Can A Raw Food Diet Reverse Diabetes?

Diabetes statistics increase every year and millions of people in the U.S. alone suffer from it. Over 20% of people under the age of 20 have been diagnosed with this disease. One in every 500 children has it - almost 200,000 children. Over 20 million people over the age of 20 live with this daily challenge. Dietary changes and especially, changing to a diet high in raw food content can profoundly affect these statistics.

Both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes are metabolic disorders that happen when cells in our body don’t respond to insulin or when the body does not produce any insulin. Insulin allows blood sugar – also called glucose – to be used for energy. When insulin is not doing its job, the cells don’t receive any fuel. Sugar then builds up in the blood.

A healthy diet plays a critical role in diabetes treatment – having the potential to slow and even reverse the course of the disease. Eating healthy helps by regulating blood sugar levels and maintaining a healthy weight. The Standard American Diet (SAD) consists largely of fast food, processed foods, sugar, dairy, and meat. We eat too much of the bad stuff and not enough of the good stuff. If you are challenged by diabetes, you may not have to completely overhaul your diet to regain your health. In many cases, gradually adding raw fruits and vegetables every day, along with exercise and weight management, will help tremendously.

A 100% Raw Food Diet Counteracts Diabetes

In the film, the study participants gather at The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona. There they agree to give up their Standard American Diet for 30 days and to replace it with a diet consisting entirely of vegan and organic raw foods. The goal is to reverse their disease without pharmaceutical medication.

Soon after beginning the program, all of the participants witness their blood sugar levels begin to drop without medication.The story only gets better from there!

Dr. Gabriel Cousens is a live food nutritionist and author of There is A Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21 Day+ Program – essentially the program used by the 6 individuals in the documentary. This program is designed to reset the DNA through green foods and juices, specific supplements, and a diet rich in organic, nutrient-dense, vegan, mineral-rich, living foods over a period of twenty-one days.

“Those who have completed the program outlined by Dr. Cousens have found that insulin and related medicines become unnecessary after an average time of four days. Within the first two weeks, many participants in the program reported blood sugar returning to normal levels, and by the end of two weeks many participants displayed test results consistent with a non-diabetic physiology. The third week of the program focuses on live-food preparation, creating a bridge between the benefits of completing the full program and enjoying the healing properties of living foods, superfoods, and supplements in everyday life.”

- Sunfood Nutrition

The book presents a program emphasizing low-glycemic and low-insulin-scoring meals, and urges us all to make a dramatic shift away from the Standard American Diet of genetically-modified food, artificial sweeteners, refined grains, as well as overly-processed, and mineral deficient foods.

High Fiber, Low-glycemic Diet Controls Type 2 Diabetes

The Standard American Diet of genetically-modified food, artificial sweeteners, refined grains, and overly-processed foods, and mineral deficient foods commonly lack key nutrients such as calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and Vitamins A, C and E. According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, most adults are not getting these 7 essential nutrients.

Omega 3s are another essential nutrient we need to stay healthy, and we can only get it through diet. Omega 3s are not produced in our bodies. However, we need this essential fatty acid in order for our bodies to absorb Vitamins A, D, E and K. Omega 3s are also very important for a healthy heart, as heart diseases put people with type 2 diabetes at a higher risk.

Research shows that people with type 2 diabetes who eat a diet high in fiber improve their blood sugar and cholesterol scores. Our bodies take longer to digest fiber, which means glucose is absorbed by our blood streams more gradually. Along with fiber, magnesium also controls blood sugar levels.

Every single raw fruit, vegetable and grain is packed with fiber. Only a half cup of beans, whichever kind you like, has one third of your daily fiber requirements! Whole grains and nuts are other great sources of fiber; and provides a lot of potassium, magnesium and omega 3 fatty acids. Citrus Fruits have incredible amounts of Vitamin C, and Sweet Potatoes are your go to source for Vitamin A.

If you or a loved one is challenged by diabetes, the message here is one of hope and empowerment. You do have the power to control or even reverse this condition through dietary changes. You can gradually begin adding more raw fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and living raw foods to your diet. Alternatively, you may choose the more life-defining approach outlined in The Tree of Life Program. With either choice, you begin to leave behind the root causes of diabetes and move towards a more natural, nurturing and life-affirming approach to food.

Simply Raw, the documentary of 6 people who meet the challenge of diabetes with a raw food diet, and There is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21 Day+ Program can both be purchased from Sunfood Nutrition

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