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DIABETES AND INSULIN RESISTANCE
Diabetes doesn’t happen overnight. But when your metabolic machinery finally breaks, it wreaks havoc and the consequences can be deadly.
When you eat, you bump up your blood sugar. Every food raises blood sugar, but high–Sugar Impact foods can send it soaring. More than about a teaspoon of sugar (or glucose) in your bloodstream can create serious problems, so your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin to get blood sugar back in check.
Insulin shuttles glucose out of your blood into your cells, which can use that sugar as a quick energy hit or store it as glycogen to use later. That’s the plan, anyway. But you know how plans go!
If your blood sugar stays elevated because of a steady stream of high-SI foods, your overworked pancreas keeps cranking out insulin to stabilize that blood sugar. Eventually your cells stop “hearing” its call. Your liver and muscles, where excess sugar is stored, declare “No vacancy.” But that excess glucose has to go somewhere. It can’t just hang out in your bloodstream or you’ll have a very big problem.
One of the things your body does to avoid that is repackage glucose as fat, which makes itself at home around your midsection. Believe it or not, that’s the least of your problems, as chronically high blood sugar levels eventually morph into full-blown diabetes and all its wicked complications.
INSULIN RESISTANCE: HERE COMES TROUBLE
When you hang out with your friends at a bar, you learn to tune out that obnoxiously drunk guy who keeps hitting on you. Eventually, insulin becomes “that guy.” Your cells get burned out from the insulin barrage related to chronically high sugar levels and stop responding to it, leading to a condition called insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance doesn’t happen all at once. Your muscle and liver cells are the first to stop “hearing” insulin’s call, but you know which cells are last in line to stop responding? Yep: your fat cells. They’re shouting, “Plenty of room here, come on in!”
Insulin resistance also doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The risks associated with it include:
Coronary disease
Diabetes
High triglycerides
Hyperinsulinemia (excessive amounts of insulin)
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Inflammation
Obesity
Stroke
Weight loss resistance
FRUCTOSE: THE WORST OFFENDER
Insulin resistance is a direct result of eating too many high-SI foods for too long. Other substances like trans fats have been implicated, but high-SI foods are the head honchos. Of the sugar in those foods, it’s not glucose that does the most damage (although it can create insulin resistance). There’s a much nastier sugar: fructose.
You know high-fructose corn syrup is a giant sugar offender, but even when you cut processed foods and sugary drinks out of your diet, you might still be getting pounded with fructose if you overdo fruit, salad dressings, and other higher-fructose foods.
In the echelon of sugar, fructose takes the prize for being the worst. It can:
Elevate uric acid, leading to gout.
Contribute to small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), leaky gut, intestinal yeast overgrowth, insulin resistance, and kidney disease.
Create liver inflammation—100% of fructose goes to your liver, which converts that fructose into triglycerides.
Create leptin resistance—leptin is a hormone that tells your brain to stop eating. Even when you eat excessive amounts of fructose, your brain never gets the message to stop eating.
I could go on, but you get the very ugly point.
In some cases, the impact of fructose can be offset, as it is in fruit. All fruit contains fructose to one degree or another, but some fruits have perks that outweigh the heavy fructose load. Take berries: raspberries are high in fiber, and blueberries are antioxidant powerhouses. Avocados (actually a berry) are all-around rock stars that are very low in sugar and high in fiber and nutrients. If you do eat fruit, stick with low–Sugar Impact choices.
Even then, I don’t want you going overboard. And if you have any type of blood sugar imbalance, I want you to severely limit or eliminate higher-fructose fruits like apples or pears beyond Cycle 2 of the program.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M ON THE ROAD TO DIABETES?
