Dorrie,

I am not diabetic, but I have done some research on diabetes because my father-in-law has type 2 diabetes.

To answer your first question: "Magnesium is known to be necessary for nerve conduction; deficiency is known to cause peripheral neuropathy symptoms and studies suggest that a deficiency in magnesium may worsen blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes. Scientists believe that a deficiency of magnesium interrupts insulin secretion in the pancreas and increases insulin resistance in the body's tissues."

Magnesium is needed in hundreds of important biological processes in your body. In particular, "Magnesium is necessary for the production, function & transport of insulin."

http://www.imva.info/diabetesneuropathy.shtml

To answer your question about cravings... I don't know. All I know is that for most of my life, I have sought the one solution that was perfectly matched to my needs. I have found no such one solution. What I have found is much, much harder to do. It is to optimize my health as a whole. The reason this is so hard is that it involves changing my whole lifestyle, which boils down to this. It involves becoming a different person. I am no longer the person I used to be. For example, I am gluten intolerant, so obviously, I no longer eat things containing wheat. But I also rarely go out to dinner or eat foods prepared by others. I have Lyme disease, so I have eliminated fluorides because they can make my symptoms worse. This means I filter all my water and take it with me. I don't consume alcohol because it makes my neurological symptoms worse for about a week. I rarely use sugar (feeds the bacteria), eat a minimum of starchy foods (extra carbs feed bacteria) to match my physical activity level. If I was not ill, I doubt I would have made these adjustments.

So to answer your question, nourish yourself well and your unhealthy cravings may lessen to the point where you will be able to deal with them relatively easily. Some would say that my diet is unhealthy, but I do not have cravings for anything in particular. Typically, I have 2 soft boiled eggs, 1/2 c. cooked rice, 4t coconut oil, chia seeds, about 6 oz. plain kefir with 1T undenatured whey protein powder, and 1T goat whey mineral extract for breakfast. I have 1/2 apple for snack. I have 1/2 c. cooked rice, 4t coconut oil, a small portion of chicken or beef, vegetables cooked in butter and about 6 oz. plain kefir with 1T undenatured whey protein powder for lunch. I have 1/2 c. cooked rice, 4t coconut oil, a small portion of chicken, fish, or beef, vegetables cooked in butter, a green salad, soup (generally with seaweed and taro root), about 6 oz. plain kefir with 1T undenatured whey protein and 1T goat whey mineral extract for dinner. I am lactose intolerant, so I take lactase when I have the goat whey mineral extract.

I find that when I have a moderate amount of fat and protein, and an adequate amount of starches, and an adequate amount of magnesium, I do not crave sweets or more starches. I find that I need adequate magnesium for adequate energy. I also depend on the chia seeds for energy too. If my energy is lacking, I find myself consuming more carbohydrates in a vain attempt to be more energetic.

It has taken me years to get to this point in my diet. If you want to move in the direction of a somewhat calorie restricted diet, which is basically what I am doing, I would cut out almost all added sugar, I would add some coconut oil and butter. Then I would slowly cut out more starches, substituting the lost calories with calories from coconut oil and butter until I was consuming just enough carbohydrates to match my activity level. I use organic coconut oil and organic butter. I use generous amounts of natural (no additives) salt. I find adequate fat, protein, salt and plenty of water to be very satisfying. Such a diet would also go far to normalizing your blood sugar levels and minimizing damage from high sugar, high insulin.

If you have high blood pressure, then lots of salt would be a problem.

A University of Utah study found that, "Nerve Damage Occurs when Blood Sugars Rise Over 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L) After Meals." A team of Italian researchers found that pancreas "Beta Cell Destruction Begins at Levels Over 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L)." (See my "High-Normal Blood Sugar Levels and Organ Damage" post on my Stuff about Diabetes thread)

Regular exercise is also very important for normalizing appetite.