Can you win Over Diabetes??

Turned Vegan, Switched to Millets, Gone on a Low Carb Diet. Still not seeing the Expected Improvement in the Blood Sugars? While these can make the Sugar Management slightly better, these steps are not the ultimate step to achieving a fab control/ reverse Diabetes!!

Here is why:
The issue can lie majorly in 2 places:

Production of Insulin
Uptake of Insulin in the Cells

Production of Insulin in Type 1 is compromised and there is usually no going back apart from managing it with external insulin.

There are certain cases where the Pancreas overworks to produce more insulin because the cells in the body is not able to absorb the insulin causing high Blood Sugar. The Stage at which you identify can be a gamechanger in working on managing/ reversing the condition. But First, you need to get the following Tests done to be able to identify the stage of the Diabetes.

The five stages of Diabetes:

Once the Stage is known, it becomes easier to work on the specific problem area that is aggravating the condition based on the Symptoms and the Reports. For eg.

Sensitizing the cells for better uptake of insulin by supplementation and reducing the visceral fat
Stress management by reducing inflammation, increasing antioxidants
Lifestyle Modifications that will synergistically work towards increasing the antiinflammatory markers there by reducing free radicals and stress
Improving the Gut Health: By working on improving the gut health (if the problem is gut) can improve the overall uptake of glucose thereby increasing the energy production.

Know about Diabetes from one of the best!!

Breaking some Myths and stating some Facts with renowned Diabetologist:
Dr. Harsh Atul Hirani
Consultant Diabetologist | Researcher | BNI Trainer
M.B.B.S.,F.Diabetology,CCDR,CCGDM.(Chennai,India)
C.C.D.M. (Joslin Diabetes Centre , U.S.A.)

1. Is Diabetes a Genetic Disease or a Lifestyle Disease? What is the percent contribution of each towards developing the condition as per you?
Accurately dividing the incidence between genetics and lifestyle is challenging due to:

Complex interactions: Both factors interact and influence each other, making it hard to isolate their individual effects.
Lack of specific data: Large-scale studies with detailed genetic and lifestyle information are needed for precise calculations.
Variations across individuals: Genetic susceptibility and the impact of lifestyle factors can vary significantly from person to person.

Nevertheless lifestyle modifications could potentially prevent up to 70% of type 2 diabetes
cases.

2. How many types of Diabetes exist. Are all forms of Diabetes reversible? When on path of Reversing Diabetes, what is an average duration that one can take to reverse it?
As on 2023 there are 38 types of Diabetes, but the most common ones are Diabetes Type I , II and Gestational diabetes. Other uncommon could be Pancreatic Diabetes, Fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes. About 80-85% are suffering from the common types of Diabetes. With right tests one can diagnose the type of Diabetes before beginning of the treatment.

3. What role does CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) technology play in reversing Diabetes?
CGM has taken the Diabetes care at a transformative level. When Fasting and Post Prandial takes in to account the blood sugar only of 2 hours, the fluctuations of the sugar between the readings, the balance 22 hours is not something these two readings account for as opposed to the CGM that takes the reading of glucose within a gap of as less as 5 minutes to help us shift our course of treatment from estimate based treatment to evidence based treatment. This helps us to customize our course of treatment preventing over/undermedication.

4. As a Diabetologist, who treats Diabetes through Medicines, how important are factors of Diet, Lifestyle to be able to reverse/ manage Diabetes.
Lifestyle and Diet act as a strong foundation for any kind of medications to start to work. Alone medicines are not enough because a few years down the line the efficacy of the medicines will go down. Lifestyle and Diet is one consistent thing which will help in long term sugar control.

5. As a Diabetologist what is your goal while you treat patients suffering from Diabetes?
The primary goal is sugar control but with is it is important to prevent any organ complications that arises due to fluctuation in sugars. This needs regular monitoring, systematic check ups to prevent the complications.

6. When should an individual consult a Doctor to manage his or her Diabetes.
The patient has to consult a Diabetologist right when the hba1c is between the 5.7-6.5. If at this time the intervention is immediately done with a coordination of Doctor, Lifestyle Consultant and a Dietitian, we can expect better weight, fitness, sugar management and we can prevent it to advance to a full blown
diabetes.
If the Hba1c is above 6.5, the intervention becomes even more important to prevent aggressive Therapy in future because Diabetes has already set in.
HbA1c above 8.5-9 becomes an extremely critical stage and immediately needs attention.

7. 3 things that are non negotiable for someone suffering from Diabetes as per you. ( food lifestyle etc)
i. Food and Lifestyle Intervention: The Foundation of a sustainable Diabetes Management is this. You can’t be only on medications and expect it to work for years. Food and Lifestyle play an integral role.
ii. Timely Checkup: Hb1Ac (quarterly). Lipid, Kidney and Liver profile ( every 6 monthly). Retina checks, Urine microalbuminuria, Sonography of abdomen, Dental Care (Yearly) should be carried out regularly to intervene in time.
iii. Mental Health: The effect of your state of mind has a large impact on your Blood Sugars. Hence, working on an overall Mental Health is something that has to be given equal weightage.

Moong Falafels

A Recipe that is quick, easy, healthy and Diabetes Friendly. You can make them for an evening snack or combine with hummus, veggies and sourdough to make a complete meal. You can even alternate it with other chickpea or rajma to add variety.
Serving 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups dried moong (4 cups sprouted OR You can use moong lentils soaked overnight if you don’t have sprouted moong and want to make it in a hurry)
salt to taste
1 cup fresh herbs chopped (mint, coriander)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp oil (of your choice)
1/2 tsp baking soda
Juice of 1 Lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 175c
Process all ingredients into a food processor till fully combined and the mixture sticks together
Add the baking soda, it will fizz up when combined and then mix throughout the batter
Place baking paper onto a tray and make small balls of the mixture.
Brush with oil and place into a preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
Relish with Green chutney!!

Naina Singhania

Registered Dietitian | Functional Nutritionist | Diabetes Reversal Expert | Gut and Hormone Health Management

About Naina: Naina is a Registered Dietitian of India practicing since 2013. She works in the field of Weight Management, Diabetes Reversals and Women’s Health (PCOS, Infertility). She lives in Mumbai and caters to clients worldwide. Her approach is a combination of Ayurvedic Analysis along with scientific base in Functional Nutrition allows her to get into the root cause of the problem and provide customised solutions to her clients.