Death Toll From Diabetes Worse Than AIDS
Diabetes is a serious disease, marked by higher than normal levels of glucose
(sugar) in the blood. It has been cited as the most challenging health problem
in the 21st century. Diabetes affected about 2461 million people worldwide in 2007, and the
number of people with this disease has been increasing steadily due in part to
an increased number of overweight people. Type II diabetes, or adult
onset diabetes is a nutritionally–related disease, one that is both
preventable and reversible through nutritional methods and regular exercise.
According to the American Diabetes Association, “The world faces a
devastating diabetes epidemic, with the annual death toll already exceeding the
three million killed by AIDS and set to rise,” the World Health Organization
warned.
Diabetes takes a severe toll on the person’s health. More than 70 percent of
adults with Type II diabetes die of heart attacks and strokes, and these deaths
occur at a younger age compared to people without diabetes. Premature death and
the devastating complications of this disease simply do not have to happen.
Those with diabetes are told to watch their diet, exercise and use drugs to
better control the glucose levels in their bloodstream. My message is that the
nutritional advice received from the American Diabetes Association (ADA),
dieticians and physicians is inadequate and permits countless of unnecessary
premature deaths and much needless suffering. I declare, “Don’t live with your
diabetes, don’t simply control your diabetes — get rid of it.”
The vast majority of my patients, who adopt my nutritional and exercise
recommendation for diabetes, become thin and non–diabetic. They are able to
gradually discontinue their insulin and eventually other medications. They
simply get well. I work with people who have diabetes who want to live a long
and healthy life and enjoy the achievement and confidence that they have control
this disease. The membership services offered here on this website, and the
information in my book, Eat For Health, can get you started on this
road to wellness. My hope is that the information below about diabetes will
enable you to feel more confident that you or someone you care about can be
motivated and work with me to recover their health.
One of Many Success Stories
James was referred to my office from his nephrologist at St. Barnabus
Hospital in Livingston, NJ. He was originally referred to the nephrologist by
his endocrinologist (diabetic specialist) at the Joslin Clinic because of kidney
damage that resulted from very high glucose readings in spite of maximum medical
management.
At his first visit, Jim weighed 268 pounds and was taking a total of 175
units of insulin per day. He had already suffered from severe complications of
Type 2 diabetes, including two heart attacks and Charcot (destructive
inflammation) joint damage in his right ankle. In spite of this huge dose of
insulin and six other medications, Jim’s glucose readings averaged between 350
to 400. “This was the case no matter what I ate,” he said. Jim told me that he
was already on a careful ADA diet and was following the precise dietary
recommendations of the dietician at the Joslin Clinic.
He started my Eat To
Live program right away, and I immediately reduced his insulin dose down to
130 units per day. Jim and I spoke on the phone over the next few days, and I
continued to decrease his insulin gradually. Within five days, Jim's glucose was
running between 80 and 120, and he had lost ten pounds. At this juncture, I put
him on 45 units of Lantus insulin at bedtime and 6 units of Humalog regular
insulin before each meal for a total of 63 units per day.
At his two week visit,
Jim had lost 16 pounds. I stopped his blood pressure medications, and he was
taking a total of 58 units per day of insulin. After the first month of my
Eat To Live program, I was able to stop all of Jim's insulin and start
him on Glucophage. He lost 25 pounds in the first five weeks, and his blood
glucose readings were well controlled without insulin. His blood pressure also
came down to normal, and he no longer required any blood pressure medications.
Five months later, Jim was off all medications for diabetes, no longer had high
cholesterol or high blood pressure and was more than 60 pounds lighter. His
kidney insufficiency had normalized as well. This case illustrates not merely
how powerful the diet from my Eat To Live approach is, but how the
standard dietary advice given to diabetics from conventional physicians and
dieticians is insufficient.
Types of Diabetes
There are basically two types of diabetes: Type 1, (childhood onset or
juvenile diabetes), and Type 2, (or adult-onset diabetes). Both types of
diabetes accelerate the aging of our bodies. Having diabetes greatly speeds up
the development of atherosclerosis, or cardiovascular disease. Diabetes also
ages us more rapidly and can harm the kidney and other body systems. Forty
thousand amputations per year are due to complications of diabetes. It is the
leading cause of blindness in adults and of kidney failure. Let’s look at the
most common types of diabetes in more detail and then look at gestational
diabetes at the end.
