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Better Health Update #41 - Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist

Diabetes

Diabetes is becoming an increasingly common degenerative disease, with over five million Americans being treated and another twenty million having glucose intolerance. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Fifteen years after diagnosis a staggering 80% of diabetics have problems with the retina of the eye (diabetic retinopathy). Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults under the age of 74. Diabetes results in 20,000 amputations per year of toes, feet, legs, and fingers from the associated poor circulation. When it comes to heart attacks, diabetics have twice the rate as the general population. Half of all heart attacks and 75% of all strokes may be connected to diabetes. Finally, this disease leads to kidney dialysis for 5000 new patients per year.
When we speak of diabetes, we are normally referring to Diabetes mellitus, which results from either insufficient production of insulin by the pancreas or a blocking of the normal functioning of the insulin hormone. With insufficient insulin the body cannot utilize carbohydrates, which are normally broken down to glucose (blood sugar). This causes a high level of glucose in the blood and a low level of glucose in the tissues where it's needed.

(The term "diabetes" is also used of an unrelated disease called "diabetes insipidus". This is a rare disorder caused by pituitary hormone deficiency. It results in the production of large amounts of urine regardless of how little liquid is consumed. This problem is not our topic in this Update.)

TYPE I DIABETES

Diabetes mellitus is divided into two types: Type I, also called "insulin-dependent" or "juvenile onset" diabetes, and Type II, also called "adult onset" diabetes. In Type I the pancreas is not producing adequate insulin. Symptoms of Type I Diabetes include:

1. Irritability 5. Vomiting
2. Frequent urination 6. Weakness
3. Abnormal thirst 7. Fatigue
4. Nausea 8. Unusual hunger

Other symptoms that may be involved include muscle cramps, impaired vision, skin itching, and poor healing of wounds. Most often Type I diabetes occurs in children or young adults.

INSULIN REACTIONS

Perhaps the most terrifying part of diabetes is insulin reactions, when the body has gotten too much insulin and is therefore going into a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) state. Particularly the Type I diabetic can have almost instantaneous reactions, going from normal one minutes to unconscious the next.

Warning signs of impending insulin reaction are hunger, dizziness, sweating, confusion, heart palpitations, numbness or tingling of the lips, double vision, trembling, disorientation, unusual actions, and eventual losing of consciousness.

Quick consumption of a highly sugared food or drink quickly reverses these symptoms in most cases.

TYPE II DIABETES

Type II, or "adult onset" diabetes generally occurs later in life, and may be more likely where there is a family history of diabetes. In this type of diabetes the pancreas does produce insulin, but the cells have too few chemical receptors, and the cells starve causing a lack of energy. The primary cause is thought to be obesity. When a cell becomes fat, the chemical receptors on its surface decrease, as does the usage of insulin. Symptoms include:

1. Blurred vision 6. Fatigue
2. Itching 7. Skin infections
3. Unusual thirst 8. Slow healing
4. Drowsiness 9. Tingling in feet
5. Obesity

Type II diabetes is usually controlled by diet and oral medication with insulin injections generally not being required.

ROOT CAUSES

Diabetes is largely a disease of so-called "civilization" where most people live on refined sugar, refined grains, low fiber, significant nutrient deficiencies, lack of exercise, and high stress. While this would particularly be true of Type II diabetes, these same lifestyle factors could certainly "wear out" the pancreas, causing the non-production of insulin as found in Type I diabetes.

IS SUGAR THE CAUSE?

Establishment medicine generally rejects the concept that refined sugar intake actually produces diabetes, preferring to blame every problem on "heredity." Nevertheless, there is abundant evidence. Dr. E. Ziegler of Switzerland found that mortality rates from diabetes in Switzerland over a 20 year period highly correlated with the refined sugar intake. Dr. G. D. Campbell, observed that people of Indian descent in Natal, South Africa had a much higher incidence of diabetes than their relatives still living in India. The only difference? In Natal they were consuming 110 pounds of sugar per person per year, while in India the same people were consuming only 12 - 15 pounds per year. Frederick Banting, M.D., the co-discoverer of insulin said:

In the United States , the incidence of diabetes has increased proportionately with the per capita consumption of cane sugar. One cannot help but conclude that in the heating and recrystallization of the natural sugar-cane something is altered which leaves the refined product a dangerous foodstuff.

Contrary to popular mantras, you are not destined to become diabetic because it "runs in your family." All that "heredity" means is that you may have a greater tendency toward the develop of a problem like diabetes. If you eat a diabetes-producing diet and practice a diabetes-producing lifestyle, you're very likely to develop diabetes. But if you are eating properly, you should avoid diabetes, even if there's a hereditary tendency.

COW'S MILK CONNECTION?

