Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Another study, involving more than a million people and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2004, found that men with the highest fasting blood sugar levels (greater than 140 mg/dl) were 29 percent more likely to die of cancer than those with blood sugar levels of 90 mg/dl or less. The association was strongest for pancreatic cancer. High blood sugar (greater than 125 mg/dl) almost doubled the risk for men and more than doubled the risk for women. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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 Even slight fluctuations in blood sugar levels can very quickly produce these vision changes. If you do have diabetes, these color vision distortions can make it very difficult for you to monitor your blood sugar levels using color-coded urine test strips. So this is yet another reason to say no to cake.
WARNING SIGN
It's not unusual for athletes with diabetes to experience vivid color vision ifjfe changes after strenuous practice sessions or games. This can be a very early warning sign of diabetic eye disease. |
Dr. Sharon Moalem
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 A study of285,705 American veterans with diabetes measured seasonal differences in their blood sugar levels. Sure enough, the veterans' blood sugar levels climbed dramatically in the colder months and bottomed out during the summer. More telling, the contrast between summer and winter was even more pronounced in those who lived in colder climates, with greater differences in seasonal temperature. Diabetes, it seems, has some deep connection to the cold. we don't know enough today to state with certainty that the predisposition to Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes is related to human cold response. |
Hyla Cass, M.D.
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 At this point, some glucose will be carried into the cells, and the high blood sugar levels will come down toward normal. This is why insulin resistance can continue for some time without causing any symptoms; the insulin response rises in intensity in order to maintain more or less normal blood sugar levels. Weight gain, caused by the body's natural response to high levels of insulin, may be the only sign for a long while. You may just think that you're taking in too many calories, not getting enough exercise, and just plain getting older. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 There are also ways that you can manipulate your own blood sugar levels through activities:
There are really two things that you can do as a human being to lower this blood sugar once it's spiked. First, you can burn it off by using it to contract your muscles -- so if you happen to be running a marathon at the same moment that you drank a soft drink, then the marathon effort will probably counteract the high blood sugar effect of the soft drink. |
| If you're exercising, that will help lower blood sugar levels automatically, or if your glycogen levels are low, your body will first try to store glycogen. But again, most people are not exercising, and their glycogen levels are already topped out, so when they consume sugars, they are directly promoting the creation of body fat.
In the third part of this article, we'll talk about how dietary sugars cause adult-onset diabetes, and we'll present strategies for both preventing and reversing diabetes. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| Another study, involving more than a million people and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2004, found that men with the highest fasting blood sugar levels (greater than 140 mg/dl) were 29 percent more likely to die of cancer than those with blood sugar levels of 90 mg/dl or less. The association was strongest for pancreatic cancer. High blood sugar (greater than 125 mg/dl) almost doubled the risk for men and more than doubled the risk for women. |
Bill Sardi
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 Ely found that patients in remission from tumors have lower blood sugar levels. [Integrative Cancer Therapy 4: 25-31, 2005]
Dr. Ely and colleagues went on to conduct an animal test. Mice were placed on three different diets designed to produce different blood sugar levels and then injected with highly aggressive breast tumor cells. Seventy days later 16 of 24 mice on a high sugar diet had succumbed to cancer, 8 of 24 mice on a normal sugar diet died and only 1 of 20 mice on a low-sugar diet died. [Biochemistry Biophysical Research Communications 132:1174-79, 1985]
Dr. |
| However, upon further investigation, we find that high blood sugar levels are often manifested in cancer patients. High sugar diets are associated with the risk of getting cancer. But what about surviving cancer? Can cancer patients eat refined sugars without regard that this may cause tumors to grow faster? Dr. John T. Ely of the University of Washington decided to test whether sugar abets tumor growth. Dr. Ely found that patients in remission from tumors have lower blood sugar levels. [Integrative Cancer Therapy 4: 25-31, 2005]
Dr. Ely and colleagues went on to conduct an animal test. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Men who had fasting blood sugar levels at the high end of normal—95 to 99 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood—had approximately three times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes as men who had blood sugar levels that were less than 81 mg/dL.
