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Alcohol
Know the facts about
alcohol. The most important fact
is that being out of control makes it difficult to manage diabetes, even masking
the acute danger brought on by hypoglycemic reactions. If a person is
capable of the moderate use of
alcohol, other facts are important. Pure
alcohol itself (scotch, vodka, rum, gin, etc.) contains no carbohydrates,
despite what it is made from. Liqueurs, such as Amaretto and Kahlua, on
the other hand, are high in carbohydrates. Another danger comes from the mixers
used in cocktails, many of which have high sugar contents (colas, juices, tonic,
margarita mix, etc.).
One odd fact is that, under certain
circumstances, alcohol can actually cause a low blood sugar reaction. If
blood sugar is low and food is not eaten, plain alcohol alone may prevent the
body's natural, protective response to hypoglycemia. In other words, when
the body wants to release stored glycogen (sugar) to combat low blood sugar
levels, alcohol prevents it from doing so.
Diabetes damage is increased tremendously by
smoking. Tobacco usage causes severe damage to the vascular system, adding
to a diabetic's already embattled health.
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Stress
The problems of diabetes are compounded by
stress.
On a direct level, stress raises blood sugar. This happens
because of the primitive "fight or flight" response in which
perceived dangers are met by the body's protective chemical
reactions, including a release of adrenaline from the adrenal
glands and dumping of glycogen (sugar) stores from the liver.
In a healthy person, the reaction may be useful for the energy
and alertness needed to deal with difficult situations. In
a diabetic, the additional glycogen input cannot be utilized and
results in elevation of blood sugar.
Such elevations can be extreme and may result from everything
from bumping into an ex-spouse, to getting called by a doctor with the results
of a blood test, to having to testify in court. Frequent and timely
self-testing may help to mitigate this problem.
Stress also robs the body of necessary nutrient
levels. All of the basic requirements of an individual are increased by
stress.
When a diabetic's sugar level becomes elevated,
the body attempts to transport the excess sugar out through the kidneys by
increasing urination. In the process of excreting fluids, water-soluble
nutrients are lost and must be replaced by regular supplementation.
Exercise
Exercise plays a direct role in the control of
diabetes by increasing the efficiency of available insulin. Combined with
diet and exercise, some Type II diabetics may return to normal metabolic levels.
An additional benefit accrues from the blood-pressure-lowering effect of
exercise. As mentioned previously, diabetics typically suffer from
hypertension, a major factor in some of the deadly and disabling complications
discussed in this protocol.
Nutritional
Supplements for Diabetes
Following the recommendations for diabetes presented
below, the protocols for other related medical problems will be suggested as
well.
Note that the recommendations are directed
primarily at the symptoms of diabetes, not at the disorder itself. Until a
better solution for the disorder is discovered, controlling its damage is paramount.
There are several major avenues involved in
dealing with
diabetes. Let's presume that the patient is taking a high-potency, easily
assimilated,
multi-vitamin/mineral
nutritional
supplements complex. The objective of this approach is to support the
vascular and neural damage seen in diabetes. This involves:
- Improving the oxygen delivery capacity of the
circulatory system by stopping, eliminating, or circumventing vascular blockage,
thus improving cellular and neural health.
- Supporting the prevention of diabetes-induced metabolic
breakdowns.
- Reducing oxidative stress.
- Aiding angiogenesis (regenerating
capillaries).
- Helping the lipid characteristics of blood
corpuscles to make them less brittle and more capable of entering the small
capillaries.
- Slowing the possibility of endoneural hypoxia (oxygen
deficiency in the tissues).
The following supplements have a high level of
scientific support for aggressively enhancing the betterment of health for those with diabetes.
Antioxidants
/ Nutritional
Supplements
Oxidative damage plays critical roles in the
complications of diabetes, including being part of the
glycosylation process (a
major biological development that causes degenerative vascular disease).
Some of the most important antioxidants used to combat this oxidative stress are:
Life Extension Mix -
Life Extension Mix is the cornerstone
of a comprehensive supplement program because it provides so many well-studied
nutrients. It saves time and money
by combining the most popular nutritional supplements in one product. It eliminates
the need to take separate bottles of B-complex, vitamins C and E, mineral
supplements and much more that would be required to achieve the same effects.
