DIABETES, A 21ST CENTURY EPIDEMIC
by Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© October 2024, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc.
All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
Table of Contents
Definitions
Classification
Other Related Conditions
Common symptoms
Less common symptoms
Type 2 - Dehydration, Diet, And Mineral Deficiencies
The Diabetic Personality
Type 1 - Infection And Toxicity With Iron
Symptoms
Simple Blood And Urine Tests
The Glucose Tolerance Test
Hair Mineral Testing
Medical Approach Very Inadequate
A Development Program
Arteriosclerosis
Blindness
Loss Of Limbs
Other
VII. DIABETES AND THE ENERGY PATHWAY
Steps In The Energy Pathway
Diet
Lifestyle
Weight
Gestational Diabetes
Diabetes Insipidus
X. OTHER TOPICS RELATED TO DIABETES
The Recent British Study
Hypoglycemia
Metabolic Syndrome Or Syndrome X
Is Diabetes Ever Just Low Insulin?
The Awful “Diabetic Association Diet”
Is Diabetes A Genetic Condition?
The Role Of Osteocalcin In Diabetes
Why Is There More Diabetes As People Age?
_________________________
Diabetes wastes millions of lives on earth and costs billions, if not over a trillion dollars for the world’s health care systems.
A recent study indicated that one in every four Americans age 60 or above has diabetes. In some population groups, the numbers are much higher.
Many people go undiagnosed for years, which can make correction more difficult when the disease is discovered. Most, if not all diabetes is preventable, and most is correctable, as well, with a development program.
DEFINITIONS
Diabetes. The word diabetes means excessive urination. Diabetes is a group of different health conditions that share one characteristic – excessive urination.
Diabetes mellitus. The word mellitus mean sweet-tasting or sugary. Diabetes mellitus means excessive urination that tastes sweet. It is an ancient disease and tasting the urine was the old way to identify it.
Why does the urine taste sweet? In most of the conditions of excessive urination, the immediate cause is an elevated blood sugar level. The body tries to get rid of the extra sugar through the kidneys, and the sugar draws some water with it out of the body. This is what causes the excessive urination.
Most diabetes is of this nature. However, at the end of the article we discuss another more rare type of diabetes, diabetes insipidus, that is not accompanied by sweet urine.
The current medical definition of diabetes mellitus. Today, doctors usually define diabetes mellitus as a fasting blood serum glucose level above 125 mg/dl. A fasting blood sugar level between 100 and 125 mg/dl is called pre-diabetes.
Actually, this is not quite correct. One should have a 5-hour glucose tolerance test and one should measure insulin as well as glucose to assess diabetes. However, doctors sometimes skip this procedure, which takes most of a day and, at times, is quite unpleasant.
In reality, diabetes is a derangement of the body that goes far beyond just the level of glucose in the blood or in the urine.
TRIGGERS AND UNDERLYING CAUSES
To really solve the problem of diabetes, one needs to divide the causes of diabetes into underlying health conditions and triggers. The reason is that to fully heal and prevent diabetes, it is necessary to get rid of both the triggers and the underlying causes. This is more work and always requires a development program.
- Underlying conditions are nutritional imbalances, excessive amounts of toxic metals and chemicals in the body, and mental or emotional traumas. In some cases, certain attitudes might also be considered underlying causes.
- Triggers include dehydration, improper diet, and stressors. Some would say these can be underlying conditions, and we do not want to become bogged down with this debate.
A NEW CLASSIFICATION OF DIABETES
Medical personnel classify diabetes as either:
- Type 1 due to a problem with the pancreas and low insulin secretion, or
- Type 2, which they say is due primarily to the diet and obesity.
We will propose a different classification based on more specific causes according to our research:
- Coffee diabetes. This is due to not drinking enough pure water. Instead, one usually ingests too much coffee, sugar or alcohol. This we call the The Dehydration Diet.
In these cases, the cause of elevated blood sugar is dehydration. The body raises the blood sugar because more sugar in the blood helps retain water in the blood, which is critical for health.
Normal insulin secretion or even high insulin will not lower the blood sugar level too well (called insulin resistance) because the body is trying to keep water in the blood and this is more important than lowering the blood sugar.
We believe this is a common situation. Many diabetics love coffee, perhaps because it is a stimulant. Instead of drinking water all day, they drink coffee, thinking it is the same as drinking water.
However, coffee, along with sugars of any kind or alcohol, dehydrates the body.
Artificial sweeteners. For some reason, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame cause just as many problems as eating sugar, if not more.
Cravings. Craving carbohydrates can be related to dehydration. Carbohydrates (starches and sugars) eventually break down to water inside the body. This provides much needed hydration to the body of many people. As a result, the craving for carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes and sweets can be difficult to overcome. This drives the diabetic process. For diet suggestions, read Food For Daily Use, Food For Occasional Use and Forbidden Food.
- Mineral malnutrition diabetes. This causes a type of malnutrition with low chromium, manganese and zinc, and perhaps other deficiencies. As a result, the body cannot produce and secrete enough insulin.
Diet alone is never sufficient, we find, to provide all the vital minerals one needs. Any doctor who says supplements are not needed is not knowledgeable.
For example, we were disappointed when the other day (February 2019) a doctor from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota said that 1) supplements are not needed and 2) they are unregulated. These are both totally untrue! Doctors should know better but they do not. For more details, read Why Take Supplements? and other articles about supplements on this site.
- Too much sugar or other carbohydrates in the diet diabetes. The dietary sugars eventually overwhelm the normal insulin secretion mechanism. This is a particular form of malnutrition that causes the pancreas to no longer be able to secrete enough insulin. Recall the complex carbohydrates such as bread, rice and potatoes break down to sugar in the body.
