Diabetes Mellitus

Adult-Onset Diabetes Mellitus (Type II)The name of this set of symptoms comes from the Greek; diabetes means "passing through" and mellitus means "honey." In other words, "honey passing through," or high levels of sugar in the urine, was what the ancient doctors first observed. The disease is characterized by high levels of sugar in the blood, which "spills over" into the urine, and is almost universally related to chronically high intake of simple carbohydrates in the diet. With 4% of the population medically diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus, it has become the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. and the incidence is rising.

The good news is that 90% of non-insulin dependent diabetics will be cured by achieving their optimal weight and eating a balanced diet. This means no donuts!

Other theoretical causes for the deficiency of insulin include viral infection of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, toxic reaction to N-nitroso compounds (found in smoked and cured meats), and auto-immune disease. The great dangers of uncontrolled diabetes include premature heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis, and eventually gangrene of the lower limbs, blindness and pancreatic failure. There is a significant familial component to this disease.

Because diet is so critical to the control of this disease, nutritional approaches will be discussed first. However, there are lots of other ways to control DM (Diabetes Mellitus), including Botanical Medicine with its array of insulin-like plants, Homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and psychological approaches.

Nutritional Changes

If you like coffee and donuts for breakfast, a grilled cheese sandwich followed by a pastry treat for lunch, then pasta and cookies washed down with a soda-pop for dinner, then yes, you do have to radically change your diet. This is an extreme picture, obviously. Changing your diet is something that must be done slowly, lovingly, with great patience and persistence. Most of us are very attached to "our" foods and making changes at this fundamental level doesn't come easily. It can be done however; and it could save your life. Be easy on yourself. Reward yourself with little treats every day, like a walk at sunset, or a bubble bath, or calling a friend long-distance. And make a plan. Starting with not keeping sugary foods in the house.

The trick to eating to control Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is basically low to no refined sugar, plenty of high complex carbohydrates and raw foods, low fat, high fiber and easy on the fruit.

Refined sugar means any carbohydrate that has been processed, bleached or otherwise chemically altered. Anything made with white flour and white sugar spells trouble for the diabetic. We're talking about cookies, cake, candy, ice-cream, pastries, pizza, boxed cereal, all soda-pops, alcohol, honey -- all that good stuff.

Unfortunately, most of us live life in the fast lane and this is why "fast-food" joints are a multi-billion dollar industry.

Real food, made from healthy ingredients, usually takes a little more time to prepare than the standard fare at Wendy's or Burger King. So, one thing to adjust to is not only not eating junk food (and you know what that is...) but to creating TIME in your schedule, as a priority, to shop for fresh vegetables 2 or 3 times weekly, to eat at home more often, learn to use a steamer, don't fry foods, never drink Coke (or any other soda-pop) and get together with others who are learning to live longer through healthy eating. Maybe you can form a dinner group in your apartment building or neighborhood.

The other critical technique to treat DM through diet is to eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day.

Don't let yourself get hungry, because then, guess what? Right, you'll grab the nearest available snack, and that is sure to be loaded with sugar or white flour. The other reason to not eat 3 "big" meals a day is to spare your pancreas. You have DM because your pancreas has a hard time producing enough insulin to keep the sugar in your blood from getting into the cells. Insulin acts as a carrier molecule for sugar across the highly selective barrier of the membrane of each and every cell in your body. Not enough insulin means the sugar builds up in the blood. And that means not enough sugar, or raw fuel, in the cells. All of you interested in DM know about "diabetic coma" where you can literally pass out, and maybe die, because of a critical shortage of fuel to the brain. The treatment, conventionally, for diabetic coma is to give insulin. But that's a choice with grave implications. You want to do everything you can to avoid becoming dependent on insulin injections. Please believe that improving your diet is a much more pleasant alternative than having to shoot insulin before every meal.

Now, enough of what you can't, or shouldn't, eat. There are many ways of using foods to help Diabetes Mellitus.

Some of the very best foods for prolonging the action of your compromised insulin stores are onions and garlic.

Use these tasty foods liberally in your diet. Experiment. Did you ever try baking a whole onion along with your yams or potatoes? Delicious! Garlic is tasty baked, too. Learn to make a gourmet onion soup.

Buy a garlic press.

Other therapeutic foods for Diabetes Mellitus include:

Jerusalem artichokes, burdock, parsley. These plants are high in inulin, an insulin analog.

Chromium-rich foods such as Brewer's yeast, lean beef, calf's liver, whole wheat bread, wheat bran, rye bread, oysters and potatoes. Chromium is the central element in a very important molecule called the "glucose tolerance factor" (GTF). Research has shown that GTF is needed to allow insulin to do its work in getting sugar into the cells where it can be used as fuel for the entire system. Chromium is also available concentrated droplet form, and is helpful in controlling sugar cravings.

