Re: Digest Number 1382
Please,Can I get an opionion from the group.Would you say it is better to be
on Insulin & a drug like metoformin? are is it better to be on three different
oral pills? for high sugars…..Just wondering since my doctor is deciding
maybe to put me on insulin????????My bgs are running like 160 in the morning.My
level last tests two months ago was 7.9 .Triglycerides 239 cholestrol 238
lipids141what do you think????????Thanks for input…Debra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
August 17th, 2006 at 8:17 am
You have almost the exact numbers I started with in April 2005:-)
Identical glucose and A1c readings - also v high lipids.
Mine are way better now.
My choice was strict very low carb diet and fast acting insulin- no
other drugs. I learned how much insulin for how many carbs *for ME* (by
experiment with my glucose meter) and once I knew the amount, I took it
15 mins before eating. (Till I knew my needs I took it after eating.)
I ate so I never needed more than 4 units for a meal, preferably 2
units or no units.
When I could I did 20 mins exercise if I ate significant carbs at a
meal so I did not need insulin.
Typical:
Breakfast: steak, eggs, mushroom, green peppers, onion, tomato, green tea.
Lunch: Salmon burger, cheese on top, egg on top again and asparagus and
nuts.
Exercise: Fruit before exercise.
Supper: Meat curry with kohlrabi and spinach, nuts and a few squares of
dark chocolate, maybe half a glass of red wine.
ZERO: soy, bread, pasta, rice, pork, fat that comes with meat, saturated
fat, trans fat, oils other than extra virgin olive.
Supplements: 4 caps Fish oil, EV olive oil at EVERY meal/snack.
Also a homeopathic remedy individually selected for me.
Now I have BP 102/78, trigs 35, HDl 76, LDL 98., A1C 5.3.
And I seldom need any insulin, only if I want to indulge. Today was that
way: 2.5 cookies, 2 biscuits with jam, and 2 slices bread today - needed
2 units twice.
(That would have been unthinkable to eat when I started, I’d have needed
15 units.)
Best book that helped me: Dr Bernstein’s Diabetes solution.
(unbeatable for getting you healthy again and telling you how to use
insulin and/or meds and diet).
Namaste,
Irene
August 18th, 2006 at 2:24 am
Debra,
There is an article in the file section of this group called "Diabetes
Deception." I highly recommend this article. Gives a powerful
persective why you do not want to add insulin to your current program,
but you do want to change your diet and lifestyle. Really great info.
All the best to you,
Brock
August 18th, 2006 at 6:12 am
Hi Debra,
I would suggest that you absolutely do not add insulin. Your doctor
probably knows how much insulin that you are producing and I am
betting, like most Type 2 diabetics, you are producing excess insulin,
it is just not lowering the blood sugar. The issue for type 2’s is
insulin sensitivity amongst a host of other issues. The addition of
insulin can cause your body to shut down it’s own natural production
of insulin, making you a type 1 diabetic over time. Better to be
type2 than type 1.
How about no insulin and no more oral drugs? Read Dr Robert Young’s
book: The PH miracle for Diabetes. This book came out in the summer
of 2005 and had startling results, especially for type 2 diabetics.
In his Type 2 test group, 100% were off all medication in 90 days or
less. Most in the first 2 weeks.
Young’s ideas are low carbohydrate, like Bernstein’s, but there are
substantial differences. Young select’s foods which are highly
alkalizing and he also advocates supplements that increase insulin
sensitiviy. The only meat he advocates is fish. Young outlines foods
that are alkalizing and those that cause acidic residue in the body.
He centers on this concept of reducing acid food intake and reducing
stored acids in the body. When this occurs that blood sugar naturally
stabilizes itself. There is more detail as to why this occurs, so I
suggest you read it and get the most out of it.
All the best,
Brock
August 19th, 2006 at 1:00 am
Wait a bit!!! that is VERY misleading.
All type 2 diabetics have a damaged pancreas which can not store insulin
at all.
Some of them make some insulin but none of them STORE insulin as a
normal person does in anticipation of a meal needing it.
So that means that after ANY diabetic eats a meal, there is all this
sugar in the blood and no insulin to handle it. [A normal person STORES
insulin in the pancreas, and it is released into the blood as soon as
the saliva hits a molecule of starch and sends the message.]
Type 2 diabetics have to find insulin somewhere for this sugar from a meal.
Being insulin resistant does not mean there is *available* insulin for
the meal. It just means that if you make insulin in response to a meal
(Assuming the pancreas is still able to manufacture some as most type
2’s can) then there will be a delay in producing it. During that delay,
the blood sugar will be high and doing damage and causing worse insulin
resistance.
It is SUGAR - not insulin - which causes insulin resistance. The
muscles shut down their doors to the overload of sugar - so that insulin
can only store sugar as fat - not for energy in the muscles.
Metformin tries to improve the accessibility of muscle doors for dumping
sugar - but it can not improve insulin availability to do it. so there
will still be a sugar load after eating that tends to increase the
potential damage to the body.
If you take insulin shots instead (or as well) you can manage them well
or poorly.
