DIABETES, A 21^ST CENTURY EPIDEMIC

By Lawrence Wilson, MD

© August 2010, 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. Many go undiagnosed for years, which only makes correction more difficult when the disease is discovered.

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 science, especially Type 2 diabetes or so-called adult-onset diabetes. 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 can begin with hypoglycemia. As this condition worsens, the doctors give the condition different names such as dysinsulinism, which is a type 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 perhaps other serum abnormalities such as a high C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation. Metabolic syndrome is very common, and usually due simply to overeating on carbohydrates, and especially simple carbohydrates and sugars. It is discussed in a separate article entitled Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X.

TYPES OF DIABETES

Medical science usually divides diabetes into two basic types, called Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 occurs more often in children or younger adults. It is often due to an infection of the pancreas that stops or reduces insulin production, and has much less to do with the diet, dehydration or lifestyle.

Type 2 diabetes is also sometimes called adult-onset diabetes because it usually occurs later in life. In fact, among the elderly, many if not most have some degree of high blood sugar. It is less related to low insulin output. In fact, insulin levels are often high in these people.

Type 2 diabetes has more to do with what is called Metabolic Syndrome and with insulin resistance. This means that while plenty of insulin is present, the insulin is unable to do its job of lowering the blood sugar in the body. In other words, the body exhibits insulin resistance or resistance to insulin for some reason.

CAUSES OF DIABETES

In my experience, Type 1 diabetes is often due to a chronic infection. Type 2 diabetes is associated with a diet too high in carbohydrates, particularly simple carbohydrates. It is also associated with deficiencies of minerals such as zinc, manganese, chromium and perhaps others. It may also be associated with other metabolic imbalances such as iron and manganese toxicity and others explained below. Sometimes an infection occurs just before the onset of diabetes, so one can assume that the infection may settle in the pancreas and impair insulin production or secretion.

Doctors often blame genetics, but this does not explain the exploding incidence of diabetes in the world.

Is the problem in Type 1 diabetes just low insulin? In fact, insulin deficiency is not the only problem in all cases. 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 complications, such as peripheral neuropathies, kidney failure, ulcers that won’t heal, blindness and more. I would not call these complications as much as they are part of the deeper pathology of diabetes.

Causes for Type 2 diabetes. As mentioned earlier, in Type 2 diabetes insulin levels are often normal or even high, at least at first. However, the body does not respond to insulin, or said differently, one’s insulin is not as effective as it should be in lowering the blood sugar. This is called insulin resistance in the medical world.

I reject this term, and prefer to seek the possible causes. These include low levels of chromium, manganese, zinc, and perhaps vanadium and other vital minerals or other nutrients. As a result, either the insulin the body produces is defective in some way and cannot do its job, or chromium deficiency, in particular, prevents the body’s insulin from attaching to the cell walls and enabling sugar to pass out of the blood and into the cells.

Correcting Type 1 diabetes. This is often a long, slow process of increasing the vitality of the body enough so that it will reactivate and bring up the infection that originally caused the diabetes, and eliminate from the body. Since it may be viral, it may not respond to remedies of any kind. Instead, one must balance the body, use a sauna and do coffee enemas, if possible, and the process takes a while in some cases.

Correcting Type 2. We find that Type 2 diabetes responds within a week or two to the correction of the causes below. Most are very simple measures which anyone can do at home without medical supervision. If you have many complications, you may wish to work with a nutritional balancing practitioner who will guide correction:

1) Improper diet. This is the most important single factor causing Type 2 diabetes in most cases. 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, milk (particular skim and 2% milk), fruits, fruit juices, food bars and other sugars which are less refined, but nevertheless very sweet. Wheat, among the grains, is also about the worst and all of it should be stopped in all cases.

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.

Sadly, 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 eaten only minimally. Also, eat free range meats, wild game and other meats that are not fed corn, if possible.

Omega-3 fatty acids. Free range meats and eggs, sardines, herring or anchovies, along with raw dairy products, contain far more omega-3 fatty acids and some vitamin D as well. Other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, though perhaps not quite as good, include flax, hempseed and evening primrose oil.

