I have recently spent more time in drugs stores than I would like
helping my sister on her journey through (and hopefully to the other
side of) cancer. Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens all had large diabetes
sections offering support for a "diabetes lifestyle" -- glucose
monitors, lancets, blood pressure cuffs, medications, supplements and
pharmacy magazines heavily supported by pharmaceutical advertising.
Patients are encouraged to get their eye check ups, monitor their blood
pressure, track their blood sugars, have foot exams and see their doctor
regularly for better management of their blood sugars -- all apparently
sensible advice for diabetics.
But what if Type 2 diabetes could be completely reversed?
What if it weren't, as we believe, an inexorable, progressive disease
that has to be better "managed" by our health care system with better
drugs, surgery and coordination of care? What if intensive lifestyle and
dietary changes could completely reverse diabetes?
A ground breaking new study in Diabetologia proved that,
indeed, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed through diet changes, and, the
study showed, this can happen quickly: in one to eight weeks. That turns
our perspective on diabetes upside down. Diabetes is not a one-way
street.
We used to believe that once cells in your pancreas that make insulin
(beta cells) poop out there was no reviving them and your only hope was
more medication or insulin. We now know that is not so.
Continuing misconceptions about what causes diabetes and our
unwillingness to embrace methods know to reverse it have lead to a
catastrophic increase in the illness. Today one in four Americans over
60 years old has Type 2 diabetes. By 2020, one in two Americans will
have pre-diabetes or diabetes. Tragically, physicians will miss the
diagnosis for 90 percent with pre-diabetes or diabetes. (Below I tell
you exactly what tests to ask your doctor to perform and how to
interpret them).
From 1983 to 2008, world-wide diabetes incidence has increased
seven-fold from 35 to 240 million. Remarkably, in just the past three
years from 2008 to 2011, we have added another 110 million to the
diabetes roll call. And increasingly small children as young as eight
are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset
diabetes). They are having strokes at 15 years old and needing cardiac
bypasses at 25 year old. The economic burden of caring for these people
with pre-diabetes and diabetes will be $3.5 trillion over 10 years.
If we have a known cure, a proven way to reverse this disease,
shouldn't we be focused on implementing programs to scale this cure?
Unfortunately despite this extraordinary new research, the findings will
likely be pushed aside in favor of the latest greatest pill or surgical
technique because behavior and lifestyle change is "hard." In fact,
with the right conditions and support, lifestyle diet and lifestyle
change is very achievable.
What did research show?
Reversing Diabetes: Can it Be Done in a Week?
The study, entitled Reversal of Type 2 diabetes: normalization of beta cell function in association with decrease pancreas and liver triglycerides,
was exquisitely done. The bottom line: A dramatic diet change (protein
shake, low glycemic load, plant-based low-calorie diet but no exercise)
in diabetics reversed most features of diabetes within one week and all
features by eight weeks. That's right, diabetes was reversed in one week. That's more powerful than any drug known to modern science.
We know from gastric bypass patients that with rapid changes in diet
right after surgery, within just a few days, without significant weight
loss, diabetes goes away -- fatty livers heal, cholesterol levels
plummet. Some theorized it was because of changes in the stomach
hormones related to the gastric surgery. Others, including the
researchers of this new study surmised that maybe it was just the
drastic change in diet. So they went about studying just the diet change
without surgery.
They studied 11 people with diabetes and compared them to a control
group. Through very sophisticated techniques including MRI imaging, they
measured their blood sugar and insulin responses, cholesterol levels
and fat in the pancreas and liver (some of the hallmarks of diabetes)
before and after diet changes at one, four and eight weeks.
What they found was revolutionary. The beta cells -- the pancreas'
insulin producing cells -- woke up, and the fat deposits in the pancreas
and liver went away. Blood sugars normalized in just one week,
triglycerides dropped in half in one week and reduced 10-fold in eight
weeks. The body's cells became more insulin sensitive and essentially,
in just eight weeks, all evidence of diabetes was gone and the diabetic
patients looked just like the normal controls on all the testing.
With focused, strategic, scientifically based nutritional intervention,
combined with exercise, stress management and sugar and insulin
balancing nutritional supplements, many of my patients completely
reverse their diabetes. And the side effects -- more energy, better
sleep, improved sexual function and weight loss -- are all good.
What most don't realize is that pre-diabetes and diabetes exist on a
continuum and both dramatically increase the risk of heart attacks,
stroke, cancer, infertility, sexual dysfunction, depression and
dementia. You don't have to get diabetes to be at risk for all those
problems. That is why it is so important to get your doctor to diagnose
pre-diabetes early and implement an intensive lifestyle program to help
you reserve it.
You may be at risk if you have extra belly fat, have a family history
of diabetes, gestational diabetes, are in at risk ethnic group (Asian,
Hispanic, African American, Native American, Middle Eastern), have high
triglycerides (> 150 mg/dl) or a low HDL (< 50 mg/dl) or have high
blood pressure.
If any of these apply to you or you have other cause for concern, here is what to do.
How to Reverse Your Diabetes
First, get your doctor to test the following:
1. A 75-gram glucose tolerance test measuring BOTH glucose and
insulin fasting and one and two hours later. Your fasting blood sugar
should be less than 100 mg/dl and your one and two hour sugar levels
should be less than 130 mg/dl. Your fasting insulin should be less than
10, and your one and two hour levels should be less than 35.
2. Triglycerides should be less than 150 mg/dl and HDL (good
cholesterol) should be over 50 mg/dl, and the triglyceride to HDL ratio
should be less than four. These ranges are meaningful only if you are on
no medication.
3. Newer cholesterol tests measure the size of your cholesterol
particles and is very effective in diagnosing problems with pre-diabetes
early. In fact, this is the only cholesterol test we should be
performing.
And here's the program I use for my patients to reverse diabetes:
1. Eat a low glycemic load, high fiber, plant-based diet of
vegetables, beans, nuts, limited whole grains, fruit and lean animal
protein
2. Vigorous exercise (fast walking, running, biking, etc.) 30 minutes
four to five times a week and strength training 20 minutes three times a
week
3. Take a good multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D and blood sugar and
insulin balancing nutrients (including chromium and alpha lipoic acid)
Remember, pre-diabetes and diabetes is not a one way street and the
solution is not at the bottom of a pill bottle or the end of an insulin
syringe, it is at the end of your fork and in the shoes on your feet!
source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/reverse-diabetes_b_918539.html
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