Life Extension Mix is a multi-formula that contains 90+ unique
vegetable, fruit, and herbal extracts along with high-potency amino acids,
vitamins, minerals, and special antioxidants. It supports a detoxification
process that helps to remove toxins from the body.
Most multivitamin nutritional supplements provide no vegetable extracts whatsoever.
Chromium, along with magnesium and biotin, are nutrients required to
maintain healthy blood sugar levels. The full
menu of Life Extension Mix provides 500 micrograms (mcg) chromium, a better absorbed form of
magnesium, and high potency of biotin. A
review of studies showing the benefits of chromium supplementation reveals that
doses exceeding 200 micrograms (mcg) per day are required for optimal effects.
Recommended dosage: 3
tablets, 3 times a day provides broad-spectrum protection against free radicals.
Or, you can read about other options with
capsules
or powder here.
Chromium
- Because of chromium's ability to enhance cellular absorption (increasing
the efficiency of insulin), Type II diabetics should be aware of the possibility
that their medications may need lowering. 500
mcg is included in the full menu of Life Extension Mix.
Recommended dosage: 500 mcg daily.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
- (not included in Life Extension Mix) is present
in the leaves of plants containing mitochondria and non-photosynthetic plant
tissues, such as potatoes. Another source which is very high in
mitochondria is red meat. This is probably the richest source of
naturally-occurring Alpha Lipoic Acid. Under normal conditions, our bodies
contain small amounts of Alpha Lipoic Acid but not enough for therapeutic use.
Bearing that in mind, dietary supplementation of Alpha Lipoic Acid may be
especially important for vegetarians and those cutting down on red meat
consumption.
Alpha-lipoic acid (aLA), is also known as
thioctic acid. It has also been shown to be useful in the maintenance of
neural health. It is suggested that vitamin B12 in the form of
methylcobalamin be taken concurrently since aLA may cause B12 depletion.
Recommended dosage:
250 mg 2 times daily.
Proanthocyanidins
-
(grape seed/skin extract)
- These may be the most concentrated natural
antioxidants available. They also inhibit a dangerous enzyme known as COX-2 that
interferes with the body's levels of a beneficial substance called prostacyclin
(discussed below). The newest and most effective form of proanthocyanidins is
Biovin. 50 mg is included
in the full menu of Life Extension Mix, however, the other 150 mg has to
be obtained separately. Recommended
dosage: 100 mg twice daily.
Vitamin E -
This
nutrient also protects prostacyclin, widens blood vessels, and thins the blood.
400 mg is included in the full menu of Life Extension
Mix, however, the other 400 to 800 mg has to be obtained separately.
Recommended dosage: 400 mg initially and gradually raised to 400 mg, 2 or
3 times daily.
Vitamin C -
Recommended dosage: 2000 mg daily,
in divided doses which is included in the full menu of
Life Extension Mix.
Coenzyme Q10
-
(not
included in Life Extension Mix) Coenzyme Q10 is an
immune boosting supplement that supports the heart/cardiovascular system and
convert
fats and sugars into cellular energy.
Our bodies naturally decline production as we age.
Recommended dosage: 30 to 100 mg daily.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine
(ALC) - (not
included in Life Extension Mix) - This may be the single most
important nutrient in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, capable of
demonstrating a significant amelioration of symptoms. Recommended dosage:
500-1000 mg twice daily.
Aspirin
- (not
included in Life Extension Mix) - This ubiquitous medication has
numerous benefits for diabetics. Besides its blood thinning (stroke preventing)
properties, it is the painkiller that does not interfere with prostacyclin (Drvota,
1990). Even more significant was the finding of Malik and Meek (1986) that
aspirin actually blocked glycosylation. Recommended
dosage: One regular strength aspirin every other day.
Vitamin K1/K2
- (not
included in Life Extension Mix) - The pancreas has the second
highest amount of vitamin K in the body. This suggests the vitamin may have
something to do with controlling blood sugar. In the first study of its kind,
researchers in Japan looked at vitamin K's effect on glucose and insulin. In a
study on rats, they found that vitamin K deficiency initially impedes the
clearance of glucose then causes too much insulin to be released. This can be
plotted on a graph that looks very similar to what occurs in diabetes.
Recommended dosage: One 10 mg capsule every other day.
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Dietary Troubles - Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease
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