TREATMENTS

DIABETES TREATMENTS

As well as making lifestyle changes, people with diabetes will need additional treatments such as medication to control their diabetes, blood pressure and blood fats.

Please note this is general information only.  It is important that you discuss any concerns or problems you may have with your medications and treatments with your health care team.

Medication is not a substitute for following a healthy diet and taking regular physical activity – you will still need to carry on with this.

More information in coming posts regarding medication.

TYPE: - 2 DIABETES

WHAT IS TYPE: - 2 DIABETES?

Type 2 diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body are unable to produce enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance).

Who typically gets Type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, but in South Asian people, African- Communities who are at greater risk, it often appears from the age of 25.  

It is also increasingly becoming more common in children, adolescents and young people of all ethnicity. 

Type 2 diabetes accounts for between 85 and 95 per cent of all people with diabetes and is treated with a healthy diet and increased physical activity. 

In addition to this, medication and/or insulin are often required. In Type 2 diabetes there is not enough insulin (or the insulin isn’t working properly), so the cells are only partially unlocked and glucose builds up in the blood.

Type 2 diabetes in children

The vast majority of children with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes, but an increasing number are now developing Type 2 diabetes. 

Role of insulin

What is the role of insulin?

Insulin is a hormone which works as a chemical messenger that helps your body use the glucose in your blood to give you energy. You can think of it as the key that unlocks the door to the body’s cells. 

Once the door is unlocked, glucose can enter the cells where it is used as fuel. In Type 1 diabetes the body is unable to produce any insulin so there is no key to unlock the door, and the glucose builds up in the blood.

The body can't use glucose to provide energy and tries to get it from elsewhere and starts to break down stores of fat and protein instead. This can cause weight loss. Because the body doesn’t use the glucose it ends up passing into the urine.

Nobody knows for sure why these insulin-producing cells have been destroyed, but the most likely cause is the body having an abnormal reaction to the cells. This may be triggered by a virus or other infection.

There are two main types of diabetes.

There are two main types of diabetes: 

Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes develops when glucose can’t enter the body’s cells which is used to fuel the body.  

WHAT IS TYPE 1 DIABETES?

Type 1 diabetes is when the insulin-producing cells in the body have been destroyed and the body is unable to produce any insulin.

Who typically gets Type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 10 to 15 per cent of all adults with diabetes and is treated by daily insulin doses – taken either by injections or via an insulin pump. 

The person is also told to follow a healthy diet and take regular physical activity. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age but usually appears before the age of 40, and especially in childhood. 

It is the most common type of diabetes found in childhood.

Insulin related information.

What is Insulin?

Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose to enter the body’s cells, where it is used as fuel for energy so we can work, play and generally live our lives.  

It is very important for day to day living.

Glucose comes from digesting carbohydrate and is also produced by the liver. If you have diabetes, your body cannot make proper use of this glucose so it builds up in the blood and can’t be used as fuel to give you energy .

More information in next post

WHAT IS DIABETES?

WHAT IS DIABETES?

Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. There are 3 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK and an estimated 590,000 people who have the condition, but don’t know it. It is a silent killer if not controlled properly.

What happens when you have diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

This is because your pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin, or not enough insulin, to help glucose enter your body’s cells – or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (Which is known as insulin resistance).

Watch out for more information in next postl

Set You Coconut Oil Will Free — and Improve Your Health!

Do you feel cheated?

We did when we realized everything we had been told about saturated oils was a lie... and just exactly how much better coconut oil was for all of us.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg! That's why we decided to write and publish the exclusive e-Book, The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Super food - so you too could separate the truth from the lies and experience the world of health that coconut oil offers!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, we fully expose the Saturated Fat Myth - in layman terms - so you can feel confident that choosing coconut oil is the right decision!

You'll discover:

Why the Lipid Hypothesis (the theory that scared us off of saturated fats) doesn't make sense and what modern medicine has to say about the cholesterol & heart disease connection!

The fats that you truly must avoid to hold onto your health!

The truth about margarine and how it doubles your risk of heart disease!

Why the French have the lowest rate of coronary heart disease of any Western country, despite their high fat diet!

The type of fat found mostly in clogged arteries and why it will shock you!

And so much more!

But the healing revelations don't stop there...

Coconut Oil Contains the .... Healthiest Substance on Earth!

