The Natural Approach to Preventing Diabetes

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The Natural Approach to Preventing Diabetes

• Carolyn Dean MD ND

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Diabetes

• Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in
  the U.S. affecting about one quarter of the
  population
• There are 16 million diabetics in the United
  States, with the numbers increasing rapidly
• 54 million people have pre diabetes and dont
  know it
• There has been a 70 percent rise in diabetes in
  thirty-year-olds
• Children are developing Adult Onset Diabetes

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3 Types of Diabetes

• Type I Diabetes
• 10 of the Diabetic population, usually develops
  in children
• Possible Cause A viral infection of the
  pancreas, resulting in impaired or absent insulin
  production.
• Possible Cause A paper from Finland showed that
  drinking cow's milk is associated with getting
  juvenile diabetes and the earlier children start
  to drink milk and the more they drink, they more
  likely they are to develop diabetes.
• SM Virtanen et al .Diabetologia
  1994(April)37(4)381-387.

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3 Types of Diabetes

• Type II Diabetes
• 90 or adult-onset diabetics
• Tend to be non-insulin-dependent
• Overweight
• Between ?fty and seventy years old at onset.
• Gestational diabetes
• high blood sugar during pregnancy is usually
  short-lived but it can be predictive of diabetes
  in the future.

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Causes of Type II DM

• Allopathic Medicine and Diabetes associations
  say
• DM is caused by diminished insulin production or
  insulin resistance at the cell level, which
  prevents glucose from getting into the cells. But
  why does this happen?
• Nobody talks about sugar being a cause of
  diabetes
• Im convinced that the three most important
  causes are
• DIET, DIET, DIET
• From added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, low
  fat foods that are high in simple carbs, white
  flour products, fast foods, sports drinks, diet
  products etc.

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Insulin Resistance

• In type II diabetes insulin is often available
  and even elevated. So giving insulin or forcing
  insulin production doesnt work.
• Insulins job is to open up receptor sites on
  cell membranes to allow the transport of glucose,
  a cells source of fuel.
• Cells appear to be resistant to insulin and the
  cell membranes wont open to receive glucose.
  Insulin creates fat cells to store this excess
  sugar.
• Cells that no longer respond to the advances of
  insulin and refuse the entry of glucose are
  called insulin-resistant.
• As a result, blood glucose levels rise and the
  body produces more and more insulin, to no avail.
•  

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Why?

• Dr. Michael Brownlee, a Type I diabetic since age
  8, winner of the 2005 Banting Award and
  presented the Banting lecture.
• The Pathobiology of Diabetic Complications A
  Unifying Mechanism
• A situation similar to overloading an electrical
  fuse happens when too much dietary sugar enters
  the electron transport system that works across
  cell membranes. Some of the lipid membrane is
  fried.
• Anti-oxidative capacity (glutathione) is lowered
  and super oxide free radicals are released. These
  free radicals are known to damage the lipid
  bilayer of cell/mitochondrial  membranes.
• Its this damage that makes it more difficult for
  glucose to enter cells. Damage is induced by too
  much glucose, free radicals, hypothyroidism, and
  not enough magnesium and potassium.

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PPar Receptors

• Specifically, the PPar receptor is the site for
  glucose to enter cells and the target site for
  diabetes drugs.
• The PPar receptor is activated by thyroid
  hormone.
• Hypothyroidism slows down the electron transport
  system allowing the glucose overload fuse to blow
  sooner.
• Factors associated with low thyroid function also
  predict higher incidence of diabetes.
• Age
• High estrogen levels (females and pregnancy)
• Metal overload-lead, mercury, arsenic
• Yeast overgrowth, which blocks thyroid receptors
• Dr. Roby Mitchell, MD, PhD Pharm

