Beat Diabetes through diet

South Africans wanting to avoid or reverse diabetes type 2 should exercise more, shed kilograms if overweight, cut out refined food and sugar and pursue a diet comprising whole foods and lean protein.

This is the message from Dr Geert Verhelst, one of Europe’s leading holistic practitioners on preventing and treating Diabetes type 2. Verhelst is Belgium-based and is a trained physician, author, medical journalist and lecturer.

Verhelst spent two weeks in South Africa in August on a seminar and media tour and reached thousands of South Africans with his message that diabetes can be beaten through the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and diet.

“Go back to basics – eat unprocessed, whole foods and whole grains. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit and choose fish and lean protein. Avoid sugar. Even fruit juices contain high levels of fructose. And, move more! Exercise daily and if you are overweight, loose those extra kilograms.”

Verhelst referred to a UK study by a team at Newcastle University which found that diabetes type 2 may be reversed by an extremely low calorie diet alone. In a clinical trial of 11 people, all reversed their diabetes by drastically cutting their food intake to just 600 calories a day for two months.
See http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/diet-reverses-type-2-diabetes

Verhelst said studies had also shown that cinnamon reduces blood sugar and cholesterol levels and those with type 2 diabetes should consider taking the Diabecinn range, available in South Africa, which comprised a water-based cinnamon extract.

Verhelst cautioned that new statistics from the International Diabetes Federation showed that a staggering 300 million people worldwide have diabetes -- a figure expected to rise to 438 million in 20 years with Africa set for the highest incidence of growth during this period.

It is estimated that a staggering 5 - 6 million South Africans have diabetes, over 90% of them type 2 diabetics and the large majority undiagnosed.

See www.otcpharma.co.za or www.diabecinn.co.za.