If you do nothing else while you're here today, please spend a few minutes reviewing this section of our web site titled, Understanding Diabetes - The Real Problem, in its entirety. We believe you'll come away with a better understanding of this silent killer, along with information that can help put you in control of your health again.
Perhaps you've done everything you were told to do by your healthcare provider, but your blood sugar still goes through the roof at times, and you don't understand why... Perhaps you or a loved one was recently diagnosed as Diabetic or Pre-diabetic, and you're looking for answers. You'll soon have them...
While medications can help you "artificially control" your blood sugar (treat the symptoms), they do nothing to get at the root cause of the disease.
If prescriptive drugs and synthetic insulin (medications) were the long-term solution for Diabetes, why is the disease still the 5th leading cause of death in the US, and the precursor to many other serious health complications?
*Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to 224,092 deaths in 2002 in the US. According to the American Diabetes Association, studies indicate that diabetes is generally under-reported on death certificates, particularly in the cases of older persons with multiple chronic conditions, such as heart disease and hypertension (high blood pressure).
Here's another bit of information you may find intriguing. In his book "Diabetes," Dr. Bernard E. Lowenstein, M.D. reported that the death rate from Diabetes among doctors was 35% higher than the general population. Dr. Lowenstein theorized that doctors are more likely to follow the conventional treatment programs they prescribe more strictly, and therefore manifest more intensely their negative side-effects.
We can tell you that people with Diabetes and Pre-diabetes can and are learning how to lower and stabilize their blood sugar level without prescriptive drugs everyday - People who are probably not much different than you... People who were at one time dependent on prescriptive medication to 'manage' their blood sugar, are no longer waiting for 'the experts' to help them beat Diabetes. They're starting to take matters into their own hands, gaining the knowledge, and beating Diabetes and Pre-diabetes on their own terms.
FACT: Few people are predestined to have Type 2 Diabetes. In fact, up to 90 percent of cases may be preventable, according to a 2001 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine... And if it can be prevented, it can also be reversed.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health surveyed 85,000 female nurses about their health habits. Over the next 16 years, 3,300 of these women developed Type 2 Diabetes. After comparing the lifestyles of women who became Diabetic with those who did not, the researchers concluded that 91 percent of all cases "could be attributed to habits and forms of behavior."
What Is Diabetes?
Have you ever wondered exactly what Diabetes is, and what it does to your body? Diabetes is classified as a metabolism disorder. Metabolism refers to the way our bodies use digested food and liquids for energy and growth. Most of what we eat and drink is broken down into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar in the blood - it is the principal source of fuel (energy) for our bodies.
When our food is digested, the glucose makes its way into our bloodstream. Our cells use the glucose for energy and growth. However, glucose cannot enter our cells without insulin being present - Insulin makes it possible for our cells to take in the glucose.
Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. After we eat food or consume liquids, the pancreas automatically releases an adequate quantity of insulin to move the glucose present in our blood into our cells, and lowers our blood sugar level. Everyone's blood sugar level is higher after a meal. The difference for a Diabetic and Pre-diabetic is that their sugar level remains high, and there's a clear reason for this.
A person with Diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia) - I.E. High blood sugar. This is because the body either does not produce enough insulin, produces no insulin, or has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin that the pancreas produces. This results in too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body in urine.
*Note: The ancient Chinese tested for Diabetes by observing whether ants were attracted to a person's urine, and called the disease "sweet urine disease."
So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements. This is how Diabetes develops.
Type 2 Diabetes (the most prevalent form of Diabetes) used to be rare, the kind of disease that doctors saw only once in a long while. Yet, things have changed dramatically over the past 30 years. There's no way of getting around it now. Diabetes is a serious and growing health threat that is spiraling out of control.
"I've been following the health care sector for years. But I've never heard such a blunt announcement as this: Diabetes is fast becoming the epidemic of the 21st century."
Those were the words of Pierre Lefebvre, president of the International Diabetes Federation, the world's most respected authority on the subject, speaking in December of 2006.
In the US, 94 million Americans are now either Diabetic or borderline Diabetic (Pre-diabetic). That's almost one in every three Americans who now have elevated blood sugar levels. *Note: In 2007, that number was at 81 million Americans.
