The Truth about Carbohydrates and Diabetes!

Written by James and Dahlia of Married to Health
If you are reading this then chances are you live in a developed country, and that means that despite what your family history may be, you are at risk for Diabetes. Diabetes and variations of Diabetes affect approximately 1 in 2 people in the US¹. Roughly 1 in 2 people have some form of insulin resistance or insulin signaling issues resulting in abnormal blood glucose levels. If this statistic doesn’t alarm you, it should be pointed out that about 30-40 years ago the incidence of Diabetes and insulin issues were less than 3%²! What happened in that period of time? How did we get here? Well, when we take a closer look at the current treatments for Diabetes we can understand the majority of the confusion. Let’s look at the common steps people take when they have Diabetes and provide a clearer picture.

1. Take Medication

In many cases medication is necessary and helpful, but for Diabetes, it is not meant to be used for a lifetime. Recall our earlier mentioning of insulin signaling.
Without getting too technical you have to understand that your body isn’t having issues with carbohydrates per say, it is having issues with insulin production and/or insulin signaling. In general, medications will then force the body to take in the blood sugar/glucose, but it doesn’t address the problem of why your body was having an issue in the first place³. This high dependence on insulin without proper lifestyle changes is now creating a phenomenon where Type 1 Diabetics can also be classified as Type 2 Diabetics. If the Type 1 Diabetic takes their insulin, but does not make healthy lifestyle changes, his/her cells can then become unaffected by the insulin/medication and he/she now becomes a Type 2 Diabetic⁴ (mind-blown).

2. Low Carb Diet
Every other patient I see has been on some variation of a low-carb diet. And that same patient will cheerfully tell me they lost 20, 30, or 40 pounds, but then will later
admit they gained it back with interest. This is not surprising because carbohydrates are not to blame. Let’s get something very clear- sugar and carbohydrates aren’t bad for you; refined sugar and refined carbohydrates are bad for you^5,6. However, refined grains and sugars aren’t the only things that increase your risk for complications associated with Diabetes. Animal fats can also increase your adipose tissue and disrupt intercellular signals contributing to insulin resistance (Diabetes). These half-story treatments coupled with the ever growing list of processed foods are a good part of why we are seeing a rise in metabolic diseases like Diabetes.

So, you are at risk or maybe you have Diabetes in some form- what do you do? There is hope. Even though there are tons of unhealthy products on the grocery
shelves there are still great foods to eat. With our patients we always recommend that the majority of your diet include whole, unprocessed plant foods, especially if you are Diabetic! With that said there are products like Tolerant Simply Legumes that use whole food ingredients to make delicious and simple pastas so you can still enjoy your favorite dishes without worrying about consuming overly refined foods that could increase your risk of disease. What makes the Simply Legume pastas special is they use a minimally processed whole plant food ingredient to make the pasta! No added sugar, no refined grains, and therefore no huge insulin spikes, no drastic oxidative damage, and a decreased risk of Diabetes ^7,8. Yes, the more whole food products you consume the less likely you are to:

-Get Diabetes or develop Type 2 Diabetes on top of your Type 1 Diabetes
-Take more or any medication
-Have Diabetes complications
-Spike blood sugar

Hopefully you get the picture. There is a high risk for Diabetes, as there are plenty of factors that can cause Diabetes (including many of the “treatments”). However,  you have the power to prevent, reverse, or better manage your Diabetes! If you increase your whole foods (leafy greens, vegetables, legumes, fruit, nuts, seeds, and whole grains) you will start to see a shift in your body. Don’t let misinformation keep you from having a diverse and healthy lifestyle full of nutritious (unprocessed carbohydrate) filled foods. This is why for those living in Southern California, Mother’s Market is a store you can count on to provide you with many healthy options to keep disease at bay, while exciting your taste buds.

References
1. JAMA. 2015;314(10):1021-1029. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.10029
2. CDC. April 2017. “Long-term Trends in Diabetes”. Cdc.gov/diabetes/data (March 2018)
3. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(8):1227-1234. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.2894
4. Diabetes Care 2007 Mar; 30(3): 707-712. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc06-1982
5. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002279
6. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Sep 9;57(17):8010-7. doi: 10.1021/jf901559a.
7. Biomed Res Int. 2017; 2017: 8450618. Published online 2017 Nov 2. doi:   10.1155/2017/8450618
8. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Jul; 100(1): 278–288. Published online 2014 Jun 4. doi:   10.3945/ajcn.113.076901