10-Day Cleanse

10-Day Cleanse for Type 2 Diabetes: A Balanced Approach to Nutrition and Health

A 10-day cleanse for someone with Type 2 diabetes should focus on balanced nutrition, blood sugar control, and overall health improvement. Here’s a general outline, but it's crucial to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new diet plan. Substitute foods keeping in mind the general tips listed below.

Day 1-3: Detox and Hydration

• Morning: Start with a glass of warm water with lemon.
• Breakfast: Smoothie with spinach, kale, cucumber, and a small apple.
• Lunch: Mixed green salad with grilled chicken, olive oil, and vinegar dressing.
• Dinner: Steamed vegetables with a portion of lean protein like fish or tofu.
• Snacks: Fresh fruits like berries and nuts.
• Hydration: Drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Day 4-6: Nutrient-Rich Foods

• Morning: Warm water with lemon.
• Breakfast: Plain yogurt with chia seeds and blueberries.
• Lunch: Quinoa salad with mixed vegetables and a boiled egg.
• Dinner: Baked salmon with a side of steamed broccoli.
• Snacks: Plain yogurt with a handful of nuts.
• Hydration: Continue drinking water and herbal teas.

Day 7-10: Balanced Meals

• Morning: Warm water with lemon.
• Breakfast: Avocado with a poached egg.
• Lunch: Lentil soup with a side of mixed greens.
• Dinner: Grilled chicken with a side of roasted vegetables.
• Snacks: Fresh fruits and a small portion of dark chocolate.
• Hydration: Maintain water intake and include green tea.

General Tips

• Regular Meals: Eat at regular intervals to maintain blood sugar levels (American Diabetes Association, 2023).
• Low Glycemic Index Foods: Focus on foods with a low glycemic index to avoid blood sugar spikes (Healthline, 2023).
• Physical Activity: Incorporate light to moderate exercise daily.

References

American Diabetes Association. (2023). What can I eat? Retrieved from https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/meal-planning

Healthline. (2023). Type 2 diabetes sample meal plan: 21 delicious recipes. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/seven-day-meal-plan

Purdue OWL. (2023). In-text citations: The basics. Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html

Feel free to adjust this plan based on your preferences and dietary needs.

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#Type2Diabetes #HealthyEating #BloodSugarControl #DiabetesDiet #10DayCleanse

Supplements for Type 2 Diabetes

Dr. Heather Stone | Functional Medicine Doctor. (2020, August 3).

As patients finish their program they always want to know what supplements they should keep taking.

The first answer is check with your provider for your specific needs.

However, the following supplements should be considered as part of your lifetime health regimen.

Essential Fatty Acid Support:  Our bodies are often deficient in the critical nutrient known as essential fatty acids.  In particular omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils and olive oil for example.  Each person requires a different type and amount of omega-3's so please be in touch with your provider.

Vitamin D:  I can’t recall the last time I tested a patient with adequate levels of vitamin D.  For various reasons we are in the midst of an epidemic of low vitamin D levels.  Vitamin D deficiency creates a tremendous amount of strain on the body and in particular can increase your risk and cause type 2 diabetes.  This actually should be done under the supervision of a healthcare provider as V. D dosage often needs to be high and should be monitored for negative effects.

Blood Sugar Support:  As a diabetic, or “former diabetic”, it’s a good idea to be on a comprehensive blood sugar support formula moving forward.  Your provider can recommend one for you.

Antioxidant Support:  We live in an ever increasing toxic and stressful world.  Toxicity and stress, along with many other factors, promote oxidation.  Oxidation disrupts and destroys normal function in the human body and should be combated as much as possible.  A regimen of antioxidant support is one of the most intelligent steps you can take to protect your health.  Talk to your provider about formulas that best suit you.

Detoxification:  As stated our world is increasingly toxic.  One of the most important steps to detoxification is a biochemical process called methylation.  Interestingly we find many patients have a deficiency in their ability to methylate, and thus can’t detox efficiently.  A comprehensive methylation formula can do wonders to reduce your body’s toxic load.

Type 2 Diabetes and Glycemic Index

Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar: A Balanced Overview

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by John Fisher

Carbohydrates play a central role in our body’s energy metabolism, particularly through their impact on blood sugar levels. When consumed, digestible carbohydrates are broken down into sugars that enter the bloodstream, prompting the pancreas to release insulin. This hormone encourages cells to absorb blood sugar for energy or storage, lowering blood sugar levels. Conversely, when blood sugar drops, the pancreas releases glucagon, prompting the liver to release stored sugar, thus maintaining a stable blood sugar supply. This article explores how carbohydrates impact blood sugar, the role of glycemic index and glycemic load, and how these factors relate to conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Carbohydrate Metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes

The balance of insulin and glucagon is essential for maintaining steady blood sugar levels. However, when insulin production or utilization fails, type 2 diabetes can develop. This condition, often gradual, occurs when cells become insulin-resistant, causing prolonged high blood sugar levels. Over time, the strain on insulin-producing cells can cause them to cease insulin production altogether. Type 2 diabetes is a significant public health issue, often associated with excessive intake of high-glycemic foods.