It's no secret breast feeding is about the best thing a mother can do to boost her child's immune system. What makes mother's milk so healthy is that it contains high amounts of lauric acid.

Outside of mother's milk there are only three dietary sources of lauric acid - and coconut oil is the most concentrated of the three!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll find out about:

The unique quality that helps coconut oil readily fight viruses, bacteria and even yeast!

The special reason The Health and Science Institute proves coconut oil can promote colon health!

A complete list of parasites, infections, and viruses that coconut oil has been shown to be effective against!

The recommended dosage of coconut oil to consume, based on weight, for health purposes!

And so much more!

Hit a brick wall with weight loss? Not anymore, because…

Coconut Oil Fuels Your Metabolism!

Researchers have discovered that in cultures where unrefined coconut oil is a part of the everyday diet, there is less obesity and less lifestyle-related disease.

Unfortunately, very little coconut oil is consumed in the U.S. and metabolic syndrome—along with its symptoms of obesity, diabetes and heart disease—is reaching epidemic proportions!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll discover:

The secret ingredient in coconut oil that burns fat quickly to fuel the body!

Why coconut oil makes you feel fuller longer and reduces food cravings!

The islanders who ate a diet of 50% fat but were slim and trim—and healthy!

The so-called “heart friendly oils” you should avoid that increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

How consuming one ounce of coconut oil a day helped a group of women decrease BMI (body mass index) and waist circumference!

And so much more!

Feeling run down all the time? Here’s great news…

Coconut Oil Boosts Your Thyroid!

Over 13 million Americans suffer from low thyroid function with little understanding of the cause. It’s really no wonder because most processed foods contain iodine blockers—and iodine is essential for optimum thyroid function! If you’re cooking with vegetable oil—it’s time to stop for your thyroid’s sake!

 Plus, without a healthy thyroid, weight loss is nearly impossible—especially for women.

Find out if your thyroid is malfunctioning and how coconut oil can get it up to speed in The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Super food. Discover:

The numerous symptoms that may indicate your thyroid is deficient—Including fatigue, weight gain, depression, constipation, loss of sex drive and more!

The two foods that are the worst iodine blockers that could be wreaking havoc for your thyroid health!

Why refined oils are especially damaging to your thyroid and contribute greatly to weight gain and fatigue!

How virgin coconut oil can completely turn around your thyroid health and increase your energy!

And so much more!

Now, want to look as good as you feel? You will, because…

Coconut Oil Protects and Beautifies Your Skin!

People living in the tropics have beautiful, wrinkle-free skin because coconut oil is not only part of their diet—but also their beauty regimen!

Coconut oil is a naturally moisturizing cleanser—and an effective sunscreen, blocking out 20 percent of harmful rays… thanks to the medium-chain fatty acids that protect and heal the skin at the same time.

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, We'll share…

The perfect oil to mix with coconut oil to moisturize and kill bacteria due to dermatitis!

The secret ingredient that makes coconut oil effective against acne—without the drying and flaking of over-the-counter acne cleansers!

The important relationship between coconut oil, vitamin E and vitamin D!

Taking care of a baby with diaper rash? Throw out the ointment and grab the coconut oil!

How to treat yourself to a spa-like Tropical Skin Exfoliant treatment!

And so much more!

You can have a beautiful mind too, because…

Coconut Oil Can Save Your Brain!

Alzheimer’s is on the rise—but you can do something now to protect your brain from the devastating effects of this savage disease!

How? By helping your body produce ketones—an alternative energy source for your brain! When MCTs—medium chain triglicerides—are metabolized by the body, ketones are created.

Just where can you find MCTs? In coconut oil, of course! In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll discover:

Why ketones are imperative to fight off Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis and many other debilitating diseases!

Real life, inspiring stories that prove coconut can turn brain health around!

What the FDA knows about the effects of MCTs found in coconut oil!

Brain scans that prove this natural alternative halts the progression of brain-killing plaque!

And so much more!

Does the word “cancer” terrify you? Don’t let it, because…

Coconut Oil Fights Cancer!

Cancer cells feed and grow in our body until the illness can eventually take over and ruin our health. And that’s only if it doesn’t kill us.

Don’t be terrified by cancer anymore! Because researchers have discovered it’s possible to actually “starve” cancer cells—and this pro-active defense leaves the body more able to fight the disease than being assaulted with chemotherapy!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll discover:

The alternative fuel your body can thrive on, but starves cancer cells—found in abundance in coconut oil!

