This is part two of our three-part series on being your own doctor. This week’s focus is on diabetes — specifically type 2, which affects about 34 million Americans. Another 98 million have prediabetes, a warning sign that blood sugar is creeping up. Together, that’s over 130 million Americans at risk.
The core issue is having too much body fat and consuming too many calories.
The best treatment is a proper diet with limited calories, but that’s easier said than done. Here’s where modern technology helps. When we eat, carbohydrates — especially ultra-processed foods — digest rapidly, flooding the bloodstream with sugar. The pancreas responds with insulin, which moves sugar into muscles (with limited capacity) and fat (with unlimited capacity). The trick is to slow digestion by eating fewer refined carbs and pairing them with protein and healthy fats, which blunt the sugar rise and reduce insulin spikes.
Until recently, it was difficult to determine how your body reacted to specific foods. Enter the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) — the “gimmick” for being your own doctor. A small patch on your skin tracks your blood sugar in real time and sends the data to your smartphone. You’ll quickly see which foods spike your glucose and which keep it stable.
Two CGMs — Lingo and Stelo — are available over-the-counter for about $47 each (lasting two weeks). One sensor cycle is usually enough to learn how to eat smarter, control blood sugar, release less insulin, lose weight and prevent the nightmare of diabetes.
And a little poetry to close:
“He’s watching his calories and cutting out sweeties,
all to keep distance from deadly diabetes.”
Dr. Charlie Barnett is a contributor to KnoxTNToday, where he writes a weekly column, DocTalk, sharing his expertise on health and wellness management.
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