A Diabetic Meal Plan Can Save Your Life

Serious skin infections. Blurred vision. Heart disease. Potential amputation of toes due to loss of blood flow to the feet. Constant thirst. These complications of diabetes just begin to tell the story of this preventable disease that can destroy your body from the inside out.

Consider these dire diabetes facts:

• Eight percent of the U.S. population – a whopping 23.6 million children and adults—have diabetes.
• Seventy to eighty million people suffer from metabolic syndrome or “pre-diabetes.”
• Every year, 1.6 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older.
• There are now 50% more people with diabetes than there were just a decade ago.
• People with diabetes are 600% more likely to suffer a first heart attack and up to 800% more likely to die from heart disease than people who don’t have diabetes.
• People with diabetes are 41% more likely to die of cancer than those without the disease.

The numbers are alarming. But you don’t have to be a statistic.

That’s because your lifestyle – your dietary choices, physical activity and habits - play the biggest role in your risk for diabetes. In fact, many people are able to get off their medications and even reverse type-2 diabetes with a diabetes diet and regular exercise.

Are you ready to get your blood sugar in balance, manage your diabetes and stave off life-threatening complications? Your personalized Meal Genius Diabetes Diet Plan will show you how easy it is to enjoy delicious, nourishing and satisfying foods that will help you live longer and better.

A diabetes diet includes some simple steps to reduce your risk for diabetes, and your personalized Meal Genius® plan can help.

Diabetic Meal Plan Key #1 – Balance Your Blood Sugar

Diabetes is classified by your blood sugar level. And a low glycemic diet coupled with an exercise regime for weight loss have been clinically proven—in countless studies—to transform a diagnosis of “diabetes” to “diabetes-free” by bringing blood sugar back to a healthy range. It can be that simple.

Not only will eating a low glycemic diet help to get your blood sugar in balance, but also help stave off dangerous complications like heart disease.

Let’s take a look at the research:

• Low glycemic benefits Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes and heart disease risk: A low glycemic diet helps people with type-2 and type-1 diabetes, according to a Cochrane review. In addition, this healthy diabetes diet decreases something called glycated hemoglobin, an independent risk factor for heart disease and stroke (source).
• Low glycemic diet slashes inflammation: A study published in the journal Circulation found that high blood sugar acutely boosts levels of inflammatory cytokines in the body. What’s more, the researchers found high blood sugar does this by promoting both inflammation and oxidation (source). Eating a low glycemic diet to stabilize your blood sugar also reduces inflammation.
• Grain-free, low glycemic diabetes diet is more effective than a "high fiber diet": Researchers evaluated the effects of a “low-glycemic/low-grain” diet compared to a “high-cereal fiber” diet on patients with type 2 diabetes. At the end of the six-month study, researchers found that the low-glycemic/low-grain diet reduced dangerous glycated hemoglobin levels while boosting healthy cholesterol better than the high fiber diet (source).
• A ketogenic diet shows promise in putting diabetes into remission: In a landmark article recently published by JAMA, authors cite the once controversial keto diet as a treatment for diabetes and metabolic syndrome (source). The authors state: 

A diet that lets a person eat fat to satiety – even saturated fat – without relying on calorie counting and still lose substantial weight, treat diabetes into remission, raise HDL levels, and lower triglycerides and blood pressure? It could be game changing for the field of chronic disease…

More Dietary Sugar = More Body Fat

Chronically high blood sugar sets the stage for diabetes and obesity. As more sugar gets shuttled into cells, you get fatter. What’s more, the fatter you get, the less sensitive you are to the insulin your body does produce, compounding your risk for diabetes.

In addition to the risk of becoming overweight, you’ll see that your blood sugar is directly linked to your risk of nearly every chronic disease, including diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, some cancers, cataracts, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s and more. Simply put, a diabetes diet must be low in sugar.

Diabetic Meal Plan Key #2 – Enjoy Healthy Fats Every Day

Think a low-fat diet is the way to go for blood sugar balance? Think again.

By definition, a low-fat diet displaces calories from protein and fat in favor of carbohydrates.

And that means bad news for your blood sugar.

When you eat carb-rich foods, your blood sugar rises. Insulin rushes in to shuttle the sugar into muscles cells for fuel. When your muscle cells have taken as much sugar as they can hold, they shut their doors. And then sugar gets shuttled somewhere else – to your fat cells!

Not only does this cause weight gain, but it can also lead to (or worsen!) insulin resistance and diabetes.

