Type II Diabetes: Stop Thinking Sugar and Start Thinking Insulin!

Type II Diabetes may be a health concern for the growing population, but it is a “cash cow” for the pharmaceutical industry. This industry continues to develop new and “improved” drugs to lower blood sugar and lower A1C blood values.

ISN’T THIS A GOOD THING?

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Although it sounds like a good thing, type II diabetes is an:

INSULIN RESISTANCE PROBLEM,

NOT

A SUGAR PROBLEM

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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas in response to circulating sugar in the blood. This sugar comes from dietary consumption of foods containing carbohydrates. When these sugars are not burned as fuel (example: sedentary vs. active lifestyle) they must be removed from the blood and stored within the cells of the body. Each cell has receptor sites that allow insulin to escort sugar molecules into the cell. Over time, these receptor sites become altered and damaged from the elevated insulin levels needed to contend with the elevated blood sugar levels making them “less sensitive” to insulin. With this reduced sensitivity, insulin and sugar begin accumulating in the bloodstream. The body responds by releasing even larger quantities of insulin in an attempt to “force” the accumulated sugar into the cells. This mechanism leads to further damage of receptor sites.

Anytime the body is “damaged” it produces a response to repair itself. This repair process is known as INFLAMMATION. Inflammation (ex. “swelling” around a cut on a finger) is supposed to be short term. With poor dietary habits and poor lifestyle choices, the inflammation becomes chronic (ongoing.) A HEALTHY initial inflammatory response that remains ongoing becomes destructive over time as it begins to lose its ability to distinguish damaged tissue from healthy tissue. This is more commonly known as an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE.

As dietary habits remain unchanged over time, the pancreas begins losing its ability to produce insulin to keep pace with blood sugar levels. Without healthy insulin sensitivity, blood sugar levels continue to rise to the point the patient becomes diagnosed as diabetic. At this point doctors begin prescribing medications. They diligently begin monitoring blood sugar and A1C hemoglobin and adjust the medications to increase insulin levels and decrease blood sugar. Over time, prescription dosages are increased and additional new prescriptions are added to the treatment protocol to increase levels of blood insulin. This FAILING APPROACH ultimately places the individual at increased risk for heart disease, kidney disease, pancreatic and bladder cancers, gastrointestinal disease, Alzheimer’s disease as well as other serious health complications.

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WHERE IS THE FAULTY THINKING IN THIS APPROACH?

The problem isn’t too little insulin; the problem is INSULIN RESISTANCE. (EXAMPLE: If a person can’t stop bleeding, the solution isn’t unlimited intravenous blood transfusions; the solution is getting the blood to clot and repairing the area of blood loss.) In the case of Type II Diabetes, reducing the sugar intake and burning the circulating sugar (by living an ACTIVE lifestyle) will reduce the elevated levels of sugar and allow the insulin receptor sites on the cells to HEAL! A healthy dietary approach will also help correct the chronic INFLAMMATION restoring healthy function to the body.

Ask your physician if long term use of diabetic medications place additional stress and potential damage on the liver, kidneys, heart, digestive tract and immune system. I am confident, they will acknowledge these substantial risks, but will offer few alternatives to their current prescription recommendations. The good news is, they don’t have to. You can control the outcome in most cases if you’re willing to live a lifestyle that promotes GOOD HEALTH. This lifestyle is not designed exclusively for Type II Diabetics; it is designed to improve function and quality for each and every one of us.

Living a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE isn’t a punishment; it is a requirement that improves the odds of achieving the quality of life one chooses to live. Recognizing this concept is the first step needed to change behavior. The second step is assuming personal responsibility for learning ALL YOU CAN to achieve the outcome of choice. The final step requires finding a qualified (FUNCTIONAL) physician willing and CAPABLE of using MODERN TECHNOLOGY to find the UNDERLYING CAUSES of INSULIN RESISTANCE instead of simply treating the SYMPTOMS of elevated blood sugar!

Will you continue to follow a path of increasing medications or CHOOSE TO LEARN a better alternative option to restoring GOOD HEALTH to your body?

Tags: diabetes, diet, disease, doctor, lifestyle, pharmaceutical, prescriptive medications, quality of life