by Raymond Francis
Diabetes, a metabolic disorder affecting carbohydrate metabolism, is an out-of-control epidemic. It doesn’t have to be this way. Diabetes is both preventable and reversible.
About 18 million Americans have diabetes. Another 16 million have pre-diabetes, and about one-out-of-three people with diabetes are unaware they have it. Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes is the most common form, and it has become epidemic in our children, with alarming increases in the last decade. Type 2 diabetes has been transformed from a disease of older people to a disease of children and young adults. An American child born in 2000 stands a one-in-three chance of being diagnosed with diabetes in his or her lifetime.
Finding out you have diabetes can be scary because diabetes is a nasty disease. Diabetics suffer from high levels of free radicals, and oxidative stress is central to the damage caused by diabetes. It is a silent killer that causes life-threatening heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and foot and leg amputations in adults. Diabetes also increases the risk of cancer, depression, high blood pressure, autoimmune disorders, and periodontal disease, as well as premature aging, early death and painful peripheral nerve damage. Every month 66,499 new cases are diagnosed!
Conventional treatment of diabetes is a failure. Conventional physicians are completely unaware that diabetes can be cured. Nor do they necessarily want to become aware, since if the disease goes away, so does their income. In truth, numerous studies in medical journals have proven that type 2 diabetes can be easily controlled or reversed in the majority of patients. One study in the December 15, 2005 Journal of Applied Physiology found that in as little as three weeks more than half of type 2 diabetics can be completely cured by making changes in diet and exercising. Just imagine what can be done with more time, plus a high-quality supplement program.
Modern medicine’s treatment of diabetes is focused on controlling blood sugar with drugs. However, drugs do not cure disease; they merely “manage” it. People are told they have to remain on these drugs for the rest of their life, but the drugs cannot control the disease perfectly, so they are at risk for all the “side effects” of diabetes.
Diabetes, or for that matter any disease, ceases to be mysterious once you understand my Beyond Health Model of One Disease and Two Causes. All disease is the result of malfunctioning cells caused by deficiency and toxicity. All you have to do is restore those cells to normal function by eliminating deficiency and toxicity, and the disease will disappear – albeit, this is sometimes easier said than done.
Diabetes is a disease involving altered sugar metabolism. Sugar is a basic fuel for the cells in the body, and the hormone insulin is necessary to get sugar from the blood into the cells. Diabetes happens when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore (are resistant to) signals from the insulin. This situation results in the cells not getting the sugar they need to create energy, which sends a signal to the pancreas to produce more insulin. Soon both sugar and insulin build up in the blood to toxic levels with catastrophic results. Cells become starved for energy and are unable to carry on their normal metabolism, resulting in severe cellular malfunction.
The wrong fats in the diet contribute to insulin resistance, but the primary cause of diabetes is the consumption of highly refined sugars and carbohydrates such as table sugar and white flour, which the body was never designed to process. When we eat these so-called “foods,” they initiate a cascade of abnormal biochemistry that results in disease. Tragically, these recently manmade inventions masquerading as food make up most of our diet – they are devoid of nutrition, have a toxic effect on the body, and are the primary causes of our pandemic of chronic and degenerative disease. Nutrient-rich foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be substituted for these make-believe foods.
Eating processed “foods” made with sugar and white flour contributes to another cause of diabetes – chronic mineral deficiencies. Most Americans suffer from deficiencies in major minerals like zinc, magnesium and selenium. These minerals are necessary for normal blood sugar metabolism and hormone balance, and their absence causes the body to crave food. These food cravings are usually consumed as more sugar and white flour, which only compounds the problem.
Mineral supplementation helps to ease hunger cravings and to reverse diabetes by supporting proper sugar metabolism. However, most multivitamin and mineral supplements contain forms of minerals that are virtually useless, such as carbonates and oxides. It is essential that any nutritional supplements you take provide the minerals in natural, bioavailable forms. The Beyond Health brand is one you can trust to do this.
