Do You Know with Dr. Dwain Woode

Food Choices for Steady Blood Glucose and Better Living

• Dwain Woode

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Can stabilizing your blood sugar levels truly transform your health? Join us on this enlightening episode, where we dig into the core strategies that can help manage diabetes effectively and enhance your overall metabolic well-being. Learn how simple lifestyle changes, such as suppressing appetite, reducing sugar intake, and controlling insulin levels, can make a difference. We'll share a fascinating anecdote from a recent trip to Nashville Shores, where we witnessed firsthand the dramatic effects of food choices on blood sugar levels. Discover the foods that can help keep those levels stable.

Understanding the importance of maintaining stable blood sugar levels isn't just for diabetics; it's a universal health concern. Whether aiming to boost your energy levels, enhance your mood, or support weight management, this knowledge is crucial. We'll explore the differences in how diabetics and non-diabetics respond to the same foods, highlighting the importance of these distinctions. Gain insights into how consistent blood glucose levels can lead to improved physical performance and a more active lifestyle, underscoring the universal benefits of managing diabetes.

This episode goes beyond the basics, emphasizing the pivotal role of nutrition in blood sugar management. From the virtues of whole grains and lean proteins to the benefits of portion control and the inclusion of a variety of fruits, we offer practical tips on making the best dietary choices. Dive into the world of fermented foods and insulin-sensitizing spices and herbs, learning how to incorporate them into your daily meals to enhance insulin sensitivity and control blood sugars. Remember, addressing diabetes through smart dietary choices is not just about managing a condition—it's about reclaiming your health and feeling empowered about the future.

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Speaker 1:

So if we're going to be healthy, if we are going to put our diabetes in remission, then we've got to know a little bit about how to stabilize blood sugars. Remember, our three pillars are decrease insulin, suppress the appetite and get rid of as much sugar as possible, and often we see fluctuations in our blood sugars. I know, I see it and you've seen it, as you've watched me look at my monitors and share my blood sugars with you. And so tonight what we're going to talk about is what are those foods, what are the things that we can eat that help to stabilize blood sugars? In fact, when we put our diabetes in remission, we're still going to be eating things that can cause spikes in blood sugars. How do we manage that? That's what we're talking about tonight. If you're new to me, I'm Dr Dwayne Wood, that's Wood with an E. The E stands for endocrinology. Here on the channel, I educate, I empower and I encourage you to take charge of your health, your life, avoid complications and go to the next level. We're creating the life we've always wanted, and in this year 2024, our new theme is New Year UU. So yesterday we went to Nashville Shores and I finished my fasting on Friday. You guys saw that and over the course of the next few days kind of did a fairly good job of monitoring food and food intake. And then y'all got in the car and headed up to Nashville Shores and was with all the kids and all of the excitement that was there, and there's this bag of chips that hopped into my hand and then I got that one bag of chips and then out there they had chicken, they had watermelon, they had potato salad, they had broccoli salad, they had some other things, and so over the course of the day I kind of watched my blood sugars climb and we'll take a look here in just a minute so you can see what they did climb and we'll take a look here in just a minute so you can see what they did. But as we have been talking about reversing diabetes, as we've been talking about what do we do for people who are not diabetic and improving their metabolic disease? The question that I get asked often is what do I eat? And you'll see, across the internet there are a lot of people that propose different things to eat and some people say you can basically eat whatever you want, you don't have to restrict yourself, and so forth, and I believe that with a few caveats, and so we're going to spend some time tonight talking about what do we do? What are some of those foods that will help us in that space? And so, basically, we're talking about foods to stabilize blood sugars, foods to stabilize blood sugars. And so why is it important to stabilize blood sugar? What are the benefits of stabilizing blood sugars? And you'll see there benefits.

Speaker 1:

One reduced risk of complications. Remember, it is the high blood sugar that causes the damage. Often I go through this with patients in my office because they'll say to me oh, my blood sugar went up and it came back down. And I say great, I'm so happy that the blood sugar came back down, but the fact that it went up meant that it was causing damage. So it's not the down that's the issue, it's the fact that blood sugar went up in the first place, and often the blood sugar goes up and it goes up high and it stays long. That's the problem in diabetes.

Speaker 1:

In fact, if you take a cookie and I always use a cookie, I don't know why I use a cookie, but that's my example If you take a cookie and you give it to a diabetic and you give it to a non-diabetic, both of them will have a blood sugar response to the cookie, because that's what the cookie is supposed to do. A cookie is supposed to be broken down into its component parts and ultimately it's supposed to give it energy. That's really why we eat. Now, we eat food for lots of different other things, but in terms of nutrition, that's why we eat. We eat the cookie. The cookie gets broken down. We get energy from the cookie. Boom done.

Speaker 1:

The issue with the diabetic is that their blood sugar goes up higher and it stays higher longer. Because if the blood sugar went up and came right back down, just like the non-diabetic, wouldn't be an issue. So it is the high blood sugar that causes the problem. So when we talk about blood sugar, reducing the risk of complications is important, because that is one of the ways or one of the reasons why we want to stabilize blood sugars. Okay, number one. Number two it improves energy levels, having fluctuations, just wildly fluctuating blood sugars. Talk to some of your diabetic friends. They'll tell you, because the blood sugars are so widely fluctuating, they feel tired, because there are times when they've got too much blood, too much sugar running around their blood and so the body can't use it right and so the body's making them pee. And there are times when the blood sugars are low because it's fluctuating, and we'll see here in just a minute another one of the issues that comes up in terms of fluctuating blood sugars. But energy levels can dip, energy levels can change, and so having an even keel, if you will, gives us a better, puts us in a better energy space. Next, better mood and mental health. So if we're having fluctuations in blood sugars, then our mood changes.

