Living with Diabetes

In the United States alone, more than 24 million children and adults are living with diabetes, including 5.7 million who are unaware that they have this disease.  

Diabetes is a fearsome disorder, yet one we take much too lightly. Few people flirting with borderline elevated blood sugar levels realize how important it is to get this situation under control right away.   

Most folks are unaware of the many diabetes complications, and that this disease is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and amputations in this country. People living with diabetes are more likely to have—and die of—a heart attack or stroke than those with normal blood sugar levels. Diabetes is also a primary contributor to erectile dysfunction (impotence) and dementia.

Unfortunately, most people either don’t know or tend to ignore the subtle warning signs of this devastating disease. It’s time we all pull our heads out of the sand and look diabetes in the eye.  
Diabetes is in large part a disease of lifestyle. In 90 percent of all cases, it is both preventable and treatable. Treating diabetes is simpler than many people think—exercising most days of the week and cutting sugars and starches out of your diet can go a long way toward improving blood sugar levels and preventing diabetes complications.

For more information about diabetes complications and treating diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

Infrared light therapy (brand names Anodyne and HealthLight) delivers pulses of special wavelengths of light through the skin directly to injured tissues. Though the light itself is invisible, its effects are readily apparent: enhanced blood flow, improved sensation, regeneration of tissues, and pain relief. 

As I've indicated before, treatment with infrared light therapy is simple and painless. Flexible pads containing small lights are affixed to the affected areas. The energy that pulses from the lights penetrates beneath the skin and is absorbed by deep tissues. After just 30 minutes of treatment, blood flow is enhanced by 400 percent, and this boost in local circulation persists for several hours after the pads are removed. The key to this dramatic improvement in blood flow is a short-lived molecule called nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is an unstable gas that is crucial to the health of every part of the body that depends on an adequate blood supply for normal functioning. Unfortunately, people dealing with diabetes produce less nitric oxide than healthy individuals. It’s not surprising then that people living with diabetes often suffer from problems related to poor circulation, including heart disease, poor blood pressure health, kidney dysfunction, retinal damage, peripheral neuropathy, and impaired wound healing. This is where infrared light therapy comes in.

As blood cells pass beneath the light unit, they absorb photons of energy, causing them to release nitric oxide. This localized release enhances blood flow in the immediate vicinity, bringing oxygen and nutrients to injured tissues and stimulating healing.

Infrared light therapy has been the subject of at least eight clinical trials in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy and “loss of protective sensation,” an objective measure of nerve impairment and a significant risk factor for amputation. These studies found that treatment with infrared light restored sensation in 93 percent of affected limbs, greatly reducing risk of amputation.

Though you may not hear about it from your conventional doctor, infrared light therapy is gaining popularity as its benefits are becoming better known.

For more information about new diabetes treatments and how to manage diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com. 

Diabetic neuropathy is a form of nerve damage that affects many people living with diabetes.  In addition to being quite painful, it can also be debilitating.  Fortunately, there are three effective, natural remedies to treat this common diabetes complication.

Lipoic acid, also called alpha lipoic acid, is an extremely powerful natural antioxidant. High doses of lipoic acid (in the 600 mg range) have been shown in several studies to be an effective therapy for diabetic neuropathy, reducing pain, and improving function in affected patients. Aim for 600-1,200 mg daily, depending on your degree of neuropathy.

Evening primrose oil, which contains the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid, also benefits nerves damaged by diabetes and reduces associated pain. In a landmark double-blind study carried out in seven medical centers, 480 mg of evening primrose oil taken daily for one year resulted in improvements in symptoms of neuropathy in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Other studies have utilized doses of up to 6,000 mg per day with good results. Start with 500–1,500 mg per day.

Potent daily multivitamin/mineral supplement and fish oil. Because oxidative stress plays a role in diabetic neuropathy, you need to take a potent multivitamin and mineral complex that contains the following nutrients in the suggested doses: vitamin E (at least 300 IUs), vitamin B6 (150 mg), and vitamin B12 (1,500 mcg). Since inflammation is also a factor, take 2–8 grams of high-quality fish oil.