Vitamin D. This vitamin is often helpful for diabetics. It is found naturally in raw dairy products and fish, mainly. However, we only recommend sardines and other very small fish due to the mercury content of most fish. Most people need a supplement of about 5000 iu daily for adults and somewhat less for children.

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 some diabetes, especially Type 2 or adult onset, since mineral deficiencies tend to worsen with age.

3. Carrying excessive weight. This is a factor for many, though not all diabetics. When the body carries excessive weight, the pancreas and other organs may need to work harder to supply the body with all of its necessary hormones, including insulin. Many Type 2 diabetics have an apple-shaped body that seems to be associated with hormone imbalances linked to diabetes and heart disease.

4. Dehydration. This may sound like an unusual cause, but many diabetics, we find, are dehydrated. I am not sure why this is so, but there are only a few possible reasons. These include not drinking 3 quarts of pure water daily, drinking reverse osmosis water that does not hydrate the body well, or using caffeine, alcohol or eating sugar that actually dehydrates the body.

For example, many diabetics seem to 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, steam-distilled or carbon-filtered tap water.

Often, just quitting coffee and tea, and switching to distilled or spring water – 3 quarts every day - can reduce the blood sugar in a few days or less.

5. Iron toxicity and/or the presence of other 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. Iron toxicity may be a hidden reason why diabetes is now a worldwide epidemic, even if people do not eat large amounts of sugar. For more information about iron, read Chronic Acquired Iron Toxicity.

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. Infection. This could play a role in Type 2 diabetes, although it is more common in Type 1 diabetes.

7. Temperament and stress. Many diabetics push themselves and love to live in the fast lane. This might be called a diabetic personality type. This lifestyle adds a lot of stress. This personality type also does not like to care for themselves in many cases. This is a deadly combination, as follows.

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. This pattern of “flooring the accelerator” day in and day out, particularly with the addition of heavy coffee usage to further stimulate the adrenals, eventually weakens the pancreas and depletes it of vital nutrients required for insulin production and secretion. This is often the chain of events for Type 2 diabetics.

8. Possibly impaired cell permeability or cell membranes that are low in omega-3 fatty acids or affected by low vitamin D levels. While this cause is difficult to prove, evidence from hair mineral testing indicates that perhaps the body has difficulty moving sugar and insulin through the cell walls into the cells due to various possible nutrient deficiencies or other problems.

9. 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 one’s mother is deficient in specific trace minerals such as zinc or chromium, her children are often born deficient in those nutrients. This will make them more prone to illnesses such as diabetes. This situation is not genetic, however, but instead is called congenital. This word means present at birth, but not inherited in the genes. In other words, it is something that is passed on from the mother during pregnancy due to nutritional imbalances in the mother.

The evidence from the current diabetes epidemic around the world basically argues against the genetic argument and in favor of a congenital or environmental and nutritional causes for diabetes.

10. The role of osteocalcin. This is newer research. A recent article in the jounal Cell by lead author Dr. Gerard Karsenty indicates that this hormone regulates blood sugar levels by stimulating insulin production. This is important because it points to a link between calcium, bone remodeling, and diabetes. It is one reason that in all nutritional balancing programs, calcium is supplemented and we strongly recommend food sources of calcium such as raw dairy products, eating bones such as those in sardines or bone soup, and perhaps other good food sources such as some almond butter or sesame products.

Age as a factors. Many develop diabetes as they age. However, I do not think it is fair to say that aging alone is a cause of diabetes. What occurs is that as one ages, in almost all cases digestive fire and digestive enzyme secretion decreases, chewing is worse, and often dietary habits worsen. This leads to more nutritional deficiencies and more toxic metal accumulation in every organ, including the pancreas.

Today, people are developing diabetes at younger ages. This is probably due to more severe mineral deficiencies developing at an earlier age, and perhaps it is due to 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. Hair mineral testing is not a direct test for diabetes, although there are specific indicators of a diabetic tendency. These are discussed below.

