Vanadium, a trace mineral, is an excellent natural treatment for diabetes. I believe it is one of the most effective and intriguing blood sugar supplements. In fact, studies show that vanadium (as vanadyl sulfate) mimics insulin in the body and helps maintain blood sugar levels well within the healthy range.
One specific study involved individuals who were trying to treat type 2 diabetes. They each received 50 mg of vanadyl sulfate twice a day for four weeks, followed by a placebo for four weeks. At the end of the study, they 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 distress during the first few days of the study. The suggested dose of vanadyl sulfate is 100 mg per day.
Type 1 diabetes, sometimes referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile
diabetes (because it usually appears before the age of 20, but it can present at any
age), is caused by an autoimmune attack on the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Researchers aren’t sure exactly what causes the immune system to go awry, but
viral infection, vitamin D deficiency, and genetic predisposition are possible causes. Whatever the reason, the damaged pancreas is unable to produce adequate insulin, resulting in the inability of glucose and other nutrients to enter the cells.
Type 1 Diabetes Signs and Symptoms
The classic presentation in type 1 diabetes is 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 as the body attempts to dilute and get rid of extremely high levels of glucose in the blood.
Type 1 diabetes is not as common as you may think—only between five and 10 percent of all people with diabetes have this form of the disease. Most diabetics have type 2.
Type 2 Diabetes Causes
Type 2 diabetes is also marked by elevated blood glucose levels but for different reasons. Initially, people with type 2 diabetes make plenty of insulin. In fact, they often produce much more insulin than healthy individuals. But as the disease progresses the beta cells become exhausted and insulin production slows gradually and, although rare, may cease altogether.
The problem in this form of the disease involves the insulin receptor sites on the cells’ surfaces—they simply don’t respond to signals to open up to let in glucose and other nutrients, regardless of how much insulin is knocking at the door. This is a condition known as insulin resistance or insulin insensitivity, and it is at the root of 90 percent of all diagnoses of diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
People with the type 2 form don’t experience the same diabetes signs and symptoms as those with Type 1. In fact, many of them have no symptoms at all. The disease is often discovered only during a routine blood test when a high fasting blood glucose reading, usually in the 150 to 300 mg/dL range, is noted.
The good news is that because the body only becomes “insensitive” or “resistant” to insulin, versus destroying insulin-producing cells , there are many type 2 diabetes treatments available. We’ll be addressing them in future blog postings.
Diabetes is a fearsome disorder, yet one we take much too lightly. Few people dealing with diabetes risk factors or borderline elevated blood sugar levels realize the urgency of controlling diabetes in its early stages.
Most are unaware that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and amputations in this country or that people who have diabetes are more likely to have—and die of—a heart attack or stroke than those who are able to maintain blood sugar levels that are closer to normal. Nor do they recognize that diabetes is a primary contributor to conditions such as erectile dysfunction (impotence) and dementia. As a matter of fact, most people either don’t know or tend to ignore the subtle warning signs. It’s time we all pull our heads out of the sand and look diabetes in the eye.
The ability to manage blood sugar levels is largely an issue of lifestyle. In 90 percent of all cases, diabetes is both preventable and treatable.
I’ve been practicing medicine for more than 30 years and I have tens of thousands of diabetes success stories from to people who have followed my protocol of natural diabetes treatments. Many of my patients have called me over the years to thank me for my alternative treatments for diabetes. “My blood sugars are normal—without drugs.” “I was able to avoid amputation.” “My vision has stabilized.” “Your advice saved my life.”
In future blog postings, I will share what you need to know to take control of your own health so that you, too, can beat diabetes.
Exciting new research out of Italy confirmed just the latest use for an incredibly versatile nutrient, Pycnogenol, an extract of French maritime pine bark. Clearly if you're living with diabetes, this natural treatment is worth a closer look.
Published in the
Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, this latest study shows that supplementing with Pycnogenol can improve microcirculation, retinal edema and visual acuity in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy.
This is big news for anyone with diabetes, as nearly half of those dealing with diabetes have some degree of retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness.
Study participants took 150 mg Pycnogenol once daily for 90 days, while a control group was given a placebo. All patients had diabetes for at least four years before the trial, and all were beginning to develop diabetic retinopathy.