If you manage them WELL - then you will eat very few carbohydrates and
need very little insulin after a meal. That will IMMEDIATELY drop the
sugar levels so the body is NOt exposed to excess sugars as with drugs
alone. After a while on this strategy, the body "sees" that it is no
longer overloaded with sugar and the muscles start to re-open for business.
If you manage your insulin shots POORLY - then you eat as many carbs
as you feel like, and take HUGE loads of insulin so as to dump all the
carbs as fat. You will now have high loads of insulin in your blood
often - and that is as damaging as high loads of sugar.
So whatever your choice in this - it has to do with being responsible
about what your body is going to get flooded with - sugar or insulin or
both or neither.
MY choice was not to use drugs but to use insulin minimally.
So I ate a very low carb diet and took a small amount of insulin 15 mins
before the meal - 2 to 4 units only - of fast acting insulin.
I started this in April last year and today I do no longer need insulin.
Also my insulin resistance is gone. My insulin was high at 48, and is
now bottom-normal range at 7. The reason is that I made SURE my body was
NOT swimming in blood sugar after meals. I knocked that sugar out - what
little I ate - immediately - not after an hour or whatever.
I timed it so the insulin peak and the sugar peak coincided. (Dr
Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution book tells how)
My pancreas has improved enough so I no longer need the insulin,
provided I keep to a low carb diet, and it is not as low as it was.It
will continue to improve…
The point is that if you use insulin with good discipline it is FAR
better than the drug approach for type 2s. Metformin can only improve
insulin sensitivity (and give you a bog tummy ache as a side effect). It
does NOT remove the sugar after meals that causes damage.
Insulin needs very careful management used this way. If you goof up you
need to know how to detect and fix hypoglycemia VERY fast. So it takes
practice with a glucometer, and always carry a candy bar or some such
for emergency. (Again all explained in the book mentioned.)
So that’s why I say it is misleading to say insulin is a bad idea. It
depends how it is used.
This pardon me is total baloney.
The way IU described using it, it does the opposite. My body is now
making MORE insulin than before, so I no longer need the shots of insulin.
It is drugs that can cause you to lose what pancreas function you have
left, not insulin!!! You have it backwards with respect.
The worst drugs are the sulfonylureas - they are pancreas stimulators -
they thrash an overworked pancreas into making a last ditch effort to
make more. It works a short while as the last of the beta cells are
burned out - PERMANENTLY Ethical doctors no longer prescribe
sulfonylurea drugs now but there are not that many ethical diabetes
doctors who keep up with this.
The insulin approach I used, gives the pancreas the necessary rest to
enable it to heal and get back into production. Insulin is NOT in a
feedback loop to do with stopping internal production and causing
atrophy due to external supply. That applies to some body functions
(cortisone for example and thyroid hormone) but not insulin.
> How about no insulin and no more oral drugs?
That’s where I am now.
I used a VERY low carb diet, and fast acting insulin shots to get there.
Took 8 months. And I am still improving. I can eat a low carb diet now,
it need not be very low. (Today I binged on 6 choc chip cookies and 2
slices of bread for example with no insulin needed, and no glucose over
98 at any time.)
Sounds like the Perricone approach in "The Perricone weight loss diet"
which is based on being anti-inflammatory. PErricone had advised
anti-inflammatory eating for years. I first got one of his books in
2002. But I eat a lot of beef, just without the fat. The fat is the
inflammatory part, not the meat.
> Young outlines foods
> that are alkalizing and those that cause acidic residue in the body.
Perricone goes with anti-inflammatory foods and anti-oxidants.
pH is part of an anti-inflammatory approach. But if you use the
anti-inflammatory rather than pH approach - your options are wider and
you can then afford to tune it better to include anti-inflammatory blood
type compatible options. It’s not only pH that affects inflammation.
Blood type antigens do and saturated fats do, trans fats do, the wrong
ratio of fatty acids does - etc.
Namaste,
Irene
August 20th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
Awful isn’t it:-(
I’m sorry about your late friend - truly a sad story.
I think doctors need to stress more that insulin is not there to "cover"
scads of inappropriate inflammatory carb foods.
Great!!!!!!
Namaste,
Irene
August 25th, 2006 at 2:02 am
When we are talking about a way of curing diabetes, the addition of
oral diabetic agents or the addition of insulin are both drugs. While
they may stabilize the blood sugar for a time, allowing for the body
to stabilize itself and even temporarily right itself, the underlying
problems still exist, leaving the patient on the edge of diabetes if
not fully in diabetes.
Dr Bernstein has done a lot to show that a low carbohydrate diet will
have definite positive effects on a diabetic. Bernstein does not show
the type of cure rate or patient success that Dr Robert Young shows.
The proof I believe is in the results. Bernsteins success with
diabetics is beyond all of his peer endocrinologists.(ie excellent)
Young’s success appears to go a step further.
While Thomas Smith’s "Diabetes Deception" article is not the typical
information available, he raises some interesting ideas about the
types of fats that are consumed in the standard american diet and the
effects these have on blood sugar metabolism. Young also concurs that
diabetics, both type 1 and type 2, have problems with the fats they
absorb. He also advocates the addition of healthy fats to the diet.
