Speaker 1: All right. Welcome back to Coast Live, guys. November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, a disease affecting more than 34 million Americans. But lifestyle changes like diet and exercise can help manage and prevent diabetes. So here to explain some more with us this morning is Dr. Erica Steele from the Holistic family. In Virginia Beach. Good morning, Dr. Steele. It’s great to see you again.
Speaker 2: Good morning. Nice to see you as well.
Speaker 1: We love all your stuff; through Covid and everything, you’ve been helping so many people out. But this is a disease that has been an ongoing battle for so many people, and it is, there are ways to prevent it. So what are some of your top tips? To really just help prevent diabetes from the start.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so some of my top tips, common sense, obviously limiting processed foods, eating regularly, but sometimes people don’t realize it’s not so much a focus about your carbohydrates as much as yours. Protein because protein stabilizes your blood sugar.
And so, I encourage people to increase their protein, grow green vegetables, and only consume lower glycemic fruits and vegetables.
Speaker 1: Yeah. We’ve often had this conversation about how important food is for your overall health. It truly is the foundation of a lot of what is wrong.
And this is something that. People need to be their own advocates, right? Because we go to a doctor, we say we need blood work, and they’re like, Oh, you’re fine. You don’t need this. But what do you need to ask for? And what are some of the lab markers that someone should be looking for when they get that done?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so remember, I’m also a functional medicine provider, so we look at reference ranges versus optimal range. So if you go to your traditional medical doctor, they’ll see a wide range of glucose, right? So we want an optimal range. We don’t wish to just a reference range. So we’re looking for glucose between 80 and 85.
Okay, we’re looking at hemoglobin a1c less than five, right? So often, people will come in and like, Oh, my lab work looks fine. Their glucose is 90, and their hemoglobin A1C is 5.5. So those are significant markers. But also to your liver enzymes, your liver metabolizes your nutrients and detoxifies, which is also a sign that your body is moving; your metabolic state is declining, and so that’s one organ we really wanna pay attention to.
Optimal, I like it in the teens, but you can go up as much as 26 for your LI enzymes. So those are your A S T and alt markers on your cmp.
Speaker 1: Yeah. That’s why you need to go to someone who truly understands this to get you better overall. Cause you need to look at overall health, not just one number.
And I love that you do that, but let’s shift to the people already struggling with diabetes. Cuz I mean, I have a lot of friends personally. What food tips would you give them as they move, especially into the holiday?
Speaker 2: Aside from the food, we’ve gotta get the mindset down, right?
And you’ve talked about this a lot. I know I’ve gone to different workshops where you’re big on mindset. And so the mood is number one because those lifestyle habits have often been embedded and graded for. So long, and it’s so emotionally based. Your first 20% of digestion is attached to the limbic system in your brain, your emotional body, right?
So it’s not that people often don’t wanna eat healthy. It’s that emotionally and mentally, they’re not ready. And so we look at stages of change. In our practice, we use education, coaching, and accountability to help people achieve their results.
Speaker 1: And I know you have some delicious high protein. Piece to share. So these are the ones I’m curious about too because everybody needs this in their life.
Speaker 2: everyone, including myself, I love, I live for it. So we’re giving away; we have an app we use for food tracking in our practice. And if you text our office number high protein recipes, you can choose between lunch, dinner, or breakfast, and we’ll deliver those. They come in your email box, arrive on your phone, and then you can utilize them. So to really incorporate more high protein into your lifestyle. Into your diet.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And protein is essential. So mainly, I on this body, I know I that’s my, my, my staple and everything is, my goal is to get a certain amount of protein every day.
So where could people get in touch with you? Because it’s better to get this process started before the end of the year.
Speaker 2: You can call our office or even text our number to schedule a consultation. I offer a 15-minute complimentary consult and a more extended one-hour consultation that includes a comprehensive blood work review.
So our official website is holistic family practice va.com. Lots of really yummy information on it. And then, of course, all of my socials, even on Clubhouse. We do a lot of education through various platforms, so finding me is not difficult.
Speaker 1: Nope. Easy to find. And thank you for being with us, and have a wonderful holiday season ahead. It’s great to see you.
Speaker 2: Awesome, Likewise. Take care.
Speaker 1: All right. See you later.
What do you think?