ONE physician I follow fairly regularly is Dr. Mercola. He always has interesting things to say, and his views are often controversial. Still, he is smart and is worth paying attention to.
What Mercola says may be important to the diabetics in the commonwealth. As always, check with your physician. A link to the full report is at the end of this story.
Dr. Mercola writes:
“In the United States, nearly 80 million people, one in four, has some form of diabetes or pre-diabetes. Worse, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes among children and teens has skyrocketed.
“The most recent data reveals that, between 2001 and 2009, incidence of type 1 diabetes among children under the age of 19 rose by 21 percent. Incidence of type 2 diabetes among children aged 10-19 rose by 30 percent during that same timeframe.
Conventional medicine has it wrong
“Statistics such as these point to two very important facts. First, it tells us that diabetes cannot be primarily caused by genetics, and secondly, it suggests that something we’re doing — consistently and en masse — is wrong, and we need to address it.
“In this case, that “something” is a seriously flawed diet and lack of physical activity.
“Conventional medicine has type 2 diabetes pegged as a problem with blood sugar rather than the underlying problem of improper insulin and leptin signaling. The reality is that diabetes is a disease rooted in insulin resistance and perhaps more importantly, a malfunction of leptin signaling, caused by chronically elevated insulin and leptin levels.
“This is why the medical community’s approach to its treatment is not getting anywhere. Treating type 2 diabetes with insulin is actually one of the worst things you can do.
“Recent research has come to the same conclusions that Dr. Ron Rosedale warned us about nearly a decade ago, which is that treating type 2 diabetes with insulin can lead to the development of type 1 diabetes.
“And, not only are conventionally trained doctors wrong about the cause of the disease, but they continue to pass along seriously flawed nutritional information as well, which allows the disease to increase to epidemic proportions.
“A study published in the June 30, 2014 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine concluded what Dr. Rosedale has been saying for two decades, that insulin therapy in type 2 diabetic patients may indeed do more harm than good.
“‘In the U.S., type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when hemoglobin A1c levels reach 6.5 percent or higher. The higher A1c levels are, the greater the risk of other health problems. Sometimes the condition can be managed through changes in diet, but other patients with type 2 diabetes may need medication — such as insulin or metformin — to help lower their blood sugar levels, and ultimately, reduce the risk of complications.’
“But the researchers of this latest study claim that the benefits of such treatment — particularly for people over the age of 50 — may not always outweigh the negatives.
“‘In many cases, insulin treatment may not do anything to add to the person’s quality life expectancy,’ says study co-author John S. Yudkin. ‘If people feel that insulin therapy reduces their quality of life by anything more than around 3-4 percent, this will outweigh any potential benefits gained by treatment in almost anyone with type 2 diabetes over 50 years old.’
“A growing body of research suggests there is a powerful connection between your diet and your risk of both Alzheimer’s disease and glaucoma via similar pathways that cause type 2 diabetes. Alzheimer’s disease was tentatively dubbed ‘type 3 diabetes’ in early 2005 when researchers learned that the pancreas is not the only organ that produces insulin. Your brain also produces insulin, and it is necessary for the survival of your brain cells.
“A drop in insulin production in your brain may contribute to the degeneration of your brain cells. Studies have shown that people with lower levels of insulin and insulin receptors in their brain often have Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers have now discovered that insulin does far more than simply regulating blood sugar. Your brain does not require glucose, and actually functions better burning alternative fuels, especially ketones. In fact, Dr. Rosedale believes that it is the constant burning by the brain of glucose that is primarily to blame for Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders.
“Insulin is actually a ‘master multitasker’ that helps with neuron glucose-uptake, and the regulation of neurotransmitters, like acetylcholine, which are crucial for memory and learning. This is why reducing the level of insulin in your brain impairs your cognition. Other research shows that type 2 diabetics lose more brain volume with age than expected. This kind of brain atrophy is yet another contributing factor for dementia. ‘Brain diabetes’ may also be responsible for glaucoma, according to a report by Medical News Today.
“The recent paper titled ‘Glaucoma: diabetes of the brain - a radical hypothesis about its nature and pathogenesis,’ published in Medical Hypotheses explores glaucoma and related neurodegenerative diseases from many perspectives and comes up with a multifaceted and internally coherent concept of glaucoma being ‘the diabetes of the brain.’
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that the same pathological process that leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes may also hold true for your brain. As you over-indulge on sugar and grains, your brain becomes overwhelmed by the consistently high levels of glucose and insulin that blunts its insulin signaling, leading to impairments in your thinking and memory abilities, possibly causing brain damage.
“Additionally, when your liver is busy processing fructose (which your liver turns into fat), it severely hampers its ability to make cholesterol, an essential building block of your brain that is crucial for optimal brain function. Indeed, mounting evidence supports the notion that significantly reducing fructose consumption is a very important step you can take to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”
Because we have many diabetics in the commonwealth, some of whom may be interested in reading the full text of Dr. Mercola’s article, visit www.mercola.com The diabetes article is right at the top of the home page.
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