The cause of overeating on sugar and carbohydrates can be a need for water in the body, or often a chronic yeast infection. The yeast feeds on sugar in the blood and elsewhere, and produces a little alcohol that relaxes a person.
If one stops eating carbohydrates, one literally goes through an alcoholic withdrawal that is very unpleasant. This causes most people to continue eating sugars and carbohydrates.
- High iron in the pancreas or bronze diabetes. This is less common, but iron can accumulate in the pancreas, replacing zinc and chromium, and impairing the activity of the pancreas. The person often has a bronze coloring to the skin in these cases.
- Chronic infection in the pancreas diabetes. This is more common in children and sometimes called juvenile diabetes. A child gets a cold or other simple viral or bacterial illness and overnight becomes diabetic. The problem is a chronic infection of the pancreas that reduces insulin secretion.
- Stress diabetes. Stress of any kind causes increased secretion of cortisol and cortisone, but mostly cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that converts glycogen to glucose and dumps the glucose into the blood.
Fight-or-flight. This mechanism is part of the fight-or-flight response of the body. Cortisol secretion prepares the body to fight or run, and this requires extra glucose in the blood to supply the muscles and brain.
Some people live in a fight-or-flight ‘mode’ much of the time. It is very hard on the body! In fact, in many cases of Type 2 diabetes, stress is a factor. We see this on hair mineral tests as a Fast Oxidation rate.
Causes of stress. For example, dietary imbalances lead to excessive weight, which places much more stress on the body. Nutrient deficiencies also place stress on the body. In some cases, mental or emotional factors such as anxiety or panic are important in raising cortisol, which raises blood sugar.
A client of ours used to call on the phone terrified that she had diabetes, although she eats well. What occurred is that she would have an anxiety attack and at that time she measured her blood sugar and it was elevated. When the panic attack ended, her blood sugar returned to normal. We explained that this is simply an effect of cortisol secretion, and not standard diabetes. We corrected the anxiety with lecithin and her blood sugar has remained normal ever since. For details, read Understanding Stress.
- Brain diabetes. This is an inability of the brain to properly metabolize glucose. The brain uses up a tremendous amount of glucose – between and third and one half of all that one eats.
The cause of the problem is a deficiency of chromium, other minerals, or perhaps omega-3 fatty acid deficiency (extremely widespread) that damages cell membranes so the cells cannot take in glucose properly.
As a result, the body increases the blood sugar level in an effort to force more glucose into the brain.
This type of diabetes is seen mainly in older people, where it causes a severe type of dementia. It is unusual in that it can be very severe, but the brain cells are not dead. We know this because the condition responds very fast to a supplement of medium chain triglycerides. These are usually derived from coconut oil. A supplement of about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil daily restores the memory and cognitive functioning. NOTE: There are problems with coconut oil, so don’t rush out and start using it. For details, read Brain Diabetes and Coconut Products.
- Gestational diabetes. This is the name given to high blood sugar that occurs only during pregnancy. It is caused by a combination of stress, weight gain and perhaps improper diet during pregnancy. It does not occur if a pregnant woman follows a development program.
According to some researchers, part of the cause is high xanthurenic acid, which can be corrected easily by taking extra vitamin B6. An excellent diet will also provide enough vitamin B6.
- Diabetes insipidus. This is a relatively rare deficiency of the hormone vasopressin or anti-diuretic hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland. It is not a condition of elevated blood sugar, but simply too much urination. We discuss diabetes insidipus briefly at the end of this article.
HYPOGLYCEMIA
This is usually taken to mean low sugar in the blood. In fact, it is much more complex and can be of different types. It is often a precursor to diabetes. For details, read Hypoglycemia.
Symptoms will vary depending on the cause of the diabetes described above.
COMMON SYMPTOMS:
A high volume of urine. A common symptom is increased volume of urine and often more frequent urination, including the need to get up to urinate during the night. This occurs because as the blood sugar rises, the kidneys try to lower it by excreting more sugar in the urine. The sugar draws water with it, increasing the volume of urine.
Increased thirst. One may experience thirst because there is excessive fluid loss through the urine.
Fatigue and sweet craving. Most diabetics are tired and crave sugar or carbohydrates. This occurs because the cells are not receiving enough glucose to properly fuel the body. Too much glucose remains in the blood instead of moving into the cells. Despite elevated sugar in the blood, the cells are starving for glucose and call for more of it.
Tingling, numbness or burning feet or peripheral neuropathy. Diabetes causes small artery disease, again due to starvation of the tissues for glucose. This can cause reduced blood flow, especially in the lower extremities, with nerve damage.
This results in neurological symptoms of tingling, and perhaps numbness or a burning sensation. The nerves are not dead, and the symptom goes away if circulation is restore.
MORE ADVANCED SYMPTOMS:
As diabetes progresses, other degenerative changes occur in the body. Many are due to the accumulation of AGES in the body. Diabetes causes an AGES death. AGES are discussed later in this article. Common later symptoms of diabetes may include:
Weight loss and muscle wasting
Weight gain
Watery appearance of the tissues.
Fainting
Skin tags
Kidney disease
Cardiovascular disease
Eye disease or blindness
Greater formation of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGES). For details about this very important subject, read AGES.
Some of these are discussed in a later section of this article – Complications Of Diabetes.
This section contains more detail than the beginning of this article regarding the causes of the common types of diabetes.
UNDERLYING CAUSES FOR DIABETES
Mineral deficiencies and toxic metals. One underlying cause of all types of diabetes is mineral deficiencies and replacement of vital minerals with toxic metals. This involves the theory of preferred minerals, a basic nutritional concept that is not taught widely today. For details, read Preferred Minerals. Common mineral deficencies involved in diabetes are:
1. Chromium deficiency. Bioavailable chromium is required to move glucose from the blood into the cells.
2. Zinc deficiency. Zinc is required for insulin production, insulin release, and to extend the duration of action of insulin.
