Fiber for controlling diabetes

A high-fiber diet may be just what the doctor ordered to get your blood sugars under control. Keeping our blood sugars stable is a goal that we would all benefit from. If you don't have type 2 diabetes, this could be the way to prevent it. If you do have it, this could be the way to keep it under control. The best time to address type 2 diabetes is before it has developed. Research has shown that high-fiber diets can help prevent this form of diabetes. The most recent study on done on overweight and obese men and women without diabetes showed reductions in blood sugar and insulin with the use of a high soluble fiber supplement. A German clinical trial reported that eating fiber-enriched bread for only three days improved insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese women by 8%. If a diet intervention this small can have that great of an impact, you can imagine what years of following a high-fiber diet, filled with vegetables, fruits and whole grains would do. The good news for those with diabetes is that increasing your fiber now can also prevent long-term complications from diabetes. Soluble fiber has been found to produce significant reductions in blood sugar in 33 of 50 studies testing it. In clinical intervention trials ranging from two to 17 weeks, consumption of fiber was shown to decrease insulin requirements in people with type 2 diabetes. If you have ever had to inject yourself with insulin, you can appreciate how much easier and less painful it would be to increase your fiber intake to avoid the need for insulin injections.