Dietary Impact on Health

The human body developed on this planet over the past 2 million years. During all but the last 8,000 of those years (and 8,000 years when you are talking of an evolutionary time frame is but the blink of an eye), the human body evolved eating meat, fat and high fiber vegetables, with some roots and tubers.

Eight thousand years ago the “agricultural revolution” took place, with man learning how to domesticate grain. Virtually overnight, man became dependent upon carbohydrates as the main source of food. Archeologists point to that exact time period that the average height of man dropped by two inches and all of the degenerative diseases we have today developed in the society of that time.

Since World War II, this situation has become even worse with the increased consumption of simple carbohydrates, sugar, processed foods and introduction of cans and bottles with known hormone disruptors.

If we continue with the currently accepted diet, it is projected that by the year 2025 there will be over 300 million diabetics planet wide.

What is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin Resistance is a metabolic disorder – your metabolism is not working as it should. Metabolism describes the chemical reactions in the body’s cells that change food into energy.

Carbohydrates are simply long chains of sugar molecules hooked end-to-end. When a person eats carbohydrates, their normal digestive process breaks up these chains into the individual sugar molecules and they pass right through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream and load up the bloodstream with sugar.

This prompts the pancreas to release insulin with the purpose of having the cells utilize the sugar to create energy thereby lowering the amount of sugar.
Excessive sugar intake every once in a while, would not be a problem. But as diets today are so high in carbohydrates, people have a constant high level of sugar pouring into their bloodstream year after year.

Continual excessive sugar intake means insulin is being pumped into the blood continually. Over time, the cells become resistant to the normal amount of insulin and don’t utilize the sugar. The body’s response to this is to create even more insulin. So, over time there’s more sugar and more insulin in the blood while the cells continue being resistant to utilizing the substances they need to produce energy.

This excessive sugar in the blood turns into fat, cholesterol and triglycerides.

This process continues until the pancreas reaches the maximum amount of insulin it can produce, and when the insulin resistance continues, the blood sugar begins to rise out of control.

The result is Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is actually an extreme case of Insulin Resistance.

What Can You Do?

The good news is that Insulin Resistance can be addressed by lifestyle changes that reduce the amount of sugar (including carbohydrates) being put in the body.

The process that causes Insulin Resistance, as described above, also makes the body deficient of nutrients. This is why people with Insulin Resistance, and later Diabetes, develop all kinds of health problems.

So, the answer to this is to provide the body with the correct type and amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients through nutrient-rich foods and supplementation.

Diet

A high carbohydrate diet is not the diet that our bodies evolved with. In the World Health Organization report, Technical Series Report 916, page 42, it states, “We should eat a diet consistent with the diet our genes became programmed to respond to.” Genetically our bodies are designed to respond to nutrition from meat, fat and plants. The best diet to counter Insulin Resistance follows these guidelines.

Foods that WILL HELP Improve Insulin Resistance:

Meat

Chicken, pork, steak, ground beef, lamb, ham, bacon, turkey, elk, veal, goat, rabbit, bison, beef jerky, duck, goose, deer, etc.

Seafood

Salmon, snapper, trout, tuna, cod, catfish, halibut, clams, oysters, lobster, crab, scallops, mussels, bass, anchovies, eel, flounder, grouper, herring, mackerel, mahi-mahi, orange roughy, red snapper, rockfish, haddock, sardines, tilapia, sole, etc.

Eggs

Buy pasture raised, organic eggs, if possible.

Fruits

Avocadoes, and sparingly lemons, limes, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries.

Dairy (not low fat)

Butter, Half and Half, cheeses (soft and hard), cream cheese, sour cream, cream.

Nuts and Seeds

Almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, nut butters and nut flours, tahini (sesame butter).

Vegetables

Arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cabbage, asparagus, beet greens, bok choy, lettuces, chard, cucumber, dandelion greens, endives, fennel, garlic, green beans, jicama, kimchi, kohlrabi, leeks, leafy greens, mushrooms, okra, onions, spaghetti squash, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnip greens, zucchini, watercress, pumpkin, kale, spinach, bell peppers.

Fats and Oils

Coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, MCT oil are excellent as they don’t stimulate insulin production.

Drinks

Water, almond milk (unsweetened), broth (chicken, beef, and bone), club soda, coconut milk, unsweetened coffee, herbal teas, seltzer water, sparkling mineral water, lemon and lime juice (in small amounts), unsweetened tea.

Foods that WON’T HELP Insulin Resistance:

Sweets & Sweeteners

Candy, chocolate, cakes, buns, pastries, tarts, pies, ice cream, cookies, pudding, custard, cane sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, Splenda, aspartame, saccharin, corn syrup. You can have xylitol and stevia.

Legumes

Black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans, soybeans, peas, chickpeas, lentils.

Grains & Grain Products

Wheat, rice, rye, oats, corn, quinoa, barley, millet, bulgur, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains, cereal, bread, pasta, rice, corn, oatmeal, crackers, pizza, popcorn, granola, bagels, muesli, wheat flour.

Root Vegetables

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, yams, parsnips, yuca, beets, turnips.

Fruit

Apples, apricots, bananas, oranges, grapes, watermelon, peaches, melons, pineapple, cherries, pears, grapefruits, plums, mangoes, cantaloupes, dates, dried fruits (such as raisins), grapes, kiwis, peaches, pineapples, plantains, plums.

Some Oils

Canola oil, soybean oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil.

Sweetened Sauces and Dips

Ketchup, BBQ sauce, tomato sauce, some salad dressings and hot sauces.

Low Fat Dairy

Skim milk, skim mozzarella, fat free yogurt, low fat cheese and cream cheese.

Sweetened Drinks

Juices, smoothies, soda, sweetened tea and coffee.

Regular Exercise

Exercise will help support your dietary and nutritional handling of Insulin Resistance. Suggested exercise is:

• Low-intensity cardio workouts such as walking, cycling, jogging, recreational sports, or swimming
• Strength training exercises such as weightlifting (fewer reps with lighter weights).

Nutritional Support

Insulin Resistance denies the cells the full nutrition they need to operate properly and generate the energy the body needs.

Insulin Resistance will be improved by taking the correct nutritional supplements to support the cells to change the way they operate and improve your metabolism. That means the correct vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients your cells need.

Supplements should be natural, including plant-based nutrition, with ingredients that are specifically selected to address metabolic disorders. They must provide targeted nutrition at the cellular level and simultaneously support all of the body’s systems.

A low carbohydrate diet, regular exercise, and nutritional support through supplementation will help lower blood sugar, and thus insulin, and improve Insulin Resistance.

Try these suggestions for 2 weeks and see how different you feel.