Diabetes is an epidemic around the world as the Western diet slowly floods the globe.  The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 347 million people globally currently have diabetes and that diabetes was the cause of more than 1.5 million deaths in 2012 alone.

There was a time when this disease was specific to adults.  However, with the growing occurrences of childhood obesity, young people are now being diagnosed with type 2 at an alarming rate.

Did you know that 90% of diabetics have type 2 and that 100% of type 2 diabetes cases are both preventable and reversible?

This disease affects every organ in your body, damaging cells and raising your risk of heart disease, kidney disease, neuropathy (nerve damage), blindness, and death.  That’s right, if you have diabetes, you are twice as likely to die as people your age who don’t have the disease.

It is underreported as the cause of death (ranking as the 7th leading cause in the United States) because more than half of diabetics die from heart attack or stroke due to diabetes complications.

Leading Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

• Obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Poor diet
• Smoking

Each of the major risk factors for type 2 diabetes is lifestyle related.  That means it can be prevented with healthy lifestyle choices and if you are diagnosed, it can be reversed by making the right choices for your body and sticking to it.

Treating type 2 diabetes naturally is so simple that it makes you wonder why this disease is an epidemic in the first place!  These methods are free!  There is time to change the dangerous tide of lifestyle-related diabetes around the world!

1-in-5 people have a chance of developing type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.

All those risk factors listed above also have another thing in common.  Chronic inflammation.  The root of all evil, as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to your health.

Chronic inflammation increases your risk of disease in every cell in your body and will kill you as sure as a gun.  Obesity leads to greater inflammation, as do lack of exercise, improper nutrition, and smoking.

New studies have found that people who are obese have different gut flora than people who maintain a healthy body weight.  Leaner people have more beneficial gut bacteria that help promote good digestive system health, which helps you absorb nutrients more efficiently and flush toxins from your body.

Without enough good gut flora and excessive inflammation, you’re piloting a sinking ship.  You must start reversing the damage from head to toe and you need to start today.

Reduce Inflammation and Prevent Disease

• Diet: Get rid the refined sugar, refined flour, and ridiculous amounts of simple carbohydrates found in over-processed foods.  Stop consuming hydrogenated oils such as margarine and all vegetable oils.  Replace all the garbage with organic fruits and vegetables, grain-fed beef, probiotic yogurt, and fermented foods (such as kefir and natto).  Fast food is a fast way to destroy your health.  Treating type 2 diabetes naturally STARTS and ENDS with what you are putting in your body.
• Weight: The pounds must come off for you to live the life you are meant to live.  Your heart, your digestive system, your brain, and every cell in between will thank you.  Obesity is linked to dozens of serious diseases.  Much like type 2 diabetes, experts estimate that many causes of death should list “obesity” rather than diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.  Those pounds are weighing you down in ways you might not realize for another ten or twenty years.  Get rid of them to have the quality of life you deserve.
• Exercise: No more excuses!  You don’t have to train as if you’re an Olympic athlete but you must move to keep your body healthy.  You already know this so start small.  Stretching exercises, swimming, or short walks – do something each and every day to change sedentary habits.
• Sleep: Most people consider sleep last but I have been trumpeting its importance for decades!  Your body cannot do system repairs unless you sleep and a few hours isn’t going to do the trick.  This is a simple and wonderful way for your body to lower inflammation, repair damaged tissue, produce new cells, and allow your brain to rest.  Eight hours of sleep every night…it isn’t unreasonable.  I’ve written extensively on this life-changing habit.
• Smoking: It’s dangerous.  It’s expensive.  It will kill you.  The nicotine habit can be as difficult to quit as hard drugs but you simply must find a way.  Every puff takes a little bit more from you, from your health, from your future.  Take back control of your life and your health by dropping the tobacco!

Learning how to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes naturally (or reverse it if you get it) is directly connected to lowering the inflammatory response in your body.

Living a longer, stronger, healthier, and happier life begins from the inside out.  Everything is connected.  All of these lifestyle habits (that are within your control) are the leading causes of chronic illness, disease, and premature death.

