DIABETES INFO
Natural Cures & Diabetes
Studies reveal that onions and garlic can reduce blood sugar levels for even longer periods of time than synthetic insulin. Onions should be eaten raw because cooking can make them loose their valuable compounds.
Cayenne pepper can be used to stimulate and improve blood circulation, which is crucial for diabetics.
- Garlic decreases and stabilizes blood sugar levels and aids in the metabolism of fats.
- Vitamin B12 -
Vitamin B12 is used to prevent diabetic neuropathy, or nerve pain, which affects most diabetics in their feet and hands. Injections given by a doctor once a month are the most effective treatment. Vitamin B12 lozenges and a sublingual form are also available through your doctor. Vitamin B12 may also be increased in the diet by eating meats, brewer's yeast, eggs, kidney, liver and milk and dairy products. Vitamin B12 is also present in the herbs alfalfa, bladderwrack and hops.
- Chromium Picolinate - Chromium is a mineral necessary for the metabolism of glucose. Chromium improves insulin's efficiency. Overprocessed foods reduce the amount of chromium in the foods. A daily dose of 400-600 mcg is recommended. Chromium can be found at health food stores and select drug stores.
- CoEnzyme Q10
CoEnzyme Q10 stabilizes blood sugar and improves blood circulation. CoEnzyme Q10 is present in all parts of the body, but declines with age. CoEnzyme Q10 can be prescribed by a physician or purchased at a health food or drug store. The recommended daily dosage for diabetics is 80 mg. CoEnzyme Q10 is also quite beneficial to heart health and thus provides double duty protection for diabetics.
Cinnamon & Diabetes
[www.publicopiniononline.com/news/stories/20040430/localnews/328570.html ]
In a recent study Dr. Richard A. Anderson, lead scientist of the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland, found cinnamon to reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. "Results are unbelievable," Anderson said. "This is too big for people to overlook. The effects are real and large." A group of 60 diabetics, 30 men and 30 women, were divided into six groups. The first three groups consumed one, three or six grams of cinnamon daily for 40 days while the remaining three groups were given placebo capsules. One gram is equal to1/2 teaspoon.
How much is usually taken? The German Commission E monograph suggests 1/2-3/4 teaspoon (2-4 grams) of the powder per day.
Some people develop bronchial constriction or skin rash after exposure to cinnamon. 9 Therefore, only small amounts should be used initially in people who have not previously had contact with cinnamon.
Surgery
Prevents Amputation
Fri Jul 8, 2005, 2:24 PM ET -- By Will Boggs, MD -- Reuters Health -- Link to Article (if still active); Yahoo News
People with diabetes face a risk of having a foot or lower leg amputated, but timely surgery may prevent this. When bone inflammation -- osteomyelitis -- occurs in the foot and toes, surgery to remove dead areas and to restore circulation can spare more extensive amputations, according to a new report.
"Aggressive comprehensive care of the diabetic patient with digital osteomyelitis will likely improve outcomes," the team advises in the Annals of Surgery [Dr. Peter K. Henke, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor].
Reconstruction of the blood supply improved the chances of wound healing threefold, the researchers note. Also, patients treated surgically rather than with medical therapy required fewer home health services.
"Preventing the problem is best," Henke told Reuters Health. "Patients with good prophylactic foot care can totally avoid getting an ulcer that precedes development of osteomyelitis. This includes good skin care, good podiatric care, and good diabetic control." However, if bone inflammation does arise, surgery should be considered early, he advised.
Diabetes Control
[http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/insulin.htm]
Sugar and grains cause your body to produce insulin and high insulin levels are the single largest physical cause of accelerated aging. If you want to slow down aging and be healthy then you need to change your grains for greens.
Fortunately insulin is the variable most easily influenced by a healthy diet and exercise. Traditional doctors will prescribe drugs to lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetics and give verbal acknowledgment to exercise.
A low grain, no sugar diet is one of the most effective ways to lower one's insulin levels. This is especially effective when combined with an aerobic exercise program which increases the heart rate to about 75% of its maximum and maintains it there for 45 minutes, 5 times a week.