Diabetes insipidus is an unrelated disease, which is not common and
has nothing to do with high blood sugar. People with diabetes insipidus have
diluted urine, have to urinate often and are thirsty all the time. This illness
will not be discussed here.
Type 2 Diabetes (also called adult onset diabetes)
Type 2 diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people. More than 90 percent
of diabetics have Type 2 diabetes. For example, over 2.5 million
African-Americans have diabetes, and 25 percent of all African-American women
over 55 have Type 2 diabetes. The rates of Americans undergoing amputation and
suffering from blindness and kidney failure from this disease are skyrocketing.
Diabetes significantly accelerates the build-up of plaque inside blood vessels,
atherosclerosis, leading to heart attacks.
The hallmark of Type 2 diabetes is the body’s increased need for insulin.
This is not a disease of insulin deficiency; rather, it typically develops
because the body is insulin resistant and requires more insulin than normal. The
heavier you are, the greater the risk you will develop Type 2 diabetes. For some
susceptible individuals, even moderate amounts of excess fat on the body can
trigger diabetes. Our body’s cells are fueled by glucose. When we have more fat
on the body, more insulin is required to deliver glucose to the cells as the
coating of fat around our cells makes it difficult for the hormone insulin to
transport the glucose into the cells. The pancreas is then forced to produce
even higher amounts of insulin to accommodate the heightened insulin
requirements. Even five pounds of excess fat on one’s frame can inhibit the
ability of insulin to carry glucose into our cells. Twenty pounds of extra fat
and the pancreas may be forced to produce twice as much insulin to do the
necessary job. With fifty pounds or more of excess fat on our frame, the
pancreas may be forced to produce 6 times as much insulin as a person who is
lean.
So what do you think occurs after ten or twenty years of overworking the
pancreas? That’s right; it poops out and loses the ability to keep up with such
huge insulin demands. Although the level of insulin produced by the overworked
pancreas starts to fall, it still is pumping out much more insulin than a
thinner person might need, but it's not enough to compensate for extra body fat. Adult diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, not of insulin deficiency.
The pancreas’ ability to secrete insulin continues to diminish as the diabetes
continues, and the overweight condition continues year after year. Total
destruction of insulin secreting ability almost never occurs in Type 2 (adult
onset diabetes) as it does in Type 1 (childhood onset diabetes). However, the
sooner a Type 2 diabetic loses the extra weight causing the stress on the
pancreas, the more functional reserve of insulin secreting cells remain. When
you give an adult diabetic, who has been suffering from the damaging effects of
excess insulin for years, more insulin to drive the sugar down, you create more
problems. Giving the diabetic patient insulin increases appetite and can cause
significant weight gain. As a result of this weight gain, it makes the patient
more diabetic. What usually occurs is that they require more and more medication
and their condition worsens. Findings from numerous studies also show that high
insulin levels promote atherosclerosis, even in non-diabetics. The degree of
atherosclerotic blood vessel disease is greatest in those with the highest
levels of insulin. Insulin blocks cholesterol removal and delivers cholesterol
to cells in the blood vessel walls accelerating the creation of
heart-attack-causing plaque. It is not the answer.
Diabetes Symptoms
Oftentimes, Type 2 diabetes in its early stages comes without symptoms, but
it may include frequent urination, thirst and weight loss. A blood test during a
routine or other medically related doctor’s visit could detect the presence of
abnormally high levels of glucose.
Conventional Care
Well meaning physicians prescribe drugs in an attempt to lower the
dangerously high glucose levels, the high cholesterol and triglyceride levels
and the high blood pressure typically seen in diabetics, since elevated levels
are strong predictors of damage and/or premature death. Unfortunately, treating
diabetes with medication gives patients a false sense of security because they
mistakenly think their somewhat better controlled glucose levels are an
indication of restored health. This false sense of security provides patients
with implicit permission to continue the same disease-causing diet and lifestyle
that led to the development of their diabetes. They don’t lose weight. Many
continue to gain, and the deterioration of their bodies continues.
