DIABETES,
A 21ST CENTURY EPIDEMIC
by Dr. Lawrence
Wilson
© July 2019, 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
Intermittent Fasting
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 ÒDiabetic Association DietÓ
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 worldÕs
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 ÔmodeÕ 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 donÕt 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 personÕs 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 ÒcoldÓ 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 ÒamigosÓ 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 oneÕs 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 Òfloor the
acceleratorÓ. 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.
ÒFlooring the acceleratorÓ 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 oneÕs 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 Ôside effectsÕ. 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 ÔburnoutÕ nutritionally. Then the drugs stop working and one
must take insulin. This does not
heal the personÕs 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 oneÕs 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 ÒlandmarkÓ
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 oneÕs 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 oneÕs 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 personÕs 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 bodyÕs energy production system. An important goal of every development program is to restore
the bodyÕs 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 bodyÕs 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 donÕt 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 personÕs 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 wonÕt 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
ÒDIABETIC ASSOCIATION DIETÓ
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 todayÕs 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 oneÕs 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 oneÕs 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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