Irene’s diet has done great things for her and is well worth
considering and trying. The changes to her diet that Young would make
would be less meat because of the acidic ash that all meats leave
(even low fat meat), more greens, more fats in the form of avocadoes,
etc. His type 2’s get off all drugs fast…a few days to a couple of
weeks. Pretty simple. A long term view of Young’s patients would be
useful. Currently the University of Miami is supposed to be doing a
study on humans following his protocol.
As for what we know about Diabetes…that is a good question. We
learn new things every year that shows us what we previously believed
was incorrect. For example the destruction of beta cells was thought
to be an irreversible event. Now we know that the body continues to
create new beta cells, the body just continues to kill them off. Why
is this? Theories abound. Definitive answers do not exist.
As for Type 2 diabetes, there are so many ways that have been used to
get a person off of all medications that it seems foolish to even
think of utilizing drugs. The use of herbs, minerals, vitamins,
exercise, dietary modification have all been shown to be highly
successful at eliminating type 2 diabetes. It is a rare Type 2
diabetic that will not respond to a comprehensive program. The
problem I believe is our current lifestyle and diet.
The anti-inflammatory diet that Irene mentions is I believe quite
important. Perricone advocates this diet and Young advocates a
similar type of diet, Young just pays closer attention to the
neutralization of acids in the body with alkaline foods and alkalizing
supplements. When the body is not inflamed by foods, and other things
like stress, etc, the body heals itself faster. It is in effect
giving the body a rest, allowing it to heal itself. The great natural
healers, Christopher and Schulze also advocate this type of diet, only
to a more extreme degree (no meat, little to no cooked anything, lots
of juicing, lots of sprouts, herbs, herbal teas, exercise, stress
reduction, laughter, rest, and more) They were quite successful with
curing diabetes (and most other diseases) using these protocols.
Schulze says that diabetes is a disease of the fork. (what you eat) I
agree, but also feel it is a disease of what you absorb. Most
diabetics have vitamin and mineral deficiencies that non-diabetics do
not have. Likely this is why the live foods diet that is advocated to
cure diabetes works so well.
If I knew for sure, I would tell, I just don’t.
All the best,
Brock
August 25th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
According to?
I have the BErnstein book and it does not mention data towards a
competition in this?
I have not found any unsuccessful Bernstein clients???? You found them
where?
Namaste,
Irene
August 26th, 2006 at 10:37 am
brock694 wrote:
> Irene’s diet has done great things for her and is well worth
> considering and trying.
Well, the principles I use may be worth trying but MY diet will work
only for me:-)) Every person needs to customize their diet to have
success. Some of my diet principles however are:
* Eat only foods that are anti-inflammatory.
(Books by Perricone)
* Eat one’s PERSONAL ideal ratio of protein, good fat and carb.
(Personal research to discover this, and when in doubt more protein less
carb.)
* Eat according to blood type.
(D’Adamo’s books)
* Eat at least 7 flavours per meal.
(so as to feel satisfied)
* Use supplements for weight-loss resistance if you have that.
(Perricone books describe)
* Eat every 3 hours.
(so as to maintain level blood sugars and not develop food cravings)
> The changes to her diet that Young would make
> would be less meat
No can do. In my case that would cause weight gain from catabolism where
one pound of muscle converts to 5 or 6 pounds of INFLAMMATORY fat
tissue. Fat tissue is very active in making MORE inflammatory tissues
and so the whole principle of an anti-inflammatory system is blown out
the window.
Young needs to read up on D’Adamo’s work to understand this properly.
> because of the acidic ash that all meats leave
> (even low fat meat),
This is overcome by eating anti-inflammatory foods, spices and herbs
that are loaded with anti-oxidants to more than make up for the tiny bit
of ash
> more greens,
No. More greens would unbalance my protien/fat/carb ratio. I eat the
equivalent of a large bag of frozen spinach (6 cups) per day and that is
enough. I use dandelions, kohlrabi, beet greens, green peppers,
asparagus etc - not all spinach. Also eat a lot of spices, herbs, tomato
and onion.
> more fats in the form of avocadoes,
I use extra virgin olive oil art every meal, and a mix of walnuts,
hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds and almonds, supplements of blackcurrant oil
(for GLA), and fish oil. Also almond butter.
I do not use ANY other fats. (Avocado does not agree with me.) However
from these good fats I get 45% of my day’s calories from fat and Young
is wrong to suggest I need MORE fats!
> etc. His type 2’s get off all drugs fast…a few days to a couple of
> weeks.
Well in my case since you are using it as an example, I started with
uncontrolled diabetes for 7 years with serious effects ranging from
heart attacks (several), kidney damage, vision problems, glaucoma,
peripheral artery disease and neuropathy - and a pancreas not making any
insulin to speak of. I ate low carb instinctively, but had not been
diagnosed.
On diagnosis I followed Bernstein, used fast acting insulin 5 units
per day only - and no other drugs. First week my fasting glucose went
from 200 down to 136, 2nd week it was 110, third week under 100. After 6
months I had removed the PAD, repaired the severe kidney damage so now
ALl readings are normal, no more neuropathy, dropped the insulin, got
weaker glasses, no more glaucoma, no more PAD, no more heart attacks,
excellent lipid profile with HDL 79, trigs 35 etc, BP 102/78 and I have
added a slice of bread a day to my diet - and I NEVER go over 110 even
after meals.