Healthy fats, on the other hand, have negligible effect on blood sugar levels. And despite their bad rap, fats are essential for nutrient absorption, regulating inflammation and even balancing blood sugar and fostering weight loss.

That is, if you’re eating the right type of fat.

Let’s take a look at the research on fats and how they can help reduce the risk for diabetes and its related complications:

Omega-3 Fats Are Friend Not Foe

In the United States, 80% of the fats we consume are omega-6s. And that’s a dangerous thing because omega-6 fats (found in vegetable oils like corn and soybean oil) increase inflammation and other disease processes related to diabetes.

Omega-3s on the other hand, supply the antidote. Not only do these healthy fats (found in cold water fish like wild salmon and sardines, plus flaxseed, walnuts and chia) provide potent anti-inflammatory action, they can also improve the control of blood sugar, reduce triglycerides and the risk of cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of death among individuals with diabetes.

Here is why it’s important to know your numbers:

• A prospective study followed 5,100 women with type-2 diabetes, who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer. Researchers found that higher fish intakes (associated with omega-3) were associated with decreased risks of heart disease over a 16-year follow-up period (source).
• Recent research published in the journal Lipids found that marine omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce accumulation of body fat by promoting fat-burning and reducing the number of cells in fat tissue. When researchers induced weight gain with a high-fat, high-calorie diet, they found that those animals whose omega-3 consumption increased from 1 to 12% of total fat gained significantly less fat, particularly in the abdominal region. Favorable changes in genetic expression also occurred (source).
• A large Harvard study found that getting just one gram per day of omega-3 fatty acids over a 3.5-year period in people who had survived a heart attack lowered their risk of dying from heart disease by 25% (source).
• A study in China that followed more than 18,000 men for 10 years found that those who consumed more than 7 ounces of fish or shellfish weekly reduced their risk of fatal heart attack by almost 60% over those who consumed less than two ounces weekly (source).
• In a Nurses’ Health Study, which followed more than 84,000 women for 16 years, death from heart disease was 29-34% lower in women who ate fish at least once a week compared to women who ate fish less than once a month (source).
• In a study that followed more than 79,000 women for 14 years, those who ate fish at least twice weekly had a 52% lower stroke risk than those who ate fish less than once monthly. Likewise, a study of 43,000 men reported that those who ate fish at least once a month reduce their risk by 43% over those who lacked this healthy habit (source).

Unlike other diet plans, your Meal Genius® Diabetic Diet plan shows you exactly how much omega-3 you’re getting each and every day. Plus, you always have the ability to change your menus to personalize your nutrient intake even further.

Monounsaturated Fats Are King of Fats

Go ahead – drizzle some golden-hued extra virgin olive oil, nosh on a handful of nuts and indulge in a silky-smooth avocado. These staples of the Mediterranean diet won’t just keep you satisfied – they just might be your prescription for a diabetes-free life.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not. And healthy fats are an integral part of your Meal Genius® Diabetes Diet plan.

One of the key components of the Mediterranean diet is its reliance on monounsaturated fats or MUFAs (found primarily in olive oil, nuts and avocados) that provide powerful blood sugar balance and cardiovascular protection.

But don’t take my word for it:

• A MUFA-rich, Mediterranean diet reduces bad cholesterol: In 2005, Greek scientists studying more than 3,000 men and women found those eating a diet closest to the traditional MUFA-rich Mediterranean diet had 19% lower LDL “bad” cholesterol than those with the lowest adherence to the diet (source).
• Enjoy nuts to decrease cholesterol and risk for heart disease: A recent review in the journal Nutrition found that consumption of 50–100 grams per day of various nuts, including almonds, peanuts, pecans and walnuts, can significantly decrease total cholesterol and LDL, and reduce the risk for heart disease (source).
• Diabetes diet rich in MUFAs decreases belly fat: According to a study in Diabetes Care, a diet rich in monounsaturated fats helps reduce abdominal fat better than a carbohydrate-rich diet. When test subjects ate a carbohydrate enriched diet, they accumulated fat in the abdomen. When they ate a diet that had more MUFA, abdominal fat decreased (even without exercise!) (source).
• MUFAs improve blood sugar, reduce risk for diabetes: A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found MUFAs have a profound effect on blood sugar: After six months on a MUFA-rich diet, fasting glucose dropped by 3%, insulin was reduced by 9.4% and the insulin resistance score was reduced by 12% -- all good numbers in the fight against diabetes (source). Likewise, eating a breakfast rich in virgin olive oil decreased the post-meal rise in blood sugar and insulin, while increasing the beneficial HDL cholesterol compared to a carb-rich breakfast, according to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (source).