For more information on managing diabetes and diabetes complications, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

If you or someone you care about is living with diabetes, you should learn all you can about niacinamide.  Also called nicotinamide, it’s a form of vitamin B3 that has been shown to preserve beta cell function when administered in the early stages of type 1 diabetes. It does this by inhibiting free radical production and the activity of PARP, an enzyme that depletes cellular energy stores.

A meta-analysis of 10 controlled clinical trials demonstrated significant improvements in insulin production in type 1 diabetics who received niacinamide for up to five years, compared to those on placebo. Although some studies have been negative—the European Nicotinamide Diabetes Intervention Trial (ENDIT) showed no benefits—I believe that enough positive research exists to warrant a trial of niacinamide in early onset type 1 diabetes.

For more information on managing diabetes and natural treatments for diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, we routinely prescribe high doses of water- and fat-soluble vitamins and minerals to virtually all of our patients. However, for our patients living with diabetes, we bump up those amounts by at least 50 percent. The diabetic condition causes increased urination and essentially acts as a diuretic, washing away magnesium, zinc, folic acid, and other vital nutrients from the body. Supplementing with high levels of these vitamins and minerals helps compensate for nutritional deficiencies and protect against diabetic complications.

Take Roxann, a type 2 diabetic who had been on insulin for 16 years. She had retinopathy, angina, high blood pressure, a history of two heart attacks, and an open ulcer on her foot that refused to heal. But the most debilitating of her problems was neuropathy. Nerve damage left her with virtually no sensation in her feet, and she could barely get around on her own.

After hitting rock bottom, Roxann came to my clinic and started on a comprehensive nutritional regimen that included high doses of antioxidants, B-complex vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and targeted nutrients and herbs known to help control blood sugar. Given the severity of Roxann’s condition, she also underwent a course of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

Within three days, the feeling began to return to Roxann’s feet. She had more energy, less pain, and a renewed sense of hope. By the end of her second week at the clinic, she was walking normally. In fact, she and her daughter did something that would have been unthinkable just three weeks before: They spent the next couple of days strolling around and sightseeing in southern California.

If you’re living with diabetes and are seeing a conventional doctor, ask this question: “Doctor, I understand that diabetes causes losses of many micronutrients in the urine. Would it be wise for me to be on a nutrient supplement regimen to counteract those losses?”

If your doctor says it’s not needed or gives you some garbage about lack of science or some other nonsense, run—don’t walk—to a physician with a different attitude toward nutritional supplementation and other natural diabetes treatments. You just might save yourself a whole lot of suffering.

For more information on treating diabetes or key supplements for diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

As you strive to control blood sugar levels, it’s important to remember the role antioxidants play in managing diabetes. In order to get a handle on this condition, you’ll need to shore up on these important nutrients.

For starters, there’s Vitamin C. Vitamin C is the most active antioxidant in our water-based tissues. It lowers levels of sorbitol, the sugar that collects in and damages cells of the eyes (retinopathy), kidneys (nephropathy), and nerves (neuropathy).

You’ll also want to take an adequate amount of Vitamin E, your body’s premier fat-soluble antioxidant. Vitamin E improves glucose control and protects blood vessels and nerves from free radical damage, which is accelerated in people living with diabetes. Studies have shown that high doses of supplemental vitamin E may even reverse damage to nerves caused by diabetes and protect against diabetic cataracts and atherosclerosis.

Supplementation with both of these antioxidants is associated with a reduced risk of diabetic retinopathy. If you are living with diabetes, aim for 1,000-2,500 mg of vitamin C and 300-800 IU of vitamin E daily.

For more information on treating diabetes and diabetes risk factors, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

One of the most effective natural treatments for diabetes is vanadium. This unique trace mineral works to lower blood sugar by mimicking insulin and improving the cells’ sensitivity to insulin.

Supplementation with vanadyl sulfate and other vanadium compounds markedly lowers fasting glucose and improves other measures of diabetes. In a number of animal studies, this mineral has actually eliminated diabetes.