3. Manganese deficiency. Bioavailable manganese is required for mitochondrial functioning, cellular energy production and adequate thyroid activity. Deficiency contributes to fatigue and sweet cravings.
4. Selenium deficiency. Many selenium compounds are required for health. They are needed for thyroid activity, adrenal gland activity, pancreatic activity and more.
Mineral replacement. Replacing these minerals is not easy. A Diet high in properly cooked vegetables is required. Pills are not enough, although we use mineral supplements as place holders. This is another important nutritional concept. For details, read Place Holders.
Other nutritional problems. Most people today require more omega-3 fatty acids, more vitamin D, a digestive aid and a diet rich in properly cooked vegetables to supply hundreds of nutrients found only in good quality food.
They all also require adequate enough animal quality protein in their diets. Fat is easier for most people to obtain, although a few need more of it.
Most people also overeat on carbohydrates, particularly simple carbohydrates such as sugar, fruit, sweet juices and other sweets. These cause excessive glycation (AGES), deplete minerals in most cases, and make the body too yin.
TRIGGERS AND IMMEDIATE CAUSES FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES
Type 2 diabetes is by far the most common type of diabetes. It accounts for about 95+% of all cases of diabetes. It is a world-wide epidemic!
It is sometimes called adult-onset diabetes because it usually occurs in adults, and often later in life. Lately, however, more children are developing it, as well.
Plenty of insulin. Type 2 diabetes is usually not due to an insulin deficiency. Indeed, there is often too much insulin present, at least at the early stages of the condition. However, the insulin is unable to do its job of lowering the blood sugar in the blood. Doctors call this insulin resistance or resistance to insulin.
Many causes. In fact, type 2 diabetes is really a combination of various health conditions, as described above in the Causes sections of this article. Here are more details about some of these causes.
DIET AND MINERAL DEPLETION
This type of diabetes is closely related to a diet that is too high in sugars and starches, and has other problems, as well. Eating refined starches and refined sugar dehydrates the body, strains the pancreas and insulin-secreting system, and causes severe mineral and other nutrient deficiencies.
The minerals most important for blood sugar regulation include manganese, zinc and chromium.
Refined food has largely been stripped of its vital minerals. The minerals are needed for the metabolism of these foods so eating them automatically creates worse and worse deficiencies.
Raw foods in the diet such as salads are also problematic because our bodies cannot absorb enough minerals from raw vegetables. People are misled into thinking that eating salad will cure their diseases. They do not understand why it does not work. Mineral and other nutrient deficiencies are the reason!
The foods that provide the most vital minerals in the forms that the body requires are well-cooked, but not overcooked vegetables. We do not believe there are any substitutes for these foods. No pill, drink, powder, superfood or other supplement or method works nearly as well.
DEHYDRATION
The reason for resistance to insulin is that many type 2 diabetics are somewhat dehydrated. The reasons for dehydration we call the dehydration diet. This consists of using:
- Caffeine. This is usually from drinking coffee or tea. Some diabetics also drink soda pop.
- Sugar in any form. This includes eating fruit, juices and anything else sweet. Artificial sweeteners seem to cause problems, as well.
- Alcohol.
- Not drinking enough pure water or drinking water that doest not hydrate the body very well, such as water processed with reverse osmosis. Some diabetics do not like drinking water because their bodies are already very yin and water is a very yin substance.
The dehydration sequence.
1. Instead of drinking enough pure water, one drinks coffee, tea, juice or otherwise follows the dehydration diet.
2. Dehydration occurs, in every case. Dehydration is a serious condition, although it can sneak up on one. It causes sludgy blood, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.
3. To reduce dehydration in the blood, the body raises the blood sugar level. More sugar in the blood holds on to water by an osmotic action, at the level of the kidneys.
4. The body may also raise the insulin level. This is an attempt to lower the blood sugar by sending the sugar to the cells. However, this does not work well because the body needs to hold on to sugar in the blood to prevent further dehydration of the blood.
5. One can lower the blood sugar with insulin or with oral anti-diabetic drugs. It solves one problem. However, it worsens dehydration, putting the person in much more danger of heart attacks and strokes, and it does nothing to solve the underlying problem of dehydration.
The drugs are also toxic, which further weakens the person’s body. For more details, read Hydration and Water For Drinking.
In summary, many cases of Type 2 diabetes are actually a compensation for a dehydrated state. This implies that the medical treatment of Type 2 diabetes is incorrect. The proper approach is not to give drugs and a modified diet to lower blood sugar. The answer is to correct dehydration. We find this works in those cases of diabetes that are due to dehydration.
One must eliminate from the diet coffee, other caffeine, all sugar and alcohol. One also needs to drink about 3 quart or 3 liters of water daily that hydrates the body. Carbon-only filtered tap water or spring water are usually the best kinds of water.
STRESS-CAUSED DIABETES
This is the cause for some Type 2 diabetes. The correct procedure is to work to reduce the stress level of the person. A simple way is to increase the amount of sleep, and have the person go to bed early – by 9 PM. It is a simple intervention that often works well. In some cases, stress reduction is more complex.
THE YEAST CONNECTION
Yeast and carbohydrate cravings. There is a connection between excessive yeast in the body and diabetes. Eating sugar and carbohydrates promotes yeast problems in the body. Yeasts such as candida albicans produce alcohol in the body.
A craving for sugar and carbohydrates is often due to subtle alcohol withdrawal that occurs if one stops eating sugar and carbohydrates. The symptoms – anxiety, shakiness, confusion and even tremors - are the same as a mild case of delirium tremens, or alcohol withdrawal.