Speaker 1:

Have you ever been near someone who's having a low blood sugar, or someone whose blood sugar is falling, or even someone who may be on a diet? Right, that's a whole other conversation, right? What are they like? They're irritable. Why are they irritable? Because their energy levels are changing. Right, energy levels changing.

Speaker 1:

Stabilizing blood sugar helps with weight. The three pillars decrease insulin, suppress appetite and get rid of as much sugar as possible. Why are those three of the pillars? Those are three of the pillars because as we decrease sugar, we decrease insulin. When we decrease insulin, we decrease weight. When we decrease insulin, we decrease appetite. When we decrease insulin, decrease cravings. So, weight management that's another benefit of stabilizing blood sugar.

Speaker 1:

Enhanced physical performance. This goes along with energy. It goes along with feeling better. People who don't feel well, don't want to do things. Often we have people who come in the office and their spouse will say to them or they'll even say to me you know, I used to be this active person, I used to get up and go and do, but now all I want to do is sit, all I want to do is hang out at the house. So having better performance another reason for having enhanced or enhancing performance, another reason for having better blood sugars or stabilized blood sugar and then long-term health benefits Overall.

Speaker 1:

The health benefits of having stable blood sugars overall goes into all the things we talked about. Right, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome, the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol all of those improve if the blood sugars are stable. And notice, I'm saying stable not necessarily just for people who are diabetics. Now we're talking specifically here for people who are adults with type 2 diabetes, who want to put their diabetes in remission. But remember, all the things that we talk about, all the benefits go with all of the metabolic diseases. So getting stable blood sugars, those are some of the benefits that come along with that process.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So let's walk through it. Let's walk through it and actually, before we do that, let me, let me, let me give you some numbers. Let me give you some numbers here, really quickly. So if you go to the International Diabetes Federation, you'll see that they'll say to you that right now on the planet, right now on the planet, there are 537 million people right now who have diabetes. At this moment, 537 million. Here in the United States it's over 37 million, but around the world, 537. By the year 2030, right, this is 2024, so six years from now, that number will change from 537 to 643 is the projection. And then by 2045, not too long by 2045, we're talking about 783 million people. Now, these are people who are currently or who are diabetic currently, who are projected to be diabetic over the next 2030, and then 2045. We've not even touched the number of people that currently are pre-diabetic, who have metabolic disease, who have coronary artery disease, who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and we can go on and on and on in that process. So when we talk about diabetes and reversing diabetes, we talk about metabolic disease. We're not talking about just small numbers, not like five people here and 10 people there and a thousand people over there. We're talking right now just with those numbers I gave over 1 billion people on the planet at this moment who are living with diabetes or who have pre-diabetes. And look at the projections over the next several years, even just the next six years, we're talking about going from 537 million to 643 million people Over half a billion people on the planet. So why are we so concerned about diabetes? We're concerned about diabetes because those numbers are astronomical, and so we're going to talk about food, and we know that food is a huge influencer of disease.

Speaker 1:

Just last week, I did a talk for a men's group in Florida and I was sharing with them that the things that we do in our lives that affect our metabolic disease are things now that are what we call lifestyle. Years ago, people died from infection or trauma. You got infected, we didn't have treatment and so you died. You got into an accident, you hit your head, somebody hit you, you fell, you got injured and you passed away. That's no longer the case.

Speaker 1:

Now we're talking about metabolic diseases that are lifestyle related and, as you have seen here on the channel, as we've talked, food plays a huge component in that process. There are some places I don't remember where I saw that, but you may have seen it as well. What is it called? Food as medicine? That's what's being taught now. Listen, right, that's what's being taught now. We're finally realizing, hey, there's this huge component of food and how it impacts our metabolic health.

Speaker 1:

So, first of all, so what are those top foods? Right? So we're going to go through this list, right? Pretty, uh list of types of foods, types of things we can give some specifics, uh, in several of these categories. But I want you to begin thinking and go back. If you remember when we did our challenge? I think that was in april, was it april? Um, yes, so our challenge for April was to come up with a meal that minimized processed foods, didn't have a whole lot of added sugar, that was whole foods, had non-starchy and starchy vegetables, that had the appropriate portion size, that had lean meat and lean protein and healthy fats. You remember that? So that was in April. If you've not already done so, go back and watch our videos and pull that up. That's still a challenge for you, right? So, as we're going through, it's not that that challenge was done.

Speaker 1:

It is an ongoing thing that you want to do as we move through the space, as we move through the year, as we reverse our diabetes. So, number one, what we want to do is we want to talk about the first group of things, foods that will stabilize blood sugars, and those are the non-starchy vegetables. Non-starchy vegetables so non-starchy vegetables, are good because they are low in carbohydrates and they have a lot of calories. Vegetables have a lot of calories. They are low in carbohydrates, they don't have, they're not packed full of calories. They're appropriate for where they are. So think of a potato versus some greens. Now, I could possibly get the same number of calories from a potato as greens, but I've got to eat a lot of greens to get the same calories. But that potato, I can eat a small amount of it and boom, there's those calories. And then, of course, the potato has a higher glycemic index.

