The Key To Diabetic Diet – Still Up For Debate

What’s more important than any current diet plan to improving health? There is no way to avoid how critical exercise is to improving blood sugar control. The American Diabetes Association generally follows the health recommendations outlined by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). They encourage people with diabetes to have a diabetic diet that favors starches and grains. In contrast, some have argued that a diet that is rich in protein and healthy fats can drastically reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes and can improve health. Healthy fats generally include monosaturated and polysaturated fats, and trans fats and saturated fats are often discouraged. Dieticians take positions that run anywhere from complete carbohydrate restriction to strongly encouraging the consumption of breads and grains as in the diabetes food pyramid.

Two summers ago, I went to Hong Kong for several weeks. I ate a diet that was relatively high in fruits (about 5 servings a day), and I also ate a great deal of grains, vegetables, and nuts. I was walking everywhere, and my commute to work was about 30 minutes each way (which required about 20 minutes of brisk walking and a 10 minute ride on the subway MTR). I also did a great deal of sightseeing and walking tours. In addition, I was weight lifting several times each week. I was continuously getting exercise.

During my stay, my daily insulin requirements plummeted. All of the walking was using the energy from the foods I was eating, and I lost a lot of weight. I needed fewer hours of sleep each night, and I rarely felt tired. Surprisingly, the more exercise I got, the less hungry I was.

I think that this taught me two very important things:

1) A sedentary lifestyle is far more detrimental to my health than my diet
2) When I get more exercise, I usually have more energy and have less hunger and require less sleep

I think that reducing insulin intake is important in improving diabetes health, but I strongly believe that the best way to do that is through exercise.