Diabetes

Insulin Resistance – part 4

Liz James · December 6, 2023 ·

Day 4: Insulin Resistance

Natural sweeteners have been around since the beginning of time. The earliest recorded sweeteners were sugar cane and honey (at least 8,000 BC), and it was a rare treat in a home….. it’s no longer a rare treat, especially not when we are knee-deep into the Holiday Season.

Nowadays, the average American eats over 100 lbs of sugar a year. (That’s the equivalent of eating / drinking 30 teaspoons of sugar a day, every single day).

I love that God gave us foods He created to both nourish and heal. Olives have been around at least as long as sugar and many parts of the olive tree have usefulness. Take a look at this study using Olive Leaf Polyphenols: “Olive (Olea europaea L.) Leaf Polyphenols Improve Insulin Sensitivity in Middle-Aged Overweight Men: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596374/

(after 12 weeks of consistent use of Olive Leaf Extract, the test subjects had an average 15% decrease in insulin resistance. And I quote……” The researchers noted that supplementing with olive leaf extract gave results comparable to common diabetic therapeutics.” )

There’s this study too…. (lots of great info! ) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8398612/ Pharmaceutical Drugs and Natural Therapeutic Products for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Of course, it’s just not possible to out-supplement consistently poor lifestyle choices. That said, for people who are attempting to correct some poor lifestyle habits, there are lots of options out there to support your efforts!

Do you incorporate Olive Essentials into your wellness routine? (There are several more reasons to do so in addition to supporting healthy pancreas activity

)

xoxo~ liz

PS: Posts like these are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure anything. Rather they are here to create an awareness of the tools we have available to us in addition to the freedom to address diet, exercise, stress, sleep, hydration, etc. You can do anything you set your mind to!

Insulin Resistance – part 3

Liz James · November 30, 2023 ·

Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most popular spices, as it has historical value both in flavoring and as a “medicinal” spice. We in the Young Living world often think of the essential oil blend Thieves when cinnamon comes to mind! (If you don’t already incorporate Thieves in your life, you are missing out on a fantastic health and wellness tool….. and that includes the benefits of Thieves Household Cleaner!)

You’ve heard my views here on the injectable medications Ozempic/ Wegovy / semaglutide . Nearly all medication originates from a natural form (plant, animal, mineral, etc), which man attempts (poorly) to replicate. Man will never be able to replicate the work that God has done for us….. no matter how hard he tries.

One of the ways these medications work for weight loss is the extreme slowing of stomach emptying time (even to the point of acquiring a new painful digestive dysfunctional state called gastroparesis that often is not reversible when discontinuing the drug ).

Perhaps “they” attempted to model the effects of cinnamon on the body when these products were created.

Adding cinnamon to your daily regimen does so much more than support the immune system ( thank you, Thieves!). Take a look at this study, ” Effects of cinnamon on postprandial blood glucose, gastric emptying, and satiety in healthy subjects.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/pii/S0002916523281113…

According to this study

cinnamon appears to reduce “after eating” blood glucose levels,

because of slowed gastric emptying…. (but again…. God is in the details…. not slow enough to cause problems).

That study above was smaller….. so if you are looking for a meta-analysis (ie: a study of studies.) Here’s one that looks at the results of 8 separate studies focusing on fasting blood sugar. ” Cinnamon intake lowers fasting blood glucose: a meta-analysis”. This study of studies suggests that cinnamon has been shown to improve (ie support the body’s efforts) to respond to insulin. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21480806/

Here’s another one….. “Cinnamon use in type 2 diabetes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24019277/

If you are curious about learning more, there are over 350 studies related to cinnamon and blood glucose in pubmed.gov, and if you want a cliff notes version of all the goodness cinnamon offers… including some great recipes, here’s a link for you: https://1602257.lifestepseo.com/…/cinnamon-bark-spotlight

PS: to keep the FDA happy, I should also give the obligatory disclaimer….. despite the plethora of research out there… “The FDA has not evaluated these statements, and such evidence should not be construed as diagnosing, treating, curing, or preventing any disease. “

Insulin Resistance -part 2

Liz James · November 28, 2023 ·

Day 2: Insulin Resistance

We have so many tools….. and we also have tools with so many uses! A Swiss army knife of plants

if you will.