While the placebo group showed no improvement,
75 percent of the pine bark group had improved vision. Researchers noted that the supplement appeared to help seal the leaky blood vessels that lead to retinopathy. This powerful natural diabetes treatment promotes circulation and helps stave off one of the worst complications of diabetes.
Dr. Whitaker has written about Pycnogenol many times over the years in
Health & Healing, for conditions as varied as heart disease, asthma, varicose veins, erectile dysfunction and
deep vein thrombosis.
In fact, Dr. Whitaker first wrote about this natural therapy for diabetic retinopathy in 1993!
Once again, it pays to listen to Dr. Whitaker, so you'll learn about the best natural therapies, sometimes
decades before the mainstream.
Finally, a reason to feel good about my daily venti dark roast fix.
A new meta-analysis from the Archives of Internal Medicine showed a nice correlation between coffee consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
For every cup of Joe you drink, your risk goes down 7%. Not bad.
This review included data from over 500,000 people, with over 21,000 cases of type-2 diabetes. Of the 31 studies reviewed, 18 looked at regular coffee consumption, six focused on decaf, and the remaining seven studies included tea drinkers.
Bottom line, everyone with a mug holds a natural diabetes treatment in their hands.
It's not just regular coffee drinkers who can beat diabetes. Three to four cups of decaffeinated coffee were associated with a 33 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to non-coffee drinkers. And three to four cups of tea dropped diabetes risk by one-fifth as well.
Now if I've learned anything, it's to take a meta-analysis like this with a grain of salt. And if this were the only reason to drink coffee, I'd proceed cautiously. But it isn't.
Coffee has been championed by researchers as a natural way to maintain blood sugar and reduce diabetes risk before, because coffee has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity. Previous studies have shown that a high intake—at least six cups a day—lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 54 percent in men and 30 percent in women.
Dr. Whitaker has written about the health benefits of coffee for years, including research showing coffee reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease by as much as 80 percent and even protects against other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
Coffee improves concentration and alertness, boosts mood, and decreases suicide risk. In fact, coffee aroma alone can relieve stress in animals. (Count me among them.)
Did you know that coffee can also halt a full-blown asthma attack in its tracks? And drink coffee before a workout and you'll enjoy both increased endurance and less muscle pain.
There are even studies that suggest coffee will make you live longer!
Of course, if you're exercising, preventing diabetes and enjoying your day feeling alert and in a great mood, you can't help but live longer, right? Pour me another cup...
It's always nice to be proven right, particularly when it concerns health advice that actually changes people's lives.
As has happened so often over the years, Dr. Whitaker's core recommendation of supplementing with cinnamon daily as a natural way to control blood sugar continues to rack up additional clinical support, the latest from a recent study published in the
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
This study sought to determine whether cinnamon could help lower hemoglobin A1C in patients with type 2 diabetes. The randomized, controlled study followed patients for 90 days, with the cinnamon group using 1g cinnamon daily (
curiously, the same amount Dr. Whitaker has been recommending for years...).
The result: Cinnamon users lowered their hemoglobin A1C by .83 percent, compared to .37 percent with standard treatment alone.
Said another way, adding cinnamon
doubled the effectiveness of the basic treatment.
This may not sound that significant, but lowering your A1C is critically important for anyone with diabetes. A hemoglobin A1c test measures the level of glycated hemoglobin in the blood, the result of blood sugar (glucose) attaching to hemoglobin. As your A1C rises, so does your likelihood of diabetes complications, like vision problems, cardiovascular or kidney disease, circulatory and nerve imparement, and stroke.
When it comes to natural remedies for diabetes, cinnamon is pretty hard to beat. It's cheap, readily available, safe, and as the research continues to prove, effective.
Vanadyl sulfate is one of the supplements I recommend to help control blood sugar because it mimics the action of insulin and helps with glucose uptake in cells. But despite its amazing benefits, I find that questions about its safety periodically come up.
Take, for example, a note I received from a reader in Oklahoma City not too long ago. Although he was taking vanadyl sulfate to control blood sugar, he’d heard that it could also cause green tongue and other problems. I’m happy to answer this concern, because it pops up from time to time.
Vanadyl sulfate is a stable, inorganic form of vanadium, a metallic element used primarily as an additive in steel production. Acute exposure to the dust or fumes of vanadium or various vanadium compounds can certainly be toxic to the nervous and respiratory systems, liver, and other organs. And “green tongue” (as the name suggests, a greenish discoloration of the tongue) is indeed a classic symptom of toxicity in miners, industrial workers, or others exposed to high levels of vanadium.
