DIABETES, AN UNNECESSARY 21^ST CENTURY EPIDEMIC

By Lawrence Wilson, MD

© December 2009, The Center for Development.

INTRODUCTION

Diabetes is an epidemic of vast proportions around the world that costs the nations billions in medical care, disability and early deaths. A recent study indicated that one in every four Americans age 60 or above has diabetes.

Diabetes is defined by the medical profession as elevated sugar in the blood. In reality, however, diabetes is an advanced derangement of the glucose metabolism system that goes far beyond just the level of glucose in the blood or in the urine.

Diabetes responds beautifully to nutritional balancing, and often blood sugar levels will decrease within days or a week or two, at the most, when one starts a properly designed nutritional balancing program.

Metabolic syndrome, Syndrome X, Dysinsulinism and other situations. In fact, diabetes is just the endpoint for a number of imbalances that begin with hypoglycemia. As this condition worsens, the doctors give the condition different names such as dysinsulinism, which is a kind of intermediary dysfunction between hypoglycemia and diabetes.

Metabolic Syndrome is the name given to a set of risk factors for diabetes. They include abdominal obesity, elevated cholesterol and/or triglycerides, other lipid abnormalities, high blood pressure, and others.

CAUSES FOR DIABETES

Medical science divides diabetes into two basic types, called Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1, in particular, has to do with low insulin output from the pancreas. But even in this type, insulin deficiency is not the central problem. I know this because if it were, then insulin replacement therapy, which is the standard treatment, would entirely cure the problem, which it does not. These individuals must still watch their diet carefully and are still prone to a variety of severe complications, as they are called. I would just call them part of the pathology of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is even less related to low pancreatic insulin secretion. It is said to be caused by insulin resistance, which means the insulin the body produces is not able to do its job properly. The medical treatment is frankly barbaric, involving either oral sugar-lowering drugs or insulin. As a result, patients routinely suffer extreme ‘complications’ such as arteriosclerosis, kidney disease, neurological problems, blindness and many others. Here are the real causes, however, most of which are easy to correct with a nutritional balancing program.

1) Improper diet. The most important single factor causing diabetes in most cases is the diet. This should be evident because changing the diet to reduce carbohydrates drastically, as was advocated by Dr. Robert Atkins, MD and others, tends to cause a sharp decline in the blood sugar, often within days.

Carbohydrates include all starches, particularly breads, as well as all sweets and sugars. This may include items such as honey, maple syrup, chocolate, and even milk, fruits and other sugars which are less refined, but nevertheless very sweet.

Carbohydrates and alcohol force the insulin mechanism to secrete greater quantities of this hormone. This has the effect of depleting the pancreas and other glands, and even other systems of the body of their vital nutrients such as zinc, chromium, molybdenum and others.

Not enough water or too much coffee, tea, alcohol or other products that dehydrate the body. I find this is always the case with diabetics. It is discussed below.

The Standard Diabetic Diet. Diabetes would be far less prevalent if doctors prescribed a very low carbohydrate diet. However, the standard diabetic diet is an insult and an abomination. Diabetics are told they may eat some so-called “junk” and chemically processed foods. These include soft drinks, coffee, and other questionable “foods”, especially if made with artificial sweeteners. Yet these chemical sugar substitutes such as aspartame or EqualÒ are worse, in some cases, than consuming sugar.

The standard diabetic diet also includes other terrible products such as refined carbohydrates in the form of cake, cookies and ice cream as long as they do not contain sugar. This is inexcusable, in my opinion. The diabetic needs the highest quality and most nutrient-dense foods to rebuild and replenish a depleted body.

A Better Diabetic Diet. The proper diet should be built around cooked vegetables in large quantities, especially steamed ones to get the most minerals from them. Salads are too hard to digest and should be avoided. Also, eat free range beef and other meats that are not fed corn, if possible.

Eggs are okay and so are natural or certified raw dairy products and olive oil. Flax, hempseed and evening primrose oil should be in the diet as well to supply omega-e fatty acids and may be better for diabetics than fish oil, another source of omega-3 fatty acids but one that may contain a little mercury, a toxic metal that is common with diabetes. These simple dietary changes will do wonders, often in a matter of days or weeks.

2. Trace mineral deficiencies. Eating too many refined carbohydrates drastically depletes the body of zinc, magnesium, chromium, manganese and some other trace elements and other nutrients. This is certainly a part of the cause of diabetes as well, according to hair mineral analyses on thousands of diabetics.

3. Carrying excessive weight. This appears to be a critical matter for many people with diabetes. When the body has excessive weight, the adrenal glands and other organs must work much harder to supply the body with all of its necessary hormones, including insulin.

Therefore, the system becomes overburdened easily and succumbs to diabetes and many other health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis and others. For more on this factor, click here for the Weight Loss article. Many diabetics have an apple-shaped body and need to reduce their carbohydrate intake. When they do this, and begin eating many more cooked vegetables, the weight drops off easily. In other cases, one may need iodine and other factors to complete the weight loss process, which is usually easy with nutritional balancing science.

