Does Your Family Have Diabetes?
The headline on March 10, 2016 in the Los Angeles Times read: “Almost half in the state are at risk for diabetes.” While many have always thought those “granola-fed Californians” are a bunch of health food nuts, researchers from UCLA have recently determined that 55 percent of California adults either have diabetes or pre-diabetes. This reminds me of a startling statistic from the Centers for Disease Control in the year 2000, in which health experts predicted: “Unless American families change the way they eat and live, one-third of American children are destined to become diabetic.” Unfortunately, and unhealthful-ly, this prediction is coming true.
Parents, we have a problem…
Imagine your child having a 33 to 50 percent chance of later becoming diabetic.
Parents, we also have a solution…
Around 90 percent of children with “diabetes” have type II diabetes, the most preventable type. While type I diabetes is mostly genetic, type II diabetes is nearly completely due to diet and lifestyle. The bottom line is kids eat too much junk food and they sit too much.
Our remedy is the same as the most trusted “physician,” Dr. Mom, who said years ago: “Eat more fruits, vegetables, and seafood; and go outside and play!”
The Prevent-Diabetes diet is, quite simply, the Real Food diet. Here are some tried and true tips to keep your family on the Real Food Diet:
- Eat outside out of the box. Many foods and emails that come pre-packaged are often over processed and full of additives.
- Avoid chemically colored, flavored, and sweetened foods. Excess sugar and chemical versions of sweeteners and unnatural colors are often added to foods to make them “taste” better, but ultimately they will not help your family feel better.
- White-out your diet. Try to replace white pasta, white rice, and white bread with more nourishing alternatives.
- Put more color on your plate. Again, Dr. Mom had this one right! Add more natural, colorful fruits and vegetables to your family’s plates.
It’s as simple as that!
In our practice, as a reminder for parents to keep their children (especially their pre-diabetic children) from going on to develop diabetes, I have three big soda bottles at the checkout counter re-labeled: “Diabetes in a bottle. “ They get the point. The Real Food Diet is the best diet to keep their families healthy and diabetes free.