But the accusation—often repeated on the Internet and elsewhere—that nutritional supplements containing minute amounts of vanadyl sulfate are toxic, is completely unfounded. On the contrary, studies demonstrate that vanadyl sulfate is safe when taken in doses of 75, 150, and even 300 mg per day for prolonged periods. Some study subjects taking the higher dosage reported gastrointestinal disturbances, but this resolved over the study course.
What these studies do show—and there are hundreds of them, some dating back more than 20 years—are profound benefits. In average doses of 100–150 mg, vanadyl sulfate increases insulin sensitivity and helps lower blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C—without danger of hypoglycemia. It has even been shown to reduce insulin requirements in individuals with type 1 diabetes. But what I find most remarkable is that benefits usually endured after the supplement was discontinued, suggesting that vanadyl sulfate has an ameliorating effect on the underlying diabetic condition.
So why do rumors of toxicity persist, despite the fact that vanadyl sulfate is, hands down, much safer than the scores of FDA-approved type 2 diabetes treatments? A cynic might say it’s because widespread use would cut into the enormous profits reaped by the pharmaceutical companies—not to mention that a number of vanadium compounds are in the pipeline. Whatever the reason, I stand by my recommendations for patients dealing with diabetes: 100–150 mg of vandyl sulfate daily along with other targeted nutrients, a low-glycemic diet, exercise after every meal, and weight loss. You can take it with confidence.
One of the most important things you can do to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes—as well as many of its complications—is to maintain a healthy weight.
Now, I’ll be the first to say that there are no “magic bullets” when it comes to weight loss. But there are some things you can do to improve your odds for success. Here’s one: keep a food diary.
Carefully documenting everything you eat and drink can result in double the weight loss you’d experience with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Researchers followed nearly 1,700 middle-aged study volunteers for six months. The participants were instructed to exercise more, attend group meetings, reduce their fat intake, and eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. They were also asked to keep food diaries.
Average weight loss for the whole group was about 13 pounds. But those people who wrote down what they were eating every day lost an average of 18 pounds, whereas their “non-journaling” counterparts lost an average of nine pounds. This makes perfect sense. Being forced to admit to yourself that you really did eat that entire tub of ice cream or indulge in snacks all day is often incentive enough to keep you from repeating similar indiscretions.
If you need to lose weight in order to manage diabetes, try this simple tip—and let me know how it works for you.
For most people with type 2 diabetes, getting a handle on weight is all it takes for blood sugar to normalize, complications to fade away, and overall health to rebound. But shedding those extra pounds isn’t easy—especially when many of the conventional treatments used to control blood sugar actually promote weight gain.
One of the worst offenders is insulin. Although it’s generally associated with type 1 diabetes, insulin is used by more than one in four people as a type 2 diabetes treatment. And, in most of those cases, it only makes things worse.
A patient of mine—let’s call him Bill—had type 2 diabetes for 10 years prior to seeking treatment at the Whitaker Wellness Institute. At the time he was diagnosed, Bill’s physician started him on an oral drug that stimulates insulin production. It worked for a while, but his blood sugar—and his weight—slowly began to increase. His doctor responded by upping his dosage. Again, his levels improved for a time, but eventually both his blood sugar and his waistline inched up.
Eventually Bill was no longer able to control his blood sugar with oral drugs, so his doctor prescribed a low dose of insulin. Over the next few years, his insulin dose was periodically ratcheted upward to keep pace with his rising blood sugar levels, and with every increase, he gained more and more weight. When I first saw Bill, he was taking 100 units of insulin daily and had put on 100 pounds!
A Vicious Cycle
Let me explain why patients like Bill find themselves in this predicament. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. In people with this condition, the beta cells in the pancreas make plenty of insulin—the hormone that moves glucose from the blood into the cells—but the cells are unresponsive to insulin’s actions. This leads to a rise in blood sugar. The pancreas responds by churning out more insulin, and the net result is elevated levels of both glucose and insulin.
Excess weight makes the problem worse. Adipose tissue (fat)—especially in the abdominal area—releases fatty acids that impair beta cell function and insulin sensitivity. It also produces immune cells that lead to chronic, low-grade inflammation. Inflammation, in turn, increases insulin resistance.