Fungal infections. Also, diabetics often develop fungal infections on the skin and nails. Skin tags, a hallmark of diabetes, can be a type of fungal or yeast infection. This is because excess sugar feeds fungus throughout the body. Also, the body is too yin from the diet and other factors and this predisposes one to fungal infections. These are “cold” infections that are very common in diabetics (see the section below for more details).
A YIN DISEASE
Type 2 diabetes is a more yin condition of the body. This means cold and expanded and is vital concept to understand in order to overcome and help others with diabetes.
Sugar is a very yin substance, and people with diabetes usually eat too much of it. Yeast is also a yin condition, and often present in diabetics. Diabetes is also associated with excessive weight, which is an expanded condition of the body and also yin.
Mineral deficiencies also cause a yin condition. All diabetics are low in vital minerals. Minerals are the most yang or least yin of nutrient substances.
In fact, most people are low in minerals today, so most bodies are too yin. However, there are several other important reasons that all the bodies are too yin.
One reason why some diabetics do not drink enough water is that they are attempting to compensate for a generalized yin condition of the body. Water is a very yin substance and drinking it temporarily makes the body more yin.
Yin and yang are about basic physics. It is fully explained in the article entitled Yang And Yin and in the other articles on this site about yang and yin.
INFLAMMATION AND DIABETES
Diabetes is associated with inflammation in the body. Often, on blood test, C-reactive protein, an inflammation indicator, is too high. The reasons for inflammation include:
- The body is always deficient in anti-inflammatory nutrients that include calcium, magnesium, zinc and selenium.
- AGES are usually high and these are pro-inflammatory molecules.
- Some people with Type 2 diabetes are fast oxidizers, which is an inflammatory state of body chemistry.
- Iron and other “amigos” are often or always present. These are highly pro-inflammatory forms of common minerals.
Note: Iron and ferritin levels in the blood may be normal or low. This is because the iron does not build up in the blood. It is stored in the tissues. For this reason, iron accumulation may be easier to identify in a hair mineral analysis as either a hair iron level above 2 mg% or less than about 1.2 mg%. The latter is called a Poor Eliminator of iron. This is a very important concept in mineral science.
- Many people with diabetes are angry, and this is an inflammatory emotional state. It is associated with iron toxicity.
- Dehydration is an inflammatory state of the body.
- Stress causes inflammation because it is associated with a fight-or-flight reaction, which is pro-inflammatory.
- Sugar and chemicals in the diet are pro-inflammatory. Lack of enough cooked vegetables in the diet is also pro-inflammatory.
THE DIABETIC PERSONALITY TYPE
Another and more subtle cause of type 2 diabetes can be a personality tendency. Many illnesses are related to a personality trait. Many diabetics like to push or drive themselves. To do this, they may use coffee or other caffeine-containing beverages such as diet soda. They may also use sugar or carbohydrates in the diet.
The tendency to push oneself adds lots of stress to one’s life. These individuals also may not care for themselves adequately 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 living, particularly with the addition of coffee or soda pop containing sugar to further stimulate the adrenals, eventually weakens the entire body and further depletes the body of vital nutrients.
A car analogy. Think of the driver of an automobile who like to “floor the accelerator”. This means pushing the gas pedal of the car to the floor of the car. This floods the engine with fuel.
This is analogous to flooding the bloodstream with glucose, which occurs when one uses adrenal stimulants such as caffeine. It is also a personality style.
“Flooring the accelerator” of an automobile quickly wears out the tires, the engine, the transmission and other vital parts of the car. The same occurs in the body.
CAUSES FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES
This condition is less common and accounts for only about 2-4% of cases of diabetes. It is usually due to an infection of the pancreas that halts or reduces insulin production.
This is usually secondary to elevated iron in the pancreas. Too much iron opens the body to certain infections. The infection in the pancreas often cannot be detected on standard blood tests. The rapid onset of Type 1 diabetes suggests this type of cause.
A hair mineral analysis often reveals an extremely low iron level or Poor Eliminator pattern with iron. The test may or may not reveal an infection pattern such as a sodium/potassium ratio less than 2.5. However, the hair patterns may not occur on the initial mineral test if they are obscured by other mineral patterns. As these patterns are cleared with a development program, the underlying infection pattern often becomes clear.
This type of diabetes may begin soon after a mild cold or flu, or some other innocuous infection, and it can develop suddenly. It occurs more often in children and younger adults than Type 2 diabetes.
The amigos. Type 1 diabetes may be triggered or related to excessive BIOUNAVAILABLE iron, manganese or aluminum in the pancreas. To read about this abnormal condition, please read Iron, Manganese and Aluminum - The Amigos.
Correction. Type 1 diabetes requires much more effort to correct. Usually, one needs to remain on a development program for several years or longer. Underlying weaknesses, toxic metals and other imbalances must be removed in order for the body to heal the pancreatic infection so that insulin production can resume.
High-iron or bronze diabetes. This variant of type 1 diabetes is less common, and is more of a pure iron toxicity problem. Iron replaces zinc and other metals in the pancreas and the blood sugar starts to rise. It can easily become over 400 mg/dl. This type can be a so-called brittle diabetes, in that the blood sugar can be more difficult to control.
This type is less common. It is more common in men than in women. Men tend to have more iron in their bodies, while women tend to have more copper in their bodies. The two minerals are somewhat antagonistic.
It is also more common in the African-American population. Those who have it are often slender, have a good build, and are often careful eaters. They often have cardiovascular disease, as well. Cardiovascular disease is strongly associated with iron toxicity. They usually have not overeaten on carbohydrates, although some have done this, as well.
