Diabetes: Most of What You’ve Been Told May Be Wrong
Posted By Dr. Mercola

Much of what you have probably heard about diabetes from your health care provider may be incorrect. There is an enormous amount of misinformation circulating from seemingly knowledgeable sources about this epidemic disease.

The vast majority of diabetics are clueless about how to reverse it, and many don’t even realize that they can. They believe their fate has been sealed and all they can do now is “control” it. More than 50 percent of type 2 diabetics are also not even aware they have diabetes. Diabetes rates for both adults and children are climbing out of control and one in four Americans either have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Unfortunately, by following conventional medical advise, you could be putting yourself on the path toward life-threatening health problems—and even premature death.

We are in the Midst of a Diabetes Epidemic The latest statistics indicate the U.S. now has up to 24 million people with diagnosed diabetes, which is 8 percent of our total population. However, the picture is even grimmer when it comes to the prevalence of pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose). Almost 26 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 20 and more than 35 percent of seniors (age 60 and older) are pre-diabetics. In total, that’s 57 million Americans walking around with pre-diabetes, in addition to the 24 million who have already crossed the line. That means more than one in four Americans has either pre-diabetes or the full-blown disease!

Not only is type 2 diabetes completely preventable, it is usually curable if you are willing to make some simple, inexpensive lifestyle adjustments that will restore your insulin and leptin sensitivity. Diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2: What’s the Difference? Diabetes (also known as diabetes mellitus) is a chronic condition traditionally marked by high levels of glucose in your blood (high blood sugar). Type 1 is called insulin-dependent diabetes (also known as juvenile onset diabetes), and Type 2 is called non-insulin-dependent diabetes (or adult onset diabetes).

Type 1: “Insulin Dependent” Diabetes In Type 1 diabetes, your body’s own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, resulting in a complete deficiency of the hormone insulin. This deficiency of insulin is why Type 1 is called “insulin-dependent”—because more often than not, Type 1 Diabetics must give themselves supplemental insulin. Type 1 is relatively uncommon, affecting only about 1 in 250 Americans. It usually occurs in people before the age of 20. There is no known cure. However, recent research has shown that our preoccupation with sun avoidance may play a major role in the development of type 1 diabetes. The further you move away from the equator, the greater your risk for this disease. Women can help reduce their children’s risk of type 1 diabetes by optimizing their vitamin D levels prior to, and during their pregnancy as vitamin D has been shown to suppress certain cells of the immune system that may play a role in the development of the disorder.

Type 2: “Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes” Type 2 diabetes is by far the more common form of the disease, affecting 90 to 95 percent of diabetics, and is completely preventable and nearly 100 percent curable. If you have type 2, your body is producing some insulin but is unable to recognize insulin and use it properly. This is an advanced stage of insulin-resistance. Since your insulin is inadequate, sugar can’t get into your cells and instead builds up in your blood, causing a variety of problems. This is why diabetics have elevated blood sugar levels. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include: Excessive thirst Extreme hunger (even after eating) Nausea and possible vomiting Unusual weight gain or loss Increased fatigue Irritability Blurred vision Slow healing of wounds Frequent infections (skin, urinary, vaginal) Numbness or tingling in hands and/or feet Medications and supplements are NOT the answer for type 2 diabetes; restoring your sensitivity to insulin and leptin is what’s needed. Diabetes is NOT a Disease of Blood Sugar Diabetes is a disease of insulin and leptin signaling, not a disease of blood sugar, which is why the medical community’s approach to its treatment is not getting us anywhere.

In addition to diabetes, elevated insulin levels are associated with a number of diseases, including: * Heart disease * Peripheral vascular disease * Stroke * High blood pressure * Cancer * Obesity Diabetes, like all chronic disease, results from cellular miscommunication. Leptin: Is It the Missing Link Between Obesity and Diabetes? Leptin is a hormone produced in your fat cells. One of leptin's primary roles is regulating your appetite and body weight. It tells your brain when to eat, how much to eat, and most importantly, when to stop eating. And leptin tells your brain what to do with the energy it has. Leptin is largely responsible for the accuracy of insulin signaling and whether or not you become insulin resistant. The only known way to reestablish proper leptin (and insulin) signaling is through proper diet.