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Reversing Diabetes

• When cell energy is low and the thyroid is
  sluggish, more insulin is required to maintain
  normal sugar levels.
• Long before blood sugars rise, you have elevation
  of fasting insulin levels and deposition of
  abdominal fat. 
• Reversing the diabetic or "insulin resistant"
  state, as opposed to just trying to control blood
  sugar, involves healing the cell membranes by
  supplying them with the nutrition they need to
  work properly to restore normal cell function.
• Essential Fatty Acids
• Magnesium and potassium
• Thyroid hormone replacement
• Glucose metabolism facilitators like the B
  vitamins and chromium
• Reducing yeast overgrowth-because it steals
  glucose and nutrients

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Mg Insulin Resistance

• Magnesium deficiency leads to insulin resistance
• At least 40 of diabetics are magnesium-deficient.
  Diabetics need more magnesium but lose more.
• Magnesium is necessary for the production,
  function, and transport of insulin. Detoxifies
  free radicals, metals, yeast toxins
• Three studies (160,000) people with the highest
  levels of magnesium in their diets have the
  lowest risk of DM
• People on diuretics for blood pressure lose high
  amounts of magnesium in the urine putting them at
  risk for DM
• Magnesium is the first supplement for preventing
  and treating DM

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Creating Diabetes

• In non-Western cultures, it only takes ONE
  generation of eating a diet high in re?ned sugar
  and ?our to develop diabetes.
• This is true of people around the world, from the
  Inuit in Alaska to secluded African, South
  American tribes and on the Indian Continent.
• The immediate advice given to a newly diagnosed
  diabetic is to stop eating sugar and other re?ned
  carbohydrates.
• It is only common sense that avoiding these
  unhealthy nonfoods preventively could greatly
  reduce the incidence of diabetes.
• I know immediately if someone is at risk when I
  see what they eat

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Diabetes in India

• The incidence of type 2 diabetes is rising  where
  sedentary lifestyles and obesity abound.
• Urbanized parts of the world, havens for fast
  food chains.
• In addition to weight and inactivity, race puts
  some people at increased risk for developing type
  2 diabetes. The incidence of diabetes is rapidly
  increasing globally, and Asian Indians have the
  highest prevalence
• New Dehli has the highest rate increase in the
  incidence of diabetes. This has happened with the
  advent of outsourcing American jobs, lifestyle,
  and food to India.
• An estimated 32 million Asian Indians have been
  diagnosed with this condition, and some experts
  expect this number to double over the next 30
  years.
• ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2008) The authors are
  looking for a genetic reason for the increase in
  DM and dont look at diet. Guyana story.

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Diabesity

• Steady consumption of refined sugar for 10-15
  years can lead to diabetes, we are seeing this in
  our children!
• Being 20-30 lbs overweight for over 10 years is
  strongly associated with diabetes.
• Sugar consumption below 35 pounds per person/yr
  and less than 20 of daily caloric intake and a
  person can be moderately healthy
• Refined sugar above 70 pounds per person
  annually leads to chronic disease in an entire
  population.
• It is estimated that in North America about 35
  percent of our daily calories are derived from
  refined sugar, and our annual intake has now
  reached 150 pounds per person.

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Sugar Wars

• On April 23, 2003, the UN Food and Agriculture
  Organization (FAO) and WHO unveiled a major
  health report. Diet,
  Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic
  Diseases.
• Acknowledging that chronic disease presents a
  tremendous burden to society, contributing 59 per
  cent of the 56.5 million total reported deaths in
  the world
• The report recommended a diet low in sugars,
  salt, and saturated fats, and high in vegetables
  and fruits, regular exercise, can have a major
  impact on reversing this death rate
• The report focused special attention on added
  sugars and determined that a healthy diet should
  contain no more than 10 per cent. A dramatic
  change from previous WHO policy.

