The Remarkable Healing Power of the Keto Diet

Give Up the Carbs and Regain Your Health

If you battle with high blood sugar, there’s an unconventional dietary change that may be the end of your struggle.

This change goes against the usual dietary advice given by doctors at the onset of high blood glucose. However, the research is proving that you should give it some consideration.

Two months after making this change in my diet, I can honestly say that I feel better than I have in years.

Shed Those Diabetes Meds

Several months ago, I came across a TED Talk given by Dr. Sarah Hallberg. Dr. Hallberg is the Medical Director at Virta Health. Virta Health focuses on helping people with diabetes to reverse the disease.

Through strict carbohydrate restriction, the team at Virta Health is having remarkable success in helping people reduce their diabetes medications and, in some cases, shed their medication altogether.

My extended family includes many folks who have battled and are currently battling diabetes, so I understand the damage it can wreak upon the body.

My own blood glucose has risen the older and “fluffier” I’ve become. I’d also begun taking a low dose of medication for pre-diabetes. Hence, I decided to give the low-carb way of life a try.

If I successfully fended off full-blown diabetes, I could relate my story to other family members before this horrible disease had a chance to change their lives forever.

It’s Called a Ketogenic Lifestyle

The first thing I did was a little research.

I found that a diet allowing only 20 grams of carbohydrates per day is called a Ketogenic diet.

Being a “sugarholic” and a massive fan of the humble potato, I knew this would be a challenging way of life for me to embark on.

But, I also found that a Ketogenic diet increases fat intake for satiety, plus it allows a goodly amount of protein to keep the body fueled.

Instead of feeding the body with carbs and sugar, the body finds fuel in fats and ketones.

Some people try to substitute all the sweets that they had been eating with duplicates made with erythritol, monk fruit, and stevia to sweeten them. Bread is duplicated using recipes featuring almond and coconut flour. The diet includes pizza, too; only now, the dough is created with cheese instead of glutinous and starchy wheat flour.

I found lots of yummy-looking Keto recipes on the internet.

But for me, the safest way to begin was to do without any of the substitutions. I needed to concentrate on good quality protein, Keto-approved veggies, and healthy fats because I had a huge carb addiction to break.

Having an Understanding Partner Helps

I worried that not having my usual “comfort carb” foods would be hard. However, when the water weight began to spring forth from my body… my worries quickly began to fade away.

My leg swelling was gone, and I felt so light!

I wanted to get outside and start walking again.

At this point, my husband decided to go low carb, and we invested in a few Keto cookbooks. Kristie Sullivan’s book “Keto Living Day by Day” was a revelation with tons of information about the Keto way of living. In fact, about half of the book is informational. The later chapters contain the recipes.

A little variety in our diet helped us to carry on. Pretty soon, my husband and I found that we were not feeling hungry. It was taking less food to keep us feeling satisfied and energized.

The best thing of all, though, was when I took my blood sugar during the day, I found it was getting lower, and it was staying steady all day long.

A Change I Can Live with Long-term

At the time I’m writing this, I’ve been following a Ketogenic diet for a little more than two months. I’ve kept it simple, and I feel great.

Last week, I went to my doctor. When she entered the exam room, she looked at me, pulled out the sheet of paper with my fasting blood sugar test results, and broke into a big smile. She told me whatever I was doing, keep doing it.

My HbA1c, the average blood sugar over 2 to 3 months, was down by almost an entire point.

I lost 17 pounds.

My liver enzymes had been high for years, but now they were almost in the normal range.

My doctor’s only concern was whether this was a lifestyle that I could keep up for the long term. My answer is yes. It hasn’t been easy but to divest my life of all the dangers of diabetes, yes.

Amazing Results in a Short Amount of Time

This narrative is my experience living a very low carbohydrate, Ketogenic way of life.

It’s been remarkable to feel so much better in such a short amount of time. My joints no longer hurt; my migraines have lessened.

My blood pressure is lower.

I also found that giving up most carbohydrates reduced my anxiety level.

I’ve suffered from IBS and GERD for years, but now, they seem to have disappeared.

Diabetes Complications…Begone!

I’m so glad that I found Dr. Sarah Hallberg’s TED Talk a few months ago.

I was looking for something to uplift me that day, and I feel as though I found something that will uplift me for a lifetime.

If you suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes, I encourage you to research the work Virta Health is doing and bring it to your physician's attention.

There’s a good chance your doctor may already be familiar with the Keto lifestyle.

Together you and your physician can decide if a Ketogenic diet could be your key to a healthy, active, diabetes-free life.

It certainly is turning out to be the answer for me. I’m so much lighter now in body and mind!

The future looks bright, so I’m staying the course with the extraordinary, healing Ketogenic lifestyle.