When your blood sugar becomes elevated, insulin is released to direct the extra energy into storage. A small amount is stored as a starch called glycogen, but the majority is stored as your main energy supply—fat. Therefore, insulin's major role is not to lower your blood sugar, but rather to store the extra energy for future times of need. Insulin’s effect of lowering your blood sugar is merely a “side effect” of this energy storage process. This is why diabetes treatments concentrating merely on lowering blood sugar can actually worsen, rather than remedy the actual problem of metabolic miscommunication.

Taking insulin is one of the WORST things you can do for type 2 diabetes, since it will actually worsen your insulin and leptin resistance over time. Fructose—One of the Major Culprits in Obesity and Diabetes The presence of massive amounts of fructose in today’s Western diet is a driving force behind our diabetes epidemic. Regular table sugar is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose, and the two are metabolized very differently. Nearly every cell in your body was designed to use glucose for energy—especially your brain cells—but fructose breaks down into a variety of toxins that can have devastating effects on your health.

Fructose has the following adverse metabolic effects: * Fructose does not stimulate a rise in leptin, so your satiety signals are suppressed. * Fructose raises your insulin and your triglycerides, which effectively reduces the amount of leptin crossing your blood-brain barrier. This interferes with the communication between leptin and your hypothalamus. Your brain senses starvation and prompts you to eat more. * Fructose does not suppress ghrelin like glucose does. Ghrelin is the “hunger hormone,” making you want more food. All of this also sets the stage for overindulgence and hence overweight, placing you on the path toward diabetes. I strongly advise keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day. However, it would be wise for most people to limit fructose to 15 grams or less as it is virtually guaranteed you will be getting “hidden” sources of fructose from just about any processed food you eat.

This includes fruits, which also need to be carefully measured to make certain that you’re not inadvertently going over the fructose limit. For a helpful chart listing the fructose content of several common fruits, please see this previous article. Diabetes Drugs Miss the Mark, and are Dangerous Regardless of what you may have heard, you cannot successfully treat the underlying cause of diabetes with drugs.

For example, consider Avandia. Avandia works by making diabetes patients more sensitive to their own insulin, helping to control blood sugar levels. In fact, most conventional treatments for type 2 diabetes utilize drugs that either raise insulin or lower blood sugar. Avandia, for example, reduces your blood sugar by increasing the sensitivity of your liver, fat and muscle cells to insulin. The problem is, diabetes is not a blood sugar disease, as I have already explained. So, drugs that focus on the symptom of elevated blood sugar, rather than addressing the underlying cause, are doomed to fail in most cases. Not only that, but drugs like Avandia have dangerous side effects, including causing extensive heart problems that have killed literally thousands of people. In fact, Avandia has been linked to a 43 percent increased risk of heart attack and a 64 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death compared to patients treated with other methods!

The good news? Nearly 100 percent of type 2 diabetics can be successfully cured without medications. Preventing or Reversing Diabetes in Six Simple Steps Here are my top six actions to take for increasing your insulin and leptin sensitivity, thus reducing your chances for developing diabetes—or reversing it if you already have the disease:

1. Exercise Exercise is an absolutely essential factor, and without it, you’re unlikely to get this devastating disease under control. It is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to lower your insulin and leptin resistance. If you’re unsure of how to get started, I recommend reviewing my exercise program for tips and guidelines. It is also critical to work your way up to include some Peak 8 exercises

. 2. Eliminate Grains and Sugars, Especially Fructose A large reason for the failure of conventional diabetes treatment over the last 50 years has to do with seriously flawed dietary recommendations. Fructose and grains are largely responsible for your body’s adverse insulin reactions. You will want to eliminate ALL sugars and grains—even “healthful” grains such as whole, organic or sprouted ones. This means avoiding all breads, pasta, cereals, rice, potatoes, and corn (which is in fact a grain). You might even need to avoid fruits until your blood sugar is under control.

