The Diabetes Epidemic, Part 3

A recent review article, published by the prestigious Mayo Clinic, confirms that the traditional treatment of adult-onset diabetes has focused primarily on normalizing blood sugar levels, rather than tackling the causative factors. It is estimated that 50 percent of all pharmaceutical prescriptions written today are, in fact, related to the treatment of a constellation of metabolic changes, known as Insulin Resistance Syndrome that precedes full-blown diabetes. Dr.Ray Strand , a practicing physician, author of the popular medical guide Bionutrition, and a strong advocate of nutritionalintervention, argues that many pharmaceutical remedies used to control type II diabetes can actually increase blood insulinlevels, which, in turn, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in the diabetic patient. Says Strand, "It really comes down to a common thread and that is we're treating the wrong thing … focusing on treating blood sugar levels instead of insulin resistance, which is really the underlying problem." Controlling insulin resistance - not the high blood sugar levels caused by it - is the key to disease management. However,tackling the causative factors for insulin resistance involves changes to both diet and lifestyle and stresses the need for a more natural and holistic model of disease management.

The Case for Nutritional Intervention

What most people don't realize is that a proper balance of micronutrients is a critical part of reducing insulin resistance,which, if left unchecked, will erupt into full-blown adult-onset diabetes.

Ninety percent of type II diabetics are found to be deficient in magnesium.

The correlation between magnesium deficiency and the onset of type II diabetes has been known since 1976, yet few physicians prescribe supplementation with this inexpensivemineral to their diabetic patients. In fact, magnesium deficiency is one of the most under-diagnosed electrolyte deficiencies in modern medicine. Daily supplementation in the range of 400 milligrams has been shown to significantly improveinsulin sensitivity.

Individuals predisposed to adult-onset diabetes have also been shown to demonstrate deficiencies in several other importantmicronutrients, including: chromium, vanadium, zinc, and a host of important antioxidant complexes. As well, they oftenexhibit a deficiency in dietary protein and a general imbalance in their protein-to-carbohydrate ratio. This is likely due todietary patterns that favour excessive intake of dietary fats and high-glycemic foods that break down quickly into simple sugars, causing a rapid spike in blood sugar levels.

Other nutritional factors that have been found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of adult-onset diabetes and its precursor,insulin resistance, include: vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), vitamin C (ascorbate), vitamin K (phylloquinone), beta-carotene(pro-vitamin A), alpha-lipoic acid, flaxseed oil (omega fatty acids), vitamin B3 (niacin and niacinamide), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12(cobalamin), biotin, manganese, copper, vanadium and zinc. Chromium, in its most bioavailable form as chromium picolinate, is a particularly potent insulin sensitizer and a key component in the body's ability to tolerate and regulate blood sugars. Interestingly, 90 percent of the U.S. population does not consume even the minimum recommended daily dose of this important mineral.

All of these micronutrients are easily available and affordable through the daily use of a high quality, broad-spectrum nutritional supplement.

I stress the phrase "high quality": only a superior quality, pharmaceutically pure nutritional supplement will provide these ingredients in a balanced formulation, where each ingredient is provided in its most bioavailable form and in a dosage necessary for long-term optimal health. Supplementation is an effective way to ensure that the body has a complete supply of the micronutrient factors it needs to prevail against the onset of insulin resistance and the consequent development of type II diabetes.

Prevention of the disease — before the damage is done — is first and foremost. Unfortunately, by the time most diabeticpatients are diagnosed with the disease, it is already too late.We now know that much of the initial damage from high blood sugar levels occurs through the oxidation of fats to form toxic lipid peroxides. Numerous recent studies show that vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant, provides significant protection against this damage, caused by uncontrolled lipid peroxidation. Clinical trials show that supplementation with vitamin E, alone, causes a marked improvement of insulin action and a reduction in blood sugar levels and oxidative stress. Reduction of blood sugars and prevention of lipid peroxidation provide added protection against the onset of heart disease, common in the diabetic patient.

Insulin resistance, the pre-clinical stage of type II diabetes, responds particularly well to weight loss and dietary change. Fats and sugars are powerful free radical protagonists, so it's important to reduce these in the diet and in the body.

The key is the combination of a low glycemic diet fortified with essential fatty acids, nutritional supplementation targeted to enhance insulin sensitivity and optimize antioxidant protection, and regular aerobic exercise to blow out the pipes. It's a sensible approach that works wonders as it sheds pounds.

