Type II diabetes afflicts over 90% of all diabetics in America. Most people, when they think of diabetes, associate it with high blood sugar. Diabetes however is a not caused by high blood sugar but by a problem known as “insulin resistance”. Why should an individual resist his or her own insulin? To understand insulin resistance we must first define the role of insulin. Its major purpose is to get glucose, the basic fuel from the food we eat, into the cells of the body. Cells need the glucose for energy to perform basic functions such as the manufacture of proteins for the metabolic functions of the body.

Each cell in the body has a mechanism on the surface of the cell that interacts with insulin called an insulin receptor. The receptor is like a little “door” on the surface of the cell to let the glucose energy in. When you eat a slice of whole wheat bread for breakfast, the body breaks down the complex sugars in the bread into a simple sugar called glucose. As the blood glucose level rises, the pancreas responds by putting out insulin to take the increased amounts of glucose into the cells for their energy needs. If the level of sugar in the blood rises too high, some of it will attach to hemoglobin and destroy the walls of the arteries. This increased free radical damage by the glycated hemoglobin is one of the primary reasons that heart disease is the number one killer of diabetics.

Insulin resistance is directly related to how much animal fat we consume, and our levels of physical activity. High fat diets, laced with animal products that are laden with saturated (animal) fat tend, over time, to knock out insulin receptors on the cell. The reason is quite simple. The cells need only a certain amount of energy, and when we over consume fat-laden foods that are very high in calories, the storage capacity of the cells become overwhelmed, and we begin to store the extra calories as fat. The cells withdraw the insulin receptors as if to say “Thank you, I don’t need any more energy”

When insulin receptors are relatively few and insulin approaches the cell with a load of glucose energy, it cannot find a receptor easily to move the energy into the cell. Insulin then releases the glucose energy back into the blood, and the blood sugar rises. The conventional method of treating type II diabetes is to prescribe oral medications which whip the pancreas into producing more and more insulin. This approach totally ignores the root cause of the problem which is insulin resistance.

What works much better is to make the cell “hungry for energy”. How do you do that? By eating a low-fat plant-based diet for a few days, and getting on a walking program for 30 minutes twice a day. Amazingly, this strategy reduces insulin resistance in 80% of type II diabetics in only 3-4 days!

Reversing insulin resistance: Here’s how it works: When we are physically active, we create a demand energy in our muscle cells. The large legs muscles have a voracious appetite for glucose energy once we get on a walking program. In a relatively short period of time, they burn up the stored energy in them (glycogen) and begin to demand large amounts of energy to power them. In response to their need for energy, the large leg muscles put out millions of insulin receptors….lots of “doors” in order that the glucose energy can enter the cell to provide the power for walking. This simple strategy for energy usage, in combination with a low-fat plant based diet, can bring down the average diabetic’s blood sugar to normal in only 3-4 days.

If you are diabetic, don’t wait a minute longer. Download the recipes from this website, and get started on your walking program right now. Consult with your doctor, so that when your blood sugar begins to decline, he or she can reduce your insulin or oral medications commensurately. Happy walking! I f you need help in getting on a walking program, lifestyle counseling is available at 360-835-8401. The DVD “40 Reasons to Exercise: can also be helpful to you. May God bless your efforts to cooperate with Him in reversing your diabetes!