The Truth about Diabetes

Today, we’re going to discuss a chronic health issue in America. It’s Diabetes. According to Sandra Ellis in Dr. Mom’s Healthy Living, “Diabetes is a controllable and curable condition, but it takes a strong commitment to change your lifestyle.” Now the emphasis here is on the word ‘STRONG”! Diabetes is nothing to mess with. If you are pre-diabetic or have type 2 diabetes, you need to get serious about your diet and lifestyle right now. What was previously considered a disease of affluence is now a widespread concern tied to poor diets, sedentary lifestyles, and toxic overload.

Here are some stats: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 38.4 million adults (11.6%) in the United States have diabetes.

·        An estimated 8.7 million people (22.8%) with diabetes are undiagnosed.

·        The prevalence of diabetes is higher among older adults, non-Hispanic white adults, and adults with obesity.

·        Among children and adolescents, 1.6 million have diabetes.

Besides being a  "disease of affluence," it often occurs alongside gout—another expression of metabolic dysfunction tied to high-protein, acidic, processed diets. How long one has had the condition, and which type it is, determines how devastating the effects are on the body, but some of the more severe outcomes include blindness, kidney failure, and heart disease, not to mention amputations.

Prescribed diabetes medications, including synthetic insulin, often make matters worse.  These meds treat symptoms, not the root cause of dis-ease. As the Hippocratic oath stated, the first step is to do no harm and not to administer poisons. My goal as a natural health care practitioner and Naturopath is to clear out any debris or diseased tissues and rebuild with herbal ingredients.

Second, persons suffering from diabetes or obesity are sometimes restricted in the drinking of wholesome liquids, which produces constipation. If thirsty tissues are not quenched properly, they will absorb as much water as possible from the feces. Likewise, it is important to eliminate salt from the diet. Adding salt to food increases thirst for water needed to dissolve salt and pass it through the skin and kidneys.

The third step to well-being from a diabetic or pre-diabetic condition is to follow a program with daily, rigorous exercise and periodic fasting.  Any program should highlight the importance of taking herbs that assist and rebuild the body’s eliminative organs while adhering to a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds. Exercise without the herbal supplements may cause additional constipation.

The best herbs to support cleansing and assist the liver in detoxification are milk thistle and burdock root. We also want to look at herbs that help reduce blood sugar levels. My go-to herb for this is cinnamon. Yep. It’s tasty and also helps with high cholesterol levels as well as weight loss! That’s a lot of bang for the buck!

Ginger is another herb that helps improve glucose levels in the blood. I also like the circulatory herbs like ginkgo biloba.  Turmeric increases the level of insulin secretion. Make sure you are including black pepper in your turmeric supplementation. Don’t forget one of my favorite herbs – GARLIC. I swear, this little gem is the King of Herbs in my never-to-be-humble opinion. It is so valuable for so many things, and it has been found in clinical studies to reduce blood glucose levels. I use it every day, and I can’t think of much that I cook that doesn’t contain garlic. We even add it to our homemade food for the Corgis. It’s no accident that I married an Italian! But I digress! Back to the herbs!

Gotu Kola is useful for managing conditions that may result from diabetes, such as neuropathy and microangiopathy. Neuropathy is a disorder of the nervous system that may result from diabetes and is associated with symptoms such as pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness. Last is Goldenseal, which contains berberine. Berberine has significant blood sugar-lowering components.

Add a healthy diet to these herbs and daily walking – JUST WALKING, and you can significantly reduce your blood sugar levels and stabilize your insulin production. I keep saying it, folks, this is not rocket science. It’s not expensive and it’s not hard. But you have to really WANT to commit to it. Good health is so precious, and when things like diabetes are absolutely preventable without pharmaceuticals, why wouldn’t you take this critical step?

If you need help, please give me a call and let me help you on your journey to true, natural wellness. I have meal plans specifically formulated for those of you with diabetes, as well as those who may be pre-diabetic. You can DO this! Take charge of your health today, and Let’s Get Better!

Call me!