3. Eat Right for Your Nutritional Type Exercising and avoiding grains and sugars might not be enough unless you balance your protein, carbohydrate and fat ratios for your specific genetic biochemistry. The first step is finding out your nutritional type, which then gives you information about your optimal protein/carbohydrate/fat ratio. I now offer the full nutritional typing program for FREE, so you can get started today!

4. Monitor Your Fasting Insulin Level This is every bit as important as your fasting blood sugar. You’ll want your fasting insulin level to be between 2 and 4. The higher your level, the worse your insulin sensitivity is.

5. Optimize Your Vitamin D Interestingly, optimizing your vitamin D levels not only treats type 2 diabetes but as already mentioned, can virtually eliminate your children's risk for type 1 diabetes if you are pregnant. It’s also vital for infants to receive the appropriate amounts of vitamin D in their early years for the same reason. Ideally, you’ll want to do this by exposing a large amount of your skin to appropriate amounts of sunshine (or a safe tanning bed) on a regular basis, year-round. Your body can safely create up to 20,000 units of vitamin D a day by direct UV exposure. If you are not getting regular sun exposure on large amounts of your skin you may need anywhere from 5 to 20,000 units of oral vitamin D3 per day. However, if neither of these options is available, you may want to use an oral vitamin D3 supplement. But remember, if you choose to take an oral supplement, it’s essential that you get your level tested regularly by a proficient lab to make sure it’s in the therapeutic range, which is 60 to 80 ng/ml.

6. Probiotics Your gut is a living ecosystem, full of both good bacteria and bad. Multiple studies have shown that obese people have different intestinal bacteria than lean people. The more good bacteria you have, the stronger your immune system will be and the better your body will function overall. Fortunately, optimizing your gut flora is relatively easy. You can reseed your body with good bacteria by eating fermented foods (like natto, raw organic cheese, miso, and cultured vegetables) or by taking a high quality probiotic supplement.

For Further Information This is just a brief overview of the causes, prevention, and treatment of diabetes. Over the years, I have posted many articles that go into far greater detail on this subject. Below you will find a list of these articles, and I encourage you to do some further reading. Knowledge is power, and with that you can arm yourself against ignorance and misinformation—bringing you one step closer to taking charge of your health.

# Diabetes Articles/Links: What You Know About Diabetes May Be All Wrong

* Diabetes is Not a Disease of Blood Sugar! - Startling as that may seem, find out the real cause of diabetes from one of the country's leading experts in this original exclusive article.

* The Diabetes Conundrum: What Physicians Are Teaching You May be Killing You - Read the surprising conclusion Dr. Rosedale, one of the leading diabetic doctors in the country, reaches about the current state of knowledge in diabetes.

* Leptin: How Diabetes and Obesity Are Linked - Leptin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar in your body, may be the "missing link" between obesity and diabetes. Learn why normalizing leptin and insulin levels reduces your obesity-diabetes risk.

* Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects - One of the most read articles on the entire web site; Great foundation for understanding how controlling insulin and leptin is the key to defeating diabetes.

* 5 Reasons Why Type One Diabetes is on the Rise

* Diabetes Epidemic Expected to Double

* Mayo Clinic DEAD Wrong on Diabetic Recommendations

* This Hormone Makes Counting Calories Irrelevant

* Is Insulin Condemning You to a Premature Death?