Diabetes is not always easy to detect because the blood sugar can fluctuate. However, I would suggest that a fasting blood sugar level on a simple blood chemistry should remain between about 80 and 90 mg/dl. Anything higher than this is suspicious of diabetes.

Doctors sometimes disagree on the parameters to use to assess diabetes on a 5-hour glucose tolerance test. I don’t use this test, which is somewhat unpleasant and costly. Instead, I assume that most people have some degree of diabetes and I proceed from that assumption.

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 and hypoglycemic symptoms such as sweet craving, irritability before meals, and inability to skip meals. Other signs are frequent urination, especially at night, and unexplained weight gain or weight loss.

These people can often benefit from a properly performed and properly interpreted hair mineral analysis 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 a calcium/magnesium ratio greater than 10 or so. Dr. Eck believed that a calcium/magnesium ratio greater than 12:1 or less than 3:1 were diabetic indicators. However, I have not been able to confirm these latter indicators, so I do not use them.

Telltale indicators. Other possible indicators include a zinc level less than about 12 mg%, an elevated copper level and possibly iron greater than about 2 mg% or the presence of cadmium, in particular, although any of the toxic metals can predispose one to diabetes.

Note that these indicators 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 glucose-lowering oral medications. 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, but they should be. Nutritional supplements are usually not recommended, and this is a crime, in my view.

Oral anti-diabetic drugs. This class of drugs I do not think ever need to be used. They include drugs such as Glucophage or metformin, Precose or acarbose, Glyset or miglitol, Avandia, Actos or thiazolidinediones, and an older class of drugs that are sulfonylureas with names like Diabinase, Tlinase, Tolamide, Glucotrol, Glucamide, Micronase and many others.

In my view, these are dangerous drugs. Some 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.

They stimulate the insulin-producing cells until the cells ‘burnout’ nutritionally. Then the drugs stop working and one must take insulin. 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 and does not prevent the complications of diabetes in most cases.

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, especially raw dairy products, lamb, chicken, turkey and eggs. Beef is not needed. Pork and all pig products should be avoided, as many contain hidden trichina worm eggs.

Avoid or eliminate completely all wheat product, most gluten-containing products (wheat, oats, barley and rye). A little brown rice, millet or quinoa seem to be okay, but not more than once or twice weekly. Blue corn chips once in a while are fine. Also, eliminate all fruits, fruit juices and natural and refined sugars. 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 including extra zinc, chromium and manganese. Most people also need some B-complex vitamins, vitamins A and D (5000 iu daily), and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil or other sources (about 1000 mg daily).

While the above is a generic nutrition program, a much better idea is to embark on a complete nutritional balancing program. This means having 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, rest and more can be set up that will significantly enhance one’s progress.

IMPORTANT LIFESTYLE FACETS OF NATURAL THERAPY

Hydration. This is a huge problem for many with Type 2 diabetes, in particular. As stated above, adults must drink 3 quarts or more of spring water, preferably, or carbon-filtered tap water daily. This means plain water, not coffee, tea or even lemonade. Meanwhile, reduce and preferably eliminate all alcohol, caffeine, and sweets, as these seem to dehydrate the body. To sweeten things, a little stevia is okay.

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, ideally before 9 PM, is most helpful to get the most rest from your sleep.

Detoxification. This often is essential for full recovery from diabetes. We find the most powerful, safest and least costly methods are the daily coffee enema or even two daily, and daily use of a near infrared sauna. If this is not possible, less effective alternatives are the use of a far infrared or conventional sauna each day for at least 30 minutes. Most people should start with a shorter time such as 15 to 20 minutes, however, and check blood sugar and other parameters if needed until they are sure they tolerate the sauna well.

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, GLYCATION AND CELL MEMBRANES

Late-stage diabetics may have problems with their cell membranes. Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, and perhaps chromium and manganese supplements, can help prevent and correct this. Balancing the oxidation rate and eliminating what is called metastaic or biounavailable calcium is also extremely helpful for the cell membranes. This is a tricky process that I do not think can be done easily by other means such as chelation therapy or by the use of blood analysis or other types of therapies. In fact, chelation can make this problem worse by depleting some vital nutrients.