Researchers agree that the healthy monounsaturated fats – from nutrient dense avocados, nuts and olive oil – were the primary fat source in the diets of our disease-free ancestors. And since our genes haven’t changed much since then, they should be a staple in your diet, too!

Your personalized Meal Genius® Diabetes Diet plan relies on these healthy fats for flavor, enhanced nutrient absorption and cellular protection. Plus, your plan shows you exactly how much monounsaturated fat you’re getting each and every day.

Enjoy Grass-Fed Beef for Healthy Conjugated Linolenic Acid

If mad cow disease and other meat scares have you wondering, “where’s the beef?” you’re not alone. Ninety percent of the beef we consume comes from factory farms where cows gorge on corn and grain instead of grazing on green grass.

The result: meat that is high in inflammatory omega-6, saturated fat and calories. Not to mention the growth hormones, antibiotics and pesticides.

Yuck.

But grass-fed beef is a totally different animal, so to speak.

Grass-fed beef has fewer calories, less inflammatory omega-6 and less saturated fat. Plus more omega-3s and nutrients – including one very special fat called conjugated linolenic acid (CLA).

In recent years, CLA has been recognized for benefits ranging from blasting belly fat to lowering “hunger hormones” and balancing blood sugar and even reducing the risk of cancer.

Let’s take a look at how CLA benefits diabetes:

• CLA helps regulate diabetes and improve health: CLA beneficially affects multiple biochemical processes that benefit diabetes. After an eight-week study, diabetics who added CLA to their diets not only had lower body mass and blood sugar levels, but lower levels of leptin - a hormone that regulates fat levels (source).
• CLA boosts weight loss: A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that CLA inhibits the body's formation of fat. Not only does it appear to reduce body fat, it also preserves muscle tissue. In the study, an average the group that took CLA lost an average of six pounds of fat, compared to a placebo group. The study found that approximately 3.4 grams of CLA per day is needed to obtain the beneficial effects on body fat (source).
• CLA reduces inflammation and improves heart health: CLA not only has antioxidant properties, but it also reduces inflammation, which can dramatically improve the health of your heart (source).  

If you enjoy red meat, you’ll be happy to know that your Meal Genius® plan ONLY promotes minimally processed grass-fed red meat. Not only will you get more CLA and antioxidant nutrients (including 400% more vitamin A and E), but less inflammation-promoting omega-6, fewer calories per serving, and no growth hormones or pesticide byproducts.

Plus your Meal Genius® plan shows you exactly how much CLA you’re getting every day and where to shop to find the best deals on the tastiest grass-fed meats and dairy (see Your Guide to Healthy Meats).

And remember, your Meal Genius® diabetes diet is completely customized to your needs – you can omit red meat from your diet, or customize your plan to include red meat as frequently as you wish.

Diabetic Meal Plan Key #4 – Avoid Chemicals

Diabetes is a disease of the endocrine system, the system that regulates hormones that affect your metabolism, your body’s growth and your sexual function. That’s why endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can be so dangerous and disruptive.

Unfortunately, our modern world is awash in these chemicals, many of which contaminate our food supply, pollute our bodies and disturb our delicate endocrine balance.

If you think you can wash them off or cook them out, think again. Not only are endocrine disruptors everywhere from farmed fish to fresh fruit, they are biologically active in amounts as small as a trillionth of a gram!

Take a look at how endocrine disruptors influence diabetes:

• High exposure to EDCs promote diabetes: A close relationship between type-2 diabetes and six persistent organic pollutants in the body, was noted in a recent Diabetes Care study of 2,000 people. Compared to people in the lowest exposure category, people with the highest level of exposure were almost 38 times more likely to have diabetes (source).
• BPA produces insulin resistance: A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that low-level, chronic exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), found in everything from plastics to receipts to eyeglass lenses and more, induces insulin resistance in adult mice. The doses used in the study were within the range of current human exposure and 5,000 times below the dose identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the lowest level causing effects. BPA exposure increases the risk of both type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure (source).
• BPA exposure can lead to heart disease: A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found those with the highest BPA exposure had nearly three times the odds of heart disease and 2.4 times the risk of diabetes compared to those with the lowest levels (source).