I should add - I Do still use insulin if I go to a party where I do not
have control of what’s served and I wish to indulge:-) I never use more
than 4 units on such a day.
I think my results are okay don’t you?
Give me another year or so and I won’t have diabetes any more.
> Pretty simple.
I know I would not have done better on the ideas from Young like less
meat or more greens. To repair kidneys and arteries and eyes etc takes
HUGE amounts of protein and anti-inflammatory input:-))
Bernstein does not have the anti-inflammatory part though his ideas tend
in that direction - I got that directly from Perricone - and got the
blood type aspects from D’adamo - so those combinations were what I needed.
There is no ONE protocol worth studying. Each protocol has some
principles that are the basis of the protocol - but the smart thing to
do is to use the principles from each protocol and adapt the best ones
from each protocol to individualize a best approach on a one person at a
time basis.
When research quits this hang-up on double blind studies assuming all
participants are automatons all supposed to be the same - then we will
get some REAL information - but until the medical profession quits
hugging their blanky of double-blind stuff, and starts to see humans as
individuals with no two the same - we will continue to get useless
"research shows…" results, using people as if they were all
genetically identical guineapigs.
The results then are ONLY valid for genetically identical guinepigs
- not for humans. At best you get a smeared average - and I dunno about
you but I am no smeared average as a person.
It’s like the local swimming pool. They bought five dozen fins in size
medium because on average those will fit everyone. So will the any
double-blind type research - on average it will also fit everyone but
specifically it will fit nobody.
Hmm, my thoughts exactly - with the exception of Insulin which I did use
to gain control - short term - and not foolishly to just "cover" junkfood.
I learned from my work with cats that messing with pH directly is a huge
mistake. It sooner or later backfires. It is important to get the pH
right but NOT by adding alkali foods and DEFINITELY not alkalizing
supplements!!! Time will show this is at least as foolish with humans as
with cats. (Cats are more quick to suffer from food insults.)
You do it by eating the right foods - the right antioxidants. NOT by
adding alkali.
Adding alkali will mess with hormones (aldosterone and others) and will
mess with your ability o digest meat protein for repair, and you do not
want to do that - it gets the body’s delicate feedback systems all in a
knot - and pretty soon you get urinary tract problems as that system is
VERY dependent on pH regulation from food - not from acid/alkalis that
throw it in a tizzy!
Don’t do it!!!
ADD antioxidants and antioxidant foods (spices, herbs etc) - NOT
alkalis or alkali foods.
> When the body is not inflamed by foods, and other things
> like stress, etc, the body heals itself faster.
Yes that is the goal. Just get there on the right path:-)) So you do not
mess up something else as you try to repair pancreas.
Namaste,
Irene
August 26th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
> I have not found any unsuccessful Bernstein clients???? You found
them where?
>
Here are some:
these are the before and after cases that are referenced for
advocating Bernstein’s book. (his success stories) After reading
through a few of these, you can see for yourself that the people have
a tighter blood sugar control, but most if not all are still using
insulin in some way shape or form.
Young, in contrast cites his 90 day study where all but one of his
type 2 diabetics are off of ALL medication, not just oral or insulin.
(sorry, forgot about the one still using medication) 33% of his type
1 diabetics are off insulin with the remainder decreasing their
insulin intake by an average of 81%. Bernstein cannot site one case
where his type 1’s are off insulin.
Beyond this, you yourself claim to still be dealing with tumors and
blood sugar issues after many months of diligence. People following
Young’s protocols not only cure themselves of diabetes (cure meaning
it is gone), they have gotten rid of cancers, arthritis, fatigue,
negativity, excess weight, and a host of other conditions that were
troubling his patients.
True, Bernstein does not have any studies of his patients that he
cites, but their stories exist and they really do not even compare to
the stories of Young’s patients.
I still think that we can do better than both Young and Bernstein have
done. I’d like to see 100% success for all diabetics.
August 27th, 2006 at 5:36 am
In the case of Diabetes type 1
In reference to your points about the Beta cells
being produced but being continually killed off; the
success of eating more Alkaline live foods , etc;and
the issue of absorption of minerals and vitamins - I
am thinking there is a strong connection between
gluten intolerance and autoimmune disease.
Gluten creates malabsorption problems : it may
account too for the connection between celiac and
diabetes ; the bodies immune system may be fighting
gluten and wheat proteins (as well as milk proteins
for that matter). If you take away the offending
substances and if those beta cells are infact still
being created , then perhaps the autoimmune system
would calm down. The problem is I have never heard of
a doctor prescribing an elimination diet at the onset
of a diabetes diagnosis. They don’t know about gluten
and how it may be a problem for 70% of the population
.
An alkaline diet may be great but what if the gluten
component is never removed when it may be the real
irritant and cause of malabsorption and auto immune
attack. Has anyone ever experimented with this or
read about this?