To add to the cell membrane problem, high levels of glucose in the blood hardens the cell membranes. The technical name for this is glycation. It is a slow process of sclerosis that occurs in the bodies of almost everyone who lives on sweets and sugars of all kinds, even including too many complex carbohydrates such as bread, (usually sweetened), rice, potatoes and other starches.

This is not only a subtle cause of diabetes. It also slows or eventually can prevent the correction process because regenerating the cell membranes takes months to a few years.

DIABETES AND THE ENERGY PATHWAY

One reason for success with diabetes with nutritional balancing, as compared with other nutrient regimens, is that a goal of nutritional balancing is to restore the body’s entire energy producing system. This means restoring every step in the production of adaptive or cellular energy from digestion of food to nutrient transport into the cells, and final energy production inside each cell.

This very complex system requires hundreds of nutrients. Fixing it also requires removing hundreds if not thousands of metal and chemical toxins that can inhibit normal enzymatic activity.

No herb or vitamin can do this by itself, although many can help. The process also takes a few years in every case. This does not mean that symptomatic improvement is slow. Often symptoms improve rapidly. However, with nutritional balancing science, and few others, the entire system of energy production, which includes insulin function but is really much more than this, can be restored in most cases, provided the person is diligent with the program and providing that old age or other factors do not interfere too much with the process. This is a wonderful aspect of nutritional balancing that goes far beyond the use of remedies such as minerals, vitamins, homeopathy, herbs and other natural or medical methods.

Among the most important hormones and nutrients involved in the energy pathway are:

· Hormones. These include those produced by the adrenal glands such as cortisol, cortisone, aldosterone and others. These convert fats and proteins to glucose, raising blood glucose levels. Insulin from the pancreas is required to move sugar out of the blood into the cells. Thyroid hormones are essential to burn glucose in the cells to produce energy. Others may be important as well, such as ovarian and testicular hormones. Vitamin D is a hormone-like substance that is also important in some way.

· Minerals, vitamins and other micronutrients. Manganese, zinc, chromium, most of the vitamins and other micronutrients are all essential for the activity of the adrenal glands, thyroid, pancreas and other organs and glands.

· Calcium and magnesium balance. Plenty of bioavailable calcium is needed for insulin secretion and regulation of many body functions. Most diabetics have too much biounavailable calcium or simply deficiencies of these minerals. Too much calcium in biounavailable form hardens the cell membranes and interferes with transport of nutrients and hormones into the body cells. This is a very common problem.

· Other nutrients. We have already mentioned the importance of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, iodine supplements in the form of kelp and other phytonutrients found mainly in cooked vegetables. Most people cannot absorb nearly enough nutrition from raw vegetables, even if they take a digestive aid to assist the process.

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

PREVENTING DIABETES

If you hope to avoid diabetes, here are simple steps you can take today:

· Stop eating sweets of all kinds. Do not argue about it, and do not discuss which sweets are better than others. None are helpful in the slightest. This includes natural dark chocolate, Rice Dream and thousands of other so-called healthy products.

· Strictly avoid the refined starches such as white flour products, and strictly limit all starches to a moderate or small portion of one type per meal and absolutely no more. The best starches are often those found in vegetables such as carrots, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips and other starchy roots.

· Limit coffee to one cup or less daily of regular coffee, not cappuccinos or lattes.

· Drink 3 quarts of spring water or carbon-filtered tap water daily. Juices, coffee, and even teas are not a substitute for pure water.

· Go to bed early and get at least 9 or 10 hours of sleep each night.

· Take some basic supplements of kelp (3 capsules daily), vitamin D 5000 iu daily, calcium/magnesium 750/450 mg daily, a powerful digestive aid and some extra zinc, manganese, chromium and selenium.

These simple steps will enable most people to prevent the scourge of diabetes.

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