4. Dehydration. This may sound like an unusual cause, but many diabetics love coffee and drink a lot of it. Coffee slowly dehydrates the body, and for some reason this can cause the blood sugar to rise very high. Also, many diabetics and others do not drink enough spring or distilled water. This also causes dehydration. Every adult needs about 3 quarts daily of distilled water for a few months, and then spring water only. Coffee is not helpful, nor is a lot of caffeinated tea, alcohol or other beverages such as fruit juices, soda pop and others.

Often, just quitting coffee and tea, and switching to distilled or spring water – 3 quarts every day - can reduce diabetic symptoms quickly.

5. Iron toxicity and/or the presence of toxic metals. Iron can replace zinc in the pancreas, and is commonly involved in diabetes. Other toxic metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, primarily, often also play a role by interfering with zinc, manganese and calcium metabolism. This can have profound effects on blood sugar.

Iron in the Diet. Too much red meat can be a source of iron. Even worse is eating white flour, however. Most of it is enriched with iron by law, whether or not it is stated on the label. This iron is poorly absorbed, but can accumulate in the body because the flour is stripped of its trace minerals, so there is little to compete with the iron for absorption. The result is significant absorption of iron because most bodies are hungry for minerals.

Thousands of products contain enriched wheat flour such as breads of all kinds, pastries, cakes, cookies, dressings, sauces and canned soups. This is another reason why diabetes is now a worldwide epidemic, even if people do not eat large amounts of sugar. For more information about iron, click here.

Anger and iron. People who are angry appear to retain more iron. This is a common finding in some cancer patients and in diabetics.

6. Stress. Stress can play a major role in diabetes. Some diabetics push themselves and love to live in the fast lane. This adds a lot of stress. They also do not like to care for themselves in many cases. This is a deadly combination. When under more stress, the adrenal glands secrete more sugar into the blood and this requires more insulin to move it out of the blood and into the body cells.

7. Genetics. Doctors often discuss the genetic factor in diabetes. However, this cannot account for the epidemic rise of diabetes this century. Perhaps more correct is to say that if your family lives on sugar, you are more likely to do so as well.

Also, if a parent was deficient in specific trace minerals such as zinc or chromium, their children are often born deficient in those nutrients, which makes them more prone to illnesses such as diabetes. Therefore, I basically reject the genetic argument in favor of a congenital and environmental influence in diabetes.

Age as a factors. Many develop diabetes as they age. However, aging is not the cause as much as simple nutrient deficiencies, toxic metal accumulation, lower energy production and similar causes. Today, people are developing diabetes at younger ages. This is probably due to more severe mineral deficiencies and even worse diets than in the past.

DETECTING DIABETES

If you believe you may have diabetes, the definitive test is a 5-hour glucose tolerance test or GTT. No other blood or urine test will work as well. Diabetes is not always easy to find because the blood sugar can fluctuate. However, it really should not stay up above 100 mg or so for any length of time.

Symptoms of hidden diabetes. Millions of Americans and others around the world have diabetes who are never diagnosed with the disease because their symptoms are subtle. They include fatigue, hypoglycemic symptoms such as sweet craving, frequent urination or unexplained weight gain or weight loss.

These people need a hair analysis or some other early detection method to identify their blood sugar abnormalities, hopefully before they develop full-blown diabetes.

HAIR ANALYSIS INDICATORS OF DIABETES

Dr. Paul Eck, with whom I studied for 14 years, found that certain hair mineral ratios are associated with an increased tendency for diabetes. The main indicators are a sodium/potassium ratio less than 2.5:1, and/or a calcium/magnesium ratio greater than 12:1 or less than 3:1. However, I have not been able to confirm the calcium/magnesium connection, so I do not use that indicator.

Other telltale signs include a zinc level less than about 12 mg%, and other possible ones include copper or iron toxicity, or the presence of cadmium, in particular, although any of the toxic metals can predispose one to diabetes.

These are trends only. It may take years for a trend to develop into illness. Also, in some individuals the trend may be masked by other factors so that it is not revealed on the first hair analysis.

CORRECTION OF DIABETES

THE MEDICAL APPROACH AND ITS SHORTCOMINGS

The standard medical approach to diabetes is the use of insulin shots or sugar-lowering drugs. Diet is also part of the program, but usually it not nearly strictly enough. Weight loss is also part of the treatment, but again the recommended diets will not reduce weight by enough to make a difference in most cases. Stress reduction and rest are usually not even mentioned.

Oral anti-diabetic drugs. In my view, these are dangerous drugs that are associated with heart attacks and other fatal ‘side effects’. They are also purely temporary fixes and do not address the cause of diabetes at all.

Commonly-used drugs include Amaryl, Apo-Chlorprompamide, Apo-Glyburide, Apo-Tolbutamide, DiaBeta, Diabinese, Dimelor, Dymelor, Euglucon, Glucotrol, Gen-Glybe, Glucamide, Glucotrol (XL), Glynase Pres Tab, Micronase, Novo-butamide, Novo-Propamide, Orinase, Tolamide, Tolinase and perhaps a few others. I would avoid these drugs, as all they do is stimulate the insulin-producing cells until the cells ‘burnout’ nutritionally. Then the drugs stop working and one must take insulin, according to the medical view. This is completely insane, and I feel it does little or nothing for the patient except deplete his money and his body further.

