Your blood sugar is a source of readily available energy and helps to regulate your mood and cognitive functions. The mechanisms for maintaining a normal blood sugar level are carefully balanced so that whether you fast or eat something sweet, the levels of sugar in your blood will stay relatively the same. Without this protective balancing mechanism, your blood sugar would fluctuate so much that you would have difficult functioning at all. That's when we learn about diabetes.
Two Types of Diabetes
What precisely is diabetes, anyway? Usually we think of diabetes as a reduced ability to use and metabolize dietary sugar which results in elevated sugar levels in the blood (hyperglycemia), and an abnormal amount in the urine.
There are two types of sugar diabetes.
Type I (or insulin dependent) usually occurs in people when they are children. Its onset is often sudden and severe; control of this disorder requires insulin. People with Type I diabetes usually have reduced numbers of active beta cells in the pancreas, the cells responsible for the production and secretion of insulin. That is why people with this type must inject insulin and balance the entry of insulin into the blood with food intake to maintain normal use of sugar. Remissions in Type I are rare.
Type II is called adult-onset diabetes. Its progression is slow; symptoms are mild and insidious in the beginning. In adult-onset diabetes, people may have reduced beta cells in the pancreas, but they are more likely to have adequate production and secretion of insulin. However, the cells of the body have become insensitive or "insulin resistant" to the hormone. This resistance has been linked to excessive intakes of refined carbohydrates, insufficient protein intake and chronic mental-emotional stresses. Consequently, blood sugar does not enter the cells readily and blood sugar (glucose) levels remain high. Diabetes is being referred to increasingly as an autoimmune disease. Certainly, Type I involves an immune disorder. But even adult onset diabetes is now suspected as having an autoimmune component. This warrants a close look at hyperimmune factors, and liver and detoxification support.
Help for Most Common Form of Diabetes with Circ-Elation™
In this article, we will focus on the second, most common type of diabetes, adult-onset. This is because adult-onset diabetes accounts for 90 percent of all cases of diabetes, and the condition can be greatly improved and perhaps cured through nutritional and lifestyle changes.
Type II diabetes lends itself beautifully to natural methods of control. Diet, for example, can help a great deal. Such a diet restricts the amount of carbohydrates a person consumes at one meal. Eating smaller portions more frequently during the day is important. Also cutting out sweets such as the concentrated sugars of candy, cake, baked goods, and other snacks is helpful. Cutting calories also means losing weight, and that will help, too.
Dietary supplements are extremely helpful. Research studies are showing that herbs and nutrients, used orally and topically, can do a great deal to help support healthy blood sugar and maintain proper circulation. Let's take a few examples.
Chromium is one of the most important sugar-balancing nutrients, and 90% of all Americans are deficient in this vital nutrient. Individuals with diabetes may want to supplement with chromium.
Vitamin B-6, which is widely deficient in the diet, and vitamin B-12, can help to combat nerve damage (also known as peripheral neuropathy) that is so commonly found among diabetics.
The herbs bilberry, horse chestnut seed and gotu kola reduce the leakiness and breakage of small blood vessels, prevent bruising, and protect against diabetic retinopathy (loss of vision) as well as leg ulcers and potentially even gangrene. Capsaicin, applied topically, is great for circulation to the lower legs.
Ginkgo biloba enhances circulation to the most distant of the body's tissues in the fingers, arms, legs, and toes. With ginkgo, many people can walk long distances again without pain, a sure sign of healthy circulation.
Diabetes Lead to Increased Risk for Other Diseases
Diabetes, unfortunately, can greatly increase your risk of heart disease. The condition can also spawn neuropathies, a deadening of the peripheral nerves. Because of this, we recommend that our patients address four key health areas:
- The adrenal glands, due to their relationship to stress management and insulin resistance.
- The cardiovascular system, more specifically circulation.
- Neurological signs and symptoms that occur in the later phases.
- Muscle and connective tissue problems, due to reduced circulation (ischemia).
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