Those with bronze diabetes may have eaten a lot of eggs, red meat or other sources of iron. However, the problem is handling the iron they have, not necessarily eating too much iron. They are often diagnosed with diabetes because they start to lose weight.
Personality. Those with high-iron diabetes are often stubborn in nature, and strong, but really weak inside. This is a characteristic of biounavailable iron, as explained elsewhere on this site and in the textbook, Nutritional Balancing And Hair Mineral Analysis (2010, 2014 and 2016 editions).
Anger and iron. People who are angry appear to retain more iron. Iron settles in the amygdala area of the brain, an area associated with rage and anger.
This type of diabetes can respond well to a development program because this program can remove excess iron. This is not so easy to do. However, we have only limited experience with it because it is not a common health condition.
Signs and symptoms. Early detection of diabetes is not always easy. Symptoms such as fatigue, excessive urination, skin tags, tingling or burning in the feet, intractable fungal infections, or excessive thirst can be very helpful.
Blood tests. The simplest tests are a fasting serum glucose test or a urine test for glucose. However, these can be normal in some cases of diabetes because the blood sugar level can rise and fall. It may not be high all ofthe time. Urine is less accurate.
The blood test must be done after fasting for at least a few hours. Otherwise, the blood sugar will be elevated even in a healthy person.
The glucose tolerance test. A better test is a 5-hour glucose tolerance test. The procedure is that one drinks a sugar solution. Then blood samples are taken once per hour to measure glucose, and perhaps the insulin level, as well.
This test is more costly, time-consuming, and can be unpleasant, so it is not always used. A problem is that some people go into a hypoglycemic state in the middle of the five hours. When this occurs, one can become faint, confused or even violent.
Also, even this test can give confusing results. The curve of the blood sugar level during the 5-hour test can be influenced by stress, mood, fatigue or other factors. Endocrinology textbooks describe the diagnostic criteria in more depth than is possible in this article.
Some doctors also measure insulin levels during this test, and this will make the test more accurate.
Hemoglobin H1A. This is an aberrant type of hemoglobin that is a marker for blood sugar imbalance. It may really be a marker for damage to hemoglobin from AGES or glycation.
Metabolic syndrome. A somewhat roundabout way to identify diabetes is to identify metabolic syndrome, also called Syndrome X. This is easy to do because it is simply the presence of several easy-to-measure factors including:
- Excess weight, especially in the abdomen
- Elevated lipids
- Abdominal body fat
- Elevated blood pressure
- Elevated blood sugar
If even two of the above are present, the person often diabetic, pre-diabetic or on his way to these conditions. For more details, read Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X.
Hypoglycemia. Another indirect indicator of a diabetic trend is the presence of hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar often produces more symptoms than elevated blood sugar.
The patient will report that 3-5 hours after meals he or she feels very faint, perhaps shaky, and perhaps mentally confused. The patient usually gets very hungry at these times and may need something sweet quickly. This often indicates that the blood sugar has gotten too low, indicating dysregulation of blood sugar.
Other. Sometimes one can identify diabetes from an eye examination that reveals small artery disease or from kidney disease.
Assuming the worst. In accordance with the statistics, and the work of Robert Atkins, MD and others, we assume that most people are headed for diabetes or already have the condition. Anyone who is overweight is even more likely to have blood sugar problems.
Hair mineral testing. We do not use blood tests for various reasons. One of the most important is that we put everyone on a corrective program that will improve blood sugar metabolism. We are therefore less concerned about missing an instance of diabetes.
Instead, we use hair mineral testing. This is also not fully reliable to detect diabetes. However, this test often reveals indicators of blood sugar imbalance, as explained below.
HAIR MINERAL ANALYSIS INDICATORS OF DIABETES
Dr. Paul Eck, with whom we studied for 14 years, found that certain hair mineral ratios are associated with an increased tendency for diabetes. The hair patterns are trends or indicators, but are not diagnostic. Hair must not be washed at the laboratory for accurate readings. Here are some of the indicators for diabetes on a properly performed hair mineral test:
1. A sodium/potassium ratio less than 2.5:1. A low ratio is associated with chronic stress on the liver, pancreas, kidney and cardiovascular system. A ratio less than 1:1 is even more indicative of a diabetic trend. A low ratio is also associated with a tendency for infections and degenerative disease, in general.
2. An imbalanced oxidation rate. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with a slightly fast oxidation rate, usually accompanied by a low sodium/potassium ratio. Those with a fast oxidation rate are much more sensitive to a diet too high in carbohydrates and especially sugars. For more details, read Fast Oxidation.
Type 1 diabetics usually have a slow oxidation rate early in the condition. High-iron diabetics may be fast or slow oxidizers, and often their tests reveal elevated tissue iron (above 2 mg%) or more likely, iron in the poor or very poor eliminator ranges (extremely low – less than 1 mg% or lower). For more on this, read Acquired Iron Toxicity on this website.
As Type 1 diabetes advances, some people become very fast oxidizers due to impaired kidney activity and toxicity in the kidneys with AGES and other toxins. Also, as diabetes advances, the hair chromium and phosphorus levels often decline.
3. Elevated levels of cadmium, copper, lead, arsenic, aluminum or iron. Any of these can interfere with the vital minerals required for blood sugar regulation such as zinc, chromium, selenium and others. For more details, read Toxic Metals.
4. Imbalance in the calcium/magnesium ratio. Dr. Eck believed that a calcium/magnesium ratio greater than 12:1 or less than 3:1 are diabetic indicators. However, we have not been able to confirm all of his research.
We find that a calcium/magnesium ratio between 9.5 and 13.5 usually indicates too much carbohydrate in the diet. This does not necessarily produce diabetes, but it is a trend for diabetes, especially if the trend continues for years.
