The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook (2 page)

My book
The Blood Sugar Solution
is an owner’s manual for personal health and a manifesto for us all to take back our health. First, it provides a step-by-step, goof-proof plan to reverse the root causes of diabetes and obesity—what I call
diabesity.
Next, it provides a roadmap for us to get healthy together—because getting healthy is a team sport. Finally, it is a manifesto motivating us to take back our health in our kitchens, homes, schools, workplaces, faith-based communities, and even in our media, our food system, our health-care system, and our democracy. A tall order to be sure, but one that is necessary if we are to have a sustainable future—for ourselves, our children, our economy, and the environment.

The Blood Sugar Solution
is all about the root causes of chronic disease—and one of the major culprits is poor nutrition. The fundamental idea revolutionizing nutrition science is this:
food is not just calories; it is information.
And with the right information you can upgrade your biological software in real time, literally with every bite. Food is medicine. In fact, what you put on your fork is more powerful than anything you will ever find in a pill bottle. The recipes in this book were created based on the guidelines in
The Blood Sugar Solution,
a six-week plan designed to reverse diabesity. I have included recipes designed to be used when the six weeks are over, during what I call the “reintroduction phase.” I have also added a few special low-glycemic desserts (low glycemic refers to foods that don’t raise your blood sugar as much or as fast as high glycemic foods), which can be enjoyed at the end of the first six weeks of the plan as occasional treats.

Diabesity refers to the continuum of blood sugar and insulin imbalance that causes everything from mild weight problems and a little belly fat to pre-diabetes to full-blown type 2 diabetes. It affects one in two Americans, one in four African Americans, one in four Medicare patients, and one in four teenagers. It is a global problem—80 percent of the world’s diabetics live in developing countries. And it affects skinny people, too! In fact 37 percent of skinny kids and 23 percent of skinny adults (only 35 percent of Americans are considered of normal weight) have diabesity—they look skinny but are metabolically fat. Doctors call it “metabolically obese normal weight.” I call it the “skinny fat syndrome.” Indeed, 90 percent of people with diabesity are
not
diagnosed. In other words, you probably have it and don’t know it.

Take this short quiz to see if you might have diabesity, and then the extended quiz in
Chapter 1
. You can also take the whole quiz at bloodsugarsolution.com/take-the-diabesity-quiz/.

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may already have diabesity or are headed in that direction. If so, continue on to the Comprehensive Diabesity Quiz in
Chapter 1
.

• Do you have a family history of diabetes, heart disease, or obesity?
  
• Are you of nonwhite ancestry (African, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Indian, Middle Eastern)?
  
• Are you overweight (body mass index [BMI] over 25)? See
  Chapter 1
  to calculate your BMI based on weight and height.
  
• Do you have extra belly fat? Is your waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men?
  
• Do you crave sugar and refined carbohydrates?
  
• Do you have trouble losing weight on a low-fat diet?
  
• Has your doctor told you that your blood sugar is a little high (greater than 100 mg/dl) or have you actually been diagnosed with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes?
  
• Do you have high levels of triglycerides (over 100 mg/dl) or low HDL (good) cholesterol (<50 mg/dl)?
  
• Do you have heart disease?
  
• Do you have high blood pressure?
  
• Are you inactive (less than 30 minutes of exercise 4 times a week)?
  
• Do you suffer from infertility, low sex drive, or sexual dysfunction?
  
• For women: Have you had gestational diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome?
  

The Blood Sugar Solution translates scientific research into practical recommendations for anyone who wants to get and stay healthy. Soon you will start on the path toward balancing your insulin. But first you need to take some baseline measurements, a quiz, and a few tests to determine which version of the program you should be following, and which recipes in this book are right for you.

There are two versions of the program. The one you need depends on your score on the comprehensive diabesity quiz. The
Basic Plan
can be followed by anyone. It balances your blood sugar, reduces insulin spikes, balances hormones, cools off inflammation, helps improve digestion, boosts your metabolism, enhances detoxification, and calms your mind
and nervous system. Eighty percent of you following the Basic Plan will have all the tools you need to heal from diabesity and take control of your health.

The
Advanced Plan
is designed for people with more severe cases of diabesity, including those who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Some of us are genetically more susceptible to becoming insulin resistant and pump out much more insulin in response to a given sugar load, even if we are thin. The genomic revolution and our understanding of the various factors that create imbalances in our metabolism force us to move beyond the one-size-fits-all prescriptions of the past into personalized medicine and health.

If you qualify for the Advanced Plan you will need to take an additional set of supplements (see my book
The Blood Sugar Solution
or visit bloodsugarsolution.com/diabesity-supplements) and to make a few extra dietary changes.

To determine which plan is best for you and effectively track your progress, you need to complete three action steps: gather your measurements, take the quiz in
Chapter 1
, and get tested.

Before you start the program, I want you to start keeping a journal. Journaling is an excellent way to get in touch with your inner guidance system, to break the cycle of mindless eating and activity, to be honest and accountable and present to yourself. You might overeat because something is eating you, or stuff yourself with food in order to stuff your feelings away. If you use food to block feelings, you can instead use words to block food. You can write in order to better metabolize your feelings so they don’t end up driving unconscious choices or overeating. A diet of words and self-exploration often results in weight loss.

You can also use the journal to track your daily food intake, your exercise, sleep, symptoms, and your “numbers,” including weight, waist size, and lab tests. Watching how you feel as you alter your food intake,
begin taking supplements, and start to exercise more is like “innercise” that will strengthen your capacity for creating high-level wellness and wholeness.

You can quickly gather and track critical information about your health with four simple, easy-to-obtain measurements that will speak volumes about your health and metabolism. Here is what to measure and how to measure it. (You can find special health trackers and online versions of these tools at bloodsugarsolution.com/health-tracker.)

Once you have these critical measurements you can determine other key numbers.

Go to bloodsugarsolution.com/health-tracker to learn more about our online tracking tools. They can help you track all of your quiz scores, body measurements, and blood test results, as well as your daily experiences, thoughts, and feelings so you can easily measure your progress over time. Tracking your progress will benefit you, but if you share your progress at bloodsugarsolution.com, you can also be part of our patient-driven research program and help transform health care to improve the health of others.

Now that you have recorded your BMI and waist-to-height ratio, you are ready to find out whether you should go on the Basic or Advanced Plan. At the beginning of this chapter you took a simple screening quiz to see if you might have diabesity. Now you can take a closer look at the severity of your problem. Take the quiz below. Score one point for each of the questions you answer “yes” to.