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Sugar Wars

• American intake of added sugars is approximately
  35
• The Institute of Medicine, part of the U.S.
  National Academy of Sciences, advises 25 of
  calories from added sugar
• The industry denies that sugar is the cause of
  any form of chronic disease and says that the
  solution to obesity ismore exercise.
• The U.S. National Soft Drink Association demanded
  that the 10 percent limit on sugar should not be
  included in the WHO plan.
• The sugar industry lobbied the U.S. government to
  withhold its 400 million funding from the UN and
  WHO.
• The sugar industry won and the recommendation was
  removed.

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Diabesity in Children

• So adults continue to allow children to eat all
  the sugar they want and drink sodas from infancy
  NOT seeing the association with obesity, insulin
  resistance, and adult onset diabetes
• Early puberty, especially in girls is a result of
  weight gain. Onset of menses is determined by
  weight (about 100 lbs.) not age.
• In the last decade, soft drink consumption has
  almost doubled among kids, adding an average of
  15 to 20 extra teaspoons of sugar a day. One can
  of soda has 10 tsp.
• A 2001 Lancet study revealed that each additional
  soft drink a day gives a child a 60 percent
  greater chance of becoming obese

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Diabesity in Children

• Obese children develop insulin resistance
  fifty-three times more frequently than normal
  kids.
• The number of obese children in the United States
  doubled between 1980 and 1994.
• Today 24 percent of kids are obese. 85 percent of
  children developing diabetes are obese.
• In 1982, less than 4 of diabetic children aged
  10-14 had Type II diabetes, they were all Type I.
• By 1994, there were 16 Type II diabetic
  children. The frequency now averages 20 and
  varies from 8 to 45 depending on age.

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Symptoms of DM

• These symptoms should be household words,
  announced on the news with headlines in the daily
  paper
• Polydipsia (excessive thirst)
• Polyuria (excessive urination)
• Polyphagia (excessive eating)

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Signs of Diabetes

• Type II diabetics are usually overweight.
• Excessive urination carries both sugar and
  magnesium (and other minerals) out of the body.
• Excessive sugar in the diet, in the blood stream,
  and excreted through the urine and sweat,
  provides food for the yeast organism Candida
  albicans resulting in
• Skin rashes, especially under the breasts and in
  the groin
• Yeast vaginitis in women
• Yeast discharge in men
• Intestinal yeast overgrowth. See Yeast and
  Depression lecture on YouTube.

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Complications of DM

• 1. Nerve damage, called diabetic neuropathy,
  mostly affects the feet, with symptoms of
  numbness, tingling, burning, and pain.
• 2. Atherosclerosis and heart attacks.
• 3. Damage to small blood vessels in the eyes and
  kidneys, causing vision loss (diabetes is the
  leading cause of blindness in the United States)
  and kidney disease.
• 4. Diabetic foot ulcers, with increased
  susceptibility to infection, gangrene, and
  amputation.
• 5. Loss of Magnesium from excess urination,
  worsening DM, adds to the risk of developing high
  blood pressure and high cholesterol and the risk
  of being treated preventively for these
  conditions.

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Diagnosis

• Diabetes is difficult to diagnose without lab
  tests if you are not aware of the symptoms
• polyphagia, polydipsia, polyuria.
• Its important to have an annual fasting glucose
  and Hemoglobin A1C test.
• HgA1C.
• HgA1C gives you the approximate level of glucose
  you have experienced over the previous 3 months.
• If diabetes is suspected, do an Oral Glucose
  Tolerance Test.

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Glucose Testing

• Normal
• Fasting Blood Sugar below 100 mg/dl
• Oral Glucose Test below 140 mg/dl
• Pre Diabetes
• Fasting Blood Sugar 100-126 mg/dl
• Oral Glucose Test 140-200 mg/dl
• Diabetes
• Fasting Blood Sugar above 126 mg/dl
• Oral Glucose Test above 200 mg/dl
• Dont wait until your blood sugar is 100 to do
  something about your diet

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HgA1C

• When blood glucose is high, the sugar molecules
  attach themselves to red blood cells. The red
  blood cells store the sugar information for about
  3-4 months.
• HgA1C is has a range from 4-7 mg in a diabetic
  population.
• The optimum level is about 4.5 for a non
  diabetic.
• If your levels are above 5 you need to consider
  prediabetes.
• Dont wait until your doctor says your level is
  7.5 and tells you that you now have diabetes.