Eventually, insulin resistance morphs into prediabetes and later, full-blown type 2 diabetes. You don’t always get there in a straight line, though. First, you might deal with symptoms like these:
Feeling lousy after meals
Fuzzy thinking
Weight loss resistance
Low libido
Feeling anxious, fatigued, or stressed out
Discolored skin or tags on the back of the neck and underarms
A waist circumference greater than 34 inches for a woman or 40 inches for a man
High blood pressure (at or above 140/90 mmHg)
Prediabetes (fasting plasma glucose level from 5.6 mmol/L or 100 mg/dL to 6.9 mmol/L or 125 mg/dL)
High triglycerides (TG) (150 and up is considered above normal; high is 200 and up)
Low HDL cholesterol (<40 for men; <50 for women)
Note: A better predictor for heart disease and other issues is your TG/HDL Ratio:
5 or above—problematic
3 to 4—good
2 or lower—optimal
Women: irregular periods, acne, and facial hair
Any one of those conditions puts your health at risk, but having more than one means you might need to make balancing your blood sugar a priority.
THE OUTCOME IS UP TO YOU
Your doctor can run tests, including a hemoglobin A1C test, to officially diagnose prediabetes or diabetes. He or she might also suggest a pharmaceutical drug to normalize your blood sugar.
I’m here to let you know there’s another way to control insulin resistance, and I recommend you talk with your doctor about it. Diabetes is often completely preventable and even reversible with a few simple but powerfully effective natural action steps that don’t involve drugs or crazy diets. The path you choose is entirely up to you.
When you take control of your blood sugar, you get some pretty sweet bonuses: your blood pressure goes down, your lipid profile improves, you look and feel (so much) better, and you lose fat fast.
How can you make that happen? Work with your doctor to make food your medicine. The recipes in this book are your ticket. They combine clean, lean protein, healthy fats, and low-glycemic, high-fiber carbs, and I’ve recommended the best sources for each. The meal timing laid out by the Sugar Impact Clock makes sure the protein, fats, and fiber work to keep your blood sugar stable, your fat burning machinery in high gear, and inflammation at bay. Simply put: incorporating the right foods and following these 7 strategies can help you naturally control blood sugar to reduce the devastating impact of insulin resistance.
Eat More Fiber
High-fiber foods should get major play in your diet, especially if you struggle with insulin resistance or diabetes. Fiber helps stabilize blood sugar, increase satiety, and prevent the spike-and-crash roller coaster that hits you after high-SI meals. Eat more fiber and you’ll feel fuller longer, have fewer cravings for dessert, and won’t feel like a slug an hour after you eat. What’s not to love?
I want you to target 50 grams of fiber a day from high-fiber powerhouses like avocados, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Getting that much from food can become a challenge, so use a fiber-blend supplement powder whenever possible, too.
Up Your Omega-3s
The essential fatty acids in fish and fish oil, also called omega-3 fatty acids, can lower high blood pressure, triglycerides, and inflammation—three serious complications related to insulin resistance and diabetes. Omega-3s also offset the effects of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, which feature heavily in a typical American diet.
In an ideal world, you’d get all the omega-3s you need by eating wild-caught salmon and other fish three or four times each week, adding freshly ground flaxseeds or chia seeds to your shakes, and making walnuts your snack of choice. But even if you’re eating those foods, I highly recommend supplementing with an essential fatty acids formula.
If you’re vegan or vegetarian and are against taking fish oil, you’ll want to focus on ALA-rich foods like flaxseeds and chia seeds, as well as walnuts. You can also find a vegan (algae-derived) DHA supplement to meet your omega-3 needs.
Increase Your Vitamin D
Studies show vitamin D deficiencies contribute to or exacerbate insulin resistance. A few foods like mushrooms and wild-caught fish contain vitamin D, and 10 or 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure can help your body make this crucial vitamin. Unless you’re lucky enough to live somewhere like Honolulu, though, you’ll still benefit from supplementing.
Take a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test and aim to keep your levels between 50 and 80 ng/ml. Supplementing with 2,000 to 5,000 IUs once you hit that mark will be enough for maintenance.
Step Up Your Protein
You’ll get major blood sugar–balancing benefits from choosing foods like protein, good fats, and high-fiber starchy carbs over higher-carbohydrate (high-SI) foods. One study found that increasing protein helped people with diabetes have better control over their blood sugar levels. Other studies show healthy fats like raw nuts did the same.
Increasing your protein is easy when you use a plant-based non-soy powder for your morning shake and then fill the protein section of your Sugar Impact Plate with wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, or barnyard eggs (if you can tolerate them) at every meal.