The 7 foods you should be eating to keep the threat of cancer at bay—and hint, coconut oil is one of them!

The four lifestyle changes you must adhere to for optimum health—and to avoid cancer!

The specific foods you must remove from your diet—because they help cancer thrive!

And so much more!

Heard about important health benefits of detoxing? Well, listen up, because…

Coconut Oil is the Ultimate Detox!

Detoxing is quite popular these days—but beware! Many detox methods found on the internet are not grounded in science but are instead “fad” diets meant to make someone else a lot of money!

Coconut oil has amazing detox abilities and bolsters your energy during a detox program! In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Super food, you’ll discover:

The five essential elements of a healthy and effective detox program!

How to feel full during a detox but stay true to your goal!

The effective and easy ten-minute detox you can do every day!

What you should always do before beginning any detox program!

And much more!

Don’t let your doctor make you sicker with conventional heart treatments!

Try this instead, because…

Coconut Oil is Amazing for Heart Health!

Heart disease is a scary disease often treated with even scarier drugs—like statins! Statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) deplete the body of vital heart-nourishing nutrients and can do more harm than good!

Coconut oil is full of heart-healing benefits and can help prevent the need for such drugs—and even help keep you from getting sick in the first place!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Super food, you’ll discover:

Why statins are prescribed in 75 percent of cases though research shows they do nothing to increase life expectancy!

The effect coconut has on the LDL/HDL ratio and how it could save your life!

The unique ability coconut oil has to reduce blood clots, free radicals and improve liver health!

How low grade infections contribute to heart disease and how you can avoid them!

And so much more!

The Saturated-Fat Myth That Robbed You of Your Good Health!Four “Common Yet Dangerous”Oils You Should Never Eat...

Before World War II, the miracle-healing coconut had been used to help alleviate:

Coughs

Constipation

Malnutrition

Skin infections

Toothaches

Earaches

Flus

And more!

But that all changed when the war ended and the United States proclaimed hydrogenated oils to be the "healthier oils." By the 1960s, a weak scientific theory claimed that saturated fats-like those found in butter, eggs, milk, red meat and coconuts - increased "bad" LDL cholesterol and were dangerous to consume.

Nothing was further from the truth! But this “health scare” was enough to push the public away from saturated fats and instead to refined vegetable oils. This was perfect for food manufacturers because they were far cheaper to produce.

It wasn’t long before Western-style diets made their way to the islands and the old ways were forgotten.

Cheaper, mass-produced hydrogenated foods replaced traditional foods, like the versatile and all-healing coconut oil that had kept the islanders healthy for generations.

And for the first time ever, diseases that had become prevalent among Americans… heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity started to plague the island nations.

The Four Unhealthy:- 

"Healthy Oils" You Should Never Consume!

Decades ago when food processing first began, it became regular practice to alter that which nature provided. Thus began the era of "franken foods."

Whole, nutritious natural foods that mostly came straight from the farm to the table were replaced by over-processed, refined and chemical laden, mass-produced convenience foods.

And fats were no different. Over four decades healthy sources of fats were replaced with vegetable oils that were thought to be "better-for-you." We now know they've done more harm than good.

The following four are the worst offenders you should avoid at all costs:

Canola - Animals and insects avoid it in nature, here's why you should too...

There is no such thing as a canola in nature. Canola oil is actually a modified version of rapeseed oil. Asian and Indian cultures used rapeseed oil for centuries, but it was never consumed in the large quantities that Americans do.

The rape plant (in the mustard family) contains cyanide-containing compounds and wild animals and even insects avoid it in nature.

The refining process of deodorizing and bleaching to become canola oil involves exposing rapeseed oil to high heat, which greatly reduces the omega 3 content (perhaps it's only original redeeming factor).

Consumption of this "GMO Oil" has been linked to muscular disorders and fatty degeneration of the heart, kidneys, adrenals and thyroid gland. To avoid it, check labels closely - even in so-called healthy products - because it's practically everywhere.

Cottonseed Oil - An industrial plant saturated with pesticides...

Thousands of commercially produced foods contain cottonseed oil; everything from canned foods to chips and other packaged items. It is even in beverages such as Gatorade. However, cotton is not a food crop, and is therefore not treated like an edible crop but an industrial one.