Speaker 1:

Now we've talked around glycemic index. We've not done a show here on glycemic index, but that's just a marker of how quickly your blood sugar will rise as a result of eating that food. So we talk about non-starchy vegetables, low in carbohydrates and calories. They're high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and that word fiber is going to be important for us here as we get through this conversation Minimal impact on blood sugar levels. So when we eat something that's non-starchy vegetables, all of those starch or those glycogen, those carbohydrates don't just flood our system and so, even though we may have a rise in blood sugar, we don't have as big a rise as if we eat something that has lots of starch and has a high glycemic index.

Speaker 1:

The fiber that's in the food, in the non-starchy vegetable, the fiber blunts the absorption and it blunts the rise in our blood sugar. That's one of the benefits and that's one of the benefits of fiber. So when you eat something that has a lot of fiber, even though what you're eating may also have some carbohydrates, the fiber that's in it it's almost like think of like a sponge and it basically is grabbing onto the carbohydrates that's in the food and is preventing it from spiking up really quickly. So basically it's sucking those carbs into that sponge and it prevents it from rising as quickly. And in fact, if you eat something that has enough fiber, the fiber itself will grab some of the carbohydrates that are in the food and it will take it through your body so it does not get absorbed. That's the beauty of some of the non-starchy vegetables and then those non-starchy vegetables. They have antioxidants which can reduce inflammation, and we know that diabetes is also a pro-inflammatory disease. So all those benefits that come from the non-starchy vegetables.

Speaker 1:

So what are some examples of non-starchy vegetables? One so, bell peppers, non-starchy Broccoli, non-starchy Spinach and all those greens, right, turnip greens and collard greens, non-starchy Broccoli, non-starchy Spinach and all those greens, right, turnip greens and collard greens, non-starchy vegetables, green peppers or red peppers or yellow peppers or whatever color peppers you have. Right, those are non-starchy Zucchini, non-starchy vegetable and the vegetable that one of my team members in my office calls the great imitator, cauliflower. You guys have seen, here we've done cauliflower hair as well. We did a cauliflower pizza, we did cauliflower rice, we got some other cauliflower things that we're gonna do. So non-starchy Kale, which goes along with spinach and greens. We've got cucumbers and, of course, tomatoes. Those are all non-starchy vegetables and they give you all the benefit the fiber, the nutrients. Now, one of the things that I like about the vegetables and remember, we're talking about whole vegetables, whole foods is that not only are you getting carbohydrates, the minerals and vitamins, but you're also getting some liquid, some fluid, and that's one of the benefits of whole foods. So, non-starchy vegetables.

Speaker 1:

How can I incorporate some of those into my diet? Incorporate some of those into my diet. You can incorporate them in salads Most of the non-starchy vegetables that you will find out there. You can actually just chop them up, cut them up, drop them into a salad Very easy, simple way of getting those in. You can do a stir fry, not a lot of fat. I was talking to my wife recently and she was asking me to cut back on the amount of fat that I use because I use oil. Yeah, so when I do my curry you'll see. But yeah, but cutting back on some of those also. Not just we're talking about fat, of carbs, we're also trying to be healthy in other ways. But we can do stir-fried. So add a mix of vegetables and fry them together.

Speaker 1:

Now I put on here snacks, but you will hear me say, and you will see me say, and actually I was tempted not to even add it because I don't believe in snacks Because if you're doing a good job of your diet, then there should be no reason to have a snack. Now you can choose to have something because you're adding a function, you're adding an occasion. That's okay, but not a snack. As a rule, people say, okay, I have an afternoon snack. There's no reason to have an afternoon snack if you're doing a good job of doing nutrition. And then sides, right. So you can steam vegetables, you can broil vegetables, you can roast vegetables and you can use them as a side dish to the main meal that you're having. So great ways of getting those non-starchy vegetables in Whole grains.

Speaker 1:

Now, this one is a. This is where some of the argument comes in right, grains, because they are carbohydrates, and I want to say that that's why we're talking about whole grains, as close as possible to the original when they were grown With that in mind. So, whole grains, we want to use whole grains. They're rich in fiber Great right, because we just talked about fiber and the fiber slows down the absorption of carbohydrates that are in the food itself, and then they provide essential nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, magnesium and so forth. So, whole grains. When I talk to people, they said should I get this bread versus that bread? And I'll say to them well, which one is less processed?

Speaker 1:

Now, an interesting thing that I want, one interesting thing I want to point out for all of us here in the community, as we're talking about being healthy, as we're talking about reversing diabetes, as we're talking about wellness, everything that we do is relative. What do I mean by that? That means that if the only thing you have access to is food and we've talked about food deserts and so forth then the thing that you eat is where you are. I can't step into your space and say to you hey, you should be eating X, y and Z. If you don't have access to X, y and Z Now, if I bring it to you, or we improve the process, or we improve the environment, or all of a sudden we have access to it, then we now change what we do to be healthier. I want to make that point to everyone in the community. We move as a group together in terms of our knowledge, but there are places where people don't have access to all the things that we're talking about, and if they don't have access, then they do what they do in that space until something is better. That's why advocacy is so big we talked about several weeks ago. We talked about cleaning up your environment, cleaning up your home, cleaning up your job, cleaning up the community in terms of food, and our job is to become involved, get involved so that we can help other people that may not have the benefit of being able to hop in a car and drive down the street, but drive to a farm or hop in a car and drive to a place where they're getting fresh fruits and vegetables. Okay, let's make sure that we keep that in mind. So, whole grains so it provides all those benefits.