The national cost of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2007 exceeded $174 billion. This estimate includes $116 billion in excess medical expenditures attributed to Diabetes, as well as $58 billion in reduced national productivity. *Note: In 2000, there were 41 million Pre-diabetics in the USA. That number has now climbed to 66 million in 2010. The problem is getting worse, not better.
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A study released in November 2010 by the health insurance giant, United Health Group, reported that unless we do something to stem the tide of Obesity and Diabetes in America, by 2020 (the end of this decade), 1 in every 2 American adults will develop Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes! That's half of the entire adult population in America.
The report further stated that, if the current trend in Diabetes continues to go unabated, it will cost the U.S. health care system $3.35 trillion dollars by 2020.
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FACT: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that roughly 80% of people with Type 2 Diabetes are also overweight or obese.
FACT: According to the US Center For Disease Control ( CDC), nearly half of all adult Americans have either Poor Cholesterol Levels, High Blood Pressure, or Diabetes... all of which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (Heart Disease).
When you combine these statistics with the fact that two in every three Americans are now classified as either obese or overweight (which is fueled by an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle), it becomes clear that what we've done as a nation, and as individuals, to combat Excess Body Weight, Diabetes, and Heart Disease, hasn't worked very well.
If we as Americans are supposed to be one of the healthiest nations on the planet, why can't we find a way to beat this silent killer? It's becoming increasingly more difficult to argue with those who say, "Diabetes is too profitable to find a cure for it."
There Are Three Known Types Of Diabetes, Plus Pre-Diabetes:
Type 1 Diabetes affects about 5% of the 28 million people in America with Diabetes, and is usually diagnosed in adolescents and children. *However, recent statistics now indicate that some people are being diagnosed with Type 1 after the age of 20.
Type 1 Diabetes develops because the body destroys the beta cells in the islet tissue of the pancreas (near the stomach) that produce insulin. In Type 1, the beta cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin, thus the reason and need for insulin injections.
In people with Type 1 Diabetes, the pancreas doesn't make enough, or sometimes any, insulin. This causes glucose to build up in the blood when we eat or drink, resulting in high blood-sugar levels.
You can inherit a tendency to develop Type 1. However, most people who have Type 1 Diabetes have no family history of it. Experts believe that a genetic tendency and some environmental factors may increase the risk of developing this form of the disease.
Until recently, it had been generally believed that the only solution to manage Type 1 Diabetes was through insulin injections because the disease was brought on by a totally different set of circumstances than Type 2 Diabetes. The good news is, that is no longer the case. There are natural therapies now that are producing promising results for Type 1 Diabetics as well, enabling them to, at the very least, reduce the number and/or dosage of insulin injections they take daily.
Type 2 Diabetes is the most prevalent form of Diabetes, afflicting nearly 90% of the 28 million Americans affected by the disease. Not everyone with Type 2 has symptoms, particularly in the early stages of the disease. In fact, more than one fourth of the 28 million Americans with Type 2 Diabetes (over 7 million people), are walking around everyday totally unaware that they even have the disease.
Stated differently, nearly one out of every 4 people with Type 2 Diabetes doesn't know that they have the condition, and even those who do know, often aren't sure how to control or manage it, let alone reverse it naturally.
Included below are some of the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes:
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xcessive thirst - Frequent urination - Extreme hunger - Unexplained weight loss - Fatigue, or a feeling of being "run down" and tired - Rapid breathing - Blurred vision - Dry, itchy skin - Headaches - Tingling or burning pain in the feet, legs, hands, or other parts of the body - High blood pressure - Mood swings - Irritability - Depression - Frequent or recurring infections such as urinary tract infections, yeast infections, and skin infections - Slow healing of cuts and bruises. |
Unlike Type 1 Diabetes, which frequently has a sudden onset of symptoms and reaches a crisis point before diagnosis is made, the signs of Type 2 Diabetes may be gradual and more insidious. I'll discuss Type 2 Diabetes in more detail shortly.
