According to the American Diabetes Association, 29.1 million Americans (9.3% of the population) have diabetes and another 86 million people (18.8%) have insulin-resistant pre-diabetes. The vast majority of diabetes is the type II variety, known as degenerative diabetes. Research has shown that degenerative diabetes is an inflammatory disorder and is completely preventable & reversible by adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

When we eat sugar or carbohydrates, our digestive system converts these larger molecules into glucose, which is then absorbed into the bloodstream and taken to every cell of the body. Blood sugar fuels the cells keeping them healthy. For healthy functioning, it is critical to maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Here are the best action steps to get started with on your journey to prevent and/or beat Diabetes. (You should always consult with your physician before stopping or changing medications or taking on new health strategies.)

Additionally, you should be working with a functional health practitioner to help guide you through these strategies. This is not an exhaustive list and there are other natural therapeutic strategies that I and functional health practitioners will utilize to help individuals with Diabetes.

1. Follow a Ketogenic Diet: Follow a low-carb, high fat fasting plan to achieve ketosis
2. Reduce Stress: Find ways to reduce stressful activities and enjoy more peace and calm.
3. Improve Your Sleep: Sleeping a high quality 8-9 hours each night is key to reducing cellular inflammation and improving blood sugar signaling.
4. Use Anti-Oxidant Rich Herbs: Add turmeric, ginger, oregano, garlic, basil, thyme and rosemary to as many dishes as possible and drink organic herbal teas on a regular basis.
5. Zinc and Magnesium: Be sure to optimize your zinc and magnesium levels. Both of these nutrients work to improve blood sugar signaling problems. Pumpkin seeds are one of the richest sources of both zinc and magnesium. Additionally, make green drinks or use super green powders and consume healthy organic meat products. also do Epsom salt baths to boost your magnesium levels or apply Magnesium oil to your skin daily.
6. Supplement With Omega 3’s: Omega 3 fatty acids and in particular the long chain variety EPA and DHA are critical for stabilizing blood sugar, lowering triglycerides and improving insulin sensitivity. Consume grass-fed meat, grass-fed butter, wild-caught fish and spirulina to get it in your diet. It is also advisable to supplement with 2-5 grams daily of EPA/DHA along with 200 mg of GLA.
7. Focus on Deep Breathing: Improving your posture, seeing a high quality chiropractor and optimizing your breathing patterns is highly recommended.
8. Change Your MicroBiome: You can do this by killing off bad microbes and re-inoculating your system with probiotics and fermented foods.
9. Optimize Your Vitamin D: Low vitamin D3 is associated with the development of type II diabetes. Be sure to increase your vitamin D through good amounts of regular sun exposure and/or taking a high quality vitamin D3/K2 supplement. A minimum of 5,000 IU daily. Know your numbers, it may take more!
10. Intermittent Fasting: Going 16 hours between dinner and breakfast is one of the best ways to balance blood sugar and reduce cellular inflammation. Consume your meals in an 8 hour window such as 12am – 8pm.
11. High Intensity Exercise: High intensity training, especially resistance training boosts up testosterone. Do large muscle group, compound exercises such as squats, lunges, bench press, T-bar rows, pull-ups, overhead press, etc. Be sure to lift heavy!! The more muscle tissue that is intensely stimulated, the more testosterone production will go up. Be sure to get good rest between workouts. I like to do an upper body day, lower body day and then a day off. Then back to upper body and lower body and then another day off…and so on and so on.
12. Use a Blood Sugar Support Plan: What I use clinically to help stabilize blood sugar is an anti-inflammatory diet that is low-carb and high in healthy fats and antioxidants. I add in a combination of premier nutraceuticals to help powerfully reduce inflammation and improve cell membrane function and stress hormone level.