Zinc rich foods such as oysters, ginger root, wheat germ, lamb chops, pecans, brazil nuts and split peas. Zinc is a co-factor in many of the thousands of biochemical reactions that our body continuously performs. Paying attention to zinc intake is especially important for people who live in coastal regions and prefer to eat locally grown foods. This is because the rainfall tends to wash trace minerals in the soil out to sea, and minimal levels are absorbed into the produce.

Foods high in water-soluble fiber: flax seed, pectin, guar gum, oat bran, mucilage.

Whole grain and legume carbohydrates , such as squash, sweet potatoes and carrots.

More Good Foods

Pumpkin, whole rice, yams, mung beans, string beans, cucumber,celery, peach, millet, spinach, blueberry, mung beans, peas, yams, tofu, cabbage, daikon radish, mulberries.

Foods rich in Iodine, Silicon, Phosphorus such as kelp, dulse, Swiss Chard, turnip greens, egg yolks, wheat germ, cod roe, lecithin, sesame seed butter, seed and nuts, raw goat milk

Garlic, more garlic, wheat germ, liquid chlorophyll, alfalfa sprouts, buckwheat, watercress, rice polishings, apple, cherries.

Get yourself a Vitamin & Mineral Chart and put it up on the refrigerator.

Avoid fruit juices or dried fruits. They have too much concentrated fruit sugars. It's best to avoid really sweet fruits like pears, bananas or figs.

To protect your heart and blood vessels, increase omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

These are found in vegetable, nut, and seed oils, salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines, walnuts, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, and black currant oil.

Don't cook with these oils; use them raw in salad dressing, or to thicken a soup after it has been prepared.

Spices that are used in East India to control diabetes are cinnamon, turmeric, bay leaf, and cloves. Find some new recipes calling for these tasty flavors.

Helpful Supplements

There are also nutritional supplements that can be useful in curbing Diabetes Mellitus, which will worsen if not aggressively tended to. However, the list of vitamin and mineral "pills" can be overwhelming, so get the help of a nutritionally trained doctor, naturopath or progressive dietitian to help choose the right ones for you.

Here are some of the likely choices:

Biotin 16 mg daily

Myo-inositol 1 gram daily

Vitamin B3

Vitamin B6 100 mg daily especially if you have reduced nerve function in your legs. This is dangerous for diabetics. Pay attention and don't let this sign progress.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin C 2 grams daily. Increase until your stool becomes soft, then cut back to the level of Vitamin C that allows a normal stool.

Vitamin E 100 I.U. and increase slowly to 400 I.U. daily

Chromium 200 mcg daily. Look for a supplement that says "Glucose Tolerance Factor" on the label.

Magnesium 500 mg daily

Manganese

Phosphorus

Potassium

Zinc picolinate 30 mg daily

Bioflavonoids: such as Rutin and Quercetin, 500 mg daily

Coenzyme Q10, about 60 mg daily to improve heart function

Helpful Herbs

Herbal Formula for Diabetes Mellitus

A great lesson can be learned from native American populations (American Indians and Alaska Natives). These peoples very rarely suffered from DM until they began to eat a "Western" diet. Now, sadly, the disease is rampant in their communities. The indigenous diet of these peoples contained many plant foods that served as insulin analogues. Most notably of these medicinal plants are the Panax species which include Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridum) and Ginseng. Other therapeutic plants for Diabetes Mellitus include:

Allium cepa (onion). More onion.

Allium sativum (garlic). Lots of garlic.

Arctium lappa (Burdock root). High in insulin, an insulin analog.

Chionanthus virginicus (Fringetree) for pre-diabetic symptoms such as easy fainting and fatigue.

Crataegus spp. (Hawthorne berry). Excellent for vascular tone.

Essiac Tea for Diabetes Essiac Tea is natures alternative remedy to Fight diabetes.

Ginkgo biloba (Gingko) to help prevent diabetic retinopathy (failing eyesight) and peripheral vascular disease.

Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice root), to maximize adrenal function.

Juniperus communis (Juniper berries), a major component of many indigenous diets. Useful as a detoxify agent and to control blood sugar.

Lycopus virginicus: (Bugleweed) for the classic symptoms of DM: great thirst, great hunger and great urination.

Phaseolus vulgaris (bean pod)

Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion root), a mild, Potasium-rich diuretic and liver cleansing herb.

Trigonella foenum-graecum: (Fenugreek). This is a traditional remedy for DM, used world-wide.

Vaccinium spp. (Bilberry, also known as Huckleberry, especially the leaf) stabilizes blood sugar and improves vascular tone.

Please consult with a qualified herbalist or naturopathic doctor to get the correct doses and method of administration. Many of these botanical medicines can be eaten as food, but some are best taken in tincture (alcohol extraction) form, and some may be difficult to locate.

Emily Kane N.D. , American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

Herbal Formula for Diabetes Mellitus

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