It's always nice when the mainsteam media wakes up to the realities of healthcare, particularly when it comes to the devastating damage of the rampant diabetes epidemic in the U.S. But an article in the July 12 USA Weekend underscores the importance of sticking with a doctor like Dr. Whitaker, someone who isn't afraid to come right out and state the brutally obvious.
On the one hand, Dr. Todd Mitchell's "HealthSmart" column does bring to light the scope of the diabetes problem, and the consquences of not bringing blood sugar under control. Without action, the more than 23 million Americans already diagnosed with diabetes -- not to mention those who have diabetes and don't know it, and the scores with Metabolic Syndrome or pre-diabetes -- are on a road to serious health problems, to say the least.
From comparatively minor skin and teeth concerns to truly frightening heart, eye, circulatory, and kidney diseases and increased risk for wounds and infections, Mitchell acknowledges that uncontrolled blood sugar is a recipe for disaster.
To his credit, Mitchell also points out that there are many effective ways to naturally lower blood sugar and keep Type 2 diabetes at bay, including following a diet low in high glycemic refined sugars, maintaining a healthy weight, getting adequate sleep, and maintaining an active lifestyle.
But that's as far as Mitchell is willing to go. Of course, it's not surprising that a diabetes article in USA Weekend fails to include a single mention of the many nutritional supplements that can not only lower blood sugar but directly impact the diabetes risk factors that lead to the complications he mentions. However, it's the waffle words about exercise and diabetes that truly surprised me.
In describing an "interesting" study of NFL players and blood sugar (not exactly your representative sample of the U.S. population) Mitchell points out that while the massive linemen and tackles weighed an average of 60 lbs. more than men in the control group, their fasting blood sugar was lower. Could exercise and rigorous physical activity have something to do with these blood sugar findings? Well, maybe, says Mitchell.
The kicker is the closer though. "More study is needed, but it does seem that, when it comes to diabetes, lifestyle habits matter."
Thanks for the newsflash, Dr. Mitchell.
There's no maybe about it. Exercise is one of the best, safest, most logical and truly natural ways to control blood sugar and prevent, manage, and even reverse diabetes. That's because exercise is one of the best ways to improve insulin resistance and make your cells more sensitive to insulin.
To get more exercise into your daily routine, the first thing you should try is taking a brisk 10-minute walk after meals whenever you can. Even mild aerobic exercise causes your muscles to soak up the glucose in your blood more quickly, keeping those post-meal blood sugar spikes to a minimum. Also, shoot for several sessions of resistance training (such as weightlifting) in your weekly routine to build muscle and improve your insulin sensitivity long-term.
At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, Dr. Whitaker has been helping thousands of patients over the years use diet, exercise and targeted nutritional supplements to beat back diabetes for good.
And as a 2001 NIH study showed, this type of natural program works better than the most prescribed diabetes drug, Glucophage. No maybe about that either, Dr. Mitchell.
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