Liz
See a book called "going against the Grain" Melissa
Smith? Not sure . I lent it to someone Recent
publication
August 27th, 2006 at 11:54 am
I was Bernstein’s patient in ‘95-’96 so I know what HE can do.
In spite of constant research on the subject of holistic treatment of DM, I
have never heard of Dr. Young.
If he can cure T1 & T2 diabetes, why is he so obscure? Anyone can make claims.
Dianne
August 28th, 2006 at 3:16 am
Liz,
I think you are right. The alkaline diet that Young recommends does
actually eliminate glutens and dairy products. As you write, this
might be one of the biggest reasons it works so well for diabetics.
About 10 years ago I was recommended to eliminate all dairy and wheat
from my diet for diabetes. The results were almost immeadiately
substantial lowering of insulin needs, lower blood sugar, weight loss,
etc. Stayed with this for about 6 months, but found it hard to find
foods to eat while eating out and finally re-added the dairy and wheat
and immeadiately say BG rises and insulin need increases.
I am also thinking that the reason that wheat grass juice has been
described as "natural insulin" by some natural healers is because the
raw grass nutrients in juice form give the body what it needs to clean
out a lot of old wheat/gluten residue. Possibly it cleans the
blockages that cause diabetes? A theory.
All the best,
Brock
August 28th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Dianne,
This whole Bernstein vs Young thing is starting to sound like the old
my dad is tougher than your dad school kid argument. They are both
nationally known authors with good info. Take what you can from them.
A simple search for Robert Young at amazon.com, your local library,
will pull up several books that he has written. His recent(2005) book
"The PH Miracle for Diabetes" has the info that I mention. A google
search pulls up thousands of hits, so I don’t know where you are
looking. It seems like you are not.
Another point that I think is worth mentioning, Dr Young and Dr
Bernstein really cannot DO anything, only suggest what WE can do to
improve our situations.
Dr Richard Schulze has been showing patients for years how to cure
themselves of every disease imaginable and he specifically says that
his patients cure themselves. The body heals itself given the right
circumstances. What Young offers are things you can do to create the
right cirmcumstances to heal yourself.
If you were a patient of Bernsteins 10 years ago and are still
searching for holistic info on diabetes, is it fair to guess you are
still diabetic? If so, why are you railing against a new avenue of
hope? I don’t get it.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:59 am
Liz,
I forgot to mention that I was told 12 years ago: "eliminate your food
allergies for 1 year and your diabetes will be gone." This was the
same guy who recommended I stop eating all dairy and all wheat. (he
also recommended enzymes and probiotics) Dr Christopher recommends
the elimination of all processed grains.
About that time I met with a world-class immunologist and we talked
about dairy products and diabetes. He related there was new (at that
time) evidence that a dairy allergy can create an immune response
which not only reacts to dairy products but also to the pancreas beta
cells. I have read several articles about this to date. He also
said, theoretically, if you remove the offending substance for 90
days, it appears that the body stops the allergic reaction to the
substance. (the antigen creation) Once this occurs, theoretically,
the body simply has to rejuvenate the beta cells because the attacking
entity would be gone.
What is the relationship to celiac disease and diabetes? I have not
found this yet. Can you also talk more about malabsorption and gluten?
There is a book called Dr Braly’s Food Allergy Revolution, and he does
go into a elimination diet for diabetes I recall. (he does an
elimination diet for most all conditions)
Some of the substances that I have found that are supposed to create a
protective effect of beta cells are: Niacinamide, ephedra, gymnema
sylvestre, black cumin seeds, bitter melon, cedar berries, neem,
guduchi, amla, and a host of other bitter indian herbs. (interesting
bitter herbs to counteract high sugar.)
Brock
August 29th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Brock ,
I read Youngs book "the Ph Miracle " about a year
ago . I was very impressed . Since I already "knew"
health or lack of it had to be to do with food.
I was attending a holistic health school at the time
called Institute for Integrative Nutrition , in NYC.
It was then I made the grains and autoimmune
connection while reading a book not actually on our
list ,"Going Against the Grain" By Melissa Diane Smith
. THis book would answer a lot of your questions .
The Celiac/ diabetes connection is held up by
conventional medicine even .(Except they won’t or
can’t explain what it is while you are in the
hospital). THey tested my 16 year old for celiac
disease and thyroid problems , when she was diagnosed
3 weeks ago as type 1. She came back negative for
celiac (which if I am right is really serious atrophy
of the stomach villi , and the recommendation is
eliminating gluten!), but positive for autoimmune
activity in the thyroid.
I already knew that my kids have a celiac gene and a
gluten intolerance gene as well as gluten and milk
intolerance because I had them tested last year ,
with cheek swabs , and with stool samples which is
the latest and most efficient form of testing for
intolerances available . The lab I used I read about
in the book above . It is the brain child of one
Dr. Kenneth Fine, a gastro enterologist , who got the
idea of stool testing in Britain . Conventional
medicine relies on blood tests and then biopsies when
the tests come back negative for antibodies. Taking
stool samples gives an accurate reading and then no
biopsy is needed. In addition to antibodies the tests
also picked up on malabsorption , which was indicated
by the presence of fecal fat .