The New England Journal of Medicine reported that many cases of Type I, Juvenile Onset diabetes may be triggered by an infant's immune response to a protein in cow's milk. Diabetic children were shown to have seven times more antibodies to milk than non-diabetic children and adults. Apparently the immune system confuses the cow's milk protein with its own insulin-producing cells and destroys both. It may be years later before diabetes results. Breast-feeding as long as possible reduces the risk of developing diabetes two- to threefold in those genetically predisposed to the disease. While I tell everyone (except baby cows) to avoid cow's milk, this is especially important with infants, toddlers and even older people with a family history of diabetes.

NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES

Research reported in the Journal of Biochemistry and the Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biological Medicine back in the 1950's showed that when vitamin B-6 is not adequate, xanthurenic acid is produced damaging the pancreas and producing diabetes. When B-6 is supplied, the amount of xanthurenic acid is decreased, and, if the pancreas has not been damaged, all diabetic symptoms disappear. Magnesium decreases the need for B-6 and reduces the level of xanthurenic acid even when B-6 is not increased. A letter from a Tennessee physician in Medical Tribune stated that "diabetic retinopathy is due to magnesium deficiency." It is not surprising that studies have shown diabetics to have significant magnesium deficiencies. Studies in Europe and Japan confirm that diabetics with the lowest magnesium levels have the worst eye damage.

DIETARY SUGGESTIONS

1. Good Natural Food Diet - The dietary basics I recommend to everyone are also appropriate for diabetes, only with even greater emphasis. Strict avoidance of refined sugar and refined grains is essential. A whole foods diet emphasizing whole grains, legumes, and other vegetables is basic to maintaining proper blood sugar.

2. Avoid Sensitive Foods - Knowing which foods you're sensitive to and avoiding them likewise will lower blood sugar in many diabetics.

3. High Fiber Diet - Dr. James W. Anderson, a diabetes specialist, in his book, Diabetes, a Practical Guide to Healthy Living, notes considerable success treating diabetics with a high fiber diet. He has seen patients on 27 units of insulin daily get by on seven units daily when on a high fiber diet, only to revert back to the higher insulin amount when they abandoned the high fiber diet.

4. Regular Eating - Diabetics must eat at set times and in set amounts. Overeating will throw off the blood sugar levels. Four or five smaller meals per day are preferable to three regular meals.

5. Caloric Breakdown - John Anderson, M.D., of the University of Kentucky recommends a diabetic diet deriving 60-75% of the calories from complex carbohydrates, 15-20% from protein, and 10-15% from fat. This diet is also good for arteriosclerosis prevention and treatment-which is critical to diabetes management.

6. Avoid Cow's Milk - As referred to earlier, cow's milk allergic reaction may trigger diabetes in the first place.

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

In addition to a basic, high quality multi-vitamin and multi-mineral, the following supplements may be appropriate (subject to compatibility testing on a given individual):

1. Chelated Chromium - Chromium is part of the insulin molecule and is essential to maintaining proper blood sugar levels.
2. Pyridoxal 5' Phosphate - This is the active form of Vitamin B-6, a typically deficient nutrient in diabetics.
3. Chelated Magnesium - Though this would be included in your general multi-mineral and multi-vitamin/mineral, a separate magnesium supplement may be appropriate.
4. Vitamin E - A natural vitamin E (d-alpha, not dl-alpha tocopherol) is good for cardiovascular health and wound healing.
5. Buffered Vitamin C - Vitamin C reduces the requirement for insulin.
6. Sublingual Vitamin B-12 or B-12 injections.
7. Biotin - Intramuscular injections or high oral doses (2000 mcg. three times per day) have been known to reverse diabetic neuropathy.
8. EPA/GLA - EPA from fish oil and GLA from borage oil provide missing essential fatty acids.
9. Lipoic Acid - Prevents breaking down of glucose and may reduce need for insulin.
10. Pancreatic Enzymes - Since the pancreas also produces digestive enzymes, this is likely to be depleted in diabetics.
11. Pancreas Glandular - A glandular supplement may have a strengthening or regenerating effect on the pancreas.
12. Fiber Supplement - To supplement fiber in the diet, a psyllium, pectin, guar gum supplement (like our Pro Bulk M) is usually a good idea..
13. Garlic Supplement - As well as garlic or onions as food help lower blood sugar and are great for the cardiovascular system.
14. Quercetin - This flavonoid inhibits the enzyme, aldose reductase, which is involved in diabetic cataracts, retinopathy, and neuropathy
15. Gymnema sylvestre - An Ayurvedic herb that is reported to significantly lower blood sugar levels.

Any of the above supplements may alter your blood sugar levels and thus change your insulin requirements. Use cautiously! Closely monitor your blood sugar and don't do too many new things at once.
With the right program it's possible to reduce, or even eliminate the need for insulin, especially with Type II diabetes.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.