So simple…yet the epidemic continues to rage on and the statistics for sickness and mortality continue to climb.

Don’t be a statistic.

Take back control of your life and your health right now.

Artificial sweeteners have been linked to…

• Cancer
• Depression
• Metabolic syndrome
• Digestive disorders
• Neurodegenerative disease
• Chronic inflammation

As if that wasn’t bad enough, there is new evidence that the two conditions they were thought to help control is actually worsened by their use!

Artificial Sweeteners to Control Weight and Diabetes?

Doctors and nutritionists alike have suggested artificial sweeteners in place of (natural and refined) sugars for diabetics as well as those trying to lose weight.  

In a new study published by Nature, scientists at Weizmann Institute discovered that aspartame leads to glucose intolerance!  Researchers gave laboratory mice the comparative maximum dose allowed in humans by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the control group was given straight glucose in water.

After 11 weeks, the mice receiving the artificial sweetener showed “significant glucose intolerance” compared to the control group mice.  They repeated the experiment several times, using different mice and their results were the same. They also found evidence of specific bacteria linked to obesity in humans.  

This chemical toxin is found in abundance in “diabetic friendly” and “low calorie” foods!

Artificial sweeteners may not have any calories but that is the least of your worries where these supposedly “harmless” substitutes are concerned.  The reason they don’t register calories is due to the fact that your body is unable to digest them.

Think about that for a moment.  

You can’t process these unnatural sweeteners because your body can’t even identify what they are and considers them a contaminant that should be flushed from your system!

The team with Weizmann theorized that gut flora is directly impacted by sugar substitutes.  We need beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus and bifidobacterium in order to keep our bodies in optimum condition.  They directly influence digestion, metabolism, and even brain health.  

Without them, your system begins to break down from the inside out.  

To test the possibility, they reviewed the data of almost 400 people who regularly used artificial sweeteners and found a strong association to their levels of glucose intolerance.  

Taking their theory a step further, the scientists asked seven volunteers who never used artificial sweeteners to consume the maximum allowed for one week.  By the end of the small experiment, four of the participants showed a substantial drop in glucose tolerance and measurable changes in their gut flora.

Yes, additional research will now have to be done to confirm (and larger studies done on humans), but considering the known problems caused by these chemicals already, how much more evidence do we need?

Better Options to Sugar Substitutes

The developed world admittedly consumes too much sugar.  It is the root cause of the obesity epidemic, the explosion of diabetes cases, and is undeniably linked to cancer development.  

When substitute sugar was introduced to the market – at an estimated 20,000 times sweeter option with no calories – doctors and nutritionists worldwide encouraged their use.  Food manufacturers started putting it in everything from sodas to bread.

Decades later, we’re faced with the consequences.  The answer is not to find fake chemical solutions so we can keep eating our favorite junk food.  The answer is to omit the junk – as much as possible – and accept that better nutrition is the answer to a healthy, longer life.

You might love the taste of sugar and the substitutes marketed as a “healthier” option.  Your body doesn’t love it.  Your body sees these products as toxic invaders that are dangerous to you.  That leads to an immune response and inflammation.

Inflammation is the basis of so much sickness and disease around the world and that is the ultimate danger of artificial sweeteners.  Body-wide chaos and a state of alert that throws all your basic systems off balance.  

When you crave something sweet, choose fruit!  Natural fructose (sugars) in fruit don’t overwhelm your body and these foods provide fuel for your beneficial bacteria.  

If you love your coffee and sugary treats, consider using raw, organic honey instead of the refined white sugars.  It is naturally antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory…while still being sweet and delicious! None of those artificial sweetener dangers to detract from your enjoyment of an occasional goodie.  

Whenever possible, choose raw and natural – your gut flora will thank you.  

REFERENCES

Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel: Non-caloric artificial sweeteners and the microbiome: findings and challenges https://genie.weizmann.ac.il/pubs/2015_Elinav_segal_A.pdf

Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel: Gut Bacteria, Artificial Sweeteners and Glucose Intolerance https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/gut-bacteria-artificial-sweeteners-and-glucose-intolerance