Your goals should be: Reduce insulin levels as much as possible, through diet and exercise, and control your weight. 90% of those with insulin resistance are obese.
Another major effect of insulin on fat is it prevents you from burning it. So the idea of medical professionals recommending a high complex-carbohydrate, low-saturated-fat diet is absolutely a mistake. A high complex-carbohydrate diet is nothing more than a high-glucose diet, or a high-sugar diet. Your body is just going to store it as saturated fat, and the body makes it into saturated fat quite readily.
Your body's principal way of getting rid of sugar, because it is toxic, is to burn it. The sugar which your body can't burn will be rid of by storing it as glycogen, and when those glycogen reserves are full, sugar gets stored as fat.
INSULIN RESISTANCE
"Insulin resistance syndrome" refers to a combination of risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including chronically elevated insulin levels, low HDL ("good") cholesterol, abdominal obesity and high blood pressure.
Excessive intake of all carbohydrates, especially the high-glycemic type, is the primary culprit in the development of insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body no longer responds to insulin. As a result, levels of insulin in the blood become elevated and over time, can raise the risk for kidney failure and blindness, as well as heart disease.
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DIABETES & INSULIN RESISTANCE:
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/05/30/Is-Insulin-Condemning-You-to-a-Premature-Death.aspx
Mercola: Sugar Is NOT The Cause of Insulin Resistance
Blood sugar is NOT the problem: It’s merely a symptom that arises as your body attempts to keep itself in balance.
The real problem is insulin resistance, along with faulty leptin signaling. This is caused by miscommunication within and between cells -- usually related to the communication between the cellular receptors for insulin and leptin.
When your blood sugar becomes elevated, insulin is released to place the extra energy into storage. A small amount is stored as the starch "glycogen", but the majority is stored as fat. Thus, insulin's major role is not to lower sugar but to store the extra energy for future times of need.
Insulin lowers your blood sugar as a side effect of directing the extra energy into storage.
This is why treatments that concentrate merely on lowering blood sugar for diabetes while raising insulin levels can worsen rather than remedy the problem of metabolic miscommunication.
Taking insulin is one of the WORST things you can do, because it will actually make your insulin and leptin resistance worse over time.
DIET:
Eliminate foods that will stimulate insulin production. This includes all types of sugars and grains -- even “healthy” organic grains. This means avoiding all breads, pasta, cereals, rice, potatoes, and corn. Avoid fruits until your blood sugar is under control.
Optimize your vitamin D level. Ideally, do this by exposing a large amount of your skin to appropriate amounts of sunshine on a regular basis, year-round. The target is 20,000 units of vitamin D a day.
If you can't get sun, try fish such as salmon for natural vitamin D3. An oral supplement is the last resort. Maintaining your vitamin D levels around 60-80 ng/ml can significantly help control your blood sugar.
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Here is a list of some of the most common symptoms of people with Insulin Resistance. Many symptoms manifest themselves immediately following a meal of carbohydrates, and others are more or less always present. Keep in mind that these symptoms may also be related to other problems.
- Fatigue. The most common feature of Insulin Resistance is that it wears people out. Some are tired just in the morning or afternoon, others are exhausted all day.
- Brain fogginess. Sometimes the fatigue of Insulin Resistance is physical, but often it's mental. The inability to focus is the most evident symptom. Poor memory, loss of creativity, poor grades in school often accompany Insulin Resistance, as do various forms of "learning disabilities."
- Low blood sugar. Mild, brief periods of low blood sugar are normal during the day, especially if meals are not eaten on a regular schedule. But prolonged periods of this "hypoglycemia," accompanied by many of the symptoms listed here, especially physical and mental fatigue, are not normal.
- Feeling agitated, jittery and moody is common in Insulin Resistance, with almost immediate relief once food is eaten.
- Intestinal bloating. Most intestinal gas is produced from carbohydrates in the diet. Insulin Resistance sufferers who eat carbohydrates suffer from gas, lots of it.
- Sleepiness. Many people with Insulin Resistance get sleepy immediately after eating a meal containing more than 20% or 30% carbohydrates. This means typically a pasta meal, or even a meat meal which includes potatoes or bread and a sweet dessert.