If you go to the site for the lab at
www.enterolab.com, there is masses of info on gluten ,
wheat , malabsorption , autoimmune etc etc. It is
Fines idea that intolerance to gluten is more
generally widespread than believd and that many people
are unaware .
Why is the human race intolerant of most grain -
because milled grain came very late into our evolution
. It also accounts apparently for the adaptations in
blood types. Type "O" was the original blood group and
was connected to the hunter gatherer lfe style . The
other types came later with agriculture and animal
husbandry . I have also read , and I don’t know if
this can be substantiated , that many auto immune
diseases did not exist before "the dawn of
civilization’ which was connected to agriculture ,
And it would make total sense that foods taken from
the ground , from trees and wild plants and animals
with all their variety , in season etc would support
the human body and it’s evolution and maintenance
better than a few milled and processed foods , more
and more devoid of life, enzymes , minerals , fiber
etc etc .
Anyway got to go feed my son .
Check out the lab
LIz
August 29th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
Dr. Young has a second book out "The ph miracle for
Diabetes" . I read his first "the Ph miracle " which
dealt alot with cancer and how to reverse it , and it
made total sense to me . (For e. g he says that
cancer can’t exist when you get your ph higher than 8
, for this also see Ed Mc Cabe ’s book "Flood your
body with Oxygen").
My daughter was just diagnosed type 1 . She ’s 16 . I
don’t intend to let her become insulin dependant
without a fight , even if I have to fight subtely
with her . Hospitals ,doctors and the health industry
generally creates helplessness and passivity around
fighting for your health and life. When we spend all
our time listening to indifferent officials we end up
resonnating with their lack of support , information
and passion. When we are overwhelmed and uninformed
we understandably fall into the trap of handing over
our power to doctors . But there is no possiblity for
improvement when you do that , only the possiblity of
living with the dubious job of maintaining your own
ill health.
Fortunately , I come to this situation better armed
than most , because I attended a cutting edge
nutrition school recently ,(Institute for Integrative
Nutrition in NYC) and already knew something about how
gluten , milk , processed , and dead foods,
nutritionally poor foods , which also clog and congest
and act like foreign invaders, generally play a part
in the demise of pancreatic health as well as general
health . And despite the fact that I knew the medical
establishment would be discouraging , nothing could
have prepared me for how non proactive , contradictory
, and downright erroneus it actually is .
The diabetic Association for eg which is behind the
hospital dietitians which my daughter saw on Monday ,
actually promotes diet drinks . I guess they are paid
by Monsanto or something . Artificial Sweeteners have
tons of class action suits against them going back
years. They are banned in some countries. They are
associated with depleting chromium , creating carb
cravings , Parkinsons(Micheal J Fox is a Pepsi
spokesman and a diet Pepsi addict- how sick is that?!)
, early alzheimers , kidney problems and on .
If it was me in this situation , and not my somewhat
defiant daughter(the diagnosis was 3 weeks ago so
there is still hope for those beta cells) , I would be
green juicing , wheat grass juicing (I already
do)eating mainly raw stuff, eliminating gluten and
milk , (Which I have already done for myself),
learning about superfoods/ algaes etc .
I feel that with diabetes as with other illness
people are unaware of the truth that the body does
regenerate and come back to life with even some
assistance . People have reversed all kinds of
conditions with dietary changes even at the eleventh
hour . This is what I want for my child , and I want
her to do it for herself . Why should she accept
anything less than full health . The higher you aim ,
and ignore conventional medicine , and only think and
act positively , the more likely you are to optimize
your health .
Anyway I agree, I don’t care where the brilliant info
comes from , and there is always more than one
intuitive , and passionate groundbreaking ,health
practitioner/writer out there . I will take whatever
intelligent info I can find.
Liz
August 30th, 2006 at 10:27 am
Liz,
The whole family went 100% raw vegan and they all reversed their
health problems. The son was no longer diabetic after several weeks.
Actually the entire family cured themselves of all their ailments
from asthma, heart problems, and obesity. Unfortunately the book the
mother wrote does not give too many details. They have several food
prep books out as well that are worth looking at.
A warning. All raw is tough at first. You do feel great quickly
however. Getting enough greens and fats is key because of the
decrease in protein and fat from the standard american diet. The best
low sugar, raw foods prep book I’ve seen is by Dr Gabriel Cousins,
"Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine." Interestingly enough, Cousins is
working with Native Americans near his offices to reverse diabetes
that is found in very high percentages in the native american population.
Your daughter should not wait. Once she is on insulin for too long, I
believe it gets much harder to reverse the diabetes. She will not
like the long-term pain in the neck that taking insulin will be. Some
hard work now will pay big dividends in the future. It is worth
mentioning that the initial use of insulin will stabilize the body and
often allows the diabetic to start producing more insulin. (honeymoon
effect) You might consider using insulin for a brief period to
stabilize her and change the diet.
Some Natural healers believe that the body is smart and does what is
best for it. Accepting this paradigm, I have often asked myself:
what is the body trying to do with the elevated sugar, the
ketoacidosis and the weight loss? Beyond that, we have to figure out
how to help the body continue on it’s path to re-balance itself.(Young
and Cousins offer well supported theories as to why this happens)
Also worth looking at is "Regenerative Diet" by Dr John Christopher.