We tend to think of Ginger as a wonderful support tool for digestion, but did you also know it’s quite the tool for supporting healthy insulin levels too?

There are lots of studies out there when you do just a wee bit of digging.

How about this one….. a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. ( even better…. not funded by any organization with a conflict of interest.)…. The Effects of Ginger Powder Supplementation on Insulin Resistance and Glycemic Indices in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes:

8 weeks into the study, the “ginger group” reduced their fasting blood sugar by 10.5%.

Additionally, insulin sensitivity increased significantly in the ginger group.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/pii/S0965229914000028…

Here’s another one: The Effect of Ginger Consumption on Glycemic Status, Lipid profile, and some inflammatory markers in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. https://www.tandfonline.com/…/10.3109/09637486.2014.880671 (go read the abstract….. fascinating stuff!)

There are sooooo many more studies out there. Per the Young Living website, Ginger “may support healthy weight management when combined with exercise and a healthy lifestyle regimen as a dietary supplement.”

While we will never be able to out-supplement poor lifestyle choices, we can use tools like ginger to help mediate and support good choices! I’m thankful for the many tools in the toolbox such as Ginger Vitality!

Insulin Resistance -part 1

Liz James · November 27, 2023 ·

Good morning friends! I realize this may not be the best time of the year

to talk about insulin resistance…… or maybe it is!

When you go to the doctor, and they run

labs, 90% of the time they run blood glucose and nothing else unless there is a known blood glucose problem. If there’s a known problem, they will generally add in HbA1c too.

99% of the time, a typical Western medicine practitioner fails to run a fasting insulin test. In their defense, insurance generally won’t pay for it unless there is evidence of a problem. (Having the practitioner choose the right ICD10 code… billing code…. often rectifies this problem).

You’d be

to learn just how many people are headed towards insulin resistance (and don’t even know it!) with this simple $35ish dollar out of pocket test. (WELL worth the money to know what’s lurking so you can do something about it!)

I run this test myself annually to keep a finger on how well I manage my health. (The lab company I work with nationwide is having a Black Friday/ Cyber Monday sale now thru 12/1… please message me if interested in running labs).

If you are struggling with insulin resistance, here are some great studies. God gave us plants to help support healthy blood sugar, and Young Living does their research!

Turmeric: Whoa now….. 400+ times more potent than a VERY POPULAR medication at activating glucose uptake?… read the brief abstract for more info.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19665995/

And then there’s this article

from the American Diabetes Association: “Curcumin Extract for Prevention of Diabetes.” A 9-month study of 240 individuals with prediabetes who were either given a placebo or curcumin/turmeric.

After 9 months, 16.4% of the placebo group had full on Type2 diabetes, whereas NONE of the curcumin group did.

Additionally, the curcumin group had:

better overall function of beta cells (the cells that create insulin)

higher adiponectin (a protein hormone produced by fat cells… its physiological effect includes the reduction of inflammation and reduction of fatty deposits to the arteries and enhanced response of cells to insulin.

You can review this study here: https://diabetesjournals.org/…/Curcumin-Extract-for…

Happy Maple Syrup Day

Liz James · December 18, 2022 ·

Two types of souvenirs I love collecting on road trips……. local honey and maple syrup! Both are loaded with health benefits

My most recent trip to Ohio yielded some delicious finds, along with a stop in Tennesee (bourbon barrel aged maple syrup

Oh, and Trader Joe’ currently has a seasonal Organic Maple Vinaigrette that is delish!!

Do you cook and bake with maple syrup or honey instead of sugar? What’s one of your favorite ways to use either?