Human studies, although not as numerous, are also compelling. In a landmark study, eight people with type 2 diabetes receiving 50 mg of vanadyl sulfate twice a day for four weeks, followed by a placebo for four weeks, were found to have a 20 percent reduction in average fasting blood sugar, which lasted well into the placebo period after the mineral was discontinued. The only reported adverse effect was minor gastrointestinal (GI) distress during the first few days of the study.

Vanadium is quite safe, even at doses of up to 400 mg per day. Don’t be surprised if you hear rumors to the contrary. According to Dr. John McNeill, one of the world’s leading experts on vanadium, these unfounded precautions are based on toxicity studies done by a single researcher and have never been replicated by anyone else.  

Many physicians have utilized vanadyl sulfate with thousands of people living with diabetes in doses of 100–150 mg per day with remarkable success and absolutely no adverse reactions, save slight GI distress in a few individuals.

Vanadium is just one of the many natural diabetes treatments. For additional natural treatments for diabetes or information on managing diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

Chromium is a trace mineral that improves the action of insulin and helps move glucose and other nutrients into the cells. Its therapeutic value was first discovered in the 1950s, when researchers isolated a previously unknown substance from pork kidney. When they gave this substance to laboratory rats with glucose intolerance (a pre-diabetic form of insulin resistance), it caused such significant improvements that they named it glucose tolerance factor.

This unique compound was found to improve the activity of insulin and facilitate the uptake of glucose into the cells. Research intensified, and in 1959, the active ingredient in glucose tolerance factor was identified: chromium.

Chromium doesn’t cause the body to make more insulin—it just helps make insulin work better. At least 15 well-controlled clinical trials examining the effects of supplemental chromium on patients living with diabetes, insulin resistance, and other blood sugar abnormalities have shown that this mineral improves glucose metabolism.

Chromium has also been demonstrated to facilitate weight loss. As you likely know, diabetes and weight are very closely connected. Maintaining an ideal weight greatly increases your chances of avoiding the disease and beating diabetes.  

For more information on managing diabetes, natural diabetes treatments, and reversing diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

Type 2 diabetes information and research can be found all over the place, but much less is written about type 1. That’s likely because the vast majority of people living with diabetes have type 2. Nevertheless, type 1 diabetes warrants discussion. 

Type 1 diabetes, sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes because it usually appears before the age of 20 (though it can crop up at any age), results from the inability of the pancreas to produce adequate insulin. Insulin is the nutritional storage hormone. Produced in specialized beta cells located in areas of the pancreas called the Islets of Langerhans, insulin is the key that opens up cells to glucose and other nutrients. If there is not enough insulin in the bloodstream to “unlock” these cells so that nutrients can get in, cells literally starve to death.  

Not surprisingly, classic symptoms of type 1 diabetes include extreme hunger as the body tries to compensate for this inability to feed its cells, and rapid weight loss as the cells are unable to utilize food, regardless of how much is eaten. In addition, untreated individuals with type 1 diabetes are extremely thirsty, drink copious amounts of fluids, and urinate excessively. This is because the kidneys, in an attempt to keep things in balance, excrete as much excess glucose via the urine as they possibly can.  

People with type 1 diabetes are often diagnosed in the emergency room—dehydrated, wasting away, and sometimes in a life-threatening diabetic coma. Their blood glucose is sky high, usually between 350 and 750 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL; normal is 80 to 110 mg/dL).  

This type of diabetes is defined as an autoimmune attack on the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Researchers aren’t sure exactly what causes the immune system to attack, but viral infections are one possible cause.   

But to reiterate, only 10 percent of all people dealing with diabetes have this form of the disease. For the other 90 percent, lifestyle factors—the foods you choose to eat, the supplements you take, your activity level, and your weight—determine whether or not you will develop diabetes and what course it will take if you already have it. 

For more information on treating diabetes, diabetes risk factors, or diabetes success stories, visit www.drwhitaker.com.