- Increased weight and fat storage. For most people, too much weight is too much fat. In males, a large abdomen is the more obvious and earliest sign of Insulin Resistance. In females, it's prominent buttocks.
- Increased triglycerides. High triglycerides in the blood are often found in overweight persons. But even those who are not overweight may have stores of fat in their arteries as a result of Insulin Resistance.
These triglycerides are the direct result of carbohydrates in the diet being converted by insulin.
- Increased blood pressure. It is a fact that most people with hypertension have too much insulin and are Insulin Resistant. It is often possible to show a direct relationship between the level of insulin and blood pressure: as insulin levels elevate, so does blood pressure.
- Depression. Because carbohydrates are a natural "downer," depressing the brain, it is not uncommon to see many depressed persons who also have Insulin Resistance.
CHROMIUM (Chromium picolinate ) - Recent research suggests that chromium enhances insulin action which may help lower some risk factors for insulin resistance, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and atypical depression.
A medical test on Chromium Picolinate resulted in: blood glucose, insulin levels, and cholesterol all decreased, with the higher dose (500mcg.) generally (but not always) more effective than the 200 mcg.
CINNAMON - Of particular interest is cinnamon's ability to reduce blood sugar, and increase insulin levels, results which were documented in a respected diabetes journal.
It is cinnamon's effect on blood sugar that makes it a potential help in the war against obesity, insulin resistance, sometimes known as "pre-diabetes," and the "Metabolic Syndrome."
The patients in the study showed better glucose metabolism and natural insulin production when they took cinnamon capsules that delivered less than two teaspoons a day of the spice.
Starch, Diet, Diabetes
The internet provides no clear information on starchy foods, so I have to go on experience. I've seen some articles state "potatoes are not a starch". Technically that may be true, but in terms of rapid conversion into glucose, it's a starch. Beans obviously are starchy simply by evaluating the body's reaction to them. Experience shows that a basic high protein diet works well, and has to be regarded as a proven and viable treatment.
Those glib mainstream articles on subjects of the gravest importance are insufferably offensive. They fill-up 350 pages with book-writing-technique, and leave 3 stray facts buried somewhere within the filler. Those scum should have a good dose of pain to rethink their "Sesame Street" view of these important issues.
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[http://www.fctp.co.uk/bewareofstarchyfoods.asp ]
[From a muslim site; review analytically. Posted here due to the ABSENCE OF INFORMATION on starch & diabetes from other sources. - rj]
I warn all you sufferers of diabetes to stop eating starchy foods and sweets until this disease vanishes out of your blood or cannot do you any harm. If you eat once every other day, it is almost a guarantee that you will not be sick.
God Almighty has taught me - and many others that we should never eat more than one meal a day. That will most certainly heal you of many complaints.
It is only weakness of ours to eat constantly. We are only digging our own graves with our appetites and teeth. There is no teaching from anyone - God, you, or me, that will help us if we take our appetites for our guides.
Within one week you can get used to eating once a day, and within one week you can get used to eating once every other day. Many of the Muslims are eating like this and you can eat this way too. Our stomachs are just the way we train them to be.
Glucose Monitors
[Ongoing Search: Lowest Price Monitors & Strips]
General Info:
venous blood (from the arm) has less glucose than capillary blood(fingertips).
• Prestige IQ monitor ($40, usually less) to
"The premium meters such as the One Touch Ultra, One Touch
UltraSmart, the Bayer Ascentia meters, the Freestyle meters
and the Accu-Chek meters require strips with OTC prices in the
$0.75-$1.00 apiece. OK if you have insurance..."
"The cost is in the strips. The WalMart Relion Ultima meter
($8.88) and strips ($42/100) are the best buy. and are
better than the Accucheck, but the Accucheck IS a fine
meter. The only meter I have heard consistent complaints
about is the Walgreen..."