* A Possible Cure for Diabetes Ignored by Big Pharma * Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes Now Strikes One in Four Americans The Fructose/Uric Acid/Diabetes Connection

* Is this Popular Natural Sweetener Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup? How Probiotics Can Help Diabetics

* Diabetes Alert: Your Gut Microflora May Be Out of Balance

* Friendly Bacteria Protect Against Type 1 Diabetes Vitamin D Against Diabetes

* Type 2 Diabetics Need More Sunshine

* Vitamin D Lowers Risk of Type 1 Diabetes The Benefits of Exercise

* Diet and Exercise Beat Drugs for Diabetes Heart Risks

* Beat Teen Diabetes With Exercise

* Two Foods You Should Never, Ever Eat After Exercise Choose Slow Carb Foods to Control Diabetes

* How Carbohydrates & Obesity are Linked: The Kind, Not the Amount - Learn how achieving your optimal weight lies in the kind of carbs you consume, not the amount.

* Eat Fast Food and Fight Diabetes? - Is a new compound to protect against high-fat food & diabetes all that it is cracked up to be?

* Corn Syrup Linked to Diabetes - The startling jump in diabetes in America is mirrored by our growing consumption of refined carbohydrates.

* Infants Fed Cereals May Have an Increased Risk of Diabetes - Although many pediatricians recommend starting young infants on cereal, the grain may present a number of problems, including an increased risk of diabetes. Find out what's a better option to feed your child.

* Shocking! This 'Tequila' Sweetener is Far Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup

* Sugar May Be Bad, But This Sweetener is Far More Deadly

* This Common Food Ingredient Can Really Mess Up Your Metabolism

* Why High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Insulin Resistance

* The Mediterranean Diet Can Stop Diabetes

* Breast-Feeding Curbs Type 2 Diabetes

* Insulin-Dependent Diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis Improved by Food Choices How Diabetic Drugs Can Make Your Diabetes Worse and Further Endanger Your Health

* Diabetes Drug Causing Deaths

* 8 Drugs Doctors Would Never Take

* Deaths Halt Diabetes Study

* Not Again! More Diabetes Drug Dangers...

* Green Tea -- Beats Avandia for Diabetes, and No Deadly Side Effects

* Diabetes Drug Avandia -- Side Effect Reports Triple

* Merck's Latest Drug Scam a Worthless Diabetes Drug

* Dangerous Antidepressants Elevate Diabetes Risk

* Diabetes Doubles Among American Children \  

Antidepressants:

They’re not as effective as we’re told after researchers suppress the ‘bad’ studies 17 January 2008 Doctors and the public may have been misled about the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. They have both been victims of spin that researchers have put on their findings in order to present the drugs in the best possible light. Sometimes poor results have been suppressed, while even those that have been published have claimed the drug is far more effective than the findings suggest, new research has discovered. In virtually every case, the drug trial has been paid for by the manufacturer, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University found. They analysed 74 separate trials into antidepressant drugs that had been registered with America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of these, a third was never published, and this was usually because the study discovered the drug was either not effective or was more dangerous than first thought. Of the trials that were published, 94 per cent of them came up with a positive outcome about the effectiveness of the drug, and yet the FDA’s independent analysis of the same trials concluded that just half were positive.

(Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 2008; 358: 252-60).  

Flaxseeds as good as a drug for lowering cholesterol 07 April 2010

A few tablespoons of flaxseeds every day can be as effective as a powerful drug in lowering your cholesterol levels, a new study has discovered. The seeds, which are rich in omega 3 fatty acids and in lignans, a phytoestrogen, reduced cholesterol levels in a group of men by around 10 per cent in just three months. Cholesterol-lowering drugs usually achieve a reduction of between 10 and 20 per cent, but often with side effects. For the study, 90 men with high cholesterol consumed 150 milligrams – that’s three tablespoons – of flaxseeds every day for the three months, usually by sprinkling the seeds on the food they were eating. Strangely, the flaxseeds didn’t help women reduce their cholesterol levels. The researchers from Iowa State University reckon that the lignans in the flaxseeds are the active ingredient, and their ability to protect the heart has been proven in earlier studies, too. (Source: American Society for Nutrition annual meeting, April 24-28, Anaheim, California).  

Controversial Anti-Smoking Drug Makes Headlines Yet Again

Dear Reader,

I was shocked when I read the following newspaper headline recently: ‘Actor cleared of beating girlfriend and throwing her naked into street after he blames behaviour on anti-smoking drug.’