He also advocates no flour products, vegan, low heat food prep. He
has an herbal prep that he found reversed Diabetes, but it worked best
and fastest with the Regenerative Diet. (He also called this the
"Mucousless Diet.)
Most important might be dealing with any emotional trauma/issues your
daughter might be experiencing or may have recently experienced.
There seems to be strong correlation with this and the blood sugar
getting thrown off. Emotions effect the digestion, the acid-alkaline
balance, etc. It can be the biggest of the multiple dimensions that
bring on diabetes. Chinese medicine lists about a dozen factors that
can bring on diabetes. I was diagnosed at the age of 19 with type 1
diabetes and I was experiencing, or had experienced almost all of the
dozen factors that they mention. Something like the perfect storm.
Irene has shared some phenomenal emotional releases that she
attributes to homeopathic treatment. Massage also has emotional
releasing effects. Yoga and meditation have similar release effects.
Liver cleansing does a number on the emotions as well. As a 16 year
old, there are so many emotional things going on, that often we
overlook what is there. I would not be surprised if your daughters
stress level was high, but she does not really ackowledge it.
All the best,
Brock
August 31st, 2006 at 7:12 am
Liz,
Thanks for all the great info. I am checking out the site.
Malabsorption is really, really important I believe.
Big factors to create bad absorption: antibiotics, antibiotics placed
directly into dairy product vats, chlorine and floride added to water
supplies, meat from animals given antibiotics, diet which creates
imbalanced intestinal flora, food allergy, chemicals put into
processed foods, pesticides on produce,
After a while you begin to see why the digestion gets messed up, and
why the vegan diets advocated are so beneficial. Less junk for the
body to overcome and foods that directly feed the intestinal flora
which are so key to our digestion of nutrients.
Brock
August 31st, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Thank you so much for this . I needed to hear all
this , from another person with diabetes (I don’t know
if you are a guy or a girl- I’m sorry , I’m unfamiliar
with the name ), and so does my family . It is hard to
know how to get her started. How to get them on board
, but we are all here I feel on the edge of this
vortex, with her in the middle.
The emotional piece I know is so important . I had
begun taking actions to "cleanse" myself, with a
reiki/reflexology session last week , which released a
lot of emotion for me . I hade been wound up since the
diagnosis. I am having a house cleansing shaman come
to the house tomorrow.
For her the only thing I have been able to do was
show her a foot reflexology chart , and establish how
ticklish she was , which was at least fun . You are so
right about her pent up emotions . There has been a
lot of upheaval in our family over the years including
divorce , and she received the least attention as the
oldest and youngest were way more openly demanding .
This finally is her protest , I know it . The others
had their turn . What may have happened in the last
few months to trigger it I don’t know .
I know she seemed angry and cranky at times but
wasn’t as explosive as her big sister , and continued
to function well at school unlike her brother. I do
feel close to her, like we are aware of each other on
some level without speaking , but we don’t talk that
much . I am physically affectionate with her and the
others . I believe it is very possible for us to get
down to what it is , and I want nothing else than for
to have wahtever catharsis she needs.
The pressure is on for her to decide some things for
herself too. And for the entire family to commit to a
plan of action . The news that the thyroid is in an
autoimmune mode , and discussions about foot care ,
plus noticing her weight gain already , since the
meetings on Monday, and me telling her the only way to
go is to avoid processed food , all this is reaching
critical mass I know. I know she can’t check out from
deciding on health , but the pressures are
overwhelming .
I had woken up this morning and thought , I must make
my hose mainly raw and get rid of everything els e,
and if she leaves , so be it If the family won’t back
me so be it . If on the other hand she stays I will do
it with her . I am already now gluten free, and had
been trying to get them in on that too. Vegetables are
woderful once you get into them , and lift your
spirits as well , except that I know when one is
cleansing one can experience cleansing reactions ,
both emotional and physical .
Well, please pray for us / or hold us in your
thoughts and thankyou again for writing what you wrote
. Liz
September 1st, 2006 at 11:18 am
Hi , Linda ,
A lot of what you say is true . ANd I know you are
right about the emotional things.
The only thing I have an issue with is that time
isn’t endless, when there is an opportunity to heal .
This is a window now as Brock says . And what we put
in our bodies, or don’t put in our bodies , counts
every time whether we like it or not, especially when
it’s low value nutrition , and takes the place of
something thats high value.
I think the awareness on this has changed in the last
few years at least in some circles , so that being
diabetic isn’t just about getting the insulin to carb
thing right , and getting the Bsugar down . I know you
know that because you are growing organic food. You
know real food is life, and loving to grow it is
"food" and sweetness for the soul too.
It’s down to this : Are we loving ourselves with
food or depriving ourselves ? and "comfort" foods
aren’t usually the ones which are really "comforting
"our bodies .Sometimes the comfort foods are part of
an allergy addiction cycle , like milk or gluten .
