Conservative Management
of Diabetes
Powerful Steps You Can Take
by Alan Goldhamer, D.C.
and Jennifer Marano, DC
with comments by Don Bennett, DAS
THERE
IS GENUINE HOPE for those suffering from diabetes. In a great many
cases, unnecessary suffering and premature death can be prevented.
This is especially important information because diabetes mellitus
is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
Diabetes
is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. In simple terms, the body
cannot deal with sugar in the normal way due to a lack of insulin.
Insulin is a hormone, produced by the pancreas, which allow cells
to absorb sugar. If there is not enough insulin, or if the body
fails to respond to its insulin, sugar builds up in the blood. This
is called hyperglycemia, and it can do great damage to many areas
of the body, especially to blood vessels and nerves. It leads to
blindness, kidney failure, sexual dysfunction, and increased risk
of heart attack and stroke, nerve damage (neuropathy), and many
other problems.
Type
I is commonly called "juvenile onset diabetes" or "insulin dependent
diabetes" because it often begins when an individual is a child
or young adult and insulin injections are required to control blood
sugar levels. In Type I diabetics, the pancreas cells that produce
insulin are destroyed, and the body produces little or no insulin.
These people must receive insulin injections in order to live. About
eight percent of all diabetics are Type I.
Type
II is called "adult onset diabetes" or "non-insulin dependent diabetes"
because it most often affects people over forty years old. These
people do make insulin but their bodies do not use it properly.
Roughly 90 percent of all diabetics are Type II.
Early
symptoms of diabetes and typical medical treatment
The
earliest symptoms of diabetes are usually excessive thirst and frequent
urination. Weight loss, in spite of increased hunger, often follows,
and can progress to nausea, vomiting, and anorexia (loss of appetite).
The onset of diabetes tends to be abrupt in children and much more
gradual in older people. When diabetes is suspected, laboratory
tests of urine and blood are used to confirm the diagnosis.
Medical
treatment of diabetes is often directed by doctors called diabetologists;
doctors who specialize in helping diabetics control their blood
sugar. Type I (juvenile onset / insulin with a combination of diet,
exercise and insulin. Type II (adult onset / non-insulin dependent)
Diabetes can often be controlled with diet, exercise and lifestyle
measures alone. Unfortunately, in common practice, many diabetics
do not know how to (or simply won't) control their diet, exercise,
and lifestyle adequately, and medical doctors routinely prescribe
oral medications or insulin to regulate blood sugar levels.
There
is controversy regarding dietary recommendations for diabetics.
The American Diabetes Association recommends a diet that allows
up to 30 percent of calories to be derived from fat. Experimental
evidence, however, suggests that a low fat diet, less than 15 percent,
is preferable. For example, Dr. James Anderson of the University
of Kentucky placed 16 insulin treated diabetic men on a special
high plant fiber diet with only 11 percent of calories from fat.
After only 16 days, these patients were able to reduce insulin use
by 58 percent. They showed an increased number of insulin receptors,
which means their bodies became more sensitive to insulin. This
is just one of many studies that have been published supporting
a low fat, natural foods approach in the management of diabetes.
Despite the scientific evidence, very few medical doctors are recommending
this approach.
Correct
diet crucial for diabetics
A
major problem for diabetics and non-diabetics as well, is excess
fat and oil in the diet. Fat and oil decrease the body's sensitivity
to insulin, allowing the blood sugar levels to rise dangerously.
In one study, Dr. S. Sweeney fed young, healthy medical students
a very high fat diet for two days and then gave them a glucose tolerance
test. Virtually all of the students showed blood sugar levels high
enough to classify them as diabetic. Some were quite severe. All
of the students' blood sugar levels returned to normal when placed
on a low fat diet.
A
diet derived exclusively from whole natural foods such as fresh
fruits and vegetables, combined with a moderate aerobic exercise
program can enable most Type II diabetics to maintain normal blood
sugar levels without resorting to medications of any kind. Type
I diabetics will often be able to obtain much more stable blood
sugar on significantly reduced levels of insulin. Empirical evidence
suggests that this combination of diet and exercise can slow down
or even stop the degenerative changes associated with diabetes.