Men who had other risk factors, such as obesity, as well as high-normal blood glucose readings were even more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 In either case, the result is that blood sugar levels remain high; sugar spills into the urine, and many complications can develop in the body from the abnormal blood sugar levels.
There are two types of diabetes. The first is called type I, insulin-dependent, or juvenile-onset diabetes. It usually begins in childhood and develops very quickly. Type I diabetics, who account for only ten percent of the diabetes population, usually have reduced numbers of active beta cells in the pancreas; those are the cells responsible for the production and secretion of insulin. |
| Insulin serves two purposes: it lowers blood sugar levels and increases the availability of sugar for normal cell functioning. Normally after a meal, complex carbohydrates are digested and absorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream in the form of glucose and other simple sugars. This resulting rise in blood sugar causes the pancreas to secrete insulin, which encourages the transportation of sugar from the blood into the cells. As blood sugar levels fall, blood insulin levels return to the pre-meal state.
Things happen differently for diabetics. |
Hyla Cass
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| At this point, some glucose will be carried into the cells, and the high blood sugar levels will come down toward normal. This is why insulin resistance can continue for some time without causing any symptoms; the insulin response rises in intensity in order to maintain more or less normal blood sugar levels. Weight gain, caused by the body's natural response to high levels of insulin, may be the only sign for a long while. You may just think that you're taking in too many calories, not getting enough exercise, and just plain getting older. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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 Agrimony is known to cleanse and strengthen the liver, help regulate the heartbeat, and lower blood sugar levels. It is used in treatments for asthma, bladder irritation, bronchitis, cancer, coughs, cystitis, diarrhea, dysentery, incontinence, kidney stones, laryngitis, sore throat, and trichomonas. In Chinese medicine agrimony is used to mitigate excessive menstrual flow.
Recent research has shown that agrimony can increase blood coagulation when used as a wash for wounds. It is also useful as a topical wash in treatments for bruises, sore muscles, sprains, hives, and eye ailments. |
Herbert Ross, DC with Keri Brenner, L.Ac.
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 It can also result in food addictions, a vicious cycle of bingeing on sugary foods or beverages and foods that contain caffeine, that keeps blood sugar levels and sleep patterns out of balance. Food allergies are also implicated in promoting food addictions and often are found in children with obstructive sleep apnea.
Seemingly relaxing substances, such as alcohol and nicotine, also impair the ability to sleep deeply and continuously through the night. Nicotine is actually a stimulant, similar to caffeine. |
Jack Challem
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 Such processing and refining reduce the amount of neuronutrients in foods and increase the amount of rapidly digested sugars and carbohydrates—changes that play havoc with our blood sugar levels and our moods.
What do I mean by processing and refining? An apple is an unrefined food. When it's made into applesauce, much of the fiber is broken down, so our bodies absorb the sugars faster in a way that's more likely to cause a diabetic-like glucose spike. During the processing of applesauce, levels of vitamin C and other nutrients decrease. |
| It's also important to understand that our moods are affected by many other nutritional factors besides blood sugar levels. Virtually every vitamin and mineral has an impact on our brain function, but some nutrients have particularly powerful effects. Low levels of these important neuronutrients reduce the brain's production of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters.
Nutrition, Health, and Mood
One difficulty in the field of nutrition is that many consequences of poor eating habits take years to appear. |
Ray D. Strand
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 James O'Keefe stated: "Therapeutic efforts in patients with diabetes have focused predominantly on normalizing increased blood sugar levels while often ignoring many of these other modifiable risks, which are caused by the underlying insulin resistance."7
This accounts, in part, for the fact that 80 percent of diabetics still die of cardiovascular disease.8 I maintain that treatment of the underlying cause of most diabetes, insulin resistance, is a much better way to confront and control diabetes. |
| First, we need to pay more attention to insulin resistance, the underlying problem in the overwhelming majority of cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and not simply focus on treating blood sugar levels (see box). Second, we need to aggressively encourage lifestyle changes that will improve insulin sensitivity. I strongly believe that in type 2 diabetes mellitus, physicians should rely on medication as a last resort.
