
As of 2012, there are 29 million people in the U.S. that have diabetes. That’s 9.3% of the population, or 1 in 10 people that you know. On top of that it is the fastest growing disease in all age groups, and the estimates for prediabetes (diabetic symptoms that aren’t severe enough to be diagnosed) are a staggering 86 million, which is 27.9% of the population. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., causes major health complications such as strokes, heart attacks, blindness, and kidney failure, and costs $245 billion dollars to treat nationwide.

However, out of all of the people that have diabetes, 90% of them have type 2 diabetes. This means that the disease was developed, usually because of diet, but this also means that 90% of the diabetes cases are reversible.

Mainstream medicine says that type 2 diabetes is non-reversible, but it simultaneously says that through improved diet and exercise glucose levels can return to normal, pre-diabetic conditions.

The caveat that makes type 2 diabetes “non-reversible” is that if the person returns to an unhealthy lifestyle, their insulin resistance and glucose levels quickly return to diabetic levels.

Unfortunately, most people are unwilling to change their habits and would rather take medications than exercise and eat healthy. However, these medications can cause many, undesirable side-effects and may even further the problem.

To understand why the medications can further the problem, you must first understand what type 2 diabetes really is.

In a healthy adult, insulin is produced when the body senses an excess of glucose and produces insulin. What the insulin does is that it opens up receptors on cells so that they can accept and store the excess glucose, so that it does not stay in the blood stream and go to the wrong areas of the body. You can think of the receptors as doors and the insulin as the key to open them.

If this pattern of excessive glucose intake continues, the cells eventually cannot hold any more glucose. As a response, the cells begin to lose insulin receptors, and the remaining receptors become more resistant to the insulin that is telling them to open up. In other words the cells have less “doors” and they are harder to open because inside those doors there is an overload of glucose.

The body’s response to the increased resistance is for the pancreas to produce even more insulin to try to open the receptors, or doors, to store more sugar in the cells. This just makes the cells more overloaded with glucose, and more resistant to insulin, trapping the body in a vicious cycle.

Eventually, as a last resort, the glucose gets stored in fat cells. And when the fat cells are full of glucose it must then remain in the bloodstream and the person has developed type 2 diabetes.

A very common function of diabetes medication, such as Metformin, is to increase the production of insulin in the body so that the glucose can be processed. The problem with this approach, however, is that the body of a type 2 diabetic is already overloaded with insulin and the cells have become resistant to insulin.

On top of that there is a huge, terrible list of side-effects, and I quote “Abdominal or stomach discomfort, cough or hoarseness, decreased appetite, diarrhea, fast or shallow breathing, fever or chills, general feeling of discomfort, lower back or side pain, muscle pain or cramping, painful or difficult urination, sleepiness, anxiety, blurred vision, chest discomfort, cold sweats, coma, confusion, cool, pale skin, depression, difficult or labored breathing, dizziness, fast, irregular, pounding, or racing heartbeat or pulse, feeling of warmth, headache, increased hunger, increased sweating, nausea, nervousness, nightmares, redness of the face, neck, arms, and occasionally, upper chest, seizures, shakiness, shortness of breath, slurred speech, tightness in the chest, unusual tiredness or weakness, wheezing, behavior change similar to being drunk, difficulty with concentrating, drowsiness, lack or loss of strength, restless sleep, unusual sleepiness, acid or sour stomach, belching, bloated, excess air or gas in the stomach or intestines, full feeling, heartburn, indigestion, loss of appetite, metallic taste in the mouth, passing of gas, stomachache, stomach upset or pain, vomiting, weight loss, abnormal stools, bad, unusual, or unpleasant (after) taste, change in taste, difficulty with moving, discoloration of the fingernails or toenails, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, rash, runny nose, sneezing, stuffy nose, and swollen joints.”

Considering that was the largest paragraph in this blog, the fact that you probably skimmed through it, and that this is only one medication that often times has to be taken in conjunction with other medications to counterbalance the side-effects, the alternative route of exercising and eating healthy seems a much better option. It has no side-effects and makes you feel better, not worse than before.

Furthermore, medications for diabetes often lead to heart complications and raised cholesterol which creates a new problem and requires new medication, with another host of side-effects. This leads to even more health complications. The cycle of pain and bad health will continue to persist until the body simply cannot handle it anymore. This is one of the reasons that type 2 diabetes is expected to reduce life-expectancy by 10 years.

Again, the alternative of exercise and proper nutrition has no side-effects and makes you feel better than before. It works because, for one, the amount of glucose and other forms of sugar intake is reduced tremendously so that the body can properly process it. For two, exercise expends energy, which burns the excess glucose and builds muscle which is made of highly active cells that require a lot of glucose, even during rest. As stated before, this can result in the body returning to healthy, non-diabetic levels.

Instead of a downward spiral of bad health, eating right and exercising promotes greater health the longer that it is done. Muscle builds, exercise routines become more intense, and the body gladly accepts the new diet giving more energy and less complications.

With our methods we have had great success. One patient went from a glucose level of 178 mg/dL to 93 mg/dL in only two and a half months. To put that in perspective, the healthy range is 80.00 mg/dL to 95.00 mg/dL of glucose. So the patient went from nearly double the healthy levels of glucose, to a healthy level with simple nutrition in only two in a half months.

If you, or someone you love, is suffering from type 2 diabetes or prediabetes and wants to try the nutrition route please contact my office to schedule an appointment and learn more.


nutrition

How the Diabetes Epidemic can be Reversed

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