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Hg HgA1C

• 65 4
• 85 4.5
• 100 5
• 135 6
• 170 7
• 205 8
• 240 9
• 275 10

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Oral Glucose Tolerance

• Dont eat or drink anything after midnight before
  the test.
• For the test, you will drink a liquid containing
  75 grams of glucose (18 tsp).
• Your blood will be taken before you do this, and
  again every 30 to 60 minutes after you drink the
  solution.
• The test takes up to 3 hours.
• A six hour test is used to diagnose
  hypoglycemia.
• A food OGTT would be just as useful and less
  harmful.

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The ADA and Pre-DM

• Pre-diabetes is a serious medical condition that
  can be treated. The good news is that the
  recently completed Diabetes Prevention Program
  study (DPP) conclusively showed that people with
  pre-diabetes can prevent the development of type
  2 diabetes by making changes in their diet and
  increasing their level of physical activity. They
  may even be able to return their blood glucose
  levels to the normal range.
• While the DPP also showed that some medications
  may delay the development of diabetes, diet and
  exercise worked better. Just 30 minutes a day of
  moderate physical activity, coupled with a 5-10
  reduction in body weight, produced a 58
  reduction in diabetes.

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ADA DPP-Nutrition

• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Try picking
  from the rainbow of colors available to maximize
  variety. Eat non-starchy vegetables such as
  spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with
  meals.
• Choose whole grain foods over processed grain
  products. Try brown rice with your stir fry or
  whole wheat spaghetti with your favorite pasta
  sauce.
• Include dried beans (like kidney or pinto beans)
  and lentils.
• Include fish in your meals 2-3 times a week.
• Choose lean meats like cuts of beef and pork that
  end in "loin" such as pork loin and sirloin.
  Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.

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ADA DPP-Nutrition

• Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat
  yogurt and non-fat cheese.
• Choose water and calorie-free "diet" drinks
  instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea
  and other sugar-sweetened drinks.
• Choose liquid oils for cooking instead of solid
  fats that can be high in saturated and trans
  fats. Remember that fats are high in calories. If
  you're trying to lose weight, watch your portion
  sizes of added fats.
• Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts
  like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice
  cream.

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ADA DPP-Exercise

• The journey of a thousand miles begins with a
  single step.
• Exercise works the same way.
• Taking that first step can be hard, especially if
  you've been diagnosed with diabetes.
• Remember -- it's never too late.
• You can always improve your level of fitness.

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Medical Treatment of DM

• ACCORD TRIAL
• 10,251 diabetics recruited
• ACCORD was designed to test the effects of
  intensive blood glucose control and, in some
  participants, intensive control of blood lipids
  and blood pressure. After four years, 257
  participants in the intensive treatment group had
  died, compared with 203 in the standard treatment
  group.
• As a result, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
  Institute (NHLBI), the studys sponsor, is ending
  the intensive treatment arm of the trial.
  Participants will instead be treated according to
  the less intensive protocol.

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Drugs used in the ACCORD

• All major classes of drugs approved by the FDA to
  treat diabetes are used to treat blood sugar in
  both groups of ACCORD - those treated to a
  near-normal blood sugar level as well as standard
  blood sugar treatment.
• The number and dosages of these drugs varied,
  depending on patients' individual needs and their
  A1C goals. Combinations of medications could be
  used to achieve the A1C goals.
• Specific medications used included (in order of
  frequency of use) metformin thiazolidinediones,
  or TZD's (rosiglitazone, pioglitazone)
  injectableinsulins sulfonylureas (gliclazide,
  glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide) and acarbose
  and exenatide.