Speaker 1:

Well, what are some grains? What are some whole grains? So quinoa all right. Bulgur wheat my mother-in-law does that farro oats, whole wheat barley. And I mentioned to I don't know if I did it here on the show or I was talking to my group of guys last month and I was telling them the way that food is processed the wheat is processed, the grains are processed. Now they are so fine.

Speaker 1:

Yesterday we went to Nashville Shores as I was selling you and of course there are people everywhere. And what were they eating? They were getting those funnel cakes. All right, remember, you guys know what funnel cakes. And on top of the funnel cakes, what are they putting? Yeah, they're putting the powdered sugar.

Speaker 1:

Well, if you compare the speed with which your blood sugar rises if you're eating powdered sugar versus if you're eating the granulated sugar, then the blood sugar spikes up a lot faster with the powdered sugar because it's much smaller and the surface area is larger, and so it just sucks into your body. It's the same thing with the processed grains the finer we grind it, the more easily it gets incorporated into our body and the bigger the spike in our blood sugar can go. And because you're grinding it that finely, then you don't have the benefit of the fiber, because you've destroyed the structure. You've destroyed the fiber structure, and so it just gets sucked in, gets absorbed right into the system. That's why we talk so much about whole foods, whole foods, whole foods, whole foods. So those are your whole grains.

Speaker 1:

So where can you use this? Well, one breakfast oatmeal topped with nuts, quinoa salad with some vegetables. That's for lunch, for supper, brown rice or barley and a side dish with lean protein and vegetables. And then you'll see, I've added it again, right. And for those of you who are needing to do this, we have put a snack there, right, whole grain crackers with hummus, or a slice of whole grain toast with avocado. If you're going to do that, I would much prefer just the avocado or the hummus. Right, get rid of the toast. Get rid of the toast. Get rid of the toast, alright.

Speaker 1:

So whole grain, so lean protein, lean protein, and so lean protein helps to and once again, we're talking about stabilizing blood sugar. That's what we're talking about. What are the foods that we can eat to stabilize blood sugar? Now, if we go back to the vegetables, there are vegetables you can eat that are just highly starchy. There are grains that you eat that are highly starchy. What I'm suggesting is, even as we're eating within those categories, that we pick the things within the category that will give us a less vibrant spike in blood sugar.

Speaker 1:

Because when the blood sugar spikes, what has to happen? We either have to take insulin or the body has to make insulin. When insulin comes out, insulin is a storage hormone, so your weight goes up. When insulin comes out, insulin stimulates storage hormone, so your weight goes up. When insulin comes out, insulin stimulates the appetite, so you start eating more, and when that happens, the blood sugar skyrockets because now you're putting in more carbohydrates. Remember the pillars Suppress insulin, decrease insulin, suppress appetite and get rid of as much sugar as possible. Those are the pillars of reversing diabetes.

Speaker 1:

So lean protein, so lean protein. So lean protein helps to slow digestion and absorption. Protein in general. Right, we'll add the lean word there in just a minute. So it helps to slow the absorption of carbohydrates. So if you eat something that's purely carb, guess what? Your blood sugar goes up. But if you eat something that has carbs, that has some protein with it, it doesn't go up as quickly. It prevents blood sugar spikes, which is what we just talked about. It promotes satiety. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I love this one.

Speaker 1:

Often we'll have people come to me at the office and we'll say, hey, I've got to have something to eat on my way home, or I get so hungry in the afternoon and I'll go through with them and say, okay, tell me the things that you ate today. Well, first I ask them what is the difference between hunger and appetite? Right? So, because we all need to know that difference between what it feels like to be hungry and what appetite is. So once we've had that conversation, okay, tell me the things that you've eaten. And so they'll go through and they'll say well, I have a pot tart for breakfast, I had a sandwich for lunch with you know some sandwich meat, and I had a salad. And then I'm going to go home and tonight we were supposed to have whatever, but I was so hungry that I just stopped off and I bought whatever.

Speaker 1:

Well, if you think about what they just described, that they ate, there's not a lot of protein in that, and one of the reasons that they feel hungry is because there's nothing in their body to satiate them. So eating protein gives you the feeling of satiety, so feel like I'm not hungry, that I'm satisfied. And that's one of the mistakes that we often make as we are moving into the wellness and health space. Everybody thinks that they've got to eat like they've got to pound the salad. That's great, but if you're not careful, then you're cutting back on protein in that process and so now you feel like you're hungry all the time. Of course, we have to learn what it is to be hungry and not be hungry, but that's another conversation. Okay, all right. So, yeah, so Promosa's tiny, and then it reduces the likelihood of overeating. Same thing, right, because if I'm full, if I'm feeling full, then not an issue.

Speaker 1:

So I've told people before they'll say to me, hey, I'm cutting back on my food. I say, what do you eat? What did you eat for supper? And they'll tell me oh, I ate a chicken breast and I had some broccoli. I said when you go home or tomorrow, have another, have a second chicken breast. And they'll say why. I said because you didn't eat enough to be satiated. Right, and that always blows their mind because they're like man, you're telling me to eat more. Yes, I am.