We call the hair calcium/magnesium ratio the lifestyle ratio because other factors that influence it include homosexuality, harmful relationships, harmful jobs or careers and drug use, including even light use of marijuana. Interestingly, social alcohol use does not skew the Ca/Mg ratio.
An elevated Ca/Mg ratio is not a diabetic indicator, but rather a dietary indicator that compares the amount of carbohydrate one eats to one’s carbohydrate tolerance. A mildly elevated ratio indicates that a person is exceeding his or her carbohydrate tolerance level.
This assessment can be confusing because one person may be able to tolerate a lot more carbohydrate than another person. The indicator does not measure the exact amount of carbohydrate in the diet. It only indicates that a person is exceeding his or her personal limit or tolerance level.
The blood serum Ca/Mg ratio does not correspond to the hair Ca/Mg ratio. For much more detail about this ratio, read The Calcium/Magnesium Ratio.
5. A zinc level less than about 12 mg%. Zinc is required to 1) produce insulin, 2) secrete insulin and 3) to extend the action of insulin. Low zinc is also associated with toxicity with iron, copper and heavy metal poisoning. This can affect the pancreas, liver and most other organs.
6. Low or toxic levels of chromium, manganese or selenium. These trace minerals are essential for blood sugar regulation, thyroid activity and other body functions that influence sugar metabolism.
These indicators are trends only. It may take a number of
years for a trend to develop into full blown illness. Also, in
some individuals the trend may be masked by other factors so that it
is not revealed on the first hair analysis.
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. We believe the standard medical approach to diabetes is flawed, mainly because it does not address the deeper causes of high blood sugar. It only addresses the symptom of elevated blood sugar.
The American diabetic Association diet. The American Diabetic Association diet for diabetes is seriously flawed, in our view. It allows 25% starch, plus a fruit. This is too much carbohydrate for those with diabetes.
It is also a low-fat diet, which is horrible for fast oxidizers. In our experience, many Type 2 diabetics are fast oxidizers. They do not tolerate much carbohydrate in the diet.
At least it recommends 50% non-starchy vegetables. However, this is not nearly enough vegetables, in my experience.
Weight loss is also part of the medical approach to diabetes, but again the recommended diets will not reduce weight by enough to make much of 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 also horrible, in our view. Those with diabetes always need supplemental zinc and chromium, plus other nutrients, in my experience.
Let us discuss the medical methods in more detail.
Oral anti-diabetic drugs. We believe this class of drugs often do more harm than good. They include drugs such as Glucophage or Metformin, Precose or acarbose, Glycoset 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 our 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.
Some stimulate the insulin-producing cells until the cells ‘burnout’ nutritionally. Then the drugs stop working and one must take insulin. This does not heal the person’s health at all.
For example, Metformin or glucophage, a common anti-diabetic drug, inhibits gluconeogenesis. This is the process whereby the body converts some protein, starch or fats to glucose in the liver. It is a normal process of the body. By reducing it, the sugar level of a Type 2 diabetic may drop somewhat. However, the drug does nothing for one’s underlying health condition.
Meanwhile, most anti-diabetic drugs upset digestion and may deplete other minerals such as zinc. This effectively makes the underlying health of the patient worse.
Interestingly, a “landmark” study of Metformin in 2002 showed that Metformin lowered blood glucose in 38% of those studied. However, what was not reported is that lifestyle and dietary changes alone lowered blood sugar in 58% of those studied. In other words, lifestyle changes alone were about 60% better at lowering blood sugar than one of the leading drugs used today!
Insulin. Insulin replacement therapy will lower blood sugar, and can save one’s life. However, it is not natural to take insulin from outside the body. It slowly damages the body and does not prevent all the complications of diabetes. In contrast, if a person works with a development program, we have seen diabetic complications reverse themselves quite easily.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR DIABETES
Goals of the program. The goal is the complete restoration of all body functions. We call this etheric reset. In addition, development programs have a much more ambitious goal, which we call development.
Development is fulfilling the entire genetic potential of a human being. This is not well known, and is explained in a number of articles on this website, beginning with Introduction To Development.
To do all of this requires a healthful lifestyle, a specific diet tailored to one’s oxidation rate, and about eight to ten nutritional supplements. It also requires about six detoxification and healing procedures. Here are some more details:
Diet. The development diet restores many nutrients to the body. It consists of about 70% properly cooked vegetables with each of three meals daily, preferably prepared by pressure cooking.
It also includes a 4-5 ounce serving of includes animal protein twice daily, which may be lamb, chicken, turkey, natural beef or eggs – up to 6 eggs per week for women and up to 8 eggs per week for men. We suggest avoiding pork and all pig products. Many contain hidden trichina worm ova or eggs that are not destroyed by cooking.
We suggest avoiding all wheat products and all soy products. We recommend eating about 5 blue corn tortilla chips with each meal, but not more. This is to supply a special form of selenium not found in other foods. We also suggest avoiding all fruit, fruit juices and natural and refined sugars. For more details, read Food For Daily Use, Food For Occasional Use and Forbidden Food.
Diet for bronze diabetes. In addition, for cases of bronze diabetes, one needs to eliminate most red meat, eggs and dark green vegetables for at least one year and until we see improvement in the person’s iron toxicity.
Supplements. Supplements we use can be divided into three groups:
- Everyone receives certain supplements to compensate for deficiencies and toxicity in our food supply. These are calcium, magnesium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, a digestive aid, trimethylglycine, and kelp. Most people also need selenium except those in a four lows pattern.
- Several supplement are used to balance the oxidation rate and the sodium/potassium ratio. Balancing these patterns has amazing effects on the whole body system.
- Diabetics require additional supplements of chromium and zinc.
