Type 2 Diabetes - Outside the Box Diabetes Diets That Really Work!

Once upon a time you were ready, willing and able to religiously follow the diabetic diet that your dietitian handed down to you way back when you were originally diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It's more than likely that your enthusiasm began to wane as you become sick and tired of counting every morsel of food that went from the tip of your fork into your mouth. Eventually, you stopped counting carbs and calories and went back on to the eating habits that caused the Type 2 diabetes in the first place.

Sadly, many people assume that boring diabetic diets are the only way to manage blood sugar levels. Fortunately for you, there are two unique diabetic diets that freshen up a stale old routine.

The Plate Method:

If the idea that you have to do math before eating dinner makes your head spin, consider the Plate Method. The Plate Method is an ingenious system developed by nutritionists in Sweden to make healthy eating simple and straightforward.

To use the Plate Method, visually divide your plate into three sections. One half of the plate is reserved for veggies and the other two smaller areas are for healthy carbs and protein. Simple as that.

According to The Saipin Tribune, the Plate Method works better for diabetic blood sugar level management than a standard ADA diet. Part of the "secret" behind the plate method is that people who use it tend to follow through with it more due to its inherent simplicity.

Vegan Diets:

You may associate vegans with dreadlock-donned hippies with hairy armpits. However, not all vegans are new-age kids looking to "make a difference". Piles of new research are finding that vegan dieters tend to weigh less and live longer than their carnivorous counterparts.

In fact, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicineclaims that switching to a vegan diet that limits refined grains and sugar can actually reverse Type 2 diabetes.

Vegan diets work on a number of levels to boost your health and drop your blood sugar levels. Firstly, studies show that vegan diets help people lose weight, and importantly, keep it off. Because a vegan diet is so restricting, you automatically eat less.

Also, vegetarians and vegans tend to eat more healthy fruits and veggies than meat eaters. Fresh produce should be the primary source of carbs in your diabetic diet as they don't raise blood sugar as much as grains and other high glycemic index carbs.

One other ways vegan diets work is by reducing inflammation. Inflammation is a natural process that happens in your body for healing and regulation of the immune system. However, eating a high saturated and trans fat diet and being overweight can skyrocket inflammation levels. Too much inflammation reduces insulin sensitivity and destroys the insulin producing cells that live in your pancreas. Vegan diets... by eliminating or reducing "bad" fats and including an abundance of inflammation-fighting antioxidant... put the kibosh on inflammation and maybe even reverse Type 2 diabetes.