Type 2 diabetes.

To: herb.franklin.oit.unc.edu
Subject: Diabetic info
From: "John" <Jfoster1.cableone.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 13:13:23 -0600

I found out I was a diabetic about 6 weeks ago. Checked my blood sugar and it was running 350. My father is a diabetic and my oldest brother just found out he was a diabetic. Got my bg level down in about a week to normal and have kept it there since then.Only way I can do this though is by eating very few carbohydrates. I did not go to the Dr. and not taking any medications. I guess it is safe to say I am a type 2 diabetic. Refering back to the Dr. situation, many people have told me I should go but I just have a unusual fear of Dr.s. I understand there are many good ones it is just a phobia I have. I have been on Gymnema and soaking fenugreek seeds in water overnight and drinking the water and eating the seeds.

My real question is this. The diet I have to maintain is very few carbos. Meats like chicken and turkey, green vegetables. NO grains, even the 7 grain cereal by Arrowhead mill will raise it 30 to 40 points with just half a serving and that is with water not milk, no fruits, no breads. Would I actually be healthier to get on insulin and be able to eat some of the healthier foods?

One more thing I was wondering. Some of the thoughts on type 2 is that you are producing insulin but the receptors do not let passage into the cells. That might not be completely right but it is in the ballpark I think. Does anyone have any experience with herbs that help that situation. I do not know exaclty why but I keep wondering about the standard blood purifier formulas. You know the ones that are ususally red clover, echinacea, maybe some burdock, many time chapparell. I was just wondering if they might improve the situation.

My readings are from 90 to 110 95% of the time. Few instances it will go to 130 when trying a new food to see how it affects me.

Thanks John jfoster1.cableone.net

Subject: Chaparral/diabetes
From: Charlie Kane <charkane.earthlink.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 19:26:47 -0700

> You know the ones that are ususally red clover, echinacea, maybe some burdock, many time chapparell. I was just wondering if they might improve the situation.

John,
Chaparral's semi recent folk past is rich with with accounts of diabetes usage. Recent animal studies have reaffirmed this. After chaparral was administered no changes were found with insulin concentrations, but the ability of insulin to lower blood glucose levels improved.

Charlie

Subject: Re: Diabetic info (long)
From: Karen S Vaughan <creationsgarden.juno.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 23:23:55 -0500

John-

First, if you have poor reactions to grain carbohydrates, they aren't "healthier" for you. You can probably take some occasionally in whole grain form only-- not ground down into cereal-- at the midday meal, in small amounts and followed by exercise. Keep your vegetables up to make up for the fiber lost. Use fruits sparingly, keeping to those high in flavonoids. Try sprouting the feneugreek seeds, and drink the rinse water.

Minerals are important in cellular resistance to insulin. Dietary sources should include kelp, nettles, kale, collards, violet leaves, and oats. I found that 120 mg once a day of Lithium orotate reduces my blood sugar significantly. (This is NOT the prescription Lithium carbonate used for bipolar disease which has a smaller therapeutic window and is given in much higher doses) (And if I skip it, my bg goes back up.) The sodium pump is now called the sodium/lithium pump in research and low dose lithium will probably be added to the RDAs in the next decade. You can buy it from Advanced Research on the web or OTC if you have a good store. Don't try to use more than one per day- more isn't better.

The other important mineral is magnesium in approximately twice the concentration of dietary calcium. 80% of the population is overtly deficient in Magnesium, while 50% don't get even half of the RDA, and the RDA is too low. Insulin resistance makes you excrete more magnesium than usual in your urine, Magnesium levels have significantly dropped in crops since the 1970s, probably including milky oats, unless you have a good biodynamic or organic source. Even the magnesium level in feedlot beef and farmed salmon is nowhere near the levels found in game or nonfarmed fish. Magnesium absorbtion is similar to calcium absorbtion based upon the form used. I would use an Albion chelated form in addition to the herbs based upon the calcium data below:

Bioavailability of various forms of calcium (and probably magnesium):

Herbal sources include (numbers based upon dry weight):

Stress is a major factor in diabetes, and your concern about your father may have affected you. I went over the edge after losing a friend, which sent my entire endocrine system out of whack. Overnight oat infusions can help with this (and get you some of the grain benefits without the concentrated carbos). I also suggest some form of physical meditation--Taiji or Qi gong or yoga. And acupuncture can help. I asked my acupuncturist to work on relieving grief and my blood sugar a few weeks after I started. She used points including Lung 7 and Kidney 6 (and probably something for my Spleen-pancreas system), and my mood shifted and my blood sugar went down 15 points below what I had been able to achieve with diet and supplements alone. It might have taken two treatments a week to stay there, but I think that using magnets at the strategic points might prolong the effect between treatments.

Liver support will probably help as well. That may be more important than the blood detox formulas.

I have also been helped using Action labs "Sugar Loss" which includes herbal and mineral ingredients including chromium polynicotinate, vanadyl sulfate, bitter melon, gymnema sylvestre and licorice. The formula is directed specifically at insulin resistance.

You probably know that blood sugar will fluctuate significantly within two hours of eating, but it should return. I base my progress on a fasting blood sugar level taken in the morning at least 8 hours after my last food, rather than on levels throughout the day. After getting your blood sugar down by diet for three months, get a hemoglobin A1c test which looks at your average fluctuation over time- it may be more accurate than fasting glucose if you eat late, which isn't recommended. The recommendation is to get the HgA1c 4 times a year, a microalbuminuria test for your kidneys once a year and a lipid panel once a year. And you know the rap about exercise and losing weight.

Good luck.

Karen Vaughan
CreationsGarden.juno.com
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Email advice is not a substitute for medical treatment.