July 14, 2016

Diabetes

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Type II Diabetes is a serious disease, which, if not controlled can be life threatening. It is often associated with long term complications that can affect different body systems. It can contribute to eye disorders and blindness, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputation and nerve damage. It makes pregnancy more difficult and can cause birth defects.

But, diabetes is not the hopeless disease most people think it is. It can be a long and losing battle if you blindly listen to your medical provider, and take no responsibility for your own health. The big drug companies do not really want you or your doctor to become aware of the real causes of diabetes. It certainly doesn’t want you to have information that can reverse or prevent diabetes.

There are many benefits to finding ways to reverse diabetes and prevent it. According to the American Diabetes Association, the combined cost of medical care and lost productivity due to diabetes exceeded 174 billion dollars in 2007. People with diabetes pay 2.3 times as much for health care as non-diabetics.


Statin drugs have a side effect: causing diabetes. A recent Harvard medical school study showed that women over age 45 are 50% more likely to develop diabetes when also taking a statin drug. “Adults with diabetes are also 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease or a stroke than adults without diabetes,” says the American Heart Association.

A Natural News.com article entitled, “High Fructose Corn Syrup and Diabetes: What the Experts Say,” has the following quotes from research experts:

“Since the fructose in corn syrup does neither stimulate insulin secretion nor reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin, you will continue to feel hungry while the body converts fructose into fat. The resulting obesity increases the risk of diabetes and other diseases”, says Andrea Moritz.

“Some suggest that HFCS, which is widely used as an inexpensive sweetener in juice, soft drinks and processed foods, might predispose people to diabetes. In animal research this sugar leads to insulin resistance and poor glucose tolerance” by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, PH.D., authors of “Best Choices from the Peoples Pharmacy.”

The latest research from the American Heart Association’s Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention annual conference shows that soda consumption has conservatively caused 130,000 cases of new diabetes and 14,000 new cases of heart disease. Soda causes diabetes and heart disease. Although the soda industry denies this, doesn’t it sound something like nicotine is not addictive?

So what is a person to do to prevent diabetes or control blood sugar in existing cases? There are many studies showing lots of possible solutions. But the simplest answer is to control your diet and intake of sugars such as HFCS, and get regular exercise. You must be in charge of yourself and your habits. Diabetes has no single cause or cure, but when you take control of your health, aided by some natural supplements and minerals, you can overcome diabetes, or at least control it naturally.

A study published by the journal Diabetologia said that a diet of just 600 calories a day reverses diabetes. After one week on the diet, patients saw their blood sugar levels return to normal, indicating their diabetes had gone into remission. That isn’t much food, to be sure. But, these people didn’t stay on this fasting diet very long, and 72% of them were still diabetes free 3 months after stopping the diet. The point is that if you have a recent onset of diabetes, it is reversible, so take the responsibility and get your diet and lifestyle under control.  Diabetes, we now know, is not just some disease that attacks you.  There is a cause, and it is your inactive lifestyle and eating habits.  Are there some exceptions? Sure.  But the majority of diabetes can be controlled.

A newly studied supplement that you can add is cinnamon.  Cinnamon bark has calcium, chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and vitamins A, B1, B2 and C. One review of eight studies showed that cinnamon is effective at reducing blood glucose levels both between meals and after meals, and that it may reduce complications from diabetes.

Cinnamon has even outperformed drugs. In a study published in the “Journal of Diabetic Medicine,” participants given cinnamon supplements experienced greater improvement in blood sugar levels than participants given standard diabetes drugs.

The best way to prevent and manage Type II diabetes is still to maintain a healthy body weight, eat a healthy diet low in refined sugars and high in natural fiber, and exercise regularly.

Chiropractic care should also be part of an overall plan to help control diabetes.  Since exercise is one of the recommendations, you actually have to be able to do that.  I often see patients who want to exercise, but are limited by pain.  That is where chiropractic can help.  By restoring proper musculoskeletal function, reducing pain, and getting back to activities you like, you can take your health back into your own hands.  You, and only you, are in control of your health.  I can’t exercise for you (I’ve got enough trouble doing my own), so step up and do it for you.