To set up the supplement programs, we can only recommend the Approved Practitioners that we train who are listed on this website at the following link: Approved Practitioners.
The hair mineral test is used to assess the oxidation rate, mineral ratios, toxic metal levels, about 100 metabolic patterns and tendencies for over 50 conditions.
Lifestyle. This includes plenty of rest and sleep. Diabetics need 10 hours of sleep every night and need to go to bed by 9 PM because sleep before midnight is required for proper rest and regeneration.
Gentle exercise daily is excellent. Avoid vigorous exercise such as running or long workouts because it further depletes the body nutritionally, even if it feels good.
Detoxification and healing procedures. This are usually essential for full recovery from diabetes. We find the most powerful, safest and least costly methods that we recommend using every day are:
- The pulling down exercise
- Coffee enemas
- Heat lamp sauna sessions
- Foot and hand reflexology
- Twisting the spine and quality chiropractic care.
- The neck pull.
Links to articles about each of these procedures are on the home page of this website. Short descriptions of the procedures are also together in one article, the Procedures Handbook.
Retracing. Rebuilding the body at deep levels always cause the unusual phenomenon of retracing. This is the return of old symptoms or new symptoms that are temporary falre-ups or reactions as they body heals.
One needs to know about retracing. Otherwise, one will usually quit the program when these symptoms arise. In fact, retracing symptoms are a welcome sign of deep healing, no matter how annoying or unpleasant they are. For more details, read Retracing and I Want The Program, But Not The Feelings.
HOW LONG DOES HEALING TAKE?
This is a most important subject. Briefly, symptomatic improvement with a development program can occur within weeks or even days if one follows the program faithfully. Deeper and more permanent healing takes longer, up to a number of years. For details, read How Long Does Healing Take?
VI. COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES - GLYCATION
Diabetes can be one of the most unpleasant health conditions. In advanced cases, intractable infections are common. Eye disease, kidney disease and even loss of limbs can also occur. One has unrelenting fatigue, as well. Other complications are high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.
In our experience, these complications will never occur if the condition is handled with a development program. However, they are common if one follows standard medical protocols. We hope doctors will pay more attention to the ideas in this article because we know this will reduce the complications associated with diabetes.
Glycation is the combining of sugar molecules with other chemical compounds such as fats and proteins. These compounds are collectively called AGES or advanced glycation end products.
Everyone has the problem of glycation, especially as they age. Glycation, in fact, is one of the major causes for the symptoms of aging.
AGES can come from the diet or be made inside the body. An elevated blood sugar and mild dehydration are the perfect combination of factors to produce a tremendous amount of glycation in the body.
The result of glycation is a slow process of sclerosis and adhesion formation that slowly destroys the body. Glycation is a major reason for all of the complications associated with diabetes, from cardiovascular and eye disease, to cancer and other problems. It is also quite preventable. For details, read AGES.
VII. DIABETES AND THE ENERGY PATHWAY
Diabetes often affects many aspects of the body’s energy production system. An important goal of every development program is to restore the body’s entire energy producing system. Otherwise, healing is not complete. This is a wonderful aspect of development that goes far beyond the use of remedies of any kind.
It involves restoring every step in the production of cellular energy from ingestion and digestion of food to the final utilization of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) inside each cell.
The body’s energy-producing system requires hundreds of nutrients. Fixing it also requires removing many metal and chemical toxins that can inhibit normal enzymatic activity. It also requires balancing the body in terms of yin and yang forces and in other ways, as well. No single or even multiple herb or vitamin can do this by itself.
For more on this topic, read How To Increase Your Energy and The Electron Transport System and the work of WF Koch.
To avoid diabetes, here are simple steps anyone 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. They include natural dark chocolate, Rice Dream, real maple syrup, raw honey and many other so-called health food products.
We suggest avoiding fruit and fruit juices. This is not only due to their sugar content. For the details, read Fruit-Eating.
Strictly avoid refined starches. These include all white flour products and right now, we do not recommend rice.
Limit grain intake, but do not stop it altogether. We suggest everyone eat about 5 blue corn tortilla chips with each meal to provide certain selenium compounds. We know this is a processed, salty, greasy food, but we don’t know another source for the selenium compounds it contains. Blue corn tortillas or cooked cereal is not as good.
Eat a large portion of properly cooked, not raw vegetables three times daily. For details about which ones to eat, and why cook, read Food For Daily Use. Excellent starches are those found in cooked vegetables such as carrots, rutabaga, and daikon.
Limit coffee-drinking to one cup or less daily of regular coffee, and avoid all cappuccinos or lattes. Also, drink 3 quarts of spring water or carbon-filtered tap water daily. Juices, coffee, or tea are not a substitute for pure water.
Go to bed early and get at least 9 or 10 hours of sleep each night.
Take basic supplements:
- Kelp (3-6 capsules daily). If you take tablets you will need about 12-15 daily.
- Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) 900 mg daily.
- Vitamin D 5000 iu daily.
- Minerals (these are our worst deficiencies today:
- Calcium - about 700 mg daily.
- Magnesium - about 400 mg daily
- Zinc - about 25 mg daily
- Chromium - about 400 mcg daily
- Manganese - about 10 mg daily
- Selenium - about 400 mcg daily.
Children need less after about age 6. Do not take a general mineral supplement. The reason is this will contain other minerals such as iron and copper, which will compete for absorption with the zinc and other needed minerals and reduce their absorption.
- Also helpful for most people is a powerful digestive aid.
These simple steps will enable most people to prevent the scourges of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
A development program. Even better is to follow a development program.
Beware: Some claim to offer nutritional balancing or development who are not doing it correctly, even if they say they studied with us.
To begin the basic or development program, go to: The Basic Development Program.
