How to Reverse Pre-Diabetes Part 2

So what might you eat for breakfast if not the bacon and eggs and toast or the cereal and milk?

Here are some principles to follow to find the right breakfast for you:

When you break your fast, eat a complete meal.

Yes there are those of you crying right now saying that you are not hungry in the morning and that if you eat you are just hungry all day. Sorry to say that that is a sign that your body rhythm is imbalanced. I suggest for those of you in this situation, usually created over many years, that you divide breakfast into: pre breakfast, one half of breakfast, second half of breakfast. After 6 weeks you will be hungry in the morning and able to eat more.

Eat more of a complete meal at breakfast or even make breakfast the biggest meal of the day….a King’s breakfast.

Why? When you have a large breakfast this is what happens:

  • Complex carbohydrates early in the day have a slow burn. Thus your blood sugar is stabilized early in the day and stops going through big ups and downs throughout the day. This then begins to reverse insulin resistance.

  • Complex carbohydrates early in the day have are more easily converted into tryptophan and then into serotonin…thus you feel calm and serene. So by eating complex carbohydrates early in your day, your mood is more balanced and when your mood is more balanced you are less ‘reactive’ in choosing food the rest of the day! Elevating serotonin early increases your level of concentration and decreases stress hormones. Stress hormones make you store fat.

So what does a big breakfast look like?

It looks like a meal from another part of your day, maybe even your evening meal.

Have  a complex carbohydrate: brown/black/red rice or quinoa or whole wheat or rye or oats

Have a ‘good’ fat: avocado is the best choice: it is amazing in it’s ability to regulate blood sugars. Nut butters work too. Coconut oil works too. Ghee works too. Olive oil works too. If you do use dairy products, try to use full fat dairy. Why? Because using low fat dairy products increases the ratio of sugars in the dairy product – increasing the proportion of lactose- thereby rendering the dairy product a ‘sweet’ and increasing diabetic probability.

Have a clean protein: beans beans beans. Beans have been proven to moderate blood sugars…probably because of the fiber. You should try for 35 grams of fiber per day! Yes you have to jump out of bed and begin eating fiber to reach that goal. I suggest the veggie bean burgers you can buy or make. Or a stew that has been in the crockpot all night with beans and veggies. Or veggie soup with dal.

If you need a pre-breakfast invitation for your digestive system, try cooked fruits like applesauce with cinnamon, pear sauce, apricot sauce, or stewed prunes etc. These all help stabilize blood sugars AND create a favorable pre-biotic state in the gut. With the addition of a probiotic, leaky gut syndrome (the source of much inflammation in the whole body) can be reversed. Cooked fruits have both soluble and insoluble fiber and are perfect for sensitive types.

 

Examples of a good breakfast:

  • Whole wheat tortilla or wrap with bean burger, avocado, salsa, slice of cheese with veggies on the side

  • Brown/red/wild rice plus beans plus avocado plus veggies with a sprinkle of cheese

  • Chapati with dal and brown rice and avocado and veggies

  • Bean and veggies stew with quinoa and avocado on the side

 

Spice it up or down.

Keep the food real and fresh.

Have fun. Make it flavorable.

Eat well. Savor each bite.

Smile. Smiling helps you digest well and live well.

First published 02 November 2016

Lynn Amara