Fat cells also secrete hormones, one of them being leptin. Although leptin is best known for its role in regulating appetite and energy metabolism, researchers have discovered that it also has direct effects on insulin secretion and beta cell growth.
As if that weren’t enough, high levels of insulin themselves promote weight gain. That’s because insulin is the body’s primary fat-storage hormone—it ushers fat into the cells as well as glucose. So the higher your insulin level, the greater your potential weight gain.
Lose Weight, Lose Diabetes
The best way to break this cycle is to shed excess weight. For best results, cut out starches, sugars, and other high-glycemic carbohydrates; eat plenty of lean protein, vegetables, and fiber; and take a brisk, 10- to 15-minute walk after every meal. Nutritional supplements that enhance weight loss, help lower blood sugar, and protect against diabetic complications—such as alpha lipoic acid, chromium, cinnamon, and Gymnema sylvestre, to name a few—are also important.
Bill had great success with this natural diabetes treatment. It took several years, but he lost those 100 extra pounds, and he was able to control his blood sugar without any medication at all.
I'll admit, by now it's easy for me to say that preventing and beating diabetes is possible without drugs. I've seen it time and again. It inspires me to see it happen, but by now it doesn't surprise me.
I know that controlling diabetes naturally may not seem possible. Living with this condition -- or even just the threat of pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome -- is difficult. Your doctors may have told you it's too late, permanent, or something worse.
I'm here to tell you, they're wrong. You CAN do it. And all it takes for most people are two things: knowledge and commitment. Ok, if there's a third thing, it's inspiration.
I can give you the knowledge. The power of knowing what's possible is what launched
Health & Healing so many years ago. The commitment comes from you.
And to show you how making a commitment to lifestyle changes is one of the best ways to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes, here's a little inspiration, courtesy of a diabetes success story from Georgia newsletter subscriber J.D.:
“
Four and a half years ago, I was 43 and in the worst shape of my life. At 6’2” I weighed 310 pounds, and the only exercise I got was mowing my yard. I insisted on going out for a fast food lunch every day because I just ‘had to get out of the office,’ and those meals were usually ‘supersized’ so I could get as much food as possible for my money.
“I
already had hypertension and high cholesterol when a routine physical found a fasting blood sugar of 160, and I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Fortunately for me, my doctor gave me an ultimatum: I could either lose weight or I would have to go on medication for the rest of my life. My wife was determined that I would not take any drugs.
We checked out Dr. Whitaker’s book,
Reversing Diabetes,
and began utilizing many of his techniques. I started exercising and our whole family changed lifestyles.
“
Today, four years later, I have lost over 100 pounds and it has stayed off. I have never taken medication for diabetes, and my cholesterol and blood pressure are also under control. I walk four miles, four days a week, and climb Stone Mountain two days a week. I feel better than I have in years.”
J.D. ends his letter with this. “
I think the secret is that you have to decide that this is not just a ‘diet’ but rather a lifestyle change. You also need the support and encouragement of your family and friends.”
J.D. was lucky to have a doctor who told it like it was and a helpful wife. If you don’t have that support, create it. Find a new doctor, join an exercise group, keep reading this blog, enroll in a weight loss program—the possibilities are endless.
Just keep your eye on your goal and remember this: changing your diet or exercising may seem difficult, but it’s easier than dealing with the inevitable complications of diabetes down the line.
I don't need regression analysis, statistical modeling or a supercomputer to know that the incidence of diabetes and blood sugar concerns is skyrocketing across the United States.
I only need to review the number of questions I get about living with diabetes, or respond to the many emails I get each day seeking natural treatments, herbal remedies, or recipes to deal with diabetes.
Considering the complications of untreated diabetes, and the costs to the country in rising healthcare premiums if this epidemic of diabetes goes unchecked, it's good to know that many
natural diabetes treatments do exist. If you're dealing with diabetes or blood sugar concerns, you should know that living with diabetes is not only possible, but so is beating it. And Dr. Whitaker's
diabetes success stories prove it.
But what does an epidemic look like? That's where the
stats and models come in (just flip through the next few slides and watch).
The picture isn't pretty. It's like flood waters pouring across the country, without much high ground to run to.
I'm not sure what the secret is in Colorado, which fares better than most states. I suppose the average Colorado resident is more active than the average American.
If skiing is a way to prevent diabetes naturally, sign me up!