Your personalized Meal Genius® plan helps to protect you from the most common hidden endocrine disruptors in our food supply, including:

• Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins in farm-raised fish and conventional meats
• Bisphenol-a (BPA) and other hormone-like substances in plastic bottles, can liners, food wraps and microwave food containers
• Pesticides on conventionally-grown produce
• Growth hormones in conventional (“factory farmed”) meats and dairy
• Perflourinated compounds (PFCs) found in non-stick cookware, baking bags and microwave popcorn bags (Be sure to check out Your Guide to Kitchen Tools to discover the safest cookware and much, much more!)
• Artificial sweeteners found in a wide range of products that act as endocrine disruptors or estrogen-mimics

One of the biggest endocrine disruptors in our diet might come as a surprise -- and on average we eat 158 pounds of it every year.

Sugar is Bitter Pill for the Body

Sugar boosts insulin - the “fat storage hormone” - which affects our endocrine system and many other aspects of our health.

That’s why we take great care to offer a wide assortment of low-glycemic, nutrient-dense meals at Meal Genius®. You can further reduce your sugar and carbohydrate intake by choosing “low sugar” and “low carb” option in Meal Genius® Diabetes Diet plan.

But don’t toss out your cookie cutters, stand mixer and brownie pan just yet! You can still enjoy decadent desserts like Crème Brulee, Coconut Cheesecake Squares and Lemon Ricotta Souffle when you learn to sweeten safely.

Diabetic Meal Plan Key #5 – Sweeten Safely

Sucralose has been promoted as a safe sweetener for diabetics. But despite its sweet taste, it can really sour your health.

Also known as the brand name Splenda, sucralose is another endocrine disruptor and a close relative to pesticides and even Agent Orange.

One study on diabetic patients found that using sucralose had a statistically significant increase in a marker of long term glucose control (source).

This is one of many reasons Meal Genius® does not and will NEVER promote artificial sweeteners.

But lucky for you, we don’t have to.

There are plenty of natural sweeteners you can use – that taste and bake just like sugar!

Diabetes-Friendly Desserts: Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth (Without Souring Your Health!)

Here are some of the desserts featured on your personalized Meal Genius® Diabetes Diet Plan that will delight your taste buds with all of the sweetness, but none of the blood sugar spike:

And be sure to check out our Kitchen Guides including Your Guide to Healthy Sweeteners and Your Guide to Healthy Flours for tips, tricks and know-how for delicious grain-free, low-sugar baking.  

Diabetic Meal Plan Key #6 – Get Your Dose of D

Keyboard commandos and desk divas – listen up! You’re probably critically deficient in vitamin D.

In fact, 50% of us are. And a D deficiency increases your risk for diabetes.

That’s because vitamin D is a hormone-like vitamin that helps to maintain endocrine balance and boost the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

• Vitamin D decreases diabetes, heart disease risk: High levels of vitamin D reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 33 percent, metabolic syndrome by 51 percent and type-2 diabetes by an astounding 55 percent, according to a recent study in the journal Maturitas (source).
• Vitamin D helps with insulin issues: Women who suffered from insulin resistance (but who weren’t already taking Vitamin D or diabetes drugs) were given 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day or a placebo in a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. After six months, women in the vitamin D group exhibited significantly more insulin sensitivity and less insulin resistance than the placebo group (source). Likewise, a large dose of D significantly improved insulin sensitivity after meals in a group of men studied in Diabetic Medicine (source).

Most experts believe optimal levels of Vitamin D can be achieved by getting 2,000-5,000 IU per day either by supplementation or ideally 15-20 minutes of sunlight three to five days a week.

Diabetic Diet Plan Rule #7 – Get Lean and Exercise Your Options

Getting your weight under control and staying lean is one of the most important factors in preventing diabetes - and any chronic disease, for that matter.

In fact, studies have shown that losing only 5-7% of your body weight (typically between seven to 10 pounds) can dramatically cut your risk (source).

So how does being overweight increase diabetes risk?

When you’re overweight, the cells in your body become less sensitive to insulin. That’s because fat cells are more resistant to insulin than muscle cells. And the more fat you have, the less effective insulin is. Instead of glucose being taken into the cells and used for energy, it remains circulating in the blood or stored as more fat.

It's not just how much fat you’re carrying, but also where you’re carrying it. People who carry more weight around their waist - an "apple-shape" - are more likely to suffer from insulin resistance and diabetes than "pear-shaped” people who carry weight in the hips and thighs.