Virtually anything can be sprayed on cotton plants to ward off insects and induce growth. Dangerous poisons such as trifluralin, cyanide, dicofol, propargite and naled are used on cotton crops. These work their way deep into the plants, literally transforming them into toxic organisms.

While it may be ok for making pants and shirts, cottonseed oil is truly not safe to consume. The majority of cotton plants are genetically modified - altered at the molecular level. Even though we are not eating the cotton plant directly, the extracted oil contains the same properties as the plant.

Besides a high amount of omega-6 fatty acids, cottonseed oil has a similar protein structure to peanuts, so people who are allergic to peanuts may have a serious allergic reaction to this oil, as well. However, the FDA does not require an allergy label on the oil - even though peanut oils can be fatal.

Safflower - Studies show an increase of Omega-6 also increases the rate of death by heart disease, reason enough to avoid this oil...

If you still believe that saturated fat and cholesterol are a direct cause of heart disease then safflower oil probably seems like a healthy swap.

Previous studies had found that by substituting animal fats with vegetable oils such as safflower, cholesterol levels would indeed drop.

However, what the earlier studies failed to evaluate was the high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in these oils and that the amount of omega-6 fatty acids in the American diet was growing astronomically.

Researchers now have evidence that it may not be cholesterol that kills, but omega-6's. When a group of individuals replaced animal fats with omega-6-rich safflower oil, their cholesterol levels decreased, however, the rates of death from cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease increased significantly as compared to those consuming the animal fats.

These results prompted researchers to re-evaluate their theories on saturated fat, cholesterol and heart disease and point the finger at the formerly dubbed "heart-healthy" omega-6 fatty acid.

Soybean - The GMO, hormone disrupting nightmare "health" food they keep telling you is safe...

Oh, the ever-questionable soybean. While marketers will have you believe that soy is beneficial because our healthy Asian counterparts consume it regularly, this is arguably one of the biggest nutritional myths out there. Asians enjoy soy in its fermented state and in considerably smaller quantities than we do.

Ninety-three percent of American soy is GMO and most of the soy we consume is in its unfermented state. This highly processed soy has been linked to numerous conditions including thyroid damage and hormone disruption thanks to its large quantities of estrogen-like compounds called phytoestrogens. As for soybean oil, up to 80 percent of the oil we consume today is soybean oil.

It's highly processed and heavily hydrogenated and found in a vast majority of products on supermarket shelves. And don't think choosing organic soy makes you any safer... as some so-called "organic" soy farms have been found to be fraudulent... passing off the GMO-product for the real thing. It's best to avoid soybean oil completely.

We can almost guarantee you have one of these oils or foods containing these oils sitting in your pantry right now. Maybe you even used one of these oils when you cooked your dinner last night. And today you're coming to the sad realization that YOU'VE BEEN LIED TO BY THE FOOD MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY.

Actual healthy foods have been vilified-and your "so-called" healthy food choices have been manipulated by manufacturers getting richer by the day. All while your diet has grown more and more nutritionally -void every day!

The REAL Truth About Coconut Oil Plus,

  If You Want to Heal, Beautify and Restore Your Body!

Here's a newsflash I'm sure won't surprise you... nothing concocted in a laboratory can ever replace the value of what is found in nature!

Mother Nature is incredibly generous in the way she provides - offering a bounty of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients to nourish your body so you can enjoy a long healthy life.

One fruit in particular - the coconut - is so abundant in its healing properties it's referred to as "the tree of life." And before World War II, people living in island countries, like the Philippines, consumed a diet that consisted mainly of rice, root crops, vegetables and an abundance of the ultra-healing superfood, the coconut.

The coconut is a "functional food" rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber - the essential nutritional building blocks for perfect health.

For generations, island people considered it "The Cure for All Illness" and consumed the meat, milk and coconut oil daily. Although this diet was high in saturated fat, Western conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease were virtually unheard of.

Filipinos and islanders were instead rewarded with a lovely youthful complexion, soft wrinkle-free skin, almost no skin cancer - even with excessive exposure to year round sun - and abundant good health.

Coconut oil in particular has been shown to protect you from viruses, bacteria, infection, cancer, thyroid, brain and heart problems... plus beautifies your skin - and even burns fat!

