Food Is Powerful, But It’s Not Enough

Food shapes our health. Eating beans, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can lower the risk of diabetes and other chronic conditions. Yet food does not replace medicine. Clearly, diets high in ultra-processed foods make diabetes worse. And yes, eating better is the most empowering thing anyone can do.

Still, some claim that modern food is the only reason we have chronic diseases like diabetes. They argue that if people only ate “real food,” there would be no need for medicine. History proves otherwise.

The Story That Changed Everything: Dr. Banting and Insulin

In the early 1920s, Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin in Toronto. At the time, children with type 1 diabetes had no future. Families were told to put their kids on starvation diets, hoping to add a few months to their lives. Death was certain.

Then came insulin. Doctors injected it into children already in comas. One by one, they woke up. They sat up, asked for food, and hugged their parents. What had been a hospital ward of silence turned into a place of joy.

Insulin was the fastest-adopted drug in history. Banting became the youngest Nobel Prize winner at the time. That discovery did not come from food. It came from science and medicine.

Two Types of Diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes.

• Type 1 diabetes happens when the pancreas loses all ability to make insulin. Without insulin, sugar cannot move into cells, and life cannot continue. That is why every person with type 1 diabetes needs insulin from the first day of diagnosis.
• Type 2 diabetes is different. In this case, the body still makes insulin, but the cells resist it. Over time, the pancreas wears out. That is why many people with type 2 eventually need insulin too. It is not failure. It is simply how the disease progresses.

Food can help manage both types, but food alone is never enough.

What Beans Can Do

Beans are one of the best foods for blood sugar. They are full of soluble fiber, which slows down glucose absorption. They also provide plant protein and have a low glycemic index. That means they don’t spike blood sugar the way soda or white bread does.

Research shows that eating beans regularly can lower hemoglobin A1c — the measure of long-term blood sugar — by about 0.3 to 0.5 percent. That is a real effect from food.

Beans are also practical. They are inexpensive, found almost everywhere, and have been eaten by humans longer than almost any other protein source.

Why Beans Aren’t Medicine

Now let’s compare beans to metformin.

Metformin is the first-line drug for type 2 diabetes. It lowers A1c by 1 to 2 percent. That’s two to four times more than beans. Metformin also lowers the risk of heart disease and has decades of safety data behind it.

So while beans help, they are not metformin. If blood sugar is high, no amount of hummus or chili will bring it back to safe levels. Medicine is needed. Food lays the foundation, but medicine does the heavy lifting.

The Best Diet for Diabetes: The Mediterranean Pattern

When it comes to diet, the evidence is clear. The Mediterranean diet is the best overall eating plan for diabetes.

This diet includes:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Olive oil
• Nuts
• Legumes (yes, beans!)
• Whole grains

Now, some people push back against whole grains. That may be because they grew up in the low-carb era, when grains were unfairly blamed for every health problem. But whole grains are healthy, especially for people with diabetes. They are far better for the body than bacon or butter.

The Mediterranean diet does more than control blood sugar. It lowers cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, decreases inflammation, and protects the heart. And unlike fad diets, it is sustainable.

Practical Ways to Add Beans

Adding beans to meals is easy. Here are a few examples:

• Swap ground beef for black beans in chili
• Add lentils to soups or stews
• Roast chickpeas for a crunchy snack
• Use hummus instead of cheese spread
• Toss peas into pasta, rice, or grain bowls

These small swaps improve blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and keep you full. Combined with the Mediterranean diet, the benefits are even stronger.

Don’t Fall for Scams

Unfortunately, scams are everywhere. Keto and carnivore diets claim to cure diabetes. While they may lower blood sugar in the short term, they raise saturated fat intake. That increases the risk of heart disease, which is the biggest threat to people with diabetes.

And cinnamon? It makes oatmeal taste great, but cinnamon pills do not cure diabetes. The science simply doesn’t support it.

The Takeaway

Food matters. Food lowers risk. Food empowers people to take control. But food is not medicine.

Food is food. Medicine is medicine. Together, they save lives.

References

• Banting F, Best C. Discovery of insulin, 1921–1922.
• American Diabetes Association. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes.
• Jenkins DJA, Kendall CWC, et al. “Effect of legumes on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors.” Arch Intern Med. 2012.
• Estruch R, Ros E, et al. “Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet.” N Engl J Med. 2013.

For more, see my newsletter on Substack where I dig into the science behind food and health.