We hear in the news almost every day that type 2 diabetes is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States.

Many people follow?a low-fat diet in an effort to avoid having to use diabetes medications, but with only limited success. Almost 70 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who follow a low fat diet will end up using medication anyway.

However, researchers in Italy have recently published findings that indicate that people who follow a Mediterranean diet reduced their chances in avoiding the eventual use of medications by over a third compared to people following a low fat diet. The Mediterranean diet has long been recognized as an excellent diet to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and in the battle against other diseases such as cancer, but it may also help in the fight against type 2 diabetes. ?

So exactly what is a Mediterranean diet?

• Generous amount of fruits and vegetables.
• Using healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil.
• Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods.
• Small portions of nuts.
• Red wine, in moderation, for some people.
• Eating very little red meat.
• Eating fish or shellfish at least twice week.

The focus of a Mediterranean diet is to make smart choices about the types of fat that you eat as opposed to focusing on limiting the amount of total fat in your diet. The fats in the Mediterranean diet are healthy and include monosaturated fats such as olive oil. ?

Making a change in your eating habits to a Mediterranean diet isn’t really all that difficult. Start with eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, reduce your consumption of red meat, and include eating fish at least once a week as part of your plan. And it’s a good idea not fry your fish or drown it in a sea of butter when you cook. Use healthy fats such as olive oil or canola oil when cooking but use them in moderation because they are high in calories. And finally you need to either reduce or eliminate saturated fat and trans fats from your diet.

Medical treatments for diabetes has changed over the last 50 years. While diet is a primary means of treatment, medications to increase insulin production, lower glucose the liver releases, deal with insulin resistance, decrease absorption of carbs in the intestines and actually slow down digestion in the stomach are also used. Naturally, if needed, insulin injections can be used, if needed.

Not all patients can tolerate these medications, which can be a problem. At this point, not a lot can be done other than falling back on diet and insulin injections. There is hope, however.

Before I get to that, let me talk a bit about the diabetic diet. A chief concern is carbohydrates. Carbs can be turned into glucose very quickly in the body; they are, after all, instant fuel. However, controlling sugar levels in the blood is of paramount importance.

While a diet high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables is recommended, care has to be taken as to which you eat. Carrots contain a lot of sugar, as do many fruits. You’ll need to keep track of your carb allowance and follow portion control to make sure it’s accurate.

People with this condition used to be required to strictly follow a low fat diet, as well. Now, however, that has changed. Some fats are allowed, but they should be limited to healthy choices.

Due to our “on the go” culture, many people end up buying convenience foods rather than cooking, and that is a problem for people trying to watch carb intake. Most of them are highly processed and contain a lot more than what is safe. Reading nutrition labels is extremely important in choosing these products.

Now, about herbs. Diabetics have to be particularly careful when choosing supplements. Some of them will counteract medications, some will raise sugar levels and some may drop them dangerously low. Never start a new supplement without discussing it with your doctor and pharmacist to be sure it will be safe.

Of those that lower sugar levels, one might actually become an accepted treatment in the relatively near future. Cinnamon bark has gone through three extensive double blind, placebo controlled clinical trials. The results indicate that the bark lowers blood sugar. It may take a while for them to decide on dosage issues, etc. but it looks good.