Coconut oil - a saturated fat - is chock-full of health-promoting properties - and is in no way responsible for high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and the bad effects you've been led to believe.

Finally, modern medicine and science are starting to realize this fundamental truth... and it's been a long time coming. But sadly not before heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and a whole host of other catastrophic diseases have reached epidemic proportions!

Breaking: How Coconut Substantially Reduces Risk of Diabetes

Dear Loyal Friend of The Alternative Daily, Jake Carney, Founder

The Alternative Daily:-

Each day, it seems, that more and more conclusive evidence about the positive effects of one of the most versatile and nutrient-dense super-foods known to man-kind is published. And you, as an avid reader of The Alternative Daily, are a big part of this monumental shift in bringing natural health to the forefront.

In addition to this, I am ecstatic that we can bring you even more PROOF that this “Tropical Treasure” has been shown to help reduce the risk of diabetes by helping to normalize blood sugar levels.

You see, the Coconut has been demonized by Big Food Companies and so-called Health “Gurus” for many years due to it’s fat content. But those bogus commentaries have absolutely zero basis, let alone, backed by science. We’ll get to the “Great Myth” in a second, but I wanted to share these ground-breaking diabetes studies with you.

Over 5% of the World's Population Has Diabetes

According to the sixth edition of the Diabetes Atlas, released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 10 percent of the entire world will be afflicted with diabetes by 2035. The report, released on World Diabetes Day, provides a projection of the number of adults between ages 20 and 79 that will have diabetes in coming years. The current amount of the world population living with diabetes is over 5 percent, and the number of total cases have increased by 4.4 percent in the last 2 years.

Statistics also show that the number of diabetes cases, especially type 2, have increased in every country. Approximately 5.1 million people worldwide die of this disease each year, which amounts to one person every 6 seconds.

The IDF estimates that in the United States, a whopping 9.2 percent of the population will have diabetes by the end of 2014, and this percentage is estimated to increase to 11.6 by 2035 - that's just under 30 million people.

Currently, approximately 192,725 Americans die of diabetes every year. Lenore Guariguata, epidemiologist and project coordinator for the Diabetes Atlas, states, "we haven't seen any kind of stabilizing, any kind of reversal. Diabetes continues to be a very big problem and is increasing even beyond previous projections."

If the rate at which diabetes is escalating isn't enough, the CDC noted that an additional 86 million individuals are coping with pre-diabetes, and that one half of all people over the age of 65 fall into this category. Pre-diabetes means that blood sugar is abnormally high, yet has not reached the standards at which full-fledged diabetes can be diagnosed.

Without lifestyle changes, 15 to 30 percent of all pre-diabetics will be diagnosed with the now most-common form of the disease, type 2 diabetes. According to the CDC, one out of every four individuals has diabetes and doesn't know it.

These individuals are unknowingly increasing their risk for blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and stroke every day that they are not receiving treatment.

Prevention Matters:-

Well said, Denis - why do we spend so much time, so much energy and so much money on ambulances and not nearly enough on fences? Probably because there is more money to be made in allowing people to succumb to a chronic disease than there is in teaching prevention.

After all - drug companies need someone to buy their poisons, right? One of the most popular diabetes drugs, Avandia, was yanked off the market in 2011 after studies since 2009 demonstrated that it increased the risk of heart attacks among persons with diabetes.

In 2011, the drug manufacturer came to a 3 billion dollar settlement due to fraudulent marketing of the drug, making this the biggest federal criminal drug company settlement to date.

Just because the government is not leading the way in prevention does not mean that you shouldn't take personal responsibility for your health - of course you should. And, doing so right now could be a matter of life and death. Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle illness - it is, for the most part, the result of many poor choices that end in disaster. The good news is that it is entirely preventable - no one should have to suffer with the consequences of such a horrible condition.

Some of the risks associated with carrying excess fat around your middle are a greater susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Additionally, as this fat tends to coat vital organs, it can cause system-wide inflammation that can trigger an array of other chronic illnesses. A big part of preventing diabetes is choosing healthy foods - not fast, or processed foods that predominate Americans' lives.

The result of consuming healthier fats like

coconut and coconut oil include:

accelerated fat loss

cleaner, younger-looking skin

natural all-day energy

normalizing blood pressure

& much more!

One thing that many people in this situation erroneously try is to cut fat out of their diets in hopes of shedding the weight around their middles.