To begin a complete development program, go to Begin A Full Program. This is individualized and the most powerful for both prevention and correction, go to. If you have any health conditions, this is often required to restore health.
GESTATIONAL DIABETES
This is elevated blood sugar that only develops in women who are pregnant. As soon as pregnancy ends, the blood sugar usually returns to normal.
This is just a type of poor health, in our view. Pregnancy adds stress to the body, and more weight. The combination pushes the person into high blood sugar, which goes away when the stress of pregnancy is over. A development program can help eliminate this condition.
DIABETES INSIPIDUS
This is an uncommon type of diabetes or excessive urination. It is an inability of the body to concentrate the urine sufficiently. This results in clear, watery urine and too much urination. It has little to do with blood sugar, although excessive urination can cause problems by removing excessive water, minerals and other substances from the blood.
Causes. This condition is caused by either:
1. A deficiency of anti-diuretic hormone or ADH, also called vasopressin. This hormone is produced in the pituitary gland.
2. A kidney problem in which the kidney does not respond properly to vasopressin.
These can be due to a pituitary tumor, a stroke, a brain injury due to surgery, toxic metals in the brain or kidneys, or some other damage to the pituitary gland.
Therapies. The medical approach is to identify which of the two causes above are responsible for the problem. A doctor will prescribe synthetic anti-diuretic hormone if this is deficient. Different therapy may be suggested if the cause is at the level of the kidneys.
Therapy with a development program. The goal of this method is to restore the pituitary gland and/or the kidneys to full functioning to reverse the condition. The ability to do this would depend upon:
- The type of damage to the body
- The person’s ability and willingness to follow a strict healing program diligently and long enough for regeneration to occur.
Because this is a rare condition, at this time, (2019) we do not have experience with diabetes insipidus.
COMMENTS ABOUT THE RECENT BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL CASE STUDY
The British Medical Journal, October 9, 2018 reported on three longstanding cases of Type 2, insulin-dependent diabetes with complications. All three patients showed amazing improvement within 7-11 months using a low-carbohydrate diet, adequate water intake, and fasting every other day for two meals a day. All three were able to discontinue their insulin and control their sugar level without it.
This method needs to be explored with a much larger study. However, it shows what can be done for diabetes, even longstanding, with only a diet and lifestyle change.
While this report is very impressive, we do not recommend intermittent fasting. The problem is that it is very difficult to obtain all the nutrients the body needs if one skips meals. Fasting will slowly deplete the body even more. We find one can get the same results, or even better, eating a diet high in properly cooked vegetables without the need for fasting.
HYPOGLYCEMIA
This is an early stage of blood sugar imbalance, and a precursor for diabetes. It, too, is intimately related to mineral deficiencies, improper diet, and a body chemistry out of balance. For details, read Hypoglycemia on this site.
METABOLIC SYNDROME OR SYNDROME X
This is a set of risk factors that often results in diabetes, sooner or later. It includes elevated weight, elevated serum cholesterol, elevated serum triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, older age, and often a slightly elevated blood pressure. Often people also have a large belly. For details, read Metabolic Syndrome.
IS DIABETES EVER JUST LOW INSULIN?
No. Some health authorities still cling to the notion that diabetes is just due to low insulin. In fact, insulin deficiency is a much too simplistic explanation for ANY case of diabetes.
If the problem were just a lack of insulin, then insulin replacement therapy, which is a standard medical treatment, would entirely cure the condition. However, it does no such thing.
People who take insulin are still prone to serious complications of diabetes such as peripheral neuropathy, kidney failure, ulcers that won’t heal, blindness, artery disease and more.
These are part of the deeper pathology of diabetes that involves mineral and other nutrient deficiencies, toxic metal excess and other imbalances. Simple insulin therapy will not correct these problems.
THE AWFUL “DIABETIC ASSOCIATION DIET”
The American Diabetic Association diet allows:
1. Coffee or tea.
2. Fruit
3. Chemically processed foods including soft drinks
4. Artificial sweeteners.
5. Refined carbohydrates in the form of cake, cookies and ice cream as long as they do not contain sugar.
This is inexcusable, in our opinion. The reasons are explained earlier in this article.
IS DIABETES A GENETIC PROBLEM?
Diabetes runs in families. This leads some doctors to blame genetics for today’s epidemic of diabetes. We believe this is entirely incorrect.
Congenital, not genetic. A congenital condition is one that is present at birth, but not genetic. For example, if one’s mother was deficient in zinc or chromium, her children will often be born deficient in those nutrients. This will make them more prone to illnesses such as diabetes. This situation is not genetic, although it is passed on from the mother to the children.
Also, if one’s parents consume a lot of sugar or caffeine, the children observe this and are more likely to do the same due to learning the same eating habits. It is a trait that is passed from one generation to the next, but it is not genetic. It is a cultural pattern of lifestyle pattern that is prevalent today.
THE ROLE OF OSTEOCALCIN IN DIABETES
A recent article in the journal 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 we supplement calcium for all diabetics and we strongly recommend excellent sources of calcium such as that found in raw dairy products, beef Bone Broth, sardines, carrot juice and toasted almond butter.
WHY IS AGE A FACTOR IN DIABETES?
Many people develop diabetes as they age. In fact, age is a factor in many health conditions. The main underlying reason is that as one ages, nutritional deficiencies and other imbalances become worse. This is due to long-term effects of deficient diets and reduction in digestive enzyme secretion as one ages. Some older people also have more difficulty chewing food if they have dental problems.
Today, people are developing diabetes at a younger age. This is due to:
- More congenital nutritional deficiencies.
- Worsening diets, in many instances.
- Perhaps other new stress factors such as much more electromagnetic smog or EMF stress today from cell phones, cell phone towers, computers and other electronic devices.
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