
Apps to Help Prevent & Reverse Diabetes
According to the Center for Disease Control and prevention, it’s estimated that 86 million Americans have prediabetes, a condition of high blood sugar levels that could turn into type 2 diabetes within 5 years. But studies have shown that prediabetes (and even full-blown Type II diabetes) can be reversed or prevented through healthy diet and exercise.
In a TEDx talk at Purdue University, Dr. Sarah Hallberg cited that as much as 50% of the population could have insulin resistance to some degree even if their blood sugar levels still test normal. With insulin resistance, insulin cannot process the high amounts of sugars and carbohydrates, and the glucose gets stored as fat.
As a society, a lot of our diet is made up of carbohydrates — from potato chips and pretzels to bread, pasta, rice and more. Add in the sugars from desserts and store-bought snacks and the hidden sugar in condiments like ketchup, and it's easy to exceed the USDA's recommended 225 grams of carbs per day. Over time, this can cause a condition called insulin resistance or prediabetes.
Dr. Hallberg cites success in reversing pre-diabetes and Type II diabetes with a low sugar, low carbohydrate diet. And she’s not alone. There is a wealth of studies supporting her findings (see an overview of the efficacy of low-carb diets by the American Diabetes Association).
So when I was diagnosed with prediabetes, I knew that it was time to seriously change the way I ate. I chose a diet high in vegetables, protein and healthy fats and low in starch and sugar (i.e., a low-carb diet). In search of information, recipes,
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