These tips were written to be applicable to everyone regardless of what they eat, however I hope this article encourages everyone reading it to consider eating more plants and less animals because doing so is not only likely to reduce ones risk for developing diabetes it will also reduce deforestation rates, biodiversity losses, greenhouse gas emissions, and the chance of new antibiotic resistant pathogens developing along with the risk of more animal pathogens making the jump to humans by way of mistreatment and/or consumption of animals carrying these diseases.
Just remember it’s not all or none and that a near-vegan diet can also be a healthy and environmentally responsible alternative to eating animals everyday. As for non-vegan foods I’d say the best options are insects, invasive species, and eggs provided they’re from animals allowed to live in accordance with their natural needs and not from animals fed unnatural diets and drug regimens designed to keep sick animals alive and able to endure the abuse of not living in accordance with their natural needs long enough for them to be slaughtered.
Once people get the hang of eating more plants and began experiencing the benefits of a near-vegan diet they can then decide if they want to eliminate animal foods from their diet or continue to eat them once or twice a week, or month, rather than once or twice a day. I can not emphasize the importance of this issue and the lack of attention it gets. Most people know how bad it is to cut down rainforests, burn fossil fuels, and waste water, but few people have the knowledge and/or courage to link these issues to the way they choose to eat. Sharing this article can help change that: https://dpage.org/?p=914
1.) Always be hungry before a meal.
Access to appealing food and some room in ones stomach is not a valid qualification for eating, only hunger is.
2.) Always be physically active just before a meal.
Pre-meal bursts of moderate to intense physical activity help prepare our bodies and particularly our muscles to absorb the energy we’re about to provide via our food.
3.) Never rush a meal no matter how eager you are to refuel.
Chew well and eat as slowly as comfortably possible perhaps turning what could be 10 or 20 minute meals into 20 or 40 minute meals and consider eating while walking or standing and swaying rather than sitting because sitting is probably the most dangerous thing you’ll do today.
4.) Never eat more than you need to at any single meal.
Eating a big meal so you can skip or skimp on the next one hardly ever works and finishing a meal slightly less than satisfied is always better than walking away regretting those last few bites. As for not finishing a meal most of us have access to reusable food boxes and refrigerators for that.
5.) Always do some light physical activity after your meal.
Walking, biking, or running some errands after a meal will help your blood sugar return to pre-meal levels much sooner than will sitting in a chair and should seem like the natural thing to do provided you’re eating a healthy diet which gives you energy rather than take it away.
In just one month by applying the above tips while eating a vegan diet of over 85% carbohydrate with most of it in the form of sugar via ripe sweet fruits, eating a little less than usual while maintaining a moderate level of physical activity, and reducing my total fat intake to below 10% of total calories I was able to drop my fasting blood sugar from 100mg/dL (pre-diabetic) to 76mg/dL (great) and HbA1C from 6.2% (pre-diabetic) to 5.1% which is surprisingly good considering that it had only been a month since the last test
While some people such as those with type I diabetes do have serious issues with their pancreas even they can greatly improve their blood sugar control by improving their diet and lifestyle. So for those of you who’ve been told you have pre-diabetes or type II diabetes, which is simply medical jargon for high blood sugar, don’t panic. While high blood sugar can be dangerous and even moderately elevated blood sugar can be detrimental for most it’s easy to bring down by eating a little less, keeping active throughout the day, and perhaps trying a low fat vegan or near-vegan diet.