The truth is, Americans have reduced their saturated fat consumption by 10 percent in the last 30 years, and obesity rates have doubled. In taking on type 2 diabetes, there is one superfood that can not only help reduce belly fat but also decrease blood sugar levels. Coconuts are truly an amazing gift from nature that many people are just now starting to embrace.

Coconut Oil and Abdominal Fat

Coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which have been linked to a large variety of health benefits. This oil packs tremendous thermogenic power when compared calorie for calorie to long chain fats. One study demonstrated how just 1 to 2 tablespoons of MCFAs per day can increase energy expenditure by 120 calories per day.

Other studies confirm the findings and clearly demonstrate that when we replace the current fats we are eating (including those found in processed foods) with MCFAs, we burn more calories - hands down. Another added bonus of consuming raw, organic coconut oil is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer.

Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats.

When MCFAs are metabolized, Kenton bodies are created in the liver - these have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect.

A 2009 study published in the Journal of Lipids consisted of testing the effects of either 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or 2 tablespoons of soybean oil on a group of 40 women over the span of 28 days. Results showed that the group that ate the coconut oil had a decrease in belly fat, while the soybean oil group actually showed a slight increase in belly fat.

Additionally, the group that ate the coconut oil showed increased HDL "good" cholesterol levels, while the soybean oil group had decreased HDL cholesterol and increased LDL "bad" cholesterol.

The Journal of Nutrition published a study where researchers investigated all studies relative to MCFAs and weight management. The studies showed that diets rich in healthy fats, such as those found in coconut oil, prompted a boost in metabolism, increase in energy, decrease in food consumption, reduced body weight and lower body fat mass.

The study authors highly recommend using oils that contain MCFAs, such as coconut oil, as a tool to drop extra belly fat, manage a healthy weight, and even as a way to treat obesity. As more and more studies continue to pile in, it is clear that the scientific and medical community are finally realizing what Pacific Islanders have known for hundreds of years: coconut oil is a rich and highly beneficial fat that should be a part of everyone's diet.

Coconut Fiber Helps Reduce Blood Sugar Levels

Obviously, if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic, you struggle with elevated blood sugar. When we consume carbohydrates, they are broken down in the digestive tract and converted into glucose (blood sugar).

Typical western meals contain a high degree of simple carbohydrates that come from refined flours and sugar, often from processed/fast foods. These foods cause the sugar in the blood to rise rapidly.

Diabetics and pre diabetics are encouraged to consume foods that have a low glycemic index. The higher the glycemic index, the greater impact the food has on increasing blood sugar. The body knows that elevated blood sugar is a bad thing, and to counterbalance, it starts pumping insulin into the bloodstream to get things under control.

If sufficient insulin is produced in a timely fashion, all is good and blood sugar goes back down. However, what happens to most people is that insulin does not get produced quickly enough, or the cells become desensitized to the insulin, which causes blood sugar to remain high over a long period of time. Consuming foods that are rich in coconut fiber helps to slow the rapid rise of blood sugar because this fiber absorbs some of the sugar from the blood.

In a study published by the British Journal of Nutrition in 2003, participants, both diabetic and non diabetic, were give a variety of foods to eat. These foods included cinnamon bread, carrot cake, brownies, granola, and other foods that persons with diabetes should normally limit.

When the study was conducted, it was found that when the coconut content of foods was increased, blood sugar response between the two groups was nearly identical. Clearly, the coconut kept the release of sugar into the blood from going haywire - there was no spike at all. The opposite was true when the coconut content decreased - the diabetics' blood sugar became quite elevated.

Researchers concluded that adding coconut to foods helps to stabilize blood sugar. In addition, replacing wheat flours with coconut flour is a great idea for people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic.

Although diet is only one aspect of diabetes prevention - you must also exercise regularly, manage stress and get plenty of sleep - making positive changes to what you eat is a great place to start, and your waistline will thank you.

Additional Benefits

Another added bonus of consuming organic coconut oil (and coconut cream or milk) is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer. Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats. When MCFAs are metabolized, keystone bodies are created in the liver - these have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect helping you to lose fat faster.

If you thought from reading about how using coconut oil daily for helping to reduce high levels of blood sugar is pretty incredible, you're going to be blown away by the other powerful health benefits of coconut oil. In next posts.