Another cause of diabetes is medical intervention. Since modern medicine is our leading cause of death and a major cause of disease, it should not be a surprise that another cause of diabetes is prescription drugs. Antidepressant drugs interfere with blood sugar metabolism, promoting type 2 diabetes. Antidepressants are toxic, ineffective, expensive and dangerous. Since nutritional solutions to depression are safer and far more effective, no one should be taking antidepressants in the first place.
Lack of exercise is another important contributor to diabetes. Exercise is necessary because it recalibrates your metabolism, hormones, and nervous system, boosting insulin sensitivity. There is no way to beat diabetes without making exercise a habit. You don’t have to become an exercise freak or run marathons to get positive results. One study showed that 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity reduces diabetes by 58 percent among people at risk. Rebounding in the privacy of your home is extremely beneficial. Exercise frequency is even more important than exercise intensity. Rebounding even 15 minutes a day is better than exercising only on weekends. The best exercise for you is the one you are willing to stick with, whether that is walking, running, swimming, dancing or rebounding. The important thing is to get moving on a regular basis. Start slowly and keep increasing.
To prevent or reverse diabetes, you have to first stop assaulting your biochemistry with man-made artificial foods. This means avoiding sodas, candy, ice cream, breads, pasta, pastries, cereals, or any other product containing a refined sugar or grain. It would be best to avoid all processed foods. If you must have something sweet, use safe sweeteners such as stevia and agave nectar.
Avoid animal fats and consume healthy fats such as high-quality olive, flax, coconut, and fish oils. Meat and dairy contain the wrong fats and contribute to diabetes. Do not eat fried foods or any food that contains hydrogenated oils. Healthy, plant-based fats provide omega-3 fatty acids and other fats known to help reverse diabetes. Avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish all contain beneficial essential fatty acids. Healthy fats maintain healthy insulin sensitivity as well as protect the heart from oxidative damage, reducing blood “stickiness,” and boosting cognitive function and moods.
On the bottom line, the cellular malfunction we call diabetes is caused by dietary imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, toxicities and a lack of exercise. Eat a diet high in fiber and unrefined carbohydrates, such as fresh vegetables and whole grains, and low in saturated fat. Supplement with critical nutrients. Diabetes can be cured if you address these core issues. Many thousands of people have done so, and so can you.
To accomplish this objective, there are a number of nutrients I recommend. These are contained in the Beyond Health Life Essentials Comprehensive Kit, along with the Diabetes Support Kit. Since diabetes produces a flood of free radicals, antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E are essential. Vitamin E has even been shown to help prevent type 2 diabetes. B vitamins are critical – Vitamin B3 is required for the function of over 50 enzymes affecting energy production.
Minerals such as chromium and magnesium are essential. Chromium is an essential trace mineral that plays a significant role in sugar metabolism, helping to control blood sugar levels. Magnesium enhances blood sugar control, and people with diabetes are often deficient in magnesium.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) improves blood sugar control, lowers blood pressure, and prevents oxidative damage. Quercitin is a powerful flavonoid, decreasing levels of blood glucose and oxidants. Lipoic acid is a powerful antioxidant that enhances blood sugar control and helps to prevent the development of long-term complications. Carnitine lowers blood glucose, increases insulin sensitivity, and optimizes fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Carnitine deficiency is common in type 2 diabetes. Ginkgo biloba has been shown to prevent diabetic retinopathy and to lower blood sugar levels. Fiber is essential and is known to reduce blood-sugar levels by 10 percent.
Creating health is something we all have the power to do. It becomes a lot easier after you understand the Beyond Health model of One Disease and Two Causes. Disease manifests when cells malfunction, and cells malfunction for only two reasons – deficiency and toxicity. Address deficiency and toxicity, restore cells to normal, and disease goes away.
© 2007, Beyond Health®
Raymond Francis is an M.I.T.-trained scientist, a registered nutrition consultant, author of Never Be Sick Again, host of the Beyond Health Show, and an internationally recognized leader in the field of optimal health maintenance.
Source: www.beyondhealth.com