Believe it or not, one-third of Americans are obese, and obesity, particularly in the abdominal area, is a well-established diabetes risk factor.  

When you exercise, your muscles’ energy requirements increase dramatically—they need ready access to glucose, which fuels the hungry muscle cells. Exercise appears to some degree to actually bypass the normal requirements for insulin. It increases the transport of glucose into the cells, not only while you are exercising but for hours afterwards. Thus, it lowers blood glucose levels and also improves overall insulin sensitivity.  So, if you’re living with diabetes, exercise can be your key to controlling blood sugar.

Researchers at Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley who followed almost 6,000 men for 14 years determined that increased physical activity was especially protective for men with the highest risk of developing diabetes—those who were overweight or had a family history of diabetes.

Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise four or more days per week. You don’t have to run marathons—just get active. Brisk walking is one of the easiest activities for beginners, but the most important thing is to choose something you enjoy and stick with it.

For more information on diabetes, diabetic complications, and reversing diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com. While there, sign up for FREE e-letters, or subscribe to Dr. Whitaker’s monthly newsletter, Health & Healing.

People living with diabetes have an increased need to urinate, as their kidneys attempt to get rid of excess glucose. Along with excess glucose, however, massive amounts of water-soluble vitamins and minerals also are lost. Yet, incredibly, most white-coated experts specializing in helping patients manage diabetes make no attempt whatsoever to replace these nutrients, leaving patients to suffer the inevitable consequences of massive nutritional deficiencies.

Numerous studies have shown that people with diabetes tend to have low cellular levels of magnesium, zinc, vitamins B6 and C, and other essential water-soluble nutrients. Is it any wonder that they are at increased risk for atherosclerosis, heart disease, and other degenerative conditions that have been definitively linked to nutritional deficiencies?  

The combination of these processes puts people trying to manage diabetes at a dramatically increased risk of premature death and disability. The areas of the body most profoundly affected by diabetic complications include the blood vessels, nerves, eyes, kidneys, and extremities. In fact:

• People with diabetes are two to three times more likely to die from heart disease than those with normal blood sugar levels, and they are five times more likely to have a stroke.
• People with diabetes are subject to vision problems such as glaucoma and cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness.
• Forty percent of all cases of kidney failure are attributed to diabetes.
• Sixty to 70 percent of all diabetics have some form of nerve damage, and a majority of lower extremity amputations are performed on diabetics.
• Erectile dysfunction, impaired digestion, urinary incontinence, excess sweating, gum disease, and increased risk of infection are additional diabetes complications.

For more information on diabetes, diabetic complications, and reversing diabetes, visit www.drwhitaker.com. While there, sign up for FREE e-letters or subscribe to Dr. Whitaker’s monthly newsletter, Health & Healing. 

If you’re living with diabetes, you’ll be interested in learning about these two treatments used at the Whitaker Wellness Institute—hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP).

HBOT and EECP are two powerful therapies that can help treat a variety of conditions. They’re both all about oxygen.

HBOT, which involves breathing concentrated oxygen in a pressurized chamber, saturates the tissues with oxygen and “wakes up” damaged nerves. Because many bacteria cannot survive in an oxygen-rich environment, HBOT also facilitates the healing of diabetic ulcers.

EECP increases oxygen delivery as well, but by a different mechanism. It rhythmically squeezes the lower extremities, which dramatically improves blood flow throughout the body. In addition, EECP stimulates the production of new blood vessels resulting in benefits that are enduring.

Although it is used primarily to treat patients with heart disease, EECP also benefits a long list of other conditions, including kidney disease and diabetes complications.

If you are living with diabetes or are simply interested in natural remedies for diabetes, you need to know about infrared light therapy.   

Several studies support infrared light’s benefits for diabetic neuropathy. In addition to restoring sensation and reducing risk of amputation, this therapy has also been shown to improve balance and reduce falls by 96 percent!

