Kicking Diabetes

If you receive a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, you may wonder, Why me? Although genes may be partly to blame, diet and lifestyle bear the brunt of the burden. Your genes act as a loaded gun; however, diet and lifestyle are what typically pull the trigger. Overindulgence and underactivity, which are pervasive in our modern culture, have generated the current raging epidemics of overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

We’re hardwired by nature to be attracted to the tastes of fat, sugar, and salt. When foods are eaten as they grow naturally—unprocessed and whole—they contain relatively low concentrations of these flavors. However, when fat, sugar, and salt are concentrated and used as principal ingredients in processed foods, our innate ability to control our appetites becomes unhinged.