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Causes of Death

• ACCORD researchers have extensively analyzed the
  available data and have not been able to identify
  to date any specific cause for the higher death
  rate. There is no evidence that any medication or
  combination of medications is responsible for the
  higher risk.
• Because of the recent concerns with rosiglitazone
  (Avandia), which is one of several medications
  used in ACCORD, researchers specifically reviewed
  data to determine whether there was any link
  between this particular medication and the
  increased deaths. To date, no link has been found

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Cause of Deaths?

• About half of the deaths were from cardiovascular
  diseases, such as heart attack, sudden cardiac
  death, stroke, heart failure, or another
  cardiovascular disease condition.
• The remainder of the deaths was from other
  causes such as cancer.
• Differences between the intensive and standard
  treatment groups were present in overall death
  from any cause as well as deaths from combined
  cardiovascular causes.

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Avandia Side Effects

• The 1999 diabetes drug Avandia, according to a
  May, 2007 study in the New England Journal of
  Medicine, may dramatically increase the risk of
  heart attacks.
• With news of this study, the company's stock
  immediately declined, the share price dropped 7.8
  percent to close at 53.18.
• The drug manufacturer, Glasko Smith-Kline said it
  "strongly disagrees" with the study's conclusions
  about one of its biggest sellers.
• The FDA advised patients taking Avandia to speak
  to their doctors. Unfortunately, their doctors
  will just switch them to another drug in the same
  class.

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Drug Damage

• These doctors are not aware that most diabetes
  drugs inhibit the product of coenzyme Q 10 as do
  the statin, cholesterol lowering drugs, and
  antihypertensives (Beta blockers,
  hydrochlorothiazide diuretics).
• Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like substance that is
  present in most human cells, inside
  mitochrondira, the energy factory of the cells.
  It is not found in red blood cells and eye lens
  cells because they have no mitochondria.
• Mitochondria are responsible for the production
  of the bodys energy. In human cells, food energy
  is converted into body energy in the mitochondria
  with the aid of Coenzyme Q10.

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Drugs that harm CoQ10

• Ninety-five percent of all the human bodys
  energy requirements (ATP) is converted with the
  aid of CoQ10.
• Therefore, those organs with the highest energy
  requirements such as the heart, the lungs, and
  the liver have the highest CoQ10
  concentrations.
• And thats why drug destruction of Co Q 10 leads
  to muscle weakness and wasting, which means heart
  failure.
• Also important is the deficiency of magnesium.
  Magnesium is also necessary in the production of
  ATP.

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Making DM Worse

• Many diabetics are taking all three classes of
  drugs
• oral diabetic drugs
• statins
• antihypertensives.
• Some people may need the drugs. But doctors are
  being told that since diabetics can develop high
  blood pressure and cholesterol its better to put
  them on drugs as soon as they show any signs or
  symptoms with no studies to back this up.
• They are unaware of or ignoring the Avandia
  research that shows diabetic drugs can cause
  heart conditions.
• All three classes of drugs cause magnesium loss
  in the urine.

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Surgical Treatment of DM

• The first randomized trial to compare surgically
  induced weight loss with conventional therapy for
  the treatment of obesity in type 2 diabetes
  patients.
• Could this study be the first sign of a paradigm
  shift in the current approach to counseling,
  disease management, and resource allocation for
  diabetes patients?
• Dr. John Dixon of Monash University Medical
  School in Melbourne led a study that found that
  those Type 2 diabetes patients who had
  stomach-reducing operations were five times more
  likely to be diabetes free within two years than
  those who merely maintained a regimen of standard
  diabetes care.
• Medscape

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Surgical Treatment of DM

• Of the 55 patients in the study, 29 underwent
  obesity surgery, and of those, 22 tested negative
  for diabetes two years later. Of the 26 patients
  who didn't have the surgery, only four achieved
  similar remission.
• "Obesity surgery is the best therapy for
  diabetes that we have today, and it's very low
  risk," said study director Dixon in a CNN report.
  Dr. David Cummings of the University of
  Washington in Seattle adds, "We have
  traditionally considered diabetes to be a
  chronic, progressive diseaseBut these operations
  really do represent a realistic hope for curing
  most patients."