Speaker 1:

Now, most of us don't have to eat more, right, because we have. We do have some. We do have some storage, okay, so here's some plant-based protein, right? So we're gonna do plant-based and then animal-based. So plant-based protein, chickpeas, lentils I love, those are my, two of my. So plant-based protein, chickpeas, lentils I love, those are two of my favorite. Actually, right there.

Speaker 1:

Chickpeas and lentils Like, when I was growing up, we had chickpeas called chana, which is what we call it. We had chickpeas all the time in lots of different ways it was stewed, it was baked, it was boiled, it was souped, any way that you could think about chickpeas, we did it. And then lentils. My wife makes an amazing stewed lentil where she puts all kinds of vegetables in there, and, yeah, we're not gonna get her to make me some. You think I can get her. Hey, honey, are you watching, right? So lentil, bulgur, tofu we love tofu at my house and you guys saw, we did a show, uh, several weeks ago, where we where we cook, uh, tofu, edamame, black beans. I love that. As a matter of fact, um, when was it? That's what I was using at one time to break my fast at the end of my extended fast. Now I've changed to do other things. I think I'm going to actually go back to using beans because, yeah, maybe we'll talk about that this week and then tempeh. So these are plant-based proteins.

Speaker 1:

Once again, we're talking about foods that will stabilize the blood sugar, foods that will stabilize the blood sugar, because, remember, it's the high blood sugars, the fluctuations in blood sugar, that are the issues for us. When we fluctuate, we have mood changes. When it fluctuates, we feel hungry. When it fluctuates, we have those cravings. When it fluctuates, we have that sense of fatigue and tiredness. So we want to stabilize blood sugar. We want to have as normal, as consistent a blood sugar as possible. Now, is it ever possible to consistently have the number the same? No, it's not going to be the exact same, but as much as possible we can do that. And then, if we talk about animal-based protein, of course, turkey, fish, eggs, milk cheese, skinless chicken breast, yogurt, right, and I can keep going. I just stopped as I was putting the list together. So these are some of the proteins that we can have Stabilizing blood sugar.

Speaker 1:

And then berries and fruits. Now, in terms of berries and fruits, everybody has been told, or people are understanding, that because berries have sugar in them, carbs, then they shouldn't eat them as diabetics. That is not the case. In fact, if you say to me, hey, should I eat that piece of bread or should I eat this berry, I'm going to tell you to eat the berry, because the berry has what? Vitamins, minerals, fiber. It has carbs, of course, and then it has fluids, it has liquid in there, so that combination makes it healthier than some other choices. And notice, I'm saying fruits and berries, right, because the berries are.

Speaker 1:

Well, let me back up. We want to choose berries, we want to choose fruits that have lower glycemic index, because there are some you can get that are like huge, and that depends on the type of fruit. It is Because we've genetically engineered several of our fruits. Now I'll tell you, I love some genetically engineered fruits. I got to be honest Because I don't like things that have all kinds of seeds, some of them and so, yes, I do eat those. They are good, right, yeah, tell the truth.

Speaker 1:

But, yeah, so, as you're talking about different berries, remember, just because you're diabetic or just because you are struggling with weight or just because you're struggling with metabolic disease, does not mean that you can't have berries, you can't have fruits. You just have to be selective in the fruits that you have. So, fruits with a low glycemic index they release sugar more slowly into the body and remember that is a big theme. You've heard tonight the rate at which your blood sugar rises. So those low glycemic index fruits are better than some of the others, right? So they release it more slowly into the bloodstream and this helps to maintain stable blood sugar, and that's what we're talking about. How do we stabilize blood sugars? Yes, okay, and so what are some fruits that we can have? So, berries, yes, berries, berries, berries, blueberries, pears, peaches, oranges. And when I was talking about genetically engineered fruits, the citrus family of fruits is probably one of the largest genetically engineered group of fruits that are out there, but we won't get into that tonight. We won't get into that tonight, okay, um, strawberries, raspberries, apples. Now I'll tell you. I've seen some apples that are like yay, big. I'm like where did that apple come from? Is that a, is that a pumpkin? Or okay, all right, so that's probably one of those genetically engineered apples.

Speaker 1:

And whenever we're talking about all foods, but specifically when we're talking about all foods, but specifically when we're talking about the fruits, you want to make sure that you are having an appropriate portion size. Remember, we talked about our challenge for the month of April of creating that meal. One of the points that we had in there was the appropriate portion size. Because I'll tell you, if I eat grapes and that's one of my weaknesses, and a lot of those have been engineered as well when I eat grapes I don't go into the bag and take out because they say is it seven to ten grapes? That's a serving man. If I put my hand in that bag of grapes, when it comes out it's coming out with more than 7 to 10 grapes.

Speaker 1:

So portion sizes are very important because we've gotten so used to eating a large quantity that sometimes our brain doesn't quite register that what you just ate was two portions or three portions or four portions sometimes, and that's just a snack y'all as we're getting ready to eat our meal. Oh, let me go grab some grapes. Well, you've eaten two portions. Three portions, that's 45 grams of carbs, that's an entire meal, right there. And then, oh, I had a snack. Now let me go eat the meal. Well, guess what? You ate a meal and now you're eating a meal again.