The culprit behind this terrifying story?

Champix, of course.

Dangerous mix

For those of you who might have missed this story, here’s the background information:

A television actor was accused of assaulting his girlfriend but escaped trial after blaming the attack on the anti-smoking drug, Champix.

The actor was found not guilty of assault and causing actual bodily harm, after experts said the drug, combined with alcohol and a history of depression, could have caused him to lose control.

So, in this instance, it seems that ‘other factors’ also came into play... However, this does not clear this smoking cessation drug from it’s already severely tainted reputation.

Bad boy on the block

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing Champix’s (Chantix in the US) safety since 2007, after receiving hundreds of reports of unpredictable, aggressive and suicidal behaviour following its use.

From May 2006 through to December 2007, the FDA received 227 domestic reports of suicidal acts, thoughts or behaviours, 397 cases of possible psychosis and 525 reports of hostility or aggression. These totals included 28 cases of suicide and 41 mentions of homicidal ideation, 60 cases of paranoia and 55 cases of hallucination. The categories were not mutually exclusive.

Champix contains varenicline that helps smokers stop smoking. It is designed to stimulate a type of nicotine receptor in the brain while preventing nicotine from binding to another receptor.

In the 4th quarter of 2007 alone, varenicline accounted for 988 serious injuries in the US according to reports received by the FDA, more than any other individual drug in this period.

Consequently, almost exactly a year ago, the FDA ordered Pfizer Inc – the manufacturer of Champix - to add a strong "black box" warning on its anti-smoking drug to highlight the risk of serious mental health problems.

Yet, in spite of this, the drug is still widely available. In the UK, it is approved for use on the NHS with a recommendation to be prescribed ‘only as part of a programme of behavioural support’. Pfizer insists that a direct link between Champix and psychiatric problems has not been established in clinical trials. I wonder how it explains away all the adverse effects that have been reported following its use????

Word on the street

Here at the Daily Health we’ve reported on the adverse side effects of Champix on numerous occasions. In fact, our article ‘Champix Side Effects – Dangers of Popular Drug Used to Quit Smoking’ published back in January 2008, caused quite a stir (to put it mildly!) among our readers... and up to 1,000 of you wrote in to share your experiences of the drug.

Pesticides

could be a major cause of ADHD 19 May 2010 Pesticides could be a major cause of the alarming rise in ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) in our children. The worrying factor about the latest study is that the children who were monitored were not all living in farms or in rural areas. Some of the 1,139 children who participated in the study were from urban areas, which suggest that the pesticides – and especially the organophosphates – are in the air we breathe, as well as on the foods we eat. Previous studies have found that pesticides may contribute to hyperactivity and cognitive problems in animals, but the new study, from the University of Montreal and Harvard University, is one of the first to demonstrate that it affects humans, too. (Source:Pediatrics, 2010. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3058).  

Statins

Doctors urged to lower statin dose after new health scare 26 May 2010 Doctors are being urged to choose the lowest-possible dose when they prescribe cholesterol-lowering statins after a study discovered the drugs cause a range of health problems, including serious liver and kidney failure. Statins have been considered to be a safe drug group, and are routinely prescribed to the over-50s to prevent heart disease – but a new study from Nottingham University has discovered that they are an unsuspected cause of serious liver and kidney dysfunction and failure, and they can also be a cause of myopathy, the muscle disease, and cataracts. The risks were similar across the whole range of statins, although the risk of liver disease was highest among patients taking fluvastatin. (Source: British Medical Journal, 2010; 340: c2197).  

Probiotic drink

Reduces infections in small children 26 May 2010 A probiotic yoghurt drink can dramatically reduce the number of common sicknesses and infections in children. The children who had the drink every day suffered fewer outbreaks of ear infections, flu, diarrhea and sinusitis. The drink, DanActive, was tested on a group of 638 healthy children, aged between three and six, who attended school every day. They either drank DanActive every day or a standard yoghurt drink that did not contain any probiotics. The DanActive children had 19 per cent fewer infections overall, including 24 per cent less gastro-intestinal problems, and 18 per cent fewer ear infections, sinusitis or strep. DanActive contains the probiotic strain L.casei DN-114 001. (Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010; May 19: doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.65).  