Herbal Supplements - A Natural Approach

While type II diabetes has become prevalent in our modern world, the disease has been with us throughout the ages. Prior tothe advent of modern drug therapy, diabetes had been treated successfully with plant-based remedies indigenous to many nativecultures. According to naturopathic physician Dr. Michael Murray, "the last 20 years of scientific investigation has, in fact, confirmed the efficacy of many herbal remedies,many of which are remarkably effective and have few or no side effects." Murray argues that the proper treatment of the diabetic patient requires the integration of diet and lifestyle changes, along with the use of nutritional and herbal therapies.

What are some of these natural remedies, used for thousands of years by Ayurvedic, Oriental and Native American healers?

Theyinclude: onions, garlic, bitter melon, Gymnema sylvestre, fenugreek, salt bush, Pterocarpus marsupium and the extracts from bilberry, grape seed and Gingko biloba. Crude extracts from these plants have all been found to play important roles in reducing insulin resistance and normalizing blood sugar levels in the pre-diabetic and diabetic patient.

Recent clinical studies confirm that Gymnema sylvestre, long used by Ayurvedic healers in India, is effective in treating bothtype I (insulin-dependent) and type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes. Extracts from the plant improve blood sugar control,allowing patients to reduce and even discontinue their use of prescription drugs. Studies indicate that Gymnema extract actually stimulates the regeneration of hormone-producing beta cells within the pancreas. Gymnema extract is also without apparent side effects and, remarkably, exhibits its restorative effects only on those suffering from diabetes. No alterative effects have been observed in normal subjects.

Pterocarpus marsupium, another plant with a long history of use in Eastern cultures, also works to prevent and reverse damageto pancreatic beta cells in diabetic patients. Epicatechin flavonoid, extracted from the bark of the plant, appears to be the restorative agent, effecting a moderating influence on blood sugar levels.

Onions and garlic also exhibit blood sugar lowering action in the diabetic patient, while conferring cardiovascular benefits,including reduction of cholesterol and blood pressure. The sulfhydryl compounds, including allyl propyl disulphide, diallyl disulfide oxide and propanethiol S-oxide, which gives these herbs their pungent and eye-watering aroma, have been identified as the active principles.Several clinical studies have shown that extracts from bitter melon (Momordica charantia), a green cucumber-shaped tropicalfruit, is a powerful hypoglycaemic agent.The extract has been shown to be more effective than the prescription drug, tolbutamide, in lowering blood sugar levels, and has fewer side effects. One peer reviewed study showed that two ounces of charantia extract improved glucose tolerance in 73 percent of diabetic subjects.

The seeds of fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum) and salt bush (Aptriplix halimus) extract are both potent hypoglycaemicagents. Fenugreek apparently works through exerting control on the blood levels of insulin (glucose storing) and its metabolicsoul-mate, glucagon, the glucose releasing hormone.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), grape seed (Vitris vinifera) and Gingko biloba each work synergistically to regenerate vitamin Cand inhibit microvascular haemorrhaging, common in diabetic retinopathy.The extracts of these plants are rich sources of the powerful bioflavonoid antioxidants. Gingko, used as a remedy in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years, alsoreduces peripheral vascular damage and nerve dysfunction, common in the diabetic patient.

You may ask, "If all of these natural remedies are so safe and their side effects so uncommon, why has western medicine notemployed them in the battle against diabetes and other degenerative diseases?"

The fact is, medical science has become overwhelmingly dependent on the pharmacological approach to disease management. So enamoured are western medical practitioners with the allure of high-tech medicine that they lack interest in the more down-to-earth cures offered by Mother Nature.

Throughout North America, in particular, medical schools do not embrace the use of herbal medicines in their curricula.Consequently, few medical practitioners are current in their knowledge of such age-old remedies. Physicians, involved with their day-to-day practises, do not have time to review the scientific literature, and rely, instead, on the research and products developed by the pharmaceutical industry. Therein lies the rub: while 30 percent of modern conventional drugs are composed of isolates derived from plant sources, pharmaceutical companies have actively discouraged the research of the crude — and often more effective plant extracts. Plants and their raw extracts are natural products and, hence, cannot be patented.

So, there it is — no patent, no profit. All you have to do is follow the money. Because of this, the international pharmaceutical cartel has actively worked against the use of natural herbal remedies in disease treatment — and we, as a society, are poorer for it.

Reprinted with permission from the author.
Copyright 2001 MacWilliam Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
DIISCLAIMER: This article was researched and compiled for educational purposes only. No person should use the information herein for selfdiagnosis, treatment or justification for declining medical treatment. Any individual with a specific health problem referenced in this article should seek advise from a qualified medical practitioner.

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Lyle MacWilliam, BSc, MSc, FP
Mr. MacWilliam is a biochemist, educator and author of the book, “Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements”. He is a former Member of Canada’s Parliament and on behest of the Canadian Ministry of Health, helped develop a new regulatory framework for natural health products.

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