In
our practice, we have had tremendous success with the use of dietary
change with both type I and Type II diabetics.
Fasting
can be beneficial
With
Type II diabetics, we often utilize a period of fasting to stabilize
blood sugar levels and eliminate the need for medication. Fasting
appears to facilitate the body's healing response. Changes that
can take weeks or months to occur with careful feeding occur much
more rapidly when fasting is utilized. Some diabetics with very
resistant high blood sugar levels will not respond adequately without
fasting. Careful monitoring is absolutely essential in fasting Type
II Diabetics to insure that adequate insulin is present to prevent
any associated problems.
While
most Type II diabetics produce enough insulin to process the natural
ketone bodies produced by the body during fasting, Type I (insulin
dependent) diabetics do not produce insulin. Fasting is generally
not used in the treatment of Type I diabetics. However, diet, exercise
and lifestyle modification are extremely beneficial.
Two
case studies
The
following examples are typical of the results we see with diabetes
patients at the Center.
Recently,
a woman 64 years of age came to our facility. She had been having
trouble with frequent urination and an acetone odor to her breath.
When she first saw her family physician sugar was noticed in her
urine and blood tests revealed a blood sugar of over 500 mg/dl (five
times normal). Her doctor diagnosed her condition as Type II diabetes
and put her on a diabetic diet and diabetes pills.
This
approach did not work, and her blood sugar levels remained very
high. Additional medications were tried without success. The week
before her arrival at the Center her blood sugar levels were 258
mg/dl despite maximum dosage of oral medications. The woman claimed
to have been on a strict vegetarian diet and was not overweight.
After
a review of her medical history and a comprehensive physical examination
and laboratory testing, we placed this woman on a fast. She remained
at the center and was given only distilled water. Her activities
were restricted to resting, listening to educational tapes, participating
in our group activities and quietly interacting with other patents
and staff.
During
her fast she was monitored carefully by daily examination, and by
blood and urine testing as was appropriate. She fasted for a total
of 9 days and followed that with 12 days of careful feeding on a
diet derived exclusively from whole natural foods. While fasting
she developed several symptoms common to fasting including nausea,
periods of weakness, a foul taste in the mouth, headaches and some
joint pain. By the end of her stay her blood sugar level was within
normal limits, her symptoms of fatigue had resolved, and she was
free of all medication.
A
follow-up visit one month later found this woman to have normal
blood sugar levels without the use of medication. She had excellent
energy and vitality and a newfound positive outlook on life. An
interesting side note is that her blood cholesterol and triglyceride
levels were markedly reduced and chronic depression was no longer
present.
Some
patients are able to overcome diabetes without fasting. Mild problems
with high blood sugar levels will often respond to a careful program
of dietary and lifestyle modification. A vegetable based diet and
appropriate exercise will often allow the body to heal itself so
that the need for medication and its inherent risks can be eliminated.
An example is a 78 year old man who came to us because of back pain.
He had been on diabetes pills for several years and still maintained
excessively high blood sugar levels. He was terrified at the idea
of fasting but agreed to follow a diet and exercise program that
I designed for him. Within about three weeks we were able to help
him eliminate the need for medication entirely. It has been several
years now and he is quite well. He uses no medications and reports
that he feels better now than when he was 60 years old.
Not
all diabetics respond so easily. At the Center we have seen many,
especially Type I onset diabetics, cases that presented a great
challenge. Type I diabetics do not produce enough insulin. Usually,
they will continue to require some insulin indefinitely. With careful
attention to diet and lifestyle it is often possible to greatly
reduce the amount of insulin needed and help to stabilize even the
"brittle" diabetics, those who have difficulty controlling their
sugar levels.
We
find working with diabetic patients to be a very rewarding challenge.
