The Truth About Diabetes - Diet, Nutrition and Treatment

Reversing diabetes naturally is not only possible but a preferable solution to the drugs modern day medicine provides, which serve to treat only the symptoms of diabetes without addressing the root cause.

Treating diabetes naturally is not something pharmaceutical companies want shouted out, despite the fact that countless people are successfully doing so, as diabetic drugs are a lucrative business. Sadly, diabetic drugs are also not without their dangers. Many of the side effects however are justified as the disease symptoms are considered worse. You can live without either.

Reversing diabetes naturally is not about a specific home remedy or natural treatment per se as the solution involves addressing diet and nutrition on a broader scale. Key diet and nutrition factors need to be properly understood, and when appropriately balanced and adjusted, can serve to reverse diabetes successfully and naturally and increase the bodys insulin production. In particular, a re-education in how the human body deals with dietary sugars and refined carbohydrates is fundamental, as is an understanding of the effects of acidity and the importance of an alkaline diet. Regular exercise is also important.

Eliminating foods that promote diabetes is paramount. These include sugar and high-glycemic foods such as refined carbohydrates (white flour/rice/bread/pasta), sucrose, corn syrup and dextrose and commercial, processed oils (virgin coconut oil is a diabetic-friendly alternative).

Dr. Mercola in his new book The No-Grain Diet points out how a high-carbohydrate diet can lead to diabetes over time. He writes, "If you regularly consume grains, sweets, and starches, and avoid exercise, your weight will escalate while your insulin levels rise. As your tissues become progressively more tolerant to higher levels of insulin, you may develop what is termed "insulin resistance", a condition where your tissues have absorbed all the insulin they can retain. This entire syndrome can frequently lead to diabetes, and it's no surprise that 17 million Americans, nearly 7.3 percent of our population, are diabetic with an astounding 33 percent rise in the prevalence of the disease between 1990 and 1999."

As well as eliminating foods it is also important to ensure the bodys internal environment is primed for optimum health and resistance to disease. An alkaline diet is imperative here as pH balance is pivotal for the appropriate functioning of body fluids which in turn affect the healthy functioning of all cells within the body. As pH specialist Dr. Robert Young writes, "A cell is only as healthy as the fluids it is bathed in." He further states that diabetes "is not a disease of the pancreas or the insulin producing beta cells or an autoimmune response, it is from the fluids which the pancreas cells are floating in."

An acidic system (acidosis) is associated with a wide range of health problems including diabetes, obesity, arthritis, stomach ulcers, bladder and kidney conditions, osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer. Foods that acidify the body include sugar, meat, dairy products, eggs, junk/processed foods, fats and most grains (except millet, quinoa and amaranth). Some of the best acid foods include nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, brown rice, oats and fish.

Alkaline foods are largely raw fruits, vegetables and herbs, particularly green veggies, algae (spirulina or chlorella) and grasses such as barley grass or wheat grass.

The diabetic condition leads to a great loss of nutrients from the body in its attempts to eliminate sugar, which in turn leads to the deterioration of eyes and kidneys and damage to nerves and blood vessels. Diabetes also promotes abnormal triglyceride levels which dramatically increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis. This is why cardiovascular disease accounts for 80 percent of all diabetic deaths, with diabetics having more than 400 per cent greater risk of heart attack than non-diabetics.

Are diabetic drugs a solution? Sadly, diabetics taking drugs are 2.5 times more likely to die from heart disease than those treated by diet alone. And then there are the side effects of medication. These include liver problems (jaundice), anemia, skin rashes and in some rare cases, death. There is also the Catch 22 of insulin resistance. Most anti-diabetic drugs stimulate your already drained pancreas to produce even more insulin which results in a loss of insulin-secreting beta cells making you more diabetic. Diabetic drugs increase fat storage and weight gain, leading to greater insulin resistance and an even worse diabetic condition.

Both oral anti-diabetes drugs and insulin can are not health-friendly options. They hasten the onset of aging, and damage your liver, heart and other organs among other complications.

There is a solution. Diabetes is not cured by treating symptoms with drugs that only perpetuate the condition. You need to address the root cause of diabetes to reverse it and increase your bodys insulin production naturally, with out the complications or side-effects of drugs and medications.

Why dont we hear about this infomation from the American Diabetes Association? The truth is, the American Diabetes Association are benefiting hugely from the current trend in diabetes. They are funded by pharmaceutical companies who would lose out if people reversed there diabetic conditions.

Copyright 2006 Sylvia Riley

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What is diabetes?

A disease in which the body cannot convert food into energy because of a lack of insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas), or because of an inability to use insulin. Diabetes is a serious condition that can cause complications ranging from numbness to loss of vision to coma. It also significantly raises the risk for other problems, such as stroke and heart disease. About 17 million Americans have diabetes.
A hereditary or developmental problem with sugar metabolism. Caused by a failure of the pancreas to produce enough insulin. Juvenile diabetes, or type 1 diabetes, is treated with diet, exercise and insulin. Type 2, formerly called adult onset, is now seen in overweight children. It is treated with diet, exercise and medication. In severe cases, type 2 diabetes is also treated with insulin.
A chronic condition associated with abnormally high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. The two types of diabetes are referred to as insulin-dependent (type I) and non-insulin dependent (type II). Type I diabetes results from a lack of adequate insulin secretion by the pancreas. Type II diabetes (also known as adult-onset diabetes) is characterized by an insensitivity of the tissues of the body to insulin secreted by the pancreas (insulin resistance).