Doctors Are Treating the Wrong Thing
In a review article for the Mayo Clinic, Or. |
| In order for the body to control the blood sugar levels, the pancreas needs to put out higher levels of insulin. It is these elevated levels of insulin that cause the destructive metabolic changes associated with Syndrome X.
How Do You Know If You Have Syndrome X?
Most physicians do not routinely request blood insulin levels for their patients. But there is a simple (although indirect) way to see if you may be developing Syndrome X or insulin resistance. |
| In other words our bodies respond to increasing blood sugar levels by forcing the beta cells of the pancreas to produce more insulin in order to control our blood sugars.
Individuals with insulin resistance need more and more insulin as the years go by to keep their blood sugars normal. Although these elevated insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) are effective in controlling our blood sugars, they also may lead to some serious health problems. Below is a list of harmful effects elevated insulin levels cause. These are the problems that constitute what Dr. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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| It fights infection, helps make coughs more productive, and helps stabilize blood sugar levels. It was used by Native Americans of northern North America as a preventive and treatment for cancer, and it is still used for that purpose today. |
Jack Challem
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| Eating Habits
Maintaining stable blood sugar levels and reducing overall anxiety levels will help to lessen obsessive-compulsive behavior. Therefore, follow my eating plan in chapter 5. Emphasize protein-rich foods and high-fiber vegetables, while avoiding fast foods and sugary foods. It's especially important to give up coffee and alcohol.
Helpful Supplements
B-complex vitamins. Researchers recently reported that obsessive-compulsive behavior was strongly associated with high blood levels of homocysteine, a marker of low folic acid intake. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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| It governs the anterior pituitary gland, liver, pancreas, sciatic nerve (the largest nerve in the body), arteries of the abdomen and legs, subcutaneous fat tissue, adrenal glands, kidneys, spleen, immune system, fibrin and oxygen levels in the blood, blood sugar levels, buttocks, genitals, feet, lungs, right ear, and semen.
Jupiter takes twelve years to travel through the Zodiac, so it is represented by long-living perennial plants. Jupiter governs large forest trees that bear catkins and represent the ability to grow in stature and understanding. |
Jack Challem
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| Eating a high-protein breakfast, such as eggs, results in improved blood sugar levels and fewer feelings of hunger by lunchtime.
Dosage: It is a good practice to eat a little high-quality protein with every meal, when you feel that your mood is deteriorating, or when you need a mental energy boost. One of the fastest ways to improve your mood is to eat some protein, such as a couple of slices of deli turkey and cheese.
Arginine
Principal use: To treat anxiety and erectile dysfunction. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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| It tonifies the lungs, spleen, and chi, increases the body's production of phagocytes, and nourishes the blood, increasing the red blood cell count and blood sugar levels. It also nourishes the entire body, particularly for those who are exhausted and wasting away, suffering from chronic illness, or recovering from surgery or childbirth. It helps the body clear excess phlegm and improves the resiliency of the skin. It is also said to promote weight loss. |
| Although fenugreek can be used to lower blood sugar levels, diabetics should use it for this purpose only with guidance from a qualified health-care practitioner.
Range and Appearance
Fenugreek, an annual native to western Asia and the Middle East, grows to about 1 to 2 feet in height and resembles a large clover. The flowers are trifoliate and toothed; the flowers, which grow in the leaf axils, have a yellow-violet corolla. The brownish seeds are contained in long, narrow, sickle-shaped pods. Each seed is oblong, with a deep furrow dividing it into two unequal lobes. |
| One of its constituents, the alkaloid trigonelline, has been shown to help lower blood sugar levels. Wood betony is used in the treatment of alcoholism, allergies, anxiety, asthma, catarrh, colic, diarrhea, dyspepsia, drunkenness, edema, exhaustion, fear, flatulence, gout, headache, head cold, hearing loss, heartburn, hyperactivity, hypertension, hysteria, indigestion, insomnia, kidney dysfunction, migraine, neuralgia, nightmares, rheumatism, sore throat, stress, varicose veins, vertigo, worms, and worry.
Topically, wood betony can be applied to wounds to stop bleeding and prevent scarring. |
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