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Natural Medicine for DM

• Dietfollow glycemic index principles avoid
  sugar, wheat, and dairy
• Exercisedaily resistance, aerobic, stretching
• Supplementsmagnesium, chromium, zinc, Vitamin B
  complex
• Counselingmissing the sweetness in life causes
  some people to reach for sweets

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Glycemic Index

• The glycemic index is the rate at which
  carbohydrate foods (sugar, grains, beans,
  vegetables) break down and enter the bloodstream
  as blood sugar.
• Foods such as concentrated glucose have a high
  glycemic index and cause a rapid elevation of
  blood sugar this stimulates the pancreas to
  produce insulin, and the excess that cells do not
  use is stored as fat.
• Foods with a low glycemic index are broken down
  more slowly and provide the body and the brain
  with a sustained energy level. Processed foods,
  refined white flour, and sugars have a high
  glycemic index foods high in natural fiber have
  a low index.

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Implementing GI

•  Controlling the glycemic load of your meals is
  most important. People dont tend to eat
  individual foods.
• Combine protein, fats, and whole-food
  carbohydrates from vegetables, legumes, nuts,
  seeds, and fruit at every meal or snack
• Adding Coconut Oil to meals and drinks is a great
  way to increase metabolism and slow down
  carbohydrate absorption in a meal.
• It is most important to avoid eating quickly
  absorbed carbohydrates alone, as they raise your
  sugar and insulin levels

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Abusing the GI

• Sucrose, or table sugar, has a moderate glycemic
  index this gave researchers the necessary
  ammunition to say that sucrose is okay for
  diabetics because it stimulates less insulin than
  glucose.
• This is an example of how a half-truth can
  mislead us.
• Sucrose is a disaccharide, which means it is made
  up of two sugars, glucose and galactose. It takes
  a certain amount of time for the disaccharide
  bond to be broken, therefore blood glucose does
  not rise as fast or as high as with a meal of
  straight glucose.
• This doesnt make sucrose any less a sugar or any
  less dangerous for diabetics.

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Natural Alternatives

• Safe alternatives for over 130 conditions.
• Read VidaCosta Good Health Encyclopaedia eBook at
  www.carolyndean.com
• Read about Allergies because you can become
  allergic and addicted to things you eat all the
  time raising blood sugar
• Read about Hypoglycemia and Yeast, Overgrowth,
  which have an impact on blood sugar.
• Avoid Digestive problems and Heartburn with
  simple measures.

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Diet Basics

• A balanced diet should include
• protein (animal or vegetarian)
• complex carbohydrates (beans, grains)
• fats (nuts and seeds)
• fruits and vegetables, eliminating refined sugar
  and flour.
• In the VidaCosta Good Health Encyclopaedia you
  will find The Optimum Eating Plan to
  individualize your own diet.

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Diet Tips

• Eat protein for breakfast every day, such as wild
  salmon, whole omega-3 eggs, a protein shake, or
  nut butters.
• PROVIDE powder is a low glycemic egg/pea
  powder/apple flake. Found under Dean Wellness on
  carolyndean.com.
• Eat something every 4 hours to keep your insulin
  and glucose levels normal
• Rye, 100 sourdough bread, helps control blood
  sugar.
• Eat small protein snacks such as nuts and seeds
• Dont eat 2 to 3 hours before bed.
•  