Pre Diabetes - The CDC (US Center for Disease Control) reports that 66 million Americans are now "Pre-diabetic." (borderline diabetic) - A condition in which a person's blood sugar (glucose) level is above normal, but below a level that indicates Diabetes. Pre-diabetes typically indicates a fasting blood sugar level that is between 100 and 125 mg/dL).
Your fasting blood sugar level indicates how much sugar is in the blood at morning time. Type 2 Diabetics have a fasting blood-glucose reading of 126ml/dL or higher, in which case the body is no longer producing enough insulin to help glucose get into your cells, or cannot use it properly because of other factors. (More on this in a moment.)
At this borderline stage, Pre-diabetes could increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), stroke, or heart disease, the number-one killer of both men and women. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states that most people with Pre-diabetes, if left undetected or untreated, will go on to develop full blown Type 2 Diabetes.
Recent research has shown that some long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during Pre-diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes - The last type of Diabetes is known as Gestational diabetes. Pregnant women who have never had Diabetes before but who have high blood sugar (glucose) levels during pregnancy, are said to have Gestational Diabetes. It affects about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases are diagnosed in the United States each year.
Gestational Diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. However, once you've had it, your chances are 2 in 3 that it will return in future pregnancies. In a few women, pregnancy uncovers Type 1 or Type 2. It is hard to tell whether these women have Gestational Diabetes or have just started showing their Diabetes during pregnancy. These women will need to continue treatment after pregnancy.
Many women who have Gestational Diabetes go on to develop Type 2 years later. Babies born of Diabetic mothers are often larger than normal. There seems to be a link between the tendency to have Gestational Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Gestational and Type 2 both involve insulin resistance. Certain basic lifestyle changes (diet and physical activity) may help prevent Type 2 Diabetes after Gestational Diabetes.
It's also worth noting that a few people with insulin resistance manage to compensate by making extra insulin and never go on to develop full-fledged Diabetes. However, even though their blood sugar is normal, their health may still be in danger. They often develop a group of conditions - including high blood pressure, low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, and high triglycerides (blood fat) - that puts them at high risk for heart disease. Doctors call this "syndrome X."
Understanding Diabetes And The Health Complications It Can Lead To...
Diabetes - The Real Problem
Today, most people with Type 2 Diabetes are only treating the symptoms and not addressing the source of the problem. Furthermore, some prescriptive medications are compounding problems, instead of helping to get at the root cause.
There have been several instances over the past few years where prescription drugs, which were designed to help 'manage' blood sugar, did not perform as promised... The results can sometimes be devastating.
For example, a drug called Rezulin was seen as a miracle pill to treat millions of Americans that suffered from Type-2 Diabetes. First marketed as a once a day pill, Rezulin allowed some Type-2 Diabetes sufferers to halt insulin injections.
On March 21, 2000, per the FDA's request, the manufacturer finally issued the Rezulin recall after its controversial run on the U.S. market. It was suspected of causing 391 deaths, including hundreds of liver damage cases. Rezulin's manufacturer has found themselves in the middle of countless Rezulin lawsuits and investigations.
Here's another example: September 2003 - Government-sponsored research published in the July 2, 2003 Journal of the American Medical Association found that the Diabetes drug, Metformin (GLUCOPHAGE), Rosiglitazone (AVANDIA), and Pioglitazone (ACTOS) were being prescribed inappropriately to patients with heart failure, and that the inappropriate prescribing of these drugs has been increasing over time.
...And, of course, there was the more recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 that the Diabetes drug, Avandia, had been linked with a 43 percent increased risk of heart attack. As a response to this new information, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new warning for Avandia, cautioning those patients with Type 2 Diabetes who are taking the drug that they should contact their doctors to assess the risk posed by Avandia.
Doesn't it make more sense, that the best way and the safest way to take personal control over your Diabetic condition, is to address the actual cause of the disease?
Let's look at what Type 2 Diabetes really is.
The Simple Explanation
You've probably heard the old adage, "You are what we eat." When it comes to Type 2 Diabetics and Pre-diabetics, this statement seems to be closer to the truth than many people could imagine.
Other than the genes you inherit from your family that might make you more susceptible to becoming Diabetic, there are two primary causes of Type 2 Diabetes:
1) A long-term diet that has been high in fast absorption-processed or refined carbohydrates (bad carbs)… In other words, consuming too many nutrient depleted, processed foods and liquids over an extended period of time.