Treatment with infrared light is simple and painless. Flexible pads, each containing multiple small lights, are affixed over the feet, ankles, or other affected areas. The energy from these lights penetrates beneath the skin and is absorbed by deep tissues.  This significantly increases blood flow and improves overall circulation.  

Infrared light therapy is just one of the many natural remedies for diabetes used at the Whitaker Wellness Institute and discussed in this blog.

With all the focus on treating diabetes with drugs, underlying causes of the condition are rarely considered. One potential contributor is low testosterone, which affects one in three diabetic men. But which came first, testosterone deficiency or diabetes? A study published in Diabetes Care may answer that question.  

Finnish researchers measured levels of sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone in 702 middle-aged men who had no blood sugar problems, and then reexamined them after 11 years.

At the time of follow-up, 147 had developed metabolic syndrome and 57 were living with diabetes. What’s important about this study is that regardless of other factors, the men with the lowest testosterone levels were nearly two and a half times more likely to have developed diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

The idea of treating diabetes by normalizing testosterone levels is picking up speed. A study looking at supplemental testosterone as an adjunct therapy is underway, and many physicians who use bioidentical hormones have been treating patients with it for years.

If you are male and over the age of 45, get your testosterone level tested. If it’s low, replacement should be considered. In addition to regulating insulin and making it easier to control blood sugar, testosterone reduces body fat, increases libido, boosts energy levels, and improves mood and memory. Testosterone requires a prescription and may be obtained from compounding pharmacies.

Fish oil, which contains the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, is powerful medicine for disorders ranging from heart disease and depression to arthritis and autoimmune disorders.

EPA is particularly beneficial for the cardiovascular system, as it discourages blood platelets from sticking together, relaxes the arteries, and lowers triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

For years, people dealing with diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, were advised to avoid fish oil supplements, due to their presumably negative effects on the body’s ability to control blood sugar. However, a meta-analysis has put this myth to rest.

In this review of studies involving 823 patients with type 2 diabetes, fish oil supplementation at doses ranging from 3,000–8,000 mg per day had no harmful effect on short- or long-term ability to control blood sugar. Furthermore, the fish oils supplements significantly improved triglyceride levels.

More recent research found that women living with diabetes who took 3,000 mg of fish oil a day for two months had marked improvements in body fat and blood lipid levels. (This is key, in part due to the connection between diabetes and weight.) 

I’m not suggesting that fish oil is a cure for high blood sugar, but it can certainly play a role in managing diabetes. Everyone, regardless of health status, should take a minimum of 2 g of high-quality fish oil per day. If your cholesterol and triglycerides are high, consider increasing this to 4 or more grams daily. For these larger doses, look for liquid or concentrated fish oil supplements, as they beat taking handfuls of capsules.

Chromium is a trace mineral that is a boon for people living with diabetes. Its therapeutic value was first discovered in the 1950s, when researchers isolated a previously unknown substance from pork kidney. When they gave this substance to laboratory rats with glucose intolerance (a pre-diabetes form of insulin resistance), it caused such significant improvements that they named it glucose tolerance factor (GTF).

This unique compound was found to improve the activity of insulin and facilitate the uptake of glucose into the cells. Research intensified and, in 1959, the active ingredient in GTF was identified: chromium.

Chromium doesn’t cause the body to make more insulin—it just helps insulin work better, and this is critical for people who are trying to manage diabetes. 

At least 15 well-controlled clinical trials examining the effects of supplemental chromium on people living with diabetes, insulin resistance, and other blood sugar abnormalities have shown that this mineral improves glucose metabolism.

In one study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center and Beijing Medical University, 180 people with type 2 diabetes were divided into
three groups and given supplements containing 100 mcg chromium, 500 mcg chromium, or a placebo, twice a day. No other changes were made in their medications, diets, or activity levels. When their blood glucose levels were tested after four months, the patients taking chromium had reductions in blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol, and glycated hemoglobin (also called hemoglobin A1C, a longer-term measure of blood sugar control).

Chromium has also been demonstrated to facilitate weight loss, and if you’re aware of the close connection between diabetes and weight, you’ll understand how important this is.