As the General Manager of Forward Nutrition, I'm constantly reading and researching about supplements and health, particularly when it involves diabetes. Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome are huge problems that are only getting worse in this country, and natural treatments for diabetes don't get nearly the attention they deserve.
This article from the April 2009 issue of Nutritional Outlook (ok, I'm a little behind) is too good not to share.
Entitled "Understanding a Silent Killer," this is must reading if you're at all concerned about diabetes, maintaining or managing blood sugar, or seeking natural, safe treatments to treat Type 2 diabetes.
Among the natural treatments for diabetes care discussed are alpha-lipoic acid, dietary fiber, gymnema sylvestre and chromium. These nutrients have been shown repeatedly to help manage blood sugar, control blood sugar spikes, and reduce sugar cravings and mood swings.
Alpha-lipoic acid doesn't just improve insulin sensitivity, but also protects against diabetic complications like peripheral nerve pain. It's one of the best natural diabetes treatments, and it also helps your body utilize the other antioxidants you take, like vitamins C and E.
Here's a simple recipe for preventing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease: pour glass of tomato juice. Drink. Repeat.
Metabolic Syndrome -- which for many is the first step towards obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease -- may be prevented by upping your antioxidant carotenoid levels, according to a recent study from the University Medical Center Ulrecht in The Netherlands.
In the study published in the Journal of Nutrition, Dutch scientists report that those with the highest carotenoid levels had a 58 percent decreased incidence of Metabolic Syndrome, drastically reducing their future risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Higher levels of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin, were associated with smaller waist size and less body fat, as well as lower triglyceride levels. Waist size above 40" in men (35" in women) and increased triglyceride levels are two major signs and symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome.
The highest levels of protection seem to come from lycopene and beta-carotene, with lycopene in particular associated with a 45 percent lower incidence of the syndrome.
Clearly if you're looking for a new diabetes treatment or a simple lifestyle change for better health, getting more lycopene in your diet is a healthy place to start. Lycopene, which is abundant in tomato juice and widely available in supplement form, not only lowers your risk of diabetes, heart attack and diseases of the prostate, lung, colon, stomach, and pancreas, but studies have also found it can significantly decrease exercise-induced asthma too.
Metabolic Syndrome is particularly dangerous because so many have it and don't even realize it. As many as 75 million Americans have the risk factors associated with Metabolic Syndrome (also known as "Syndrome X") which include low HDL cholesterol, high fasting blood glucose levels and blood pressure above 135/85.
Taking steps to manage blood sugar and reduce weight can not only prevent Metabolic Syndrome, but the more serious Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems that so often follow behind it.
Who knew that an alternative treatment for diabetes could be as close as your next V-8? Just make it the low sodium variety, please.
The connection between exercise and diabetes treatment and prevention is not exactly new news, but this is: a new study shows that less than 10 minutes a week may actually be enough to make a difference!
Researchers studying Type 2 diabetes at Scotland's Heriot-Watt University assigned 16 subjects in their 20s to very short exercise sessions, lasting only 30-seconds each. In addition to a set of 4-6 sprints, subjects drank a 75 gram glucose solution, to determine how long blood sugar and insulin levels remained elevated, and the impact of intense exercise on glucose control.
The result: after only two weeks, blood sugar levels decreased 12 percent, and the duration of elevated blood sugar decreased 37 percent.
While we all know exercise has tremendous benefits -- not just to manage diabetes and control blood sugar, but to treat and prevent heart disease and boost overall health -- we still come up with excuses not to do it.
Exercise dramatically improves diabetes and insulin resistance. It actually acts like insulin -- exercising muscles take up glucose. Furthermore, the benefits are lasting because exercise increases insulin sensitivity.
Exercise also helps you lose weight, key to managing diabetes and blood sugar control. In an NIH study, regular exercise (just 30 minutes, five days a week) and a low-fat diet resulted in an average sustained weight loss of 10-15 pounds. This alone can prevent or reverse diabetes.
Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming --what you do doesn't matter as long as you actually do it. Dr. Whitaker recommends you aim for at least 30 minutes, five days a week, and if you can add a session or two of weight training, so much the better.
But this new research shows that even a few sprints around the block, a quick bike ride or a run up a hill or set of stairs can deliver lasting health benefits too.
No excuses -- start moving. I'll race ya!
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