2) A sedentary lifestyle - A lack of physical activity.
Both of these conditions lead to excess body weight, Insulin resistance, Pre-Diabetes, and eventually, Type 2 Diabetes.
Studies have also shown that smoking and years of heavy alcohol consumption can increase your risk of Diabetes.
It is also important to note that Type 2 Diabetes is rising dramatically among young people who are overweight and inactive, whereas previously, most cases were diagnosed in adults. Many now recognize Type 2 as "a lifestyle disease."
Here's what happens in our bodies when Type 2 Diabetes develops.
The pancreas is a vital organ in our body near the stomach. Its main job is to produce the hormone, insulin. Carbohydrates stimulate the secretion of insulin more than any other component of our food.
Fast absorption-processed carbohydrates (There are also good slow absorption or 'complex' carbohydrates - They come from foods and liquids that haven't been refined in a food factory) in our food means that the pancreas has to work hard, and thus produces more insulin. If the pancreas is over-stimulated over a long period of time, it may become "exhausted."
Whenever we eat or drink, our bodies convert carbohydrates in our foods and liquids into a simple sugar called glucose, which is the fuel for our body's cells. This causes the glucose or sugar level in our blood to rise. In some instances, the more carbohydrates you consume, the higher your blood sugar rises. Your body then needs to metabolize this sugar and convert it to energy. This is where insulin and the pancreas come into the picture.
When your blood sugar rises after eating or drinking, your pancreas needs to produce insulin to help lower your blood sugar level. But that's a good thing, right? Yes, it is...
"So, what's the problem," you might ask? You'll soon understand.
The function of insulin is to help, or push the sugar from your bloodstream into the cells of your body, where the sugar (glucose) is then converted into your body's fuel (energy).
Here's where the problem occurs: On the outside of every cell, there are what we call "insulin receptors." These receptors act like guards, guarding the doorway into your cells. These guards (insulin receptors) regulate the amount of sugar that gets into your cells.
Your body's cells will only use the amount of glucose they require for fuel. Any excess glucose is stored in your body's fat cells where it is converted into free fatty acids. Once the glucose is out of your blood stream, insulin closes the doors to your cells, and slowly leaves your body.
When your body needs more energy, and there is no food handy, it turns to your fat cells and the free fatty acids stored inside them. The free fatty acids leave your fat cells and go right back into your blood stream to feed all of your body's other cells. They don't need insulin to open your cells' doors, so your pancreas doesn't have to produce any insulin this time. That's why they're referred to as "free" fatty acids, and that's how our bodies are designed to naturally burn fat.
This natural process of storing fat when you have too much glucose and burning fat when you don't enough glucose, is how our bodies were designed to work. In a perfect world, eating a perfect diet, everything in our body works perfectly. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and most of us don't even come close to eating a perfect diet (a diet without all of the processed foods and liquids).
As a result, we don't benefit from this natural process very often. Instead, our body suffers by storing too much fat, and rarely, if ever burning any.
After many years of consuming a diet that is high in nutrient-depleted, fast absorption-processed carbohydrates (bad carbs), and because it takes longer for insulin to leave your body after its done its job... Your body can't access the free fatty acids to convert them into energy while insulin is still in your body... You get hungry or thirsty again; you eat and drink more processed carbohydrates in the food and liquids you consume that cause both your blood sugar and your body's insulin to spike again... And as this vicious cycle continues, a condition called "insulin resistance" eventually sets in.
The insulin resistance can get so bad that your pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin to push the blood sugar (glucose) into the cells. The blood sugar then rises out of control resulting in Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes is simply an extreme case of insulin resistance...
Another problem that occurs in about half of all Type 2 Diabetics, is called "beta cell burnout." Beta cell burnout develops when your pancreas has been so overworked over the years producing insulin, that the beta cells in your pancreas which produce insulin, stop producing it altogether, or at a much decreased level, and not enough to help push the glucose into your body's cells.
That's when you have to use external sources of insulin to help regulate your blood sugar. I.E. Injections, pumps, etc.. Unfortunately, there's more... Please continue to the Next Page