Vegans and vegetarians—you probably already know you really need to tune in and make sure you’re getting enough protein. Smart plant-based proteins include quinoa, legumes, and nuts and seeds.
Burst to Balance Blood Sugar in Just Minutes a Day
Burst training, also known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), is the most efficient, effective exercise for balancing blood sugar levels.
Studies show burst training can reduce diabetes-related complications, and the good news is that you can get a complete, intense workout in just minutes a day. Whoops, there went that excuse! Best of all, you can do burst training almost anywhere, from the stairs in your house to your hotel room. You can learn more about burst training at www.jjvirgin.com.
Sleep Deeply
Just one night of poor sleep can knock insulin and other blood sugar–related hormones out of whack. And that can have serious consequences. One study determined that not getting enough sleep can actually pave the way for insulin resistance and obesity! Wow!
Aim for 7 to 9 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep every night to optimize insulin and other hormone levels. Sleep doesn’t just happen. You need to prepare for it. Curb the caffeine by noon (especially if you’re a slow metabolizer), do some deep breathing, or take a hot bath to help you unwind and slowly drift into sleep.
Reduce Your Stress
Chronic stress elevates cortisol, a hormone that should be highest in the morning and gradually taper off throughout the day. Keeping cortisol cranked up past its sell-by date elevates blood sugar, breaks down muscle, and stores fat. That’s an anti–weight loss trifecta if there ever was one.
If you have any degree of insulin resistance, it’s critical that you make stress management a priority and not an indulgence. Figure out what “de-stress” means for you. It might be a yoga class or meditation. Maybe it’s a good book and a cup of chamomile tea, or a walk around the block with your pooch. Even if you have to schedule it, make downtime that important.
DIABETES AND INSULIN RESISTANCE MEAL PLAN
Cycle 1
DAY 1
BREAKFAST
Sugar Impact Shake with low- or medium-SI fruit
LUNCH
Mediterranean Salmon Wrap with Caper Dressing with the coconut wrap swapped out for a rice wrap
Smoky Baba Ghanoush with crudités
DINNER
Pork and Mushroom Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Mixed green salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Lime and Jalapeño Hummus with rice chips
DAY 2
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Vanilla Shake with low- or medium-SI fruit
LUNCH
Turkey, Spinach, and Strawberry Wrap
DINNER
Slow-Cooker Tomato-Braised Lamb Shanks
Roasted Zucchini and Bell Pepper Medley
OPTIONAL SNACK
Spicy Black Bean Dip with Celery with rice chips
DAY 3
BREAKFAST
Pumpkin Bread French Toast with Berry Compote with a side of nitrate-free bacon or chicken breakfast sausage
LUNCH
Super Greens Shake with an apple added
DINNER
Turkey Meatballs with Parmesan and Tomato Sauce
Raw Butternut Squash “Pappardelle” with Garlic and Oil
Mixed green salad with Basil Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Slow-Roasted Nuts with fresh berries
DAY 4
BREAKFAST
Blueberry-Peach Shake
LUNCH
Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Goat Cheese and Wilted Tomato Salsa with a rice wrap
Mixed green salad with Easy Lemon Vinaigrette
DINNER
Simply Grilled Shrimp with Lime over brown rice
Stir-Fried Bok Choy
OPTIONAL SNACK
White and Red Bean Salsa with White Onion, Tomato, and Cilantro with rice chips
DAY 5
BREAKFAST