Speaker 1:

So portion sizes very important, as we're talking about fruits everything in general, but fruits in particular. And then variety. Make sure that you're having a variety of fruits, because the variety gives us all of the benefits of the various nutrients and the vitamins that are in them, and the lycopene and other components. A lot of them have antioxidants in it, and so don't just pick a fruit and say, okay, that's what I'm eating all the time. Find the variety, and this is a great time to learn about different fruits, different foods in general, right, because sometimes you may not eat a lot of the non-starchy vegetables that we talked about, or some of the whole grains we talked about, but now you can go back and you can do that, or even some of the protein that we talked about.

Speaker 1:

And then nuts and seeds. Now this one is. I've got to be very careful when we talk about portion sizes. This is mine right here. Who knows, who knows If you drop it in the comment real quick. Who knows what my two nuts are? What are they? Drop it in there for me real quick. This is a place I have to be careful, because if I'm not careful, I went to the grocery store and I bought two cans.

Speaker 1:

I don't know why I bought two, but I come out of my subdivision, make a left and drive maybe three-quarters of a mile and make a right. That's where the grocery store is. And so I bought these two cans of nuts, and they weren't the tiny ones you know. Sometimes you get the planters and they're like the half can. No, this was like the full can. And from the time I drove at the grocery store and made it to my house, I had already eaten half of the can. Right, cause, I just kept boom, boom, boom, boom. It was. It was amazing. Yes, yes, yes, almonds and cashews. That's my thing right there. Almonds and cashews, y'all. Oh, it is, it is, it is great. Hey, you want to hear something.

Speaker 1:

So I went to the grocery so so I've been trying to to to manage those, and so I went to the store and so I've I've I've kind of sub sublimated it, and so I buy peanut butter, right, so I'm not eating the whole can. So I buy peanut butter, right. So I'm not eating the whole can, so I buy peanut, so I get a spoon of peanut butter, and that usually does it. And I went and I made the mistake of looking for almond butter. I made a mistake of looking for almond butter and I brought the almond butter home and it has been like almond butter, like fiend craziness here at the house, all right.

Speaker 1:

So nuts excellent source of healthy fats, protein and fiber. So it has all those in it and it slows the digestion and provides sustaining energy. So nuts are a great source of fat, of protein, of fiber. Now here's the thing when we talked about having them as close as possible to the original, if we really are following that fully, then it would be kind of going and getting the raw nuts, which I don't do. I know my wife sometimes would buy them and eat those. Now I like a little sea salt on mine and it is a thing. So just work with me, just work with me, don't judge me. So that's where we are. So it's always a process.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So what are some nuts, almonds, walnuts? Okay, that says peaches in it, but that shouldn't say that. It should say sunflower seeds, it should say sunflower seeds, it should say chia seeds, it should say flax seed, it should say pumpkin seed. Look at that. All of those are places where you can get the benefit, and you can sprinkle this on top of food, right toppings, you can bake with it. That's a good place. If you make your own bread or make your own, you do baking, put the nuts in it, and so that allows you to get some fiber back into whatever you're doing Right. So great place, a great place to do that.

Speaker 1:

And then fermented foods. Fermented foods Now, this is an interesting one for us here in the West, because there are a few things that we eat that are fermented, but not a whole lot. As a matter of fact, a lot of us, when we taste it or we smell it, we're like, hey, I'm not doing that right. So they contain probiotics that support gut health. If the gut is not healthy, then we can run into lots of other problems. Not healthy, then we can run into lots of other problems. So a healthy gut microbiome is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and better blood sugar control. So if we can keep the gut healed or keep it working properly, then we get benefit, all right.

Speaker 1:

So things like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut I love sauerkraut because I'm from New York and hot dogs, right, sauerkraut, kimchi. Now I'll tell you, years ago I tried making some kimchi and I didn't do a good job, and so I'm kind of easing back into kimchi. It's not something that I go and grab right now If you know how to good recipe and I didn didn't do a good job and I got sick. Miso, tempeh and kombucha those are all things that you can have, right. So fermented food. So yogurt you can have unsweetened varieties. Sauerkraut, of course, and kimchi use those as condiments on the side. Miso you can incorporate those into soup, miso soup. Tempeh you can use as a protein source.

Speaker 1:

So all of these things that we're talking about is how do we stabilize blood sugars? And then spices and herbs and this one actually I think we're going to come back and do a show where we actually talk about this but certain spices and herbs and I want to and this one actually, I think we're going to come back and do a show where we actually talk about this but certain spices and herbs have properties that can help regulate blood sugar levels, and mainly they do this because they help to improve insulin sensitivity. So things like cinnamon, which is an insulin sensitizer, turmeric or curcumin, ginger, bitter melon and chromium All things that you can use in terms of sensitizing the body. And so, sensitizing what does that mean? That means that if your body makes insulin, or if you're taking insulin from the outside and I'm using this as an example, this is not the science of it but let's say you take one unit of insulin from outside, take a shot, or your body makes one unit of insulin, then the insulin sensitizers make that one unit look like a lot more, so that you don't have to take that much more, or your body doesn't have to produce that much more. That's what a sensitizer is it makes your body more responsive to the insulin that's already on board or the insulin that you're taking, so you don't have to take as much Insulin sensitizers and, like I said, this is one group that will probably come back and do a show on using these, because I think it's worth having a conversation.

