minutes per day for 12 weeks. Another group of rodents — both diabetic and healthy mice — was trained to run on a treadmill for 45 minutes a day for the same period of time. A third group of diabetic and healthy mice remained sedentary and were used for comparison. Investigators saw similar health benefits in the diabetic mice that ran on the treadmill and those exposed to whole-body vibration. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, an assistant professor in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Georgia, said the results of the study showed that "vibration may be just as effective as exercise at combating some of the negative consequences of obesity and diabetes."

Biomarker improvements McGee-Lawrence said mice subjected to whole-body vibration and those that ran on the treadmill were both able to decrease fat in the liver, improve insulin sensitivity and increase muscle fiber. While there was improvement in the biomarkers of diabetic WBV mice and treadmill mice, they never became as healthy as the normal animals. During the study, the mice were weighed weekly. Researchers found that the diabetic mice subjected to vibration and the treadmill gained less weight after the study was over than the sedentary rodents. There was also evidence that whole-body vibration might improve the bone strength of diabetics. The study was published in the journal Endocrinology. McGee-Lawrence said researchers are now trying to determine the mechanisms that underlie improved diabetes control in both exercise and whole-body vibration mice.

How Whole-Body Vibration Devices Help to Build Bone Tissue As Well 

Whole body vibration works by forcing your muscles to repeatedly contract and relax.

This, in turn, increases blood circulation and releases healthy hormones, such as osteocalcin which boosts bone health.

Alexis M. Stranahan, a neuroscientist who worked on the study, said: “Every time you walk or run or stand on a vibrating platform, your bones are experiencing sheer stress and that sheer stress can change how those metabolically relevant hormones get released.”