Then often we eat "bad for us" sweets when we are sad
, bored or looking for love too. Stress, bad news ,
and diagnoses of cancer/ diabetes etc makes us want
to comfort our selves / drug ourselves and then we
reach for junk that just compounds the problem . Like
giving children candy when they are crying . We are
numbing pain and flooding ourselves with opiates but
our bodies , minds and spirits will still be
unsatisfied afterwards,and now also our immunity will
be lower and we will be looking for another fix after
we crash .
The "food is medicine " piece (Hypocrates )is
important, it’s real and it works . Hence If we can
combine the idea that we are loving ourselves back to
health when we eat foods that cleanse, regenerate and
build, our bodies , even if they don’t taste like a
donut , then thats better than just eating to fix our
emotional or chemical or hormonal cravings impulsively
without any concrete plan or intention .
Real healthy eating is different than just doing
something "healthy "because you are told it , too. It
doesn’t have to be about deprivation,even though of
course she doesn’t feel it like that . MOst people
don’t feel it like that . Until they make a connection
between food and mood , and food and energy levels ,
and food and health . That takes a while to be
recognized .Under stress we automatically want a
sedative . So it’s like trying to give someone a
healthy meal when the would rather head out to the bar
. Carrot /cellery stick or cookie ?
Right now she feels like , because of what she has
been told , that it "is over", and she’s reacting to
that by clinging onto the hope that she doesn’t have
to change anything else .
Maybe it’s the medical way it is presented a s a
rigid situation , "every thing is bad news ", is what
makes it so difficult for people to see that nutrition
is an option for healing and the light at the end of
the tunnel . If you got this way by depriving yourself
unintentionally of real food and puting your pancreas
under stress, then maybe you can reverse that by
giving your pancreas the foods that it needed,
intentionally ?
It’s not at all far fetched , but to make that
reversal happen you have to participate in it with
intention. And while it is difficult to do , and your
body is unfamiliar with the situation , so what ?
Think about this . When My Mom had hip replacement
surgery , they got her out of bed the next day , and
everyday she was expected to do more and go further .
They are not going to leave you still just because it
hurts and you are scared . It’s necessary , because
the body needs to move to heal itself . It has to
reeducate muscles that are perhaps stiff or atrophied
. Patients weep , struggle , and get tired ; small
movements, getting in and out of bed is like pushing a
car up a hill with a broken leg. If they could pay
the nurse to leave them alone they probably would . It
might take 30 minutes to make a manoeuver that would
take a normal person 5 seconds . Why do people go
through it ? Because they are told it will get better
, and they have no choice , they are healing ,
tomorrow or the next day will be easier , they will
see results. NUrses and therapists working with these
physical issues make demands on the patients which
are not optional however painful or hard it is . They
push the patient , they encourage , cajole , praise .
I think it’s the same with nutrition and treating
cancer or diabetes or any other condition , especially
a condition which has developed at least in part
because of deprivation of some kind . Wouldn’t it be
a whole different world if when you were diagnosed
they immediately put you on green juice or raw food
and supplements whatever, (whats so cruel about that
, hec they burn you, cut you, and poison you with
chemo with far less compunction or conscience in
hospitals "for your own Good’ and they used to give
kids cod live oil every day too, which as it urns out
prevents inflamation and heart disease). And then how
about while you were learning about green food in
hospital instead of how to count carbs and give
shots , what if they gave you massages , and reiki
and taught you how to practice self love , and care ,
and learn stress relief, instead of serving you rice
crispies and pancakes and diet coke , the shit that
got you there in the first place , whilst telling you
your life has changed forever, and teaching you to
stick yourself?
I agree I need to take it slowly and give her time ,
but do I just watch her settle into insulin dependency
when there are alternatives that will help her in the
long run even tho they are challenging now as Brock
said?
As Brock said this is a good time to change diet , and
ween off insulin .
I realize that what you must have gone through was
abuse , and I am aware that well meaning adults , who
are scared turn into control freaks , but then,
conventionally, with things like diabetes everyone is
told there are no alternatives WHEN THERE ARE. We had
the misfortune to be born into a culture that
disrespects real food , and then ignores the fact that
food has the answers all along.
But there are too many conflicting messages to deal
with , and I agree , that is enough to put anyone on
overload .
AS far as letting go of treats goes -we are all used
to sweet treats of one kind or another , but nature
also has a lot of natural sweets, and having
experimented for over a year since going to nutrition
school , (and I was a diet pepsi , donut and coffee
person , who loved chocolate and ice cream too), I
haven’t suffered at all for teaching my taste buds
that there are better sources of food. And I think if
I hadn’t done some juicing last winter, and almost
totally cut out gluten , coffeee , a great deal of
milk , and excercised ,then I would not myself have
survived some of the stresses of recent years, and
would probably have some kind of cancer to show for
itby now . I n fact I am the age my mother was when
she first got breast cancer .
But don’t worry I am very aware of all the emotional
work thats needed . But as a mother I will blame
myself for not doing the right thing , if she settles
for insulin dependence when there is all this info on
the healing power of real food. I will feel like the
nurse who decided to not move the patient because they
protested too much, and then they just atrophied
instead of recovering .
Thanks , Liz