Speaker 1:

And so the direct link between food, blood sugar and diabetes underscores the importance of making informed dietary choices. We educate and the education is to provide the information, and then now we take that and we go and we implement it. That's the empowering. So, understanding how food works, understanding what the point is of managing diabetes and blood sugars. Reversing diabetes, because, even as you are even diabetes and blood sugars. Reversing diabetes, because, even as your blood sugars are better, even as your blood sugars are better in terms of reversing diabetes, when you eat food, you want to make intelligent choices. That's why, at the bottom of one of those slides you saw, it said right, variety and portions. Variety and portions, because if you sit down, even when your diabetes has been reversed, if you sit down and you're like gorging on 5 gallons of ice cream, guess what's going to happen to your blood sugar and your body? Now that the body is being healed right, and once again, I need to write these down, as your body is being healed right now, some of you are finding that there are foods that you have not been able to eat in the past. But now that your body is healing, you're able to eat them without getting that spike in blood sugar. Right, that's the beauty of what we're doing. But if you continually tax the body over and over and over and over, right, guess what? You're basically walking it back into the process of being unhealthy again. Now, I'm not saying that you can't ever eat chips or ice cream, right, like this weekend I said, we went to Nashville Shores and I had one bag of chips, two bag of chips, watermelon, potato salad, broccoli salad, another bag of chips, right? And so this is a great place. Actually. Let's do that right now. So you guys, you guys can see, because I, because, because this is this is this is beautiful to me, okay, so let's hop over and let's take a look at. So this is what my blood sugar is right now, and I'll show you the actual, an actual graph of the report here in just a minute. But this is just today. This is why blood sugars are running since midnight last night to right now and, if I look at my Dexcom, right, so that's what has been running today. But what I want to do is I want to go back, I want to go over and let's take a look at the report. All right, I want to go over and let's take a look at the report. So let's hop over and I want to take a look at the report, because what I want you to know is that, as you guys are out there doing this, I'm living it with you. I'm living it with you, right, I'm living it with you. So, let's see, let's grab this screen here, let's do this one, Okay, okay. So you'll see my average blood sugar right there for the last 14 days 102. I'm in target 91% of the time and target range is anywhere from 70 to 180. My glucose management indicator is 5.8, so that means that if I get my A1C, then I would expect it to be 5.8. Okay, and in fact, when we got labs several weeks ago, if you recall, let's see where was that? Right in the middle of the screen. There you'll see, this is my blood work and my A1C was 5.8, right there in the middle. So, but let's hop over and let's take a look at the actual graph. Let's take a look at this one. Hold on a second, alright, alright. So let's scroll back and let's look at. Let's see, so thursday, so friday, okay, so friday, that's what my blood sugars did. And so broke the fast friday evening and then started eating, and so look at that. So that's saturday. Into the saturday um, so we went from down into the 70s and 80s and up into the 120s, 130s, 140s, so not not bad, right? So I love that. And then into sunday now. So, so Sunday is the day we went up to National Shores, and so 120s, 120s, 150s you saw that there. And so we're driving in the car and I got a bag of chips in my hand, 140s, 130s. And we get there and I had some potato salad and look at that, right up to 190, like, my blood sugar has not been upwards of 180 in weeks, right, and so came back down and look at that, look at, look at the speed with which that happened. Let me tell you, prior to new year, new you, if that blood sugar had gone up to 190, it would have kept going and it would have stayed up higher for longer. But look at that. So it went up, and then, let's see, that's five o'clock, when it got to the peak, and then by, let's see five, six o'clock, seven o'clock, by seven o'clock, it's 140. And by eight o'clock, so three hours later, it's 114. Okay, and of course I came home and I had something else. What did I eat? By the way, I don't even remember what I ate, right here, right. So I want you to look at what's going on with the blood sugar. And then, of course, today I have not eaten. I haven't eaten anything since last night, by the way. So now we're down to 100. So if I continue, if I continued eating those bags of chips and chips and chips and chips and chips, which you can eat chips you can eat watermelon, you can eat ice cream, you can eat cookies right, we'll come back and talk about that. But the point here is not to say just go eat what you want. What I want to make a point of is, if we tax the body continually after we have healed it, we're basically causing damage again. So it's okay, if you want to have some chips, go ahead and have them. Your body is going to now respond in a way that brings that blood sugar down, and then you've got to say, okay, it did a good job right now. So I'm not going to keep doing that today, but what happens is often we eat it and the blood sugar goes up, and then we keep going on and on and on and on. So important, important, important, important to stabilize those blood sugars, because if we don't, then we have those spikes and have all the complications in terms of putting on weight, cravings, feeling like we're hungry all the time, and so forth. So stabilizing those blood sugars really does help. So, as you're thinking about the foods that you're going to eat and remember this was not intended to tell you that foods other than the things we talked about cannot be eaten, was not intended to tell you that foods other than the things we talked about cannot be eaten. But, as you're putting your menu together, these are things that you can put on that menu to know that, okay, these are going to help to stabilize my blood sugar. Now, one point that I want to make is that this is what is supposed to stabilize your blood sugar, but some of you may find that there is a food that's on the list, or a food that is a non-starchy vegetable that raises your blood sugar much higher than you would anticipate. Or there's a food that we say, or people say, should not be good for you in terms of blood sugar, and when you eat that, nothing happens to your blood sugar, and when you eat that, nothing happens to your blood sugar. So you will have to also experiment, because each of