Type 2 diabetes is a disease that I consider a man-made disease.
It can affect young, and old.
It is a disease that is perpetuated by simply eating many of the processed foods made available to us on our grocery shelves.
Many of these processed foods contain added sugars, in the form of sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, and other forms of sugar.
Added sugar is sugar added to food during the manufacturing process or at the table, not sugars that occur naturally in foods like fruit.
These added sugars provide a better tasting product and can also add to our addiction to these foods.
The addiction makes us crave more and more of these foods, which we eat without consideration of portion control.
Sugar qualifies as an addictive substance for two reasons: 1.
Eating even a small amount creates a desire for more.
2.
Suddenly quitting causes withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, cravings and fatigue.
Today we consume about 130 lb.
of sugar annually.
In the year 1822 the average American consumed approximately 45 grams of sugar every 5 days.
That's the same amount found in today's 12 oz.
sodas.
We now consume over 765 grams of sugar every 5 days.
According to the American Heart Association, these food groups contribute the highest percentage of total added-sugar to diets of Americans.
Regular soft drinks 33.
0% Sugars and candy 16.
1 Cakes, cookies, pies 12.
9 Fruit drinks (fruitades and fruit punch) 9.
7 Dairy desserts and milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt, and sweetened milk) 8.
6 Other grains (cinnamon toast and honey-nut waffles) 5.
8 You can also find sugar in canned vegetables, baby food, cereals, peanut butter, breads and tomato sauce.
Over 79 million Americans suffer from pre-diabetes, according the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Prevention Magazine reported in a November 2013 article that one in three adults have pre-diabetes, while just one in nine knows it.
If you have any of the risk factors of Type 2 diabetes, including uncontrollable factors, like age and race, and/or controllable risk factors like obesity and physical inactivity, then you are also at risk for pre-diabetes.
Eating whole, unprocessed foods can go a long way in reversing diabetes because you avoid the added sugar trap.
Losing just 7% of your body weight improves your body's ability to respond to insulin.
Finally, exercising a minimum of 150 minutes per week.