A diabetes diagnosis can feel like a lifelong sentence. If you are overwhelmed, scared, or hopeless, you’re not alone. But the future does not have to be bleak. Diabetes can be reversed. There is hope for you. And the best news is: It’s all within your control, especially with the help of diabetes therapy.
Control Your Body, Control Your Diabetes
There are five key bodily functions to address to allow your system the chance to overcome diabetes. With the help of a practitioner of functional medicine and targeted diabetes therapy, it is possible to address and manage the parts of your system that are betraying you and achieve wellness, happiness, and a diabetes-free life.
- Control insulin surges. Certain eating habits lead to spikes of insulin release. Poor or unwise food choices create the surges, which perpetuates diabetes. Continuing to eat this way and allowing the surges to continue prevents diabetes from ever being reversed.
- Improve insulin sensitivity. As insulin surges, the body becomes resistant to insulin. This insulin resistance renders insulin less effective in lowering glucose levels. The goal is to decrease insulin resistance and help your body become sensitive to insulin again so it can regulate itself.
- Stabilize adrenal gland function. The adrenal glands release a hormone called cortisol, which raises blood glucose levels. Cortisol levels should follow a pattern throughout the day – higher in the morning and lower in the evening. If the rhythm of cortisol release is disturbed, it can cause insulin surges.
- Identify and remove food sensitivities. Food sensitivities cause the body to go into stress mode. Cortisol will surge in response to this kind of stress, which in turn causes insulin surges. Identifying and eliminating the foods you are sensitive to is critical to success.
- Restore the balance of the gastrointestinal tract. When bacteria, parasites, and yeast become imbalanced in the GI tract, the immune system is disturbed and a cycle of inflammation is created throughout the body. Inflammation triggers cortisol release and insulin surges.
These factors and functions can be improved and optimized when you make the right lifestyle choices, thereby improving your ability to eliminate diabetes.
The Components of Diabetes Therapy
The many functions of your body managed through diabetes therapy are all wrapped up in one another, which is why diabetes therapy consists of more than just one lifestyle change. Controlling diabetes consists of:
- Hormone management. Insulin is a fat-storing hormone and when it is being released, your body shifts to fat-storing mode. Insulin and other hormones tell your body to store fat and rely on sugar to give you energy. This sugar-burning mode drops blood-sugar levels and makes your body react to elevated sugar levels. Fluctuating blood sugar causes insulin spikes which leads to diabetes. Hormones must be flipped to fat-burning mode to minimize dramatic highs and lows of blood sugar and insulin.
- Food management. A sugar-rich and carb-heavy diet causes blood glucose fluctuations and insulin spikes. However, eating a ton of protein and minimizing carbs can do the same thing. Eating well means eating the right kinds of fats and proteins and carbs to balance your hormone functions and blood glucose levels. You don’t have to starve yourself or give up everything you love. The choices just need to be smart and balanced across the board.
- Lifestyle management. When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Diabetes therapy identifies when your body is prone to burning fat, how it self-regulates, and the best times to eat for your body. Constant snacking may seem like the best way to curb your cravings and keep your weight down, but this tells your body that it must store food for energy constantly so there is never a chance to properly burn glucose or fat or balance hormones.
Diabetes therapy can be used as a preventive tool as well as a tool to manage existing diabetes. If you know you are at a higher risk for developing diabetes, you can get it under control now by being proactive. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Daniel Geck at the Restorative Wellness Center in Ann Arbor to discuss your customized diabetes therapy.
