Diabetes Everyday

Living your best life with diabetes. Toby Smithson provides professional guidance with personal experience.

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The Power of Plants

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A whole-food, plant-based diet shows some pretty remarkable benefits to diabetes management. See what Toby has to say about this eating plan.

Many of you have asked me to post more information about plant -based eating, specifically, whole food plant- based eating. So, that is what we are going to talk about today. If you are ready to press the stop or pause button, don’t touch that button. It’s worth listening to a quick review of the research because it is something I know you will want to hear about. I’ll also give you some quick tips on how to incorporate plant -based eating into your eating plan.

There are many studies showing improvement in blood sugar management and even placing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in remission. One of the studies conducted on people with type 2 diabetes compared a group who met with a dietitian for an individualized meal plan with consistent carbs, low-fat, and decreased calories for weight loss versus a second group that followed a 100% plant-based,  Low-Fat/low Oil plan, low glycemic index foods and No carb limit, no calorie limit and took a Daily multi-vitamin. The 100% plant-based group’s A1C reduced 3 times lower, lost twice as much weight and nearly (43%) half of the participants in the plant-based eating group were taken off their diabetes medications. I love those outcomes!

Here are the 6 basic things you’ll focus on when you follow a whole food plant-based plan:

  1. Avoid all animal products-so this means no dairy, fish poultry, and meats. Just plant-based foods.
  2. Go low fat. The goal is to keep any food you are eating to be under 3 grams of total fat per serving. The amount of fat grams for the whole day is limited to 20-30 grams. The reason being that we want to reduce the intralipid fat in the cells- the fat that is within our cells and increases insulin resistance.

To keep the fat lower, we need to reduce the amount of oil, nuts, avocado (even though these items are plant based). Use cooking methods of steaming, stir-fry, bake, grill, or braising. Use

Cookware likeNonstick pans and parchment paper on baking sheets. Ways you can substitute for oil include Sauté with water or vegetable stock; Use apple sauce instead of oil in baking or Use fat-free dressings and condiments

  • Fill up on fiber. Filling up on fiber is where you will make the biggest change in feeling full. Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate, and it helps keep blood sugar steady. That’s super important for us and Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol. The goal is to consume 40 grams or more of fiber per day.  Add fiber slowly and make sure to drink plenty of water.
  • Choose WHOLE plant foods. Apples instead of apple juice or wild rice or brown rice instead of white rice.
  •  Choose low glycemic index foods. Those are foods that have a slower rise in blood sugar. For instance, sugar will spike your blood sugar whereas fresh fruit will give you a slower rise.
  • And Take vitamin B12 supplement. If you are following a plant-based eating plan since we get Vitamin B12 from animal sources…fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products.  And research has found that people with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, tend to be deficient in vitamin b 12. Taking the medication, Metformin, increases your risk for being deficient in B12. I have more details about vitamin B12 in my video titled what you need to know about vitamin B12.      

Please keep in mind, whenever you make any changes to your diet, you may need to:

  • Check your blood sugar more often. Changing your eating habits is a lifestyle change and we know food affects blood sugar levels. It’s good to watch for any new patterns of your blood sugar.
  • Work with your diabetes educator or doctor to adjust your dose of medications that lower blood sugar. Those medications may need to be lowered whether you have been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
  • Make sure to also Monitor your blood pressure as there can be changes with lowering your blood pressure when following a Whole food plant-based eating plan.
  • And compare your cholesterol levels before following a whole food plant-based eating plan and during because you also may need to have your doctor Lower your cholesterol medications, if you are on any statins now.

I have more resources on plant based eating right here on my channel- Eat more plants for diabetes health video; How do I get adequate plant-based protein? Video and what about plant-based milks video. Until next time, Cheers to your health.

What Are the Best Supplements for Diabetes?

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Americans spend billions of dollars on dietary supplements but the truth is that not only can we get most of what we need from food, but food sources are often more effective. Still, there are a few nutrients where supplementation may be useful of even necessary. See what Toby has to say.

Welcome back to DiabetesEveryDay. I’m registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes care and education specialist, Toby Smithson.  If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to my channel and log onto my DiabetesEveryDay.com website to sign up for my newsletter.

I know this is always a hot topic. A topic that is on people’s mind….. should I or shouldn’t I take this or that vitamin supplement? I have a couple videos on some specific supplements that people with diabetes need to consider. In today’s video, I’m going to try to give a rundown of supplements in general of what you should look for and present the science- based findings of which supplements are appropriate for people with diabetes and the reason why.

