First, let me share with you this testimonial we received from Laura B. from Utah about her experience with diabetes and drinking green smoothies. She says “I had full-blown diabetes. I burst out laughing when the nurse practitioner told me her recommendation was to cut out sugar, since I eat so little of it already. Robyn taught me about green smoothies, and I began making them daily for my family, as well as teaching others about them. I just went back to the clinic after several months of my new green smoothie habit, and they said all signs of the pre-diabetic condition were gone. The only thing I changed was adding green smoothies to my diet!”
This is just one of many people with diabetes who contacted us raving about the results they got from following our programs.
You can still drink green smoothies but be careful about the amount of fruit you put in it. Make sure you add lots of greens and as little fruit as possible to still make it good. Use low sugar fruits like berries and green apples. You can also make a no fruit green smoothie using water, lemon juice, greens, ice, and a little bit of stevia to make it sweet.
Regarding the carbs in the 12 Steps Program, eating low-glycemic foods prevents insulin resistance, Type II diabetes, weight gain, colorectal cancers, heart disease, and many other conditions. Carbs have been vilified in the media as being high glycemic index foods—but, in fact, legumes and whole grains, especially when combined with greens and vegetables, are excellent foods that do not contribute to blood sugar problems and associated health problems.
Also consider that the carbohydrates in whole grains and legumes are complex, slowing the absorption of sugars. Eating a salad with a whole-grain dish further slows sugar uptake in the bloodstream, as greens are a very low glycemic index food. They are also high in dietary fiber, leading to healthy digestion.
Finally, this thought: nobody ever got diabetes from eating fruit. Diabetes happens from eating junk food. Not just sugar, but high-fat diets are now shown to cause diabetes, such as the ketogenic diet, as well as high-protein diets (Atkins, Paleo). People don’t get diabetes on a healthy, mostly plant-based whole-foods diet.