Diabetes, Part Two of Two – A Wholistic Perspective on American Epidemic

 

In Part One you learned what diabetes is, how common it is, what’s happening in the body, what causes it, and the conventional drugs-for-symptoms approach.

How to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes                                                                                                                        

Regular exercise, and eating an organic, nutrient-dense diet of mostly vegetables and protein, with little sugar and grains, is a great way to stay well, prevent disease, and stay drug-free. Greens and protein at every meal is a simple and effective tip.

What About Coffee?

Studies show that people who regularly drink coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated) have a 23-50% lower risk of developing T2D. While the association is still being investigated, what is it about coffee that makes it helpful in preventing T2D?

This is an interesting association – the idea that drinking coffee, even seven cups per day in one study, reduces your risk of developing diabetes. To a coffee drinker, this sounds great, and may even encourage them to not only feel justified in drinking coffee, but drinking even more.

There are two issues here. One, association does not prove causation. In other words, the coffee drinking may not be the cause of the reduction in diabetes risk. Second, and more important, is that coffee, regardless of its possible preventative effects in diabetes, comes with considerable adverse effects for many people. This is because coffee contains relatively large amounts of the world’s most popular drug: caffeine. In the words of research scientist and author Candace Pert, PhD, discoverer of endorphins, “any honest scientist or pharmacologist will tell you that caffeine is indeed a drug.”

Caffeine, as a drug, is what we call a neuroendocrine stimulant. This means that it will give you a short-term lift, at a long-term cost. By continuously stimulating your brain and hormonal system, caffeine wears you out, just like turning up the brightness on a flashlight uses up the batteries faster. In 27 years of practice seeing many thousands of patients, I have seen what daily coffee consumption does to many people – eventually producing fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, and a dependence on that drug (caffeine). There are far safer ways to reduce diabetes risk than with coffee. Also consider that coffee, unless organic, is a highly sprayed crop which carries pesticide and herbicide residues. And many people drink flavored coffee, which is usually high in sugar, or add their own sugar (or, even worse, artificial sweeteners) to their coffee, causing more problems. To adapt a Frank Zappa metaphor, drinking coffee to prevent diabetes is like treating a headache with decapitation.

Fruit vs Fruit Juice

A study published in the British Medical Journal found that people who consume whole fruits such as blueberries, grapes and apples foods have a lowered risk of developing T2D, where those who consumed fruit juice instead had a higher risk.

A critical factor found in fruit but not in fruit juice, is fiber. Fiber, a type of carbohydrate found in most foods, is not digestible, or able to be broken down in your gut. About 75% of your stool is made up of fiber. Fiber has remarkable and powerful benefits to your entire system, and dramatically reduces the impact of sugars that you eat.

There are two types of fiber – soluble and insoluble, each with its own unique benefits. Water-soluble fiber, like that found in fruit, slows down sugar absorption and reduces the sugar “spike” after eating that stimulates insulin release. Remember that the more insulin you make, the more your cells can become resistant to it, and the more likely that the insulin-producing part of your pancreas (the beta cells) will wear out over time. Soluble fiber also helps you feel full, reducing how much food you eat. This may explain why eating soluble fiber helps you lose weight. Soluble fiber is also a prebiotic, which means that it can be fermented by bacteria in your gut to produce many beneficial compounds, keep your colon acidic (very important), and support the critical gut microbiome. Fruit juice contains little or no fiber, so you get all the sugar without the protective benefit of the fiber.

What about Fruit Juice?

Fruit juice, or even worse, high fructose corn syrup added to drinks, can increase one’s risk of diabetes, by adding sugar – about 8 teaspoons(!) in an eight-ounce glass – without the sugar-balancing effects of soluble fiber. A typical serving of fruit (about a half-cup) provides a little more than 1/3 teaspoon (1.1 grams) of soluble fiber. Many authorities recommend eating 20-35 grams of fiber per day and the average American only eats about half that. This helps explain why one-third of all Americans are diabetic or pre-diabetic (high blood sugar, short of being diagnosed as diabetic) Though I recommend eating at least twice as much vegetables as fruit, I don’t believe that eating fruit can cause diabetes in most people, for this reason.

How Much Fruit to Eat?

There are a few considerations here. One is eating almost all organic fruits, as non-organic fruits are sprayed with toxic farm chemicals that end up in your body. Two, eating seasonally, in other words what is growing in your region, is ideal. For most people, this means eating more fruit in the summer, and less in the winter. Three, eat twice as many vegetables as fruit. Finally, focus on the highly-protective fruits, like berries, which have a range of body-protective compounds beyond the soluble fiber. At the end of the day, I generally recommend eating about one cup per day of berries or other low-glycemic foods. Remember that eating fruit is not the same as drinking fruit juice or eating added-sugar foods. Now go get some organic berries and enjoy!

