Diabetes

by Michael Minton


People with Diabetes Should Know

It is probable that 14.5 million people in the United States have diabetes. However, there are probably 6.2 million people who have this disease and do not know they have it. These figures come from the American Diabetes Association. That puts the total at 2.8 million Americans, or 7% of the population.

Diabetes is called a silent killer, because until complications arise, sometimes there are no symptoms. The complications include obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and amputation, among others.

If a person with diabetes is careful and manages the disease, he or she can reduce their risk factors. The majority of people with diabetes die of heart disease or stroke. Heart attacks occur at a younger age than in those who do not have diabetes.

Traditional Medicine

Traditional medicine treats the symptom of diabetes rather than the cause. Drugs are given to increase levels of insulin and thus lower blood sugar. These drugs are artificial and they can result in many side effects and do not essentially handle the original metabolic disorder. As the insulin intensity rises, they may have undesirable effects on cardiovascular system. This can even cause heart disease. But the real problem is not low levels of insulin, but the tissue sensitivity to the insulin already in the body.

Results of Aging

Normal aging causes insulin receptors to be less sensitive to insulin. The result is insulin resistance. This means high levels of insulin are needed to keep the blood sugar in a normal range. When this passes a certain limit, blood sugar rises and a person develops blunt type 2 diabetes. With high insulin comes the fat accumulation and active blocking of the fat breakdown.

There are several natural remedies that can help restore insulin sensitivity. Supplements such as chromium and gymnema sylvetere and fish oils will help. Also cutting down extra calories will help. Balancing hormones and other nutrients are effective.

Types of Foods

Glycemic index is a list of foods, which assigns a number to each food indicating how much sugar it contains. It is above all important to keep away from high glycemic foods as eating them raises blood sugar levels too high and too rapidly. In reaction the insulin gets released and so the nasty cycle of insulin insensitivity begins and finally insulin resistance and then diabetes follows.

Eating nutritious food includes complex carbohydrates, low glycemic foods and correct diet for your metabolic type. There are several different metabolic types and each one requires different types of food. A simple check can be done to determine your body's metabolic type, so that you may then chose to eat the correct foods that will help your body.

Diabetes Treatments

Angel Longevity Medical Center in Los Angeles is an alternative medicine clinic, headed by Dr. Anju Mather. She approaches diabetic treatment by doing everything possible to improve insulin sensitivity. Exercise, supplements, hormone balancing and correct diet will all be part of the plan. Recently research has turned up that a testosterone deficiency in men is linked to non-insulin dependent diabetes, thus the balancing of hormones becomes even more important.




About the Author:

Learn more about high blood pressure. Stop by Anju Mathur, M.D.'s site where you can find out all about supplements and what it can do for you.

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