The first step in getting lean is addressing and correcting your diet.

When you consider that you could run for an hour on a treadmill to burn 500 calories, but drink a 500-calorie coffee drink in five minutes, it’s easy to see why exercise can’t negate the sins of overeating.

Your Meal Genius® Diabetes Diet plan provides you with the right number of calories each day based on your age, gender, weight, height and activity level. You can also choose a level of calories that’s suitable based on metabolic testing.

The next step is to move your body.

Once you’re eating the right amount of high quality, nutrient-packed, blood-sugar stabilizing calories, the next step is to make an exercise plan to get you in the healthy habit of regular physical activity.

Diabetic Meal Plan Key #8 – Get Your Z’s

While you may think of sleep as a passive activity, it is actually a metabolically active time for your body.

And not getting enough sleep increases your risk for being overweight or obese - possibly by altering your hunger hormones.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that lack of sleep boosts a hormone called ghrelin (which increases appetite) and decreases levels of the hormone leptin (which reduces appetite) (source).

According to Dr. Robert D. Vorona of Eastern Virginia Medical School (source):

"Our findings suggest that major extensions of sleep time may not be necessary, as an extra 20 minutes of sleep per night seems to be associated with a lower BMI.”

To ensure a good night’s rest, power down the TV and computer at least an hour before bed and look to natural sleep-aids like melatonin or valerian to help you get your zzz’s.  

Your Personalized Diabetic Meal Plan

Are you ready to reclaim your health enjoying mouthwatering meals?

The good news is that by following a Diabetes Diet Plan, you can help to get your blood sugar under control, restore balance to your endocrine system... and your life!

Our Diabetes Meal Plan Meals meet the following criteria:

• No Grains
• Low Sugar - 5 g or less per serving
• Low Carb - 20 g or less per serving

And remember, with Meal Genius your meal plan is completely customizable, so you can omit any additional foods you'd like, reduce carbohydrates further (change your meal plan and try a keto meal plan or low carb high fat meal plan!) and much, much more!  

Your plan also provides you with a detailed nutrition report on 40+ nutrients every day, and a file of picked-for-you healthy heat-and-eats called Healthy Shortcuts you can choose when you don’t feel like cooking.

Getting started with your personalized Diabetes Diet plan can help you:

• Stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels with satisfying low glycemic meals
• Keep your daily calories under control based on your personal calorie needs and weight goals
• Enjoy healthy metabolism-boosting fats in the right ratios
• Reduce your exposure to chemicals in the food supply that act as endocrine disruptors
• Get your weight on track – one of the biggest factors in preventing diabetes
• Choose grain-free, low carb and low sugar diet options that suit your personal needs and goals
• Customize your diet to your taste preferences, allergies and much more!

When you sign up, you also get a FREE subscription to Healing U – an indispensable educational series for home cooks and health nuts alike. You’ll enjoy dozens of how-to Kitchen Guides, Healing Fact Sheets, Nutritional Protocols and charts that help you save time in the kitchen, find the healthiest products, and improve your health - one delicious bite at a time.

Best of all, your personalized Diabetic Meal Plan takes less than 5 minutes to create!

Simple & Delicious Meal Genius Diabetic Meals

Best of all, there's no shortage of the delicious options you'll find. In fact, we have over 500 diabetic meals and almost 900 diabetic recipes to choose from!

Here’s a sample of some of the Meal Genius Diabetic Menus you’ll enjoy:

Try Your Personalized Diabetes Diet Plan… 100% RISK FREE!

The Meal Genius personalized meal plan and lifestyle program is going to change your life and dramatically improve your health. And because the entire program is delivered online, through your own personal secure portal, you can sign up, login and get started right away!

The entire program – including your completely personalized diabetes diet plan and bonuses - is valued at well over $1,000. But that is not what it will cost you if take action today. In fact, you won’t even pay the retail price of $200. If you accept this invitation to receive Meal Genius, you’ll get everything for an annual fee of just $99! That’s the cost of just one session with a personal trainer or a single consultation with a nutritionist (most of whom charge $60-$120 per hour).

And what you’ll receive will last a lifetime. The Risk-Free Order Form is easy and quick to fill out and completely secure. As soon as your order is complete, you will receive an email with your login information and easy 1-2-3 instructions for setting up your meal plan. Before you take another bite of food (or swallow another pill), you owe it to yourself to put this information in your hands. You have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Don’t hesitate… Your health is too valuable. Take action today!