Do you have diabetes? Does someone you know suffer with this condition? Today is World Diabetes Day, where sufferers, health professionals, advocates and governments come together to raise awareness. This year focuses on Women and Diabetes, the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths each year.
So, what is diabetes? Here’s a very quick summary, but for more information and tips on how to help in an emergency go to www.idf.org …turns out even a can of Irn Bru can help!
There are 2 main forms of diabetes:
- Type 1: Your pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin in the body are destroyed by an autoimmune attack. This means your pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin at all, or it doesn’t function properly. It’s genetic and sadly, irreversible. However exercise can help as it improves insulin sensitivity by burning glycogen, a form of glucose that is stored in your muscles so that the body doesn’t need as much insulin to process carbohydrates.
- Type 2: Type 2 diabetes is the “lifestyle” diabetes, it can be prevented and managed with the right diet and lifestyle. With this type of diabetes, poor eating and general lifestyle habits cause the body to become insulin resistant and/or forces your pancreas to become inefficient in producing a sufficient level of insulin.
Whether you’re looking to manage your diabetes or to prevent it in the first place, then the primal lifestyle can help.
If you’re a type 1 sufferer then it’s important to seek medical advice before you embark on your primal journey. Firstly, look to lower your sugar intake and cut down on processed foods, often packed with hidden sugar. Integrate natural food into your diet as much as possible.
If you suffer from type 2 diabetes, aim to cut down on all sugary food. Every type of carbohydrate you eat is eventually converted to a simple form of sugar known as glucose, either directly in the gut or after a brief visit to the liver. The truth is, all the bread, pasta, cereal, potatoes, fruit, dessert and sweets you eat eventually wind up as glucose. While glucose is a fuel, it’s pretty toxic in excess amounts. You still need carbohydrates but aim to obtain it from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables. Some of them are high in GI and will give you the quick sugar boost that you need.
Three other ways primal can help
- Exercise – Here at Ludo’s Primal Wellness we would recommend vigorous interval exercise to exacerbate blood glucose levels allowing you plenty of recovery time. This means we can monitor your physical response efficiently; the workouts are the same in regards to the priority of natural movement but with shorter bursts of higher intensity intervals. It’s important to keep hydrated throughout workouts, and always have some glucose handy just in case you’re going into hypo, especially if you have Type 1 Diabetes.
- Mindfulness – Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and Meditation are all perfect examples of activities which make you body aware. This is hugely important for you if you suffer with diabetes as it means you can spot more easily when something is wrong with your body.
- Daily living – Make sure you’re getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine (yes, even here in Scotland!) whether it be leisure walking, cycling, outdoor games or gardening. It’s important to make sure your vitamin D levels are adequate. Plus, people with Type 1 Diabetes are at a higher risk of having low bone mineral density, with which vitamin D can help.
If you want to know more about how we can help you with diabetes, contact us and one of our health experts will answer your query. We can help and together we can tackle diabetes.
