10 Ways to Reduce Blood Sugar
Tips to reduce your blood sugar.
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Eat more fat.
Most people focus on what to remove from the diet instead of what to add. Whenever we focus on what we need to remove, we feel like we’re missing out. We all have finite amounts of willpower, and if we spend it all on “giving up” foods, then we all eventually run out of willpower and go back to our old habits. Hence, the “yo-yo dieting” that Americans are familiar with. Gain weight à Lose weight à Gain Weight à Lose weight à Repeat to eternity
I want you to focus on eating more fats. Do you know why?
Fat turns off hunger by activating your satiety center.
Fat speeds up metabolism. Carbohydrates slow down metabolism.
Fat decreases insulin production, which improves insulin resistance.
Fat helps regenerate cells and allow for cell turnover / repair.
The brain primarily runs on fat!
By eating more fat, you will naturally decrease your carbohydrate intake, which reduces blood sugar.
Read the book “Eat Fat, Get Thin” by Mark Hyman, MD.
Watch my video: You’re eating sugar for breakfast.
2. Reduce inflammatory foods.
It’s a well-known fact by this time that inflammation affects everything about your health. Inflammation causes pain, fatigue, brain fog, cancer, heart attacks, strokes… need I go on?
Reducing inflammatory foods is the most powerful thing you can do for your overall health.
There are many inflammatory foods, but I want you to focus on removing the 2 most common and powerful inflammatory foods:
Gluten which comes from any wheat, barley, or rye products. Think bread.
Dairy which includes anything from a cow’s utter: milk, cheese, cream, butter, etc.
If you’re an American, gluten and dairy are in 90% of the foods that you eat, and you don’t even know it. The first step is to begin identifying where these foods are in your diet and work on substituting it for healthier versions. I do NOT want you to substitute spaghetti noodles for gluten free noodles. I want you to substitute spaghetti noodles for spaghetti squash. Think healthier alternative. Not gluten-free junk food alternative.
Watch my video: Sugar Detox.
3. Increase fiber in your diet.
Eating more fiber has numerous benefits to your health. Quite frankly, I don’t care how much fiber you eat, you’re probably not eating enough.
I want you to eat 9 cups of non-starchy vegetables per day. That’s right. NINE CUPS! You can add fiber supplements to increase your fiber further.
Why should I eat more fiber?
Fiber slows down absorption of carbohydrates / sugar.
Fiber feeds beneficial bacteria in your gut. These good bacteria kill yeast.
Fiber scrubs / cleans your intestinal tract.
Fiber helps you have daily bowel movements.
Fiber improves brain function and reduces risk of dementia.
Fiber turns into butyrate – a magical cancer-reducing byproduct.
Learn more about gut restoration.
4. Reduce toxic exposures.
This is an intentionally vague statement. We live in a toxic world now that industrialization is worldwide. These toxins interfere with your body’s ability to burn energy (lose weight), detoxify, and much more!
Did you know that toxic chemicals interfere with your insulin receptor, causing you to use more insulin to reduce your blood sugar?
Focus on 3 things to start: Clean food, water, and air.
Food – Eat organic when possible. Look up Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 by EWG.
Sign up for our online course to learn more about toxic exposures in your food.
Water – Try to only drink water that you have filtered yourself. Find a filter that removes heavy metals and environmental chemicals like Teflon. Berkey water filters are great. Avoid plastic bottles. Fridge filters are useless.
Air – Make sure your home has clean air. Are their signs of mold? Is there build-up on your air vents? Is there an old water-leak that may be growing mold years later? Test for mold in your home. Get an air filter that removes mold toxins and environmental chemicals. Stop buying toxic air fresheners.
Sign up for my Environmental Chemicals Solution course (under construction).
5. Balance adrenal hormones.
These little glands that sit on top of your kidney can wreck your entire system. Any stressors squeeze them and cause them to release adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones activate your fight or flight system, which in turn causes the liver to produce more sugar! As a diabetic, you’re trying to reduce your blood sugar yet your liver is producing extra in addition to what you’re eating!
My favorite supplements for adrenal balance are:
TruAdapt Plus – 2 capsules in the AM
AdreneVive – 1-2 capsules in the PM
You can buy these online or find them at a local high quality supplement store.
These supplements will NOT work if you continue to stress and do not focus on balancing your life. Learn more about balancing your stressors. Pick up a book. See a therapist. Actively manage your stressors or they will manage you!
Watch my videos on Adrenal Health.
6. Restore sexual hormones (adults)
Females: Are your cycles irregular? Are you on birth control? Are you menopausal and not taking hormone replacement?
Men: Is your testosterone low? Do you feel like a grumpy old man? Have you even checked your testosterone?!
