Top Tips for Type 2 Diabetes

Written By Liz Beel

1.      Nutrition - Pick a protein for each meal (this can be eggs, meat, fish, tofu, chickpeas, beans etc) should be a quarter of a plate, then combine this with healthy fats (avocado, nuts, feta, oily fish eg salmon, olives, extra virgin olive oil etc) and then fibre (leafy green vegetables) and then finally add some whole food carbohydrate if you wish (kumara, potato, brown rice) or ditch the carbohydrate altogether.  Note if removing cabohydrates from diet you can feel unwell initially – important to drink plenty of water and to add salt ¼ teaspoon per L.

Protein combined with healthy fat has been shown to keep blood sugars more stable and reduce cravings.

Apple cider vinegar before meals shown to help reduce blood sugar.

Cinnamon on oats help to improve sensitivity to body of insulin and improve blood sugar

Reduce alcohol as much as possible and reduce sugar drinks. If you can’t try to have only half a sugary drink and then water it down with some sparkling water – this will make a really big difference longterm.

The timing of food is important – try to eat within a 12 hour window so breakfast at 7am and dinner at 6pm – this has been shown in research to dramatically improve blood sugars.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31338545/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19930003/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20502468/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6627766/

2.      Sleep is as important as nutrition. Try to increase morning exposure to sunlight and reduce light exposure in the evening (eg put an app on phone to filter out the blue light).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2976532/

 

3.      Exercise – strength and post prandial movement

Muscle acts as a sponge for absorption of excess sugar. So don’t forget strength work – even a little bit per day counts.

You don’t need weights or to go to the gym.

Try this https://drchatterjee.com/5min-kitchen-workout/ or even doing some squats or a wall sit while you clean your teeth

Evidence that timing of exercise may be important – short walk 10mins after eating can dramatically reduce blood sugar

High intensity interval training really important and shown to improve diabetes control -it doesn’t have to be hard to start with. Walk for 40 seconds as hard and as fast as you can, then walk leisurely for a minute. Repeat this 4-5 times

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992225/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30067587/

 

4.      Manage stress

Breathing through your diaphragm has been shown in research to improve blood sugars in type 2 diabetes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg2ar-7_HfA

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22789789/

5.      Making it last – https://drchatterjee.com/five-ways-to-make-changes-that-stick/

Liz Beel