us is different and our bodies respond to different foods at different times in different ways. You remember the show that we did. We said you can eat something in the morning and you eat that same thing in the afternoon and it has a totally different response. Yeah, and so, as we go through our reversing process, as we go through our reversing process, how do we work here on the channel? Well, we educate, we empower and we encourage. We educate by providing education. The shows, the blogs, the podcasts, all of that is with the idea of changing our thought process, changing our vision, making a mindset change. If we're going to change, we've got to improve. If we're going to change, if we're going to have success, then we've got to change our thought process. Education we empower with all the tools that we learn here on the channel the heat model, emotional intelligence, how to create a meal, how to adjust medication All those are tools that allow us to put the things that we're learning into practice. And then we encourage by providing a community In our community. I love the community that we're a part of the growth that we're having, the interaction that you guys have. I love seeing you in this space. We educate, we empower and we encourage. The HEAT model is a model that talks about the things that can push us off of our plan. It is one of the tools that we've learned here on the channel and in this space. We eat because of habits, emotions, access and taste. Habits, emotions, access and taste. We eat because of the habits that we formed. We go to the movies and we eat Because that's what you do at the movies. We sit down with the family to play games and we grab some popcorn. We go to the ball game. I'll tell you where did I go. I went to the movies and I'm sitting in the movie Watching the movie and it didn't dawn on me that I had stopped at the counter, gotten popcorn until I'm saying oh wait, a minute, I'm eating. It was automatic. We eat because of habits. We eat because of emotions Happy, sad, depressed, bored, tired, frustrated. When emotions happen, if we're not careful, those emotions can push right through our decisions. It's kind of like going on a roller coaster and we get to the pinnacle, the top of that roller coaster. Let me tell you, it doesn't matter what you do when you're up there. You can scream, you can shout, you can grab on, you can fuss, you can cuss, you can rattle, you can jump up and down, but that rollercoaster car is coming down the other side and often in our lives we allow ourselves to go up the rollercoaster, the emotional rollercoaster, and we get to the pinnacle, we get to the top and then we try to stop it. That's not the place to stop it. The place to stop it, the place to manage it and deal with it, was down here, because once it gets up there, it's going over and it doesn't matter what decision you've made. If those emotions are strong enough at that top, yeah, the decision that you made will be crumbled or crumpled. So we eat because habits, emotions. We eat because of access. There are some things I can't bring in the house anymore. I know that about myself, because if they're here, it doesn't matter. If I've made that decision, I'm going to eat it. And particularly if I'm up tired and frustrated and whatever those emotions are, yeah, it's getting eaten. And then taste. We eat because of habits, emotions, access and taste. And taste is one of those incredible ones, because I want to say to you we're never chasing the food. People say, oh, I love this food, or I love the way that tastes, or I love that. It's not the food, it is what the food does for us the calm that it brings over us, the balance that it seems to give, the memory, that it triggers the place that it takes us back to. That we thought was a good spot. The taste the perfect combination of fat, of salt and sugar. That's the bliss point in the food. And when you eat it, it takes you to a spot that's what it's designed to do. So we eat because of habits, emotions, access and taste. And then here on the channel, our call to action is this Join the challenges. Don't just let these shows be something that you listen to that sit on the shelf. Join the challenges here. Each month we have challenges that we do. In the month of January, it was to figure out your why. Why are you doing the things you want to do, or why do you want to do the things in terms of your health? In the month of February was to begin learning how to fast, work your way to be able to fast for a 24-hour period once a week. In the month of March, figure out which of the heat model was yours. I'll tell you mine. I've got two of them. It is emotions, access and taste. So eat E-A-T. Those are my three, those are the ones that hit me, those are the ones I struggle with. What's yours? Figure that out so that you can now deal with it, you can harness it and you can make some decisions. In the month of April, it was to construct a meal that fit these parameters non-processed, no added sugar, whole foods, non-starchy, starchy vegetables that had appropriate portion sizes, that was tasty and that had lean protein and healthy fats and lean protein. Remember, we did a show where we learned how to create a seven-day menu, create a meal. That was one of the challenges. And then last month it was to mentor. Find someone to mentor, find someone to teach this process to, that you can come alongside that, you can help in the process. Don't just let this be on the shelf. As we mentioned tonight, there are over 1 billion people on the planet right now who are suffering either from diabetes or prediabetes. You can be the voice of change. And then this month was to make sure that you are getting with your healthcare team and getting your labs checked. We did a show several weeks ago on what labs you need to be looking at. Make sure you're doing that. If you've not already done so, get out there and do that this month. Getting the information is very important. Sometimes we say we don't want to know. Yes, you do want to know, because there are things that we can catch. If we catch them early, then we can make changes and we can help to improve health. Catch them early, then we can make changes and we can help to improve health. When we just talked in our thought of the day that we are adults, consequences and benefits are ours, but we get to make the choice on what we do and where we go and how that gets improved. This is Dr Dwayne Wood, that's Wood with an E, the E stands for endocrinology. Here on the channel, I educate, I empower and I encourage you to take charge of your health, take charge of your life, avoid complications and go to the next level, creating the life you always wanted. And for this year y'all New Year, new you, thank you.

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Dwain Woode

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