The Diet That Defeats Diabetes
How can we lower high glucose levels, lower cholesterol, lower blood
pressure, lose weight and not need to take drugs such as insulin and
sulfonylureas which cause weight gain?
Here is the simple answer—the best diet for humans to live longer in superior
health is also the best diet for one with diabetes. That is a diet with a high
nutrient per calorie ratio as described in my books, Eat To Live and
Eat For Health. When one eats a diet predominating in nature’s perfect
foods—green vegetables, beans, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic,
raw nuts and seeds and limited amount of fresh fruit, it becomes relatively easy
for people to eat as much as they want and still lose weight relatively quickly.
This includes lots of great tasting food and great recipes, but no oil, butter,
cheese, flour or sweets. My experience has demonstrated that those choosing to
follow my nutritional recommendation will have their diabetes controlled
astonishingly fast even before they have lost most of their excess weight.
Type 1 Diabetes (childhood onset or juvenile diabetes)
In Type 1 Diabetes, which generally occurs earlier in life, children incur
damage to the beta cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin, so they have an
insulin deficiency. About ten percent of diabetes is Type 1. Excess body fat
does not cause this type of diabetes, and those with Type 1 diabetes always will
require insulin to prevent serious hyperglycemia and life-threatening
ketoacidosis.
Diabetes Symptoms
The most common symptoms for Type 1 diabetes (juvenile or child onset)
include, but are not limited to, frequent urination and thirst, vomiting,
nausea, and abdominal pain. An immediate visit to one’s health practitioner
would be advised.
Conventional Care
With conventional care, the long-term prognosis for a Type 1 diabetic is
dismal. More than one-third of all Type 1 diabetics die before the age of fifty.
However, it is not Type 1 diabetes itself that causes such negative health
consequences. Rather, it is the combination of the diabetes and the typical
nutritional “advice” given to these patients – advice that requires them to take
large amounts of unnecessary insulin. The extra insulin and the high glucose
levels raise lipids, accelerate atherosclerosis and damage the body. With this
in mind, it should be clear that while the Standard American Diet (SAD), which
has spread to all industrialized nations, is dangerous for everyone. It is
particularly deadly for diabetics. In short, if you eat conventionally you die
conventionally, but if you eat the Standard American Diet with diabetes, you
will be committing to poor health with food at a much younger age.
Live a Long and Healthy Life with Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetics need not feel doomed to a life of medical disasters and a
possible early death. With a truly health-supporting lifestyle, including real
food designed by nature, even the Type 1 (childhood onset) diabetic can have the
same potential for a long, disease-free life, like the rest of us. I find that
when Type 1 diabetics adopt a high-nutrient, dietary approach, they can lower
their insulin requirements by about half. They protect their body against the
heart-attack, promoting effects of the American diet style. They no longer have
swings of highs and lows, and their glucose levels and lipids stay under
excellent control. Even though the Type 1 diabetic will still require exogenous
(external) insulin, but by following my Eat To Live diet-style, they
will no longer need excessive amounts of it. Remember, it is not the Type 1
diabetes that is so damaging, it is the S.A.D., the typical dietary advice given
to Type 1s and the excessive need for large amount of insulin that is so
harmful. It is simply essential for all Type 1 diabetics to learn about my
dietary recommendations which can give them the opportunity for a long and
healthy life.