They often respond remarkably well despite years of frustrating,
unproductive care. Because the consequences of the disease are so
devastating, a real deal of satisfaction can be derived from helping
the diabetics avoid the typical route of disease and degeneration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don Bennett's Comments:
I have found there have been some Type
I diabetics who have been able to stop using insulin completely
(or at the very least, have been able to use a lot less, and the
less insulin that must be used, the better). These people followed
a diet of their biological design and adopted lifestyle practices
that conformed to the requirements of Nature (getting enough sleep,
nutrition, relaxation, strong enough sunshine, proper hydration,
enough but not too much physical activity, and avoiding toxins/poisons).
If there's a chance for their pancreas to heal, this way of living
gives it the best odds. And Type II diabetics respond extremely
well to a natural diet that contains some needed nutritional complements
to the diet (iodine
and a worthwhile green
powder), and a natural lifestyle when it comes to sunshine
and exercise. In
every Type II case I'm aware of, if the person does right by their
body, 100% of the time, they can get rid of diabetes. (Articles
on appropriate ways to treat your body appear on this website.)
It should be noted that in some "stubborn" cases, the
person may need to take a chromium
and vanadium supplement for a month to bolster those nutrient
levels; then the green powder supplement I mentioned above should
be able to maintain those normal levels. Chromium and vanadium are
two key nutrients for proper blood glucose metabolism.
Although I'm not a fan of juices, string
bean (green bean) juice has been shown to have a positive effect
on the pancreas, and diabetics may want to consider adding this
to their diet. One of the biggest dietary no-no's that adversely
affect blood sugar regulation is consuming a high fat food and a
sweet food at the same meal (or "near" each other). In
the presence of fat, sugar cannot exit the blood into the cells
as it should. Eating this bad combination over time causes a sustained
high blood sugar level. The pancreas's insulin production goes into
overtime in an attempt to bring down the blood sugar level, and
it gets severely overworked in the processes. This overwork can
eventually lead to exhaustion, and diabetes. This bad food combination
also causes excess sugar to be turned into fat, and causes candida
to bloom into candidiasis in an effort to bring down the excessively
high blood sugar level (the body allows the candida to eat the sugar,
thus growing in number). And we can't talk about fat's role in diabetes
without mentioning the issue of too much fat in the diet. True,
this was mentioned in the above article, but it's so
important, that it warrants mentioning it again... If the fat content
of your diet is above 10% (of total calories), you're consuming
too much fat. Even if it's "good" fat, too much fat is
too much fat, and will increase your risk, not just of diabetes,
but of all the degenerative diseases that plague our culture. (And
to see a photo of what too much fat in the diet looks like
from your blood's perspective see this.)
Low fiber foods are another negative
factor concerning blood sugar regulation. Fiber helps regulate the
speed at which sugars enter the blood. If you juice
sweet fruit, you remove a vital nutrient fiber and
you concentrate the sugars. This creates a "double-whammy"
effect. People with hypo or hyper glycemia should refrain from consuming
the juice of anything sweet (carrot and orange juice drinkers may
not like this news, but if they add back some of the pulp to the
juice, this helps). I advocate not consuming fruit juice at all
unless a goodly amount of pulp is added back. I know some people
say the pulp inhibits the absorption of nutrients, but when you
take into account that our body is designed to absorb nutrients
from solid food, which has a much slower
digestive transit time than a liquid, and that the only liquid we're
designed to consume is water (which provides no nutrients), and
that fiber helps regulate the entry of sugars into the blood, and
that the concentrated sugars in a juice are rapidly absorbed, and
that juice doesn't occur naturally in Nature, it can be said that
on balance it's probably better to eat the orange
rather than process it into juice. Juicing is usually undertaken
as a means to lighten up on the digestive system to give digestive
disorders time to heal; a more natural and balanced way to give
your digestive system a break is to eat only juicy fruit, only when
hungry, and to not overeat.
Here's a video
on diabetes.
Here's
another article
on diabetes.
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