Have you hit a wall in your Type 2 diabetes management?

Over the years, my patients and I have found that a few simple steps really make a huge difference in improving blood sugar control, overall health, and how you feel throughout the day. Here are three that you can take now:

1) Eat a good breakfast. The best breakfast choices are: "dinner for breakfast" (have a serving of healthy meat), a high-quality protein powder as part of a "power smoothie", or an omelet. Avoid these common breakfast pitfalls: bowl of cold cereal, bowl of oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, toast. None of these options have enough protein for optimal blood sugar/insulin regulation, and they all contain or quickly convert to excessive sugar. I also recommend avoiding fruit completely at breakfast.

2) Optimize medication and supplements. Make sure you are on the best possible medication/supplement regimen for your circumstances. I work with people to optimize their medication (this often means decreasing or eliminating), while adding safe, natural therapies to further improve management. Because of finances, rushed appointments or other reasons, people are often taking medications and/or supplements that are of low quality or unhelpful while missing out on some that may be of great benefit to them such as chromium, vanadium, magnesium, berberine and gymnema.

3) Get connected. We are social beings, and we thrive on social networks - whether through friends, spouses, parents, children, online buddies, or all of the above. Tune in daily to the voices of support and encouragement in your life. This is probably the most important factor in achieving your health goals.

I love working with people who have Type 2 diabetes because with teamwork, the causes can be reversed and the complications prevented. Do not be discouraged if you feel you have hit a wall - there is always a way around it! If you are interested in taking steps to better manage your Type 2 diabetes, please call today to schedule an appointment.

Monica is an experienced board certified family nurse practitioner who uses a functional medicine approach that combines both conventional and natural medicine to help you optimize your health. She will work with you and your family on both acute and chronic problems, managing your medications and supplements with a focus on finding the root cause of illness, and achieving your personal health goals. She works with Dr. Pamela Langenderfer and Dr. Jerry Bailey at Lakeside Holistic Health, PLLC, the Inland Northwest's only integrated functional medicine clinic.

For more information, contact us at Lakeside Holistic Health, PLLC at 518 N. 4th St. in Coeur d'Alene (208) 758-0568, or 21651 E. Country Vista Drive, Ste F., in Liberty Lake (509) 385-0218. Or visit www.lakesideholistic.com.