Glycemic Index: A Better Classification of Carbohydrates

Traditionally, carbohydrates were labeled as “simple” or “complex” based on their chemical structure. However, these categories do not fully capture the effects on blood sugar levels. The glycemic index (GI) was developed to measure how quickly and significantly a carbohydrate-rich food raises blood sugar. Foods with a high GI, like white bread, cause rapid blood sugar spikes, whereas foods with a low GI, like whole oats, promote a more gradual rise in blood sugar. High-GI foods can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even obesity.

Factors Affecting Glycemic Index

Several factors influence a food's GI, including processing, fiber content, ripeness, and fat or acid content. For instance, milled grains have a higher GI than whole grains, and ripe fruits tend to have a higher GI than unripe ones. High-fiber foods slow down digestion, causing a gentler increase in blood sugar. Studies have demonstrated a link between high-GI diets and a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, although the impact on body weight remains uncertain.

Glycemic Load: Measuring Blood Sugar Impact by Quantity

While GI measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, glycemic load (GL) considers both the GI and the total carbohydrate content. GL offers a more comprehensive way to classify foods based on their blood sugar impact. A GL of 20 or more is high, while a GL of 10 or below is low. Lower-GL diets are associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Thus, choosing low- or medium-GL foods, such as bran cereals, black beans, and brown rice, over high-GL foods like baked potatoes and candy, promotes healthier blood sugar management.

Conclusion

Understanding the relationship between carbohydrates, glycemic index, and glycemic load is vital for managing blood sugar levels and reducing risks associated with type 2 diabetes and heart disease. By making informed dietary choices, individuals can control blood sugar spikes and benefit from a balanced, health-promoting diet.

Here is a list of common foods categorized by glycemic load.

Reference

Harvard School of Public Health. (n.d.). Carbohydrates and blood sugar. Retrieved from https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/carbohydrates-and-blood-sugar/

This article was written with the assistance of AI. 

Obesity may be tougher on male immune systems, mice study suggests

Obese male mice produce more disease-promoting immune cells than females

Study suggests fatty diets reprogram blood stem cells in male mice, promoting metabolic disease

ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  Obesity may be tougher on male immune systems than females, a new study in mice at the University of Michigan Medical School suggests.

With the risk for obesity-associated diseases significantly higher for men than women, researchers compared how mice from each sex reacted to high-fat diets. They found that the difference may lie in the tendency of males to produce higher levels of white blood cells that encourage inflammation, which contributes to the negative health consequences of obesity such as insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.

The findings appear in this month's Journal of Biological Chemistry.

"Men and women have very different cardiovascular risk and diabetes risk, and male mice are most often studied because their risk for developing these diseases is higher," says lead author Kanakadurga Singer, M.D., assistant professor in pediatrics at U-M's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

"Since female obesity has been understudied in the animal models, we wanted to understand the root causes of differences between sexes," she continues. "We found that obesity did not trigger inflammation in female mice the way it did in males. While it has long been known that male and female immune systems are different, our research helps provide the foundation for future clinical studies exploring how these differences impact diseases such as diabetes. Further research can also hopefully explain differences we see clinically between men and women when it comes to obesity and disease risk."

Obesity is known to induce a chronic low-grade inflammation that has long been associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The new study finds that in young reproductive-age female mice fed a high-fat diet while they became obese, the body produces only a mild inflammatory white blood cell response. In male mice, however, diet-induced obesity made more active inflammatory white blood cells and enhanced their progenitors. 

This in turn made the male mice more prone to higher blood glucose and insulin levels, measures of diabetes.
"It's important for us to understand differences in disease risk, symptoms, and responses to treatments between sexes," says senior author Carey N. Lumeng, M.D., Ph.D, associate professor in pediatrics and physiology at the Medical School and a pediatric pulmonologist at U-M's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

"Our research highlights the need to broaden clinical investigations and animal studies to include both males and females to better guide new interventions," Singer adds.

Additional Authors: Nidhi Maley, Taleen Mergian, Jennifer DelProposto, Brian F. Zamarron, Gabriel Martinez-Santibanez, Lynn Geletka, Lindsey Muir, Phillip Wachowiak, Chaghig Demirjian, all of U-M. Kae Won Cho, of Soonchunhyang University in Korea.

Funding: American Diabetes Association (7-12-CD-08); NIH DK090262 (C.N.L) and DK090262-S1; National Institutes of Health (DK090262), and the Department of Pediatrics Janette Ferrantino Investigator Award (K.S) and American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant (14SDG17890004),(K.S.); NIH NIAID Experimental Training in Immunology T32 AI007413-19.

Disclosure: None

Reference: "Differences in hematopoietic stem cells contribute to sexually dimorphic inflammatory responses to high fat diet-induced obesity" (Sex differences in diet-induced hematopoiesis), http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.M114.634568.