To get started, I have three key points about supplements. 

Point number one. Food first. As a dietitian, I always recommend food first. If you have found that you are deficient in a certain vitamin or mineral the science still recommends to first look to the food sources to get the best absorption of the nutrient and remember these foods will also provide other important nutrients like possibly fiber or protective compounds called antioxidants which may not be provided in the supplement. Did you know that the fat- soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) can’t be absorbed without the presence of fat like nuts, olive oil or avocado? This is a great example of why getting nutrition from food first can be beneficial beyond the supplement you may be taking.

Point number two: Be careful on the brand of the supplement you are purchasing. My go to brand is Nature Made. Their vitamins are made in the US and follow the FDA standards in a certified facility. And they have the USP label on their supplements. USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia verification. Nature Made products are also easily found at your local grocery stores or pharmacies.

And point three: Let your doctor know if you are taking any over the counter supplements and follow the dosage as recommended by your doctor. Supplements are not to be used in place of diabetes medications.

Now let’s talk about some of the supplements directly related to diabetes… There have been studies done looking at the prevention or treatment of type 2 diabetes using alpha lipoic acid, chromium, herbal supplements, magnesium, omega 3s, selenium, vitamins C and D.

The results of the studies have not shown an absolute benefit. For instance, studies have found that chromium might help with blood sugar management, and alpha-lipoic acid (which is also found in spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes) might be helpful for diabetic neuropathy (nerve problems).

But, for the majority of supplements, there isn’t enough positive outcome science -based evidence to make a recommendation to take this or that supplement.

Chromium is an essential trace mineral that can help our body use glucose efficiently. The research findings showed improvement for people with type 2 diabetes who had poor management of their blood sugar levels. As a safety note: these supplements can cause stomach bloating, kidney damage, muscular problems and even skin reactions, so you need to be cautious about long term use of a chromium supplement.

The next supplement on the list is herbals and unfortunately there is not reliable evidence that herbal supplements can manage diabetes or prevent complications. More solid science- based studies are needed.

Magnesium is another supplement. Make sure to check out my video on Magnesium. Just an added note here. Consuming large doses of this supplement can cause stomach cramping and diarrhea. Keep this in mind if you choose to take any supplement. Too much can backfire on your health.

You may be familiar from recommendations to take Omega 3s for heart health. There has been a review of the research and there is conflicting evidence showing some improvement in heart and diabetes health and then other research showing that omega 3s increased risk of diabetes. More research is needed.

The research on Selenium looked at prevention of diabetes and the review of 4 studies with more than 200,000 participants revealed that use of a selenium supplement did not reduce the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.

Vitamin C and D are also on the supplement list and there is a study that found vitamin c supplement helped blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D has been studied because it was found that people who have low levels of vitamin D are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes and low levels are on the theory list for development of type 1 diabetes. Vitamin D is important to be combined with calcium for bone health but the studies on diabetes prevention or management don’t show to be helpful.

And don’t forget to check out my video on vitamin B12. This is a nutrient of concern for people with diabetes taking metformin, older adults and those who follow a vegetarian eating plan.

Remember to look carefully at any potential side effects. Some supplements can affect our kidneys, and we don’t want to increase our risk for kidney disease. Consuming too much of a supplement can also cause stomach issues. And to repeat the most important points – get your nutrients from food first and talk to you doctor before adding any supplements to your daily routine. Simple lab tests can determine if you actually need supplementation. Until next time, cheers to your health.

What You Need to Know About Diabetes and Vitamin B12

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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Vitamin B12 is required in incredibly tiny amounts, but a deficiency can have enormous consequences. And, metformin (the most common treatment for type 2 diabetes) seems to increase the risk for vitamin B12 deficiency. You’d better watch this clip to see where to find vitamin B12 (and whether supplements are an answer).

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Which Foods Should People With Diabetes Avoid?

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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

You hear it in your own head, and probably from a lot of other people- you can’t eat sweets, no potatoes, avoid all white foods, blah, blah, blah. What is the real story? We need to know where, when, and how to fit any food into a diabetes meal plan. This video should help you, and quieten some of those voices (including the ones in your head).

Welcome back to DiabetesEveryDay. In addition to being a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist, I am also managing my diabetes like you.

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