Hydrate

Increasing water intake may help prevent or reverse diabetes. Correcting dehydration can increase blood volume and therefore dilute blood sugar. It also helps the kidneys flush sugar through the urine. How much water to drink? Two good criteria are drinking according to thirst, and making sure you pass pale yellow urine at least three times each day. Ideally drink spring or reverse osmosis-filtered water.

A two-year study of prediabetic people found that those who reduced food portions had a 46% lower risk of diabetes than those who made no lifestyle changes. Another study found that controlling portion size was one factor in reducing the risk of T2D.

Eat Moderately

Given that most people eat a high-glycemic, high-sugar diet, it makes sense that the more you eat, the more sugar your body must deal with. Those pre-diabetic people were likely already used to eating sugary foods. Again, the greatest source of “hidden” sugar in one’s diet is not what you eat, but what you drink! For example, a bottle of sweetened tea or a can of soda contains about seven tablespoons of sugar. So, eating less reduces the glycemic load on the three main organs of blood sugar balance – your liver, pancreas, and adrenal glands.

Eating less also contains a key to health aging – conserving organ reserve. This principle has been part of Chinese medicine for thousands of years – that preserving organ capacity, through moderation in lifestyle choices and taking strengthening herbs, can lead to a long and healthy life largely free of disease.

The simplest approach is to portion control is to develop the healthful habit of pushing the plate away and finish eating before you are full. Leave the table with a little room in your tummy. Except for times like Thanksgiving dinner, don’t eat to fullness. Second, chew well and put the fork down between bites. The goal is to eat consciously, and slow down your eating to give your stomach time to expand, so that you feel full. Eating fast leads to eating more, and not chewing well leads to poor digestion.

Exercise

A study in people with prediabetes found that moderate-intensity exercise increased insulin sensitivity by 51% and high-intensity exercise increased it by 85% on days they worked out.

A January 2000 study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that “…physical training can be considered to play an important, if not essential role in the treatment and prevention of insulin insensitivity.”

Your brain is the biggest consumer of blood sugar, creating about 20% of your total body energy per day. The second biggest sugar-burners are your muscles. By improving circulation, using up available sugar and increasing your sugar-handling efficiency, physical exercise is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of diabetes and its sibling, cardiovascular disease.

Current research suggests that the best combination of exercise is resistive (working against gravity or weights) and high-intensity interval training (short bursts of intense exertion). Aerobic exercise is also helpful, to be sure, and any exercise is better than no exercise. Exercising 30 minutes per day, or four hours per week, is effective.

My favorite three tips for finding an exercise routine you love, and sticking with it, are:

• Do exercises you enjoy, and change it up – variety is fun!

• Exercise with a partner or group – the social connection can be as nourishing as the workout

• Do some or most of it outside, unless weather makes it unsafe

Meditation

We know that cortisol, one of the main stress hormones, leads to insulin resistance and diabetes. We also know that conscious relaxation reduces cortisol levels. Meditate, or at least do slow breathing.

The simplest method, backed by an impressive stack of research, is seated slow breathing. Sit upright, and do seven breath cycles (a complete in and out breath) per minute for five minutes, upon rising and before sleep. This is one breath every eight or nine seconds. Once you are comfortable with that, slow that to six and even five breaths per minute. That’s one breath every 10-12 seconds. I guarantee that within a month you and therefore your life will change for the better, and you’ll become a happier, calmer person who is nicer to be around. And you’ll reduce your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease to boot.

Supplementation

The “mineral triad” for good glycemic control is:

1. Zinc. The zinc content in the insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cell is among the highest in the body. Zinc protects the beta cells. Zinc deficiency alone can cause type I or II diabetes, because the body cannot store and release insulin properly. Zinc directly reduces the inflammatory signals that damage the beta cells, a process that leads to type I diabetes. I take and have had clinical success with Zinc Liver Chelate from Standard Process, which has been around for 30 years, and also provides the benefit of organic beet, carrot and sweet potato.

2. Magnesium. A 2004 article in Magnesium Research, Vol. 17 #2, states that “Magnesium is required for both proper glucose utilization and insulin signaling. Metabolic alterations in cellular magnesium, which may play the role of a second messenger for insulin action, contribute to insulin resistance.” I recommend Magnesium Lactate, which has also been used in clinical practice for 30 years, from Standard Process.

3. Chromium. Many studies, including a 2004 article in Diabetes Education, entitled “A scientific review: the role of chromium in insulin resistance” confirm the role of chromium in regulating insulin action. Chromium supplements can lower insulin resistance and reduce some of the metabolic disturbances associated with metabolic syndrome. It’s important to avoid the common but dangerous chromium picolinate. When the body cleaves the chromium off this compound, the resulting free picolinic acid appears to be carcinogenic through DNA damage and mutation, especially in the presence of synthetic ascorbic acid (nearly all so-called vitamin C supplements). This was confirmed by John Vincent, PhD and colleagues at the University of Alabama. I have had success with Cataplex GTF by Standard Process, a food-sourced trivalent, or Glucose Tolerance Factor, chromium, which has been used successfully for 36 years, also includes beneficial buckwheat and liver.