• ONE TOUCH Ultra $50; ONE TOUCH Basic $54;
Several comments criticizing its inaccurate readings. Epinions Reviews
• Accu-Chek Advantage ($79)
Generally regarded as "accurate"; complaints about large blood sample: "in order to get a big enough sample, you have to do a pretty hefty fingerstick;" And no Alternate prick-sites (just fingers);
• TheraSense FreeStyle Flash ($60)
The "Flash" in the name referrs to some kind of hookup to our PC. Generally regarded as "accurate"; Unit is small. Small blood sample;
ALSO: Therasense FreeStyle Diabetes Monitoring Kit Combo (Meter kit and 50 strips) $39;
And: Therasense FreeStyle Diabetes Meter Kit - Blood Glucose Monitoring System (meter only) $14;
Testosterone & Diabetes
http://www.testim.com/low_testosterone_diabetes.asp
Evidence suggests that men with low testosterone may be more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes than men who have normal testosterone levels.
Recent 2006 guidelines recommend that men with Type 2 Diabetes have their testosterone levels tested3, so be sure to remind your doctor during your next appointment.
Restoring testosterone levels to normal can lead to a number of positive changes, such as:
Reduced fat
Increased muscle mass
Improved sexual desire
Improved sexual performance
Increased bone mineral density
If you have symptoms of low testosterone, a simple blood test can confirm if your testosterone levels are low. If you do have low testosterone, you and your doctor can discuss whether a once-daily treatment like Testim could help.
Safety Information: Testim is a prescription medicine used to treat hypogonadism, a condition that occurs when the body does not make enough testosterone. Testim should not be used by men with known or suspected cancer of the prostate or breast. Testim must not be used by women. Pregnant and nursing women should avoid skin contact with Testim application sites in men.
Herbs That Increase Testosterone
- Avena Sativa
- Korean Ginseng
- Maca root
- Wild yam
- Yohimbe
- longfolio jack
- Sarsaparillas
- Tribulus
- Zinc
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Testosterone-Increasing Herbs & Their Effects
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Herb/ Nutrient |
Description |
Notes |
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 Tribulus
Terrestris (Bulgarian)
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An Indian Ayurvedic herb
that can increase anabolic hormones such as testosterone to optimum levels |
An increase in
testosterone can increase hair loss for men who suffer from male pattern
baldness; supplementation with saw palmetto and using Revivogen can
significantly help. |
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Avena Sativa
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Good nerve tonic; helps to
free bound testosterone |
also known as oat straw,
wild or green oats |
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Zinc |
can increase blood levels
of testosterone and increase sex especially in zinc-deficient men; |
most people zinc deficient |
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Sarsaparillas |
herb native to tropical
America and the West Indies; has been found to contain the hormones
testosterone, progesterone and cortin |
also known as smilax
officinalis and smilax aristolochiaefolia |
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Korean
Ginseng (Red Panax) |
traditionally used as a
general stimulate; can increase production of testosterone and semen; contains
ginsenosides which improves blood flow to the penis |
Consult your doctor if you
have high blood pressure |
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| DHEA |
the most abundant steriod
in the body. DHEA is a steriod precursor produced by the adrenal gland and
converted to progesterone, testosterone, or the estrogens by the body's tissues. |
Do not take if you're under
50 years old; 7-Keto DHEA is a naturally occurring metabolite derived
from DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone). It can be found in many of our body tissues
but cannot be converted to active androgens (testosterone) and estrogens. 7-Keto
DHEA is more potent than DHEA. |
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Saw
Palmetto |
aids in prostate support;
may help to decrease the conversion of testosterone into DHT (the chemical
believed to be the cause of male pattern baldness) |
Excellent to help minimize
the conversion of free testosterone into DHT. DHT is believed to be the primary
cause of Male Pattern Baldness and Prostate enlargement |
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• GOOGLE RESULTS: herbs that increase testosterone
LINKS
Google: Glucose Monitor messages
Messageboard on this topic: ehealthforum
Messageboard RE: BG meters - forum.lowcarber.org
Prestige test strips, 50-count, $17, Buy 2 Boxes, get free monitor at this site
Other free meter deals from this site
• "Liberty Medical" (Brimley) site; "What Medicare Covers"
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