Red Wine

How red wine protects you from a stroke 12 May 2010 A glass of red wine can protect you against a stroke – and now researchers think they know how it works. While scientists already know that resveratrol in red wine – and in the seeds and skin of red grapes – has a protective effect, they have now discovered that it increases the levels of an enzyme that shields nerve cells from damage. As well as protecting against stroke, moderate red wine drinking may also reduce your chances of cardio-vascular disease. And it seems to be the wine that helps deliver the amounts of resveratrol that matter. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who carried out the latest research, say that you may not get the same benefits from taking resveratrol supplements or by eating red grapes. (Source: Experimental Neurology, 2010; doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2010.03.032).  

Hunger May Simply Be Thirst--For Water, That Is

Have you ever considered the fact that the diet sweeteners keep you hungry, and that your hunger may simply be thirst--for water that is, not drinking more diet soda?

Those extra calories you save with that diet cola won't make much difference if you eat chocolate chip cookies three hours later because you're starving - again or worse yet, consuming more diet products. If constantly using diet sweeteners is actually increasing your appetite, why use them? Common sense tells me that proper diet and exercise are more beneficial than dieting for losing body fat and maintaining a low body weight. Even if you believe that artificial sweeteners help your dieting, is this worth risking your health?

Drinking water can often satisfy that chronic hunger according to Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. In his book, Your Body's Many Cries for Water, he writes, "Many persons confuse their thirst as hunger. Thinking they have consumed enough 'water' from their soda, they assume they are hungry and begin to eat more than their body needs for food. In due time, dehydration will cause a gradual gain in weight from overeating as a direct result of confusion of thirst and hunger sensations.

"It is primitive and simplistic thinking that one could easily lace water with all sorts of pleasure-enhancing chemicals and substitute these fluids for the natural and clean water that the human body needs. Some of these chemicals, caffeine, aspartame, saccharin and alcohol, through their constant lopsided effect on the brain ... [program] the body chemistry with results opposite to the body's natural design."

Ellington Darden, PhD, states in his book, A Flat Stomach ASAP, that super hydration through sipping large amounts of water each day is an important dietary guideline.

Rumor has it that the diet sweeteners actually cause weight gain because you never feel satisfied or full. That's correct, and scientific research has proven why:

So, the next time you think that you want a "sugar-free snack" or another diet cola, drink a glass of water instead and see if your hunger goes away. I bet it does. Then go snack on a carrot.

Dear Reader,

Consuming even modest amounts of a sweetener commonly found in food and drink products could increase your risk of high blood pressure by as much as 77 per cent, researchers have found. Scientists from the University of Colorado examined nutritional data for 4,500 adults with no history of hypertension. They found that men and women who consumed 74 grams of High Fructose Corn Syrup experienced a 77 percent increased risk of Stage 2 hypertension (160/100 mmHg) To put it simply, this means that drinking two and a half cans of fizzy or fruit drinks a day containing HFCS will almost guarantee that one day you'll develop seriously high blood pressure. And, for many of us, that day may be a lot closer than you think. According to a major study last year, men who consumed a diet high in fructose experienced a spike in blood pressure after just TWO weeks. Yes, after just 14 days of eating foods filled with this sweetener, many of the men had serious blood pressure issues. Yet, when the men eliminated the fructose from their diets, their blood pressure returned to normal. More and more manufacturers are sneaking HFCS into their food products - anything from bread, cereal, biscuits, yogurt, ketchup, and even tomato soup. First off, it's cheaper than sugar. Secondly, it extends a product's shelf life. And, lastly, it’s highly addictive! So, if you already suffer high blood pressure, you definitely need to start reading the labels on products right away.