Buckwheat

A true superfood, buckwheat is not actually a grain, and is not wheat. It is also gluten-free, for those who have concerns about gluten. Buckwheat, especially a combination of both buckwheat seed and leaf, improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood sugar, improves vascular health (reduces varicose veins, blood clots and more), and provides a complete protein and natural multi-mineral.

A Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin study from June 2001 confirmed that “…Buckwheat seed has the effect of reducing serum lipid, glucose, increasing insulin sensitivity and anti-lipid peroxidation…”

A 2007 paper in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, Volume 34, found that “…consumption of buckwheat seed may be a preventative factor for hypertension, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia…”

In addition to including buckwheat in the diet, I take and recommend Cyruta and Cyruta Plus, organic buckwheat seed and leaf concentrates, from Standard Process.

Herbal Therapy

Many herbs can lower high blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. Here are a few of my favorites:

Gymnema sylvestre leaf: reduces dietary sugar absorption, lowers blood sugar, and appears to actually regenerate and heal damaged insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. I recommend Gymnema tablets from MediHerb. I have found it to work within weeks, and it appears to have cumulative benefit, with peak effects coming within two years.

Herbs that improve insulin resistance by increasing insulin sensitivity include:

Milk Thistle seed. A placebo-controlled clinical trial published in 2006 in Phytotherapy Research,Vol. 20, found that taking Silymarin (milk thistle extract) for 4 months produced significant reductions in HGB-A1C (13%), fasting blood glucose (15%), and triglycerides (25%).

This wonderful herb also protects the liver from damage from chemical exposure (which affects everyone these days), helps regenerate a damaged liver, and improves bile production and flow. I have been quite impressed by the formula I use in practice, the Silymarin tablets from MediHerb.

Panax Ginseng root. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in a 2008 edition of Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, Vol, 18, found that panax (Korean) ginseng reduced fasting insulin (an excellent marker for measuring insulin resistance) by an impressive 34%.

This herb is the king of the tonic adaptogen herbs, used for millennia to promote vitality and longevity. The formulas I use clinically that contain this herb include HerbaVital, Rhodiola and Ginseng Complex, and Korean Ginseng 1:2 liquid, all from MediHerb.

Ginkgo Biloba leaf. Ginkgo is an astounding herb that improves circulation, vascular health, memory, radiation resistance and much more. An animal study published in a 2011 edition of Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Volume 1, found that ginkgo leaf reduces insulin resistance. A 2011 Journal of Medicinal PlantsResearch, Vol. 5, published a study that revealed “Ginkgo biloba extract can improve glucolipid [sugar and fat] metabolism and may have protective effects on hepatocytes [liver cells] and endothelial [lining of blood vessels] function of blood vessels & partly or remarkably reverse endothelial dysfunction and steatohepatitis [inflamed and fatty liver] due to IR [insulin resistance]”.

I consider ginkgo to be one of the most important preventative and therapeutic botanicals in the world, take it daily myself, and use it constantly in practice. The formulas I use clinically that contain this herb include Ginkgo Forte, HerbaVital, Gotu Kola Complex, Horsechestnut Complex and PulmaCo, all from MediHerb.

Next Steps

If you would like a personalized diabetes risk assessment and health evaluation, or a customized diet, lifestyle and supplementation program, schedule a live, phone or video appointment with my associate Dr Brandy McCans or myself, at www.michaelgaeta.com. My Blog archive is there too.

If you are a health professional who would like to improve your patient care and practice success with natural functional medicine, click here to learn about my one-year certification program, or click here for a schedule of upcoming live trainings, and here for my free monthly master class.  And join us for the next offering of the well-reviewed Autoimmune Mastery Program for health professionals, in September 2017.

If you’re concerned about vaccines (intelligent, independent-thinking people are, and for good reason, as they do far more harm than good), click here to receive my e-booklet on vaccines, and keep up-to-date on my upcoming articles and events. And do something to protect and expand vaccine choice, parental rights and informed consent.

Final Thoughts

Though it looks like diabetes incidence and deaths will get worse before they get better, I am hopeful. People are waking up to the proven dangers of sugar, corn syrup, genetically-modifiedfoods, vaccines, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and lack of physical activity. Every day, more people are choosing a low-glycemic, nutrient-dense diet, taking natural (not synthetic) supplements, and getting off their butts to exercise. Your main job is you. Take care of yourself, and become an example to others who will want to know the secrets to your vitality.