You cannot expect your insulin to work as intended without adequate sexual hormones. It’s like trying to build a car while the guy building the frames is on vacation. All hormones are crucial to optimal balance.
This topic is too large to address in a PDF, so you will want to work with a functional medicine doctor to restore sexual hormones correctly.
Watch my videos on hormone restoration:
Female Hormones.
Male Hormones.
7. Reduce inflammation with supplements
The best way to reduce inflammation is through dietary changes (see above), but you can also use supplements to reduce inflammation.
My favorite supplements for reducing inflammation are:
Turmeric / Curcumin – Turmeric is a root that contains curcumin, which is one of the world’s most powerful anti-inflammatory supplements. I like Turiva 1 capsule twice daily.
Fish Oil – This is becoming more popular, but there are lots of terrible quality fish oil supplements out there. Get a high quality one. Watch my video to learn how to pick a high quality fish oil. There is a specialized fish oil called SPM Active by Metagenics that can be used in addition to your fish oil. SPM Active is fantastic for high levels of inflammation and pain.
CBD Oil – This has become more popular over time since its legalization several years ago. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory that is oil-based, so it can penetrate into the brain! CBD oil is a wonderful supplement, but you need to make sure to get a high quality version. Read the label! Do not fall for “hemp oil.” You’re looking for Cannabadiol (CBD) 25-100mg per day.
Buy any of these online through Fullscript.
Watch my videos on supplements for inflammation.
8. Reduce bowel inflammation.
I have already discussed reducing inflammatory foods and increasing fiber, but you must also address the inflammatory response being created in your gut from overgrowth of yeast and bacteria. Frequent use of antibiotics and steroids have caused yeast and bacterial overgrowth in almost everyone’s bowels.
By taking probiotics, you reduce the immune system’s inflammatory reaction to these organisms. In order to fully eradicate your overgrowth, you will need to work with a knowledgeable functional medicine provider, or you can learn how through my online courses. My gut restoration course is not created yet, but you can get notifications by signing up for my mold course or following me on Facebook!
My favorite two probiotics are:
Ther-Biotic Complete – 1 capsule daily
UltraFlora Spectrum – 1 capsule daily
Watch my videos on gut restoration.
9. Fasting.
I am a huge fan of fasting. It has miraculous healing powers that are sometimes too good to be true. The hardest part about fasting is the mental aspect of not eating. It’s not nearly as hard as you think it is.
Benefits of fasting:
Weight loss
Improved Insulin sensitivity
Improved Leptin sensitivity
Autophagy
Longevity
Brain function improvement
I recommend easing into fasting as you need to teach your body how to rely on its own fuel instead of constant intake of calories.
When do you stop eating? When do you start eating? How many hours are there in between?
Planning:
Week 1: Increase fasting window to 10 hours of fasting per day.
Week 2: Continue 10 hour fasting daily. Increase your fasting window to 12 hours on Monday and Thursday.
Week 3: Continue 10 hour fasting daily. Increase fasting window to 14 hours on Monday and Thursday.
Week 4: Continue 10 hour fasting daily. Increase fasting window to 16 hours on Monday and Thursday.
Week 5: Continue 10 hour fasting daily. Increase fasting to 16 hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Week 6: Continue 10 hour fasting daily. Do a 24 hour fast once.
Goals:
Continue toying with fasting.
16 hour fasting three times weekly.
24 hour fasting once per month.
Work your way up to a 72 hour fast every 3 months.
Read “The Obesity Code” by Jason Fung, MD.
10. Stop exercising.
I am sick of the message that is put out by the American public:
Are you overweight? Eat less. Exercise more. MYTH BUSTED!!!
This is a disgusting untruth!!
I frequently tell my patients to stop exercising. Why are you trying to burn more calories when your body can barely handle its regular daily activities? It’s only exhausting you and burning out your tired adrenal glands further!
Stop beating yourself up over not exercising. You have my permission to not exercise. Focus on 1-9, and you will be far healthier than any gym rat who works out only to eat junk food while looking good.
How will you know when to start exercising?
When you have extra energy and feel like moving! Believe me. It’ll happen!
How will you know if you should continue exercising?
By answering 2 basic questions.
Do you feel good after you finish exercising?
Could you do the exact same exercise routine the next day?
If yes to both, then keep up your exercise routine!
Watch my video: Stop Exercising to Lose Weight.
This blog was part of a presentation that I did for Juvenile Diabetes.
Download my Powerpoint slides for:
Your Gut is Causing High Blood Sugar.
Hormones are real. And imbalances cause REAL issues with diabetes.
Download this Blog as PDF.