Insulin. Insulin replacement therapy will lower blood sugar, but also damages the body severely and does not stop the complications of diabetes in most cases. The only time to use it is if a person refuses to do a nutritional balancing program.

NUTRITIONAL BALANCING FOR DIABETES

Many cases of diabetes can be staved off with diet alone. The diet must be extremely healthful to restore many nutrients to the body. It should consist of mainly cooked vegetables, with some animal protein daily and absolutely no grains, fruits, fruit juices or sugars at all for a few years, at least. It may be best to also avoid red meat for a few months, perhaps, to reduce iron in the body. Adult onset diabetes, in particular, responds excellently to this diet, especially when one adds several important supplements that everyone requires such as kelp for iodine and trace minerals, zinc, chromium, manganese, B-complex vitamins, vitamins A and D, and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil or other sources.

Even better is to have a hair mineral analysis that is properly interpreted by the method pioneered by Dr. Paul Eck. With this, one can assess the oxidation rate, toxic metal levels, tendencies for over 50 conditions and much more. Based upon it, a simple but very powerful program of supplementation, detoxification and more can be set up that will significantly enhance one’s progress.

OTHER IMPORTANT FACETS OF NATURAL THERAPY

Rest and Sleep. Lots of rest and sleep are a key for healing diabetes in many cases. One should get at least 10 hours of rest each and every evening. If this is not possible, then get as close to this as you can. Also, going to bed early, say before 9 PM, is ideal. Again, get as close to this as possible.

Detoxification. This has already been discussed briefly, but is essential for full recovery from diabetes. We find the best and least costly, as well as the most comfortable methods are the coffee enema daily and the near infrared or, though somewhat less effective, a far infrared or conventional sauna each day for at least 30 minutes. Most people should start with a shorter time, however, and check blood sugar and other parameters if needed until they are sure they tolerate the sauna well. The conventional sauna, for example, is often too hot for some people to tolerate well. The coolest sauna is the near infrared lamp sauna. The far infrared is in the middle of these two.

COMPLICATIONS WITH DIABETES

The worst aspect of diabetes is that many people end up losing toes, feet, legs or even another extremity. Blindness is common later on, as are diabetic neuropathy, kidney failure, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis and other problems.

In my limited experience with diabetics, these complications will not occur if the disease is handled with a nutritional approach.

SUGAR AND CELL MEMBRANES

Diabetes can involve problems with the transport of sugar across cell membranes. This is enhanced by omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, and perhaps by supplementing with chromium and perhaps manganese.

Sugar does not just deplete the pancreas of insulin and many nutrients. It also hardens the cell membranes. The technical name for this is glycation. It is a sclerosis process in the bodies of almost everyone who lives on sweets and sugars of all kinds, including too many complex carbohydrates such as bread, (usually sweetened), rice, potatoes and more.

This is a cause of diabetes and slows the correction process because the cell membranes must be regenerated properly, which takes months to a few years.

DIABETES AND THE ENERGY PATHWAY

Diabetes is a serious derangement of the body’s energy production system. This system requires dozens of nutrients and is quite complex. Fixing it also requires removing toxins, such as heavy metals and toxic chemicals, that can block normal enzyme activity. This is another key to correcting diabetes and one reason the process of correction can be somewhat slow. Nutrients involved in the energy pathway are:

· Cortisol and cortisone secreted by the adrenal glands convert stored fuel to glucose, raising blood glucose levels.

· Manganese, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A and pantothenic acid are all essential for adrenal gland activity.

· Excessive tissue calcium and magnesium interfere with transport of nutrients and hormones into the body cells.

· Zinc is needed to make insulin, to secrete insulin and to extend the action of insulin. Insulin is the substance that transports glucose from the blood into the cells.

· Chromium helps the insulin molecule attach to the cell walls to transport glucose into the cells.

· Manganese is a critical element for the regulation of blood sugar. It must be supplemented, along with chromium, zinc and other trace elements for full recovery from diabetes and even from simple hypoglycemia.

· Magnesium, iron, copper and a variety of B vitamins are needed to convert glucose to ATP.

· Vitamin E protects delicate enzymes from oxidant damage.

· Thyroid hormone acts as the spark to help utilize glucose within the cells

· Potassium sensitizes the tissues to thyroid hormone.

· Manganese, selenium and iodine are needed for thyroid activity.

· Omega-3 fatty acids vitamin D and K, and many others are also involved in various steps of the body’s energy pathway.

· Balancing the oxidation rate is also critical for energy production.

Preventing diabetes. If you want to prevent diabetes or correct it, stop eating all sweets today. Do not argue about it, don’t discuss which are better than others and don’t forget that complex carbohydrates break down into sugar and these must be limited, but not totally eliminated, as well. This would go a long ways to ending the diabetes in the entire world overnight.

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