Children as young as eight are showing signs of developing type 2 diabetes in later life, researchers have said.
“Diabetes is most common in older age, but we see signs of disease susceptibility very early on—about 50 years before it’s usually diagnosed. Knowing what these early signs look like widens our window of opportunity to intervene much earlier and stop diabetes before it becomes harmful.
But why wait until adulthood to deal with the symptoms?
Avoid sugary, processed and packaged foods
Crusading cardiologist Aseem Malhotra (who appeared on our podcast recently https://www.prolongevity.co.uk/blog/aseem-malhotras-21-day-immunity-plan?rq=Aseem) says: “When purchasing food, take a look at the back of the pack. If there are more than five ingredients, some of which you’ve never heard of, its likely highly processed. Put it back on the shelf!”
We could not agree more!
Eat more fruits (especially berries) and above-ground vegetables
The widest possible variety of low-in-sugar-fruits and above-the-ground vegetables should be an integral part of your daily diet. Doing so can provide you with beneficial antioxidants and fibre. Having sufficient fibre in your diet can help manage your calorie intake by making you feel fuller for longer, thus reducing your risk of overeating and will also support your microbiome (the health giving community of bugs that live in your intestine!)
Avoid seed oils:
Eating industrial seed (aka vegetable oils) such as grapeseed; rapeseed; canola; corn oil rice oil etc etc, raises our omega-6-to-omega-3 fatty acid ratios. Eating too much omega-6 will lead to increased inflammation in the body and contribute to diseases like Pre-diabetes and type2 diabetes and some cancers.
So, in simple terms, EAT REAL FOOD!
Not many people will know this, but I am a big fan of Louis Theroux, he’s a fascinating documentary maker with an unique style. In his latest documentary we get an insight into his family, but from a health professional point of view I noticed something that really shocked me.
He feeds his children a cereal called ‘KRAVE’ which might as well be called “cocaine” due to the amount of sugar, carbs and highly processed ingredients it contains. Fake Foods like this are addictive in part due to the massive sugar spikes they cause. (And as if that were not enough KRAVE comes laced with toxic seed oils, too)
This type of breakfast will set his children on a path towards pre-diabetes. It just goes to show that even highly educated, wealthy celebs like Louis get taken in by processed food industry and don’t know the long term consequences.