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Diet Tips

• Choose organic produce and free range animal
  products whenever possible.
• Fish Avoid farm raised. Eat Low mercury
  www.vitalchoice.com
• Trader Joe Healthy Meals
• Beans and coconut slow the release of sugars into
  the blood stream and prevent excess insulin
  release.
• Organic soup broth
• Cooked wild rice
• Frozen organic vegetables
• A can of organic chickpeas, lentils, pinto beans
  or black beans
• A can of coconut milk or several TBSP coconut oil

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What to Avoid

• Alcohol
• All processed or junk foods, refined white flour
  and sugar, such as breads, cereals, flour-based
  pastas, bagels, and pastries
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, Splenda,
  Sorbitol)
• Limit sweet vegetables such as corn, potatoes,
  parsnips, and turnips
• Processed fruit juices
• CHECK LABELS sugar is measured in grams.
  Remember, 4.2 grams equals one teaspoon

49
What to Avoid

• Processed canned vegetables (usually very high
  in sodium)
• Use fresh or frozen organic
• Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in
  most crackers, chips, cakes, candies, cookies,
  doughnuts
• This is to a food group
• Processed oils such as corn, safflower,
  sunflower, peanut, and canola
• Use coconut oil, olive oil, and butter
• Fish high in mercury swordfish, tuna, tilefish
  and shark
• www.vitalchoice.com
• Dairy
• Substitute unsweetened, rice milk, almond milk
  (avoid soy)

50
Minerals

• Magnesium is deficient in 40 of diabetics.
  Taking magnesium supports insulin production in
  the pancreas helps glucose cross cell membranes
  helps carbohydrate digestion.
• Chromium is involved with the efficient
  metabolism of carbohydrates, fat, and protein
  helps regulate insulin, making it work more
  efficiently in the utilization of sugar in the
  body. It seems to decrease sugar cravings.
• Zinc helps regulate insulin production by
  pancreatic tissues and glucose utilization by
  muscles and fat cells.
• Iodine and selenium for thyroid support.

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Vitamins

• 5. A multivitamin and mineral.
• 6. B-complex for sugar digestion and protecting
  against diabetic neuropathy or nerve damage.
• 7. Fish oil (1,000 to 4,000 mg) a day improves
  insulin sensitivity, lowers cholesterol, and
  reduces inflammation.
• 8. Antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E) are
  important in helping to reduce and balance blood
  sugar.

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Herbs

• Take in combination formulas
• Cinnamon has insulin-like effects. Reduces the
  amount of insulin necessary for glucose
  metabolism. Furthermore, Cinnamon has been shown
  to stimulate glucose uptake and glycogen
  synthesis to similar level as insulin.
• Bitter melon - improve glucose tolerance, Bitter
  Melon is recommended by Dept. of Health in the
  Philippines as one of the best herbal medicines
  for diabetes management.
• Gymnema - can lower blood sugar levels in Type 1
  and Type 2 diabetics. A King's College, London,
  study states that Gymnema acts by increasing cell
  permeability, therefore reducing insulin
  resistance.

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Herbs

• Bilberry the leaves can lower blood sugar
  levels
• Ginseng lowers blood sugar levels in Type II DM
• Ginkgo for people who have lost feeling in
  their feet due to inflamed nerves and high blood
  sugar levels. Ginkgo stabilizes the blood flow,
  and its glycosides have strong anti-inflammatory
  properties.
• Onions, and garlic lower cholesterol and
  decrease risk of developing diabetes

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Stress Management

• Blood sugar problems can relate to Missing the
  Sweetness in Life
• Stress plays a dramatic role in blood sugar
  imbalance
• It triggers insulin resistance
• promotes weight gain around the middle
• increases inflammation
• Ultimately can cause diabetes.

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Stress Management

• Its essential to engage in relaxation practices
  on a regular basis, such as
• Breathing
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Guided imagery
• Hot baths
• Exercise
• Prayer and meditation
• Massage
• Biofeedback

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Carolyn Dean, MD ND For Telephone Wellness
Consultations, visit www.CarolynDean.com