Tex-Mex Scrambled Eggs with Avocado and Salsa with a rice wrap
LUNCH
Super Greens Shake with an apple added
DINNER
Chinese Black Bean, Turkey, and Almond Stir-Fry over brown rice
Steamed Broccoli with Garlic Oil Drizzle
OPTIONAL SNACK
Garlic Hummus with Lentil Chips
DAY 6
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Vanilla Shake with low- or medium-SI fruit
LUNCH
Southwest Grilled Steak Salad on Crisped Rice Tortillas
DINNER
Quinoa Pasta alla Checca with a grilled chicken breast
Warm Wax Bean and Green Bean Salad
OPTIONAL SNACK
Cinnamon Almond Butter with apple slices
DAY 7
BREAKFAST
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Raspberries with a side of nitrate-free bacon or chicken breakfast sausage
LUNCH
Pumpkin Spice Shake with an apple added
DINNER
Fillet of Sole Piccata
Lemony Roasted Artichoke Hearts
½ cup brown rice
OPTIONAL SNACK
Slow-Roasted Nuts with fresh berries
Cycle 2
DAY 1
BREAKFAST
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH
Lamb Souvlaki with Cultured Coconut Milk Tzatziki
Roasted Spiced Chickpeas
DINNER
Seared Halibut with Lemon-Basil Gremolata
Lima Beans with Lemon and Spinach
OPTIONAL SNACK
Chocolate–Almond Butter Protein Popsicles
DAY 2
BREAKFAST
Individual Baked Breakfast Frittatas
LUNCH
Super Greens Shake
DINNER
Pounded Chicken Breasts with Roasted Peppers and Capers
Red Quinoa with Slow-Roasted Almonds and Caramelized Shallots
Mixed green salad with Caper Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Lemon-Chili Roasted Almonds
DAY 3
BREAKFAST
Pumpkin Spice Shake
LUNCH
Simply Grilled Shrimp with Lime
Asian Confetti Quinoa Salad with Almonds
DINNER
Pepper-Crusted Turkey Paillards over Spinach with Dijon Vinaigrette
Tuscan White Beans with Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Parmesan
OPTIONAL SNACK
Smoky Baba Ghanoush with crudités
DAY 4
BREAKFAST
Chocolate, Flax, and Avocado Shake
LUNCH
Classic Greek Salad with Pan-Grilled Chicken and Feta Cheese
DINNER
Beef and Pork Meat Loaf
Roasted Butternut Squash with Thyme
Steamed Broccoli with Garlic Oil Drizzle
OPTIONAL SNACK
Roasted Spiced Chickpeas
DAY 5
BREAKFAST
Goat Cheese and Vegetable Omelet
LUNCH
Pumpkin Spice Shake
DINNER
Plank-Roasted Salmon
Wild Rice and Vegetable Pilaf
Mixed green salad with Easy Lemon Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Lime and Jalapeño Hummus with crudités
DAY 6
BREAKFAST
Espresso-Almond Shake
LUNCH
Mediterranean Salmon Wrap with Caper Dressing
Smoky Baba Ghanoush with crudités
DINNER
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Basil Vinaigrette
Chickpeas with Sautéed Greens
OPTIONAL SNACK
Coconut-Avocado Mousse
DAY 7
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Vanilla Shake
LUNCH
Mushroom, Cashew, Spinach, and Lentil Skillet
DINNER
Chinese Black Bean, Turkey, and Almond Stir-Fry
Stir-Fried Bok Choy
OPTIONAL SNACK
Spicy Black Bean Dip with Celery
DAY 8
BREAKFAST
Tex-Mex Scrambled Eggs with Avocado and Salsa
LUNCH
Super Greens Shake
DINNER
Tandoori Chicken
Indian-Style Lentil Soup
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
OPTIONAL SNACK
White and Red Bean Salsa with White Onion, Tomato, and Cilantro with crudités
DAY 9
BREAKFAST
Cappuccino Protein Shake
LUNCH
Flank Steak and Vegetable Wrap with Chimichurri Sauce
Lime and Jalapeño Hummus with crudités
DINNER
Salmon Bouillabaisse
Garlic Hummus with crudités in the place of the lentil chips
OPTIONAL SNACK
Slow-Roasted Nuts
DAY 10
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Pumpkin Bread with side of nitrate-free bacon or chicken breakfast sausage
LUNCH
Espresso-Almond Shake
DINNER
Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Goat Cheese and Wilted Tomato Salsa
Mixed green salad with Easy Lemon Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Cucumber Chips with Guacamole
DAY 11
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Vanilla Shake
LUNCH
Classic Greek Salad with Pan-Grilled Chicken and Feta Cheese
DINNER
Seared Halibut with Lemon-Basil Gremolata
Quinoa with Celery and Mushrooms
Lemony Roasted Artichoke Hearts
OPTIONAL SNACK
Vanilla-Coconut “Yogurt” Pudding Pops
DAY 12
BREAKFAST
Espresso-Almond Shake
LUNCH
Mediterranean Salmon Wrap with Caper Dressing
Smoky Baba Ghanoush with crudités
DINNER
Broiled Herb and Pepper–Crusted Lamb Chops
Raw Butternut Squash “Pappardelle” with Garlic and Oil
Just Grilled Asparagus
OPTIONAL SNACK
Cinnamon Almond Butter with celery
DAY 13
BREAKFAST
Cappuccino Protein Shake
LUNCH
Turkey-Bean Chili with Crispy Coconut Wrap Strips
Mixed green salad with Easy Lemon Vinaigrette
DINNER
Seared Halibut with Lemon-Basil Gremolata
Lima Beans with Lemon and Spinach
OPTIONAL SNACK
Fresh-Baked Gluten-Free Sesame “Pretzels”
DAY 14
BREAKFAST
Goat Cheese and Vegetable Omelet
LUNCH
Sugar Impact Shake
DINNER
Chinese Black Bean, Turkey, and Almond Stir-Fry
Stir-Fried Bok Choy
OPTIONAL SNACK
Chipotle Kale Chips
Cycle 3
DAY 1
BREAKFAST
Sugar Impact Shake with low- or medium-SI fruit
LUNCH
Mediterranean Salmon Wrap with Caper Dressing with the coconut wrap swapped out for a rice wrap
Smoky Baba Ghanoush with crudités
DINNER
Pork and Mushroom Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Mixed green salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Lime and Jalapeño Hummus with rice chips
DAY 2
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Vanilla Shake with low- or medium-SI fruit
LUNCH
Turkey, Spinach, and Strawberry Wrap
DINNER
Slow-Cooker Tomato-Braised Lamb Shanks
Roasted Zucchini and Bell Pepper Medley
OPTIONAL SNACK
Spicy Black Bean Dip with Celery with rice chips
DAY 3
BREAKFAST
Pumpkin Bread French Toast with Berry Compote with a side of nitrate-free bacon or chicken breakfast sausage
LUNCH
Super Greens Shake with an apple added
DINNER
Turkey Meatballs with Parmesan and Tomato Sauce
Raw Butternut Squash “Pappardelle” with Garlic and Oil
Mixed green salad with Basil Vinaigrette
OPTIONAL SNACK
Slow-Roasted Nuts with fresh berries
DAY 4
BREAKFAST
Blueberry-Peach Shake
LUNCH
Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Goat Cheese and Wilted Tomato Salsa with a rice wrap
Mixed green salad with Easy Lemon Vinaigrette
DINNER
Simply Grilled Shrimp with Lime over brown rice
Stir-Fried Bok Choy
OPTIONAL SNACK
White and Red Bean Salsa with White Onion, Tomato, and Cilantro with rice chips
DAY 5
BREAKFAST
Tex-Mex Scrambled Eggs with Avocado and Salsa with a rice wrap
LUNCH
Super Greens Shake with an apple added
DINNER
Chinese Black Bean, Turkey, and Almond Stir-Fry over brown rice
Steamed Broccoli with Garlic Oil Drizzle
OPTIONAL SNACK
Garlic Hummus with Lentil Chips
DAY 6
BREAKFAST
Coconut-Vanilla Shake with low- or medium-SI fruit
LUNCH
Southwest Grilled Steak Salad on Crisped Rice Tortillas
DINNER
Quinoa Pasta alla Checca with a grilled chicken breast
Warm Wax Bean and Green Bean Salad
OPTIONAL SNACK
Cinnamon Almond Butter with apple slices
DAY 7
BREAKFAST
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Raspberries with a side of nitrate-free bacon or chicken breakfast sausage
LUNCH
Pumpkin Spice Shake with an apple added
DINNER
Herbed Salmon Cakes with Tartar Sauce
French fries (high-SI challenge)
OPTIONAL SNACK
Slow-Roasted Nuts with fresh berries