Did you know high blood sugar (diabetes) often leads to dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)? Numerous foods and herbal medicines have been demonstrated scientifically to both prevent and treat the symptoms of Diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Did you know berberine reduces blood glucose and psyllium slows its uptake? The nopal cactus is rich in vitamin C and also reduces blood sugar, kava reduces anxiety and pain and oil of lemon balm soothes the stress of sundowning for both the AD patient and caregiver.
Here are 11 Essentials of Nutrition that will play a unique fundamental role in your health and well-being.
#1 – No one diet is right for everyone
Each person has a different cultural-genetic heritage and therefore a different metabolism. Some peoples, like the Inuit, require mostly meat and fish, and people from India do well on a predominance of legumes, vegetables, fruits. Most people required a mix. However, that mix of food can vary greatly. Know your ancestry and genetic heritage and try to eat for your individual metabolic type. There is no one right diet for diabetes. But we do know that is essential to eliminate all grains.
#2 – If you improve digestion you improve your health
Where there is diabetes or pre-diabetes there is most often a history of poor digestion. Improve digestion by eliminating food allergens and by adding digestive enzymes.
#3 – Eat only when relaxed
Digestion occurs when the autonomic nervous system is switched on. The juices containing digestive enzymes flow in a state of relaxation. Eating under stress is like putting a pot of food on the stove to cook, not lighting the fire and letting it sit there for two days; it bubbles, ferments, and becomes gaseous.
#4 – Mood follows food
Diabetes means an imbalance of blood sugar. When your blood sugar drops, so does your mood. Eating protein stabilizes your mood and amino acids which are the stuff of brain chemicals which support mood and focus. Eating carbohydrates allows you to feel energized at first, and then relaxation or even fatigue may set in. Eating good quality fats like Virgin Olive Oil provides a sense of feeling full.
#5 – Eliminate all refined carbohydrates
They are poisonous. White sugar, white flour and other refined carbohydrates cause spikes and drops in blood sugar.
#6 – Eliminate exposure to additives, preservatives, hormones, toxic pesticides and fertilizers on food
Health is affected negatively by dietary exposure to food toxins and allergens. We now know that pollution and toxins contribute to diabetes! Use wild foods and organic foods. If you can’t obtain these foods all the time, focus your attention on organic eggs and meat products and detoxify your fruits and vegetables.
#7 – Nourish the 1st Brain
The brain is made up of 60% fat. It needs enough good quality fat, proteins, and carbohydrates to function. To improve your health, eat plenty of good fats like olive oil, eggs, avocados, walnuts, coconut oil, and eliminate all poor quality fats and trans-fats, like French fries and fats (partially hydrogenated oils) added to canned and packaged foods.
#8 – Nourish the 2nd Brain
The “second brain” is the digestive system; the “gut” where food is digested and absorbed. Nourish the second brain with fiber and fermented foods. It also generates the healthy bacteria and neurotransmitters that support efficient brain chemistry.
#9 – Eat all the colors of the rainbow
Eat whole, nutrient dense foods from the whole color spectrum to obtain your nutrients. Prepare fresh foods daily.
#10 – Diet is essential, but not sufficient
A healthy diet is essential for mental health however it is not generally sufficient to treat mental illness. To prevent and treat diabetes, it is essential to choose a healthy diet along with exercise, relaxation and the daily use of vitamins, minerals, fats and glandulars.
#11 – Choose healthy foods and nutrients over alcohol and drugs to alter consciousness
Foods and nutrients, alcohol, and drugs, can all alter consciousness. Distinguish between altering consciousness for health or for addiction. Understand what is being altered in order to gain control over an addiction. Transform addiction into positive states of consciousness, linked to ceremonial and group activities.
Interested in learning more?
If you want to learn how to use the kitchen as your pharmacy, explore my new course Food as Medicine.
If you are a health professional, take my CE Certification Course Nutrition and Integrative Medicine for Diabetes, Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s.
I will teach you how to address the physical, mental and emotional aspects of diabetes and Alzheimer’s, by integrating with the use of functional medicine, naturopathy and psychology and much more.
You can also read my book Preventing and Treating Diabetes Type 2, Naturally, where you can learn simple to use, daily strategies to address diabetes and it’s symptoms, such as neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, stress, trauma, pain and depression.
She served as a Fulbright scholar on traditional medicine, a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School, and a National Institutes of Health-funded research scientist in mind/body medicine.
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