It’s been brewing for decades and is ruining our health at an alarming rate. It’s a major contributor to our growing national waistline (2 of every 3 adult women and almost 3 of every 4 adult men are now overweight or obese, according to current figures). Scariest of all, if not controlled, this condition can trap us into chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. What are we talking about? It’s out-of-control blood sugar, and you may have it without even knowing it.
Chalk it up to our modern-day diets, which are loaded with foods that send blood sugar soaring, only to crash in short order. When the crash comes, you may feel listless, irritable, headachy—and ravenously, must-eat-something-sugary-this-minute hungry. Riding this blood sugar roller coaster is a sure way to send your hunger up, your energy down, and your waistline out.
Our love affair with blood sugar–raising foods, especially “white” foods such as white bread, white rice, French fries, and sugary baked goods, has led to an outbreak of insulin resistance—essentially, what happens when the body’s system for managing spikes in blood sugar gets worn out from overwork. Insulin resistance is linked to serious problems ranging from heart disease and memory loss to—you guessed it—diabetes. About 25 percent of older adults have it. If you’re overweight and over 45, the chances that you have it are nearly one in two.
Fortunately, insulin resistance is reversible. If eating the wrong foods can cause it, eating the right ones is a major part of the cure. And it’s not that hard to do. We designed this book to help you get off the blood sugar roller coaster—without turning your diet upside down.
In Diabetes Quick-Fix with Magic Foods, you won’t find strict eating regimens or crazy rules about carbohydrates. What you will find are 57 foods that can help you nudge your diet into sugar-friendly territory. Add just one to your plate (for instance, try barley instead of white rice), and you could see results right away. Add a few more (like avocados, which contain fats that actually improve insulin sensitivity), and you’ll really be on the road to feeling better and staving off killer diseases.
Even if you already have diabetes, these strategies can help make your cells more sensitive to insulin and keep blood sugar swings in check.
You can still eat steak, if you keep it lean, as well as pasta and other carbohydrate foods if you choose the right ones (whole grains actually reduce your diabetes risk). We’ll also show you how adding a few “secret ingredients” like cinnamon and vinegar to your dishes can yield amazing results.
Diabetes Quick-Fix is based on the latest nutrition science, but it’s designed for regular folks like you who just want to know what to eat. For instance, you won’t have to look up numbers before you choose a food. Our recipes, meal makeovers, meal plans, and cooks tips make it incredibly simple to get more of the 57 Magic foods onto your plate. Your meals will still taste delicious—and they’ll leave you more satisfied, so you won’t be hunting around for something else to eat.
At Reader’s Digest, we take your health to heart. Here’s something you can do to rein in insulin resistance, offload dangerous belly fat, and guard yourself from diabetes and prediabetes or help reverse it. In the process, you will feel more fully charged and ready to embrace life every day. Don’t wait for your doctor to say you have a problem. Turn the page now and start discovering the good foods and fun tools that await you.