Aim for 200 mcg of chromium daily.

Vitamins D and E are great natural diabetes remedies.

Vitamin D deficiencies are linked with the development of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as impaired insulin secretion. This vitamin also turns on genes that boost production of antimicrobial peptides called cathelicidins, which destroy viruses, bacteria, and other germs. Since people managing diabetes are more prone to infections due to diabetic ulcers and periodontal disease, optimal levels of this fat-soluble vitamin is important. Have your vitamin D blood level tested, and take enough vitamin D3 to bring it into the 40–60 ng/mL range. I’m reluctant to give an exact dose, but my average patient requires 5,000 IU of supplemental vitamin D daily.

Vitamin E, the body’s premier fat-soluble antioxidant, improves glucose control and protects blood vessels and nerves from free-radical damage, which is accelerated by the diabetic condition.

Studies have shown that high doses of supplemental vitamin E may even reverse damage to nerves caused by diabetes and protect against diabetic cataracts and atherosclerosis.

Additionally, research suggests that approximately 40 percent of people living with diabetes have a gene variation (haptoglobin (Hp) 2-2 gene) that increases oxidative stress and doubles or triples their risk of cardiovascular disease. Israeli researchers found that when these people took
400 IU of vitamin E daily, their risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and death fell by 50 percent! Vitamin E’s benefits were so profound the study was terminated early so all study participants could benefit.

Oxidative stress also contributes to liver damage that, if untreated, can lead to diabetes complications such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The best-studied antioxidant for NAFLD also happens to be vitamin E, with doses averaging 800 IU per day. Everyone, regardless of health status, should take 400 IU of vitamin E every day.

Note: Take only natural vitamin E. You can tell it’s natural if it’s listed as d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopheryl. Synthetic vitamin E is listed as dl-alphatocopherol or dl-alpha tocopheryl (note the “l”).

Two of the best natural remedies for diabetes are B-complex vitamins and vitamin C.

B-complex vitamins, particularly B6 and B12, are vital for the health of people who have diabetes. That’s because these vitamins support nerve health, which is critical when addressing conditions such as diabetic neuropathy.

Biotin is another B-complex vitamin that is necessary for cell growth and for the metabolism of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. This vitamin also also been shown to lower fasting blood sugar levels and reduce risk of complications such as diabetic neuropathy.

The ideal daily dose for people living with diabetes is 75-125 mg of B6, 150-1,000 mcg of B12, and 300 mcg of biotin daily.

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that protects against free-radical damage throughout the body. This vitamin is also required for the production of collagen, so it strengthens the blood vessels and supports healthy blood flow. In addition, it is involved in multiple aspects of the immune response and boosts overall immunity.

Perhaps most important to people managing diabetes, however, is vitamin C’s ability to lower levels of sorbitol, a sugar alcohol that can collect in the cells and damage the eyes, kidneys, and nerves. This, plus its ability to put the brakes on free radicals, makes vitamin C an important weapon in the arsenal against diabetes complications.

Finally, vitamin C is an excellent therapy for another condition that often co-exists in individuals living with diabetes: hypertension. Irish researchers found that just 500 mg of vitamin C a day lowered blood pressure and arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes.

I recommend people dealing with diabetes take at least 1,000 mg of supplemental vitamin C daily.

A common dietary question of people dealing with diabetes is, “Can I drink alcohol?” The answer is, “Sometimes.”

Because alcoholic drinks contain a fair amount of calories derived from sugars, conventional wisdom has long held that people with diabetes should avoid alcohol. We now know that rather than worsening the diabetic condition, judicious use of alcohol actually improves it by enhancing insulin sensitivity.

Moderate amounts of alcohol improve the cells’ ability to respond to insulin, resulting in an ability to more easily manage blood levels of both glucose and insulin.

For most people dealing with diabetes, however, alcohol consumption can be a double-edged sword—that’s why drinking in moderation is your best bet. Too much alcohol can lead to serious health conditions, including liver disease. And for some people, even one drink is too much.