A Type 1 Diabetic Changes His Diet
John Sermos was a 22 year old college graduate with Type 1 diabetes since the
age of 6. He was five foot, eight inches tall and weighed 190 pounds. He was
taking a total of 70 units of insulin daily. He was referred to my office by his
family physician as he was having swings in his glucose levels, too high at
times and at other times dangerously low. He also wanted to learn more about
nutrition to improve his health and reduce his future risks from having
diabetes. I was impressed by his intelligence and desire to change his eating
habits to better his health. We spent lots of time discussing the typical
problems that befall most diabetics, and I explained to him that using 70 units
of insulin a day was part of the problem. I explained that if he follows my
recommended diet-style he will stabilize his weight at about 145 pounds and he
will only require about 30 units of insulin a day. With this lower level of
insulin, to mimic the amount of insulin a non-diabetic makes in the pancreas, he
can have a life without the typical health issues that befall diabetics. We cut
his nighttime insulin dose down by ten units and his mealtime insulin from 10 to
6 as he began the diet. Over the next two weeks we gradually tapered his insulin
and found that he only needed 20 units of Lantus insulin at bedtime and 4 units
before each meal for a total of 32 units a day. Almost immediately, with my
dietary recommendations, his sugars were running in the favorable range, and he
no longer experienced dangerous drops in his blood sugar. He had lost 13 pounds
over the first month and by month three weighed 167, a loss of 23 pounds. He was
excited about what he had learned and was more hopeful about his life while
living with his diabetes. I am convinced, that with the Eat To Live or
Eat For Health diet-style, those with Type 1 diabetes can have a long
and disease-free life. I feel it is imperative that all Type 1 diabetics learn
about this life, saving approach.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes refers to higher than normal blood sugars occurring
during pregnancy in women who were not diabetic before becoming pregnant. It is
usually detected by discovering higher than normal glucose levels between the
twenty third and twenty eighth weeks of pregnancy. In the vast majority of women
found to have this condition, there are no symptoms of diabetes, and the
diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born.
The body requires more insulin during pregnancy as weight is gained and as
the placenta grows and produces hormones that block insulin uptake. It is normal
for the pancreas to produce higher levels of insulin during pregnancy. Typically
most women have no problem producing the extra insulin needed during pregnancy,
but for women with gestational diabetes, their pancreas is “pooped out” and
can’t secrete the higher levels demanded. Women with gestational diabetes have a
strong likelihood of developing adult onset diabetes later in life. It reflects
a pancreas that is already overworked that has difficulty handing the increased
insulin needs of excess fat on their body and a diet rich in processed
carbohydrates.
Gestational diabetes marks women with a lower beta cell reserve in their
pancreas. They have less of these insulin secreting cells, and when under the
stress of pregnancy or if they gain weight later in life, their body will not be
capable of producing the high levels of insulin to cover the increased demands.
In other words, they are those women prone to develop Type 2 diabetes later in
life.
The same dietary factors that cause Type 2 diabetes cause gestational
diabetes. Gestational diabetes reveals the tendency for that to occur. Instead,
if women eat the high-nutrient dietary style that I recommend, they will be
protected from developing gestational diabetes and diabetes later in life.
Nutritional excellence is important during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is a
sign of nutritional inadequacy, and it leads to overweight babies (macrosomia)
and the potential for hypoglycemia in the baby immediately after birth. It is
important that changes are initiated to restore normal glucose levels as soon as
possible during pregnancy, which is accomplished effectively and easily with my
Eat To Live and Eat For Health programs.
Conclusion
The dietary style described in my books entitled, Eat To Live and
Eat For Health, is a vegetable-based diet designed to maximize nutrient
per calorie density. It is the most effective dietary approach for those with
diabetes and is much more effective than drugs. For a Type 2 diabetic, this
approach has resulted in complete reversal of the diabetic condition in the vast
majority of my patients, and for a Type 1 diabetic it solves the problems with
excessive highs and lows and prevents the typical dangerous complications that
too frequently befall those with diabetes.
Of course, no dietary approach to diabetes will succeed without attention to
other risk factors, especially sedentary lifestyle, smoking and lack of sleep.
The road to wellness involves making the commitment to regular exercise as well.
My clear message is that diabetics can’t just “eat better.” They have to go all
the way and commit to nutritional excellence.
If you have diabetes, begin by reading my book, Eat To Live or
Eat For Health. You can receive the e-book version of Eat To
Live right away, by joining the membership center here at DrFuhrman.com. It
is important that you do not change your diet, if you are on medication, without
medication adjustment under the guidance of a competent physician. Call my
office at 908-237-0200, if you desire to set up a phone consultation, so I can
help with the medication reductions that will be necessary. I wish you enduring
health and a long life... it can be yours.
1. Diabetes Atlas, third edition 2006, © The International
Diabetes Federation.
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