In the New England Journal of Medicine , the ACCORD study was published in 2008, that involved 10,000 patients with Diabetes, who were designated to receive intensive or regular therapy to lower blood sugar. These patients were monitored and their risks of heart attack, stroke and death were evaluated .
Shockingly the patients whose blood sugar came down the most ,had a higher risk of death. In fact the National Institutes of Health stopped the study after three and a half years , because it was evident that the aggressive blood sugar lowering led to more deaths and heart attacks .
How could this happen ? It might surprise you but many of the methods used to lower blood sugar such as insulin and some of the oral hypoglycemic drugs , actually makes the problem worse when too much insulin flows in the body .
How does Insulin resistance happen ? The cause of diabetes and / or diabesity.
Eating foods which are very sugary like donuts, cakes , pastries, , refined carbohydrates like bread pasta, white rice or cold drinks, soda ,high sugary energy drinks, raises the blood sugar levels leading to increased insulin production by the pancreas in order to bring down the blood sugar levels. Insulin binds to receptors in the body s cells and allows the glucose to enter the cells and be converted to energy. As you continue to have more and more sugary foods , more insulin is produced to keep the blood sugar levels normal. Over time these repeated surges of insulin cause the receptors on your cells to become less and less sensitive and the pancreas has to secrete more than normal amounts to maintain blood sugar. This is known as insulin resistance . A high insulin level in the blood starts off the problems even in the pre-diabetes stage.
Insulin is a fat storing hormone . More insulin produced means more weight and more weight means more insulin resistance . So a vicious cycle starts . Insulin also stimulates more inflammation and oxidative stress as well as high blood pressure , high cholesterol, high triglycerides , low HDL which is the good cholesterol and infertility, thickening of the blood and even cancer , Alzheimer s and depression .
Furthermore as insulin rises , the body starts to lose muscles specially from the lower limbs , gain fat around the middle, loses energy , rapidly age and deteriorate. Thus diabetics are often apple shaped with stick like legs .
So if insulin effects are so hazardous for the body , why are insulin or insulin inducing oral drugs given in diabetics ? Also are insulin levels usually checked during routine blood tests in diabetics? Not often. We only get our blood sugars checked to see if its within normal range but if that normalcy is because of drugs leading to excess insulin production in the body , are we really better off than without drugs ?
But then what is the answer ? How do we treat the rising blood sugar levels ?
The answer is reducing our intake of high sugars and refined carbs , as also foods that jeopardizes the insulin production in the body which could be dairy products and meat as most of these animals are injected with hormones which creates hormonal havoc in our bodies . But is the answer really so simple ? Can pre-diabetics really stop their sugar cravings so easily ?
The answer is no. And its not because of a lack of will power . When there is insulin resistance , you will often have symptoms of hypoglycemia and swings in blood sugars that make you anxious and irritable and tired and also cause palpitations and sometimes panic attacks . This causes the cravings to get out of control and results in gulping down a cinnamon bun or a sugary soda creating huge spikes of insulin and blood sugar . Then you feel a surge of energy and a crash thereafter as your blood sugar plummets.
So the basic question here is how to stop the sudden cravings and eat more balanced meals , have more energy to exercise and thus keep the blood sugar levels balanced .
This is where our holistic approach comes in . Chronic disease results from imbalances in our biology that disturbs our whole system . Through functional medicine we treat the causes , not just the risk factors, and treat the whole system and not just the symptoms. We create health , not just disease and weight loss is a side effect in the process.
So first is to stop the cravings . There are herbs and supplements which stop cravings for sugary foods by keeping the blood sugar spikes from happening . As the cravings come down its easier to plan out a balanced meal and stick to the plan .
Health coaching also has a role as habits get ingrained deeply into our minds and sometimes memories of sugary foods and the happiness we felt with that, makes us stick on to these pleasures. But health coaching can change these habits and memories .
As we eat balanced diets including whole grains and whole foods, the inflammation and oxidative stress decreases and the energy production in the cells improve . Thus we feel more inclined to workout and exercise and move more easily .
Yoga also has unique benefits as certain asanas bring about hormonal balance and effectively restores the body to a state of proper functioning . Furthermore yoga reduces stress which is a contributory factor in diabetes . High intensity interval training and weight training improves metabolism and fat burning .
Energy healing or Reiki helps to start the body s own healing process , reduces stress and provides relaxation. It opens up the blocks in our chakras and thus bring about changes in mindshifts which makes it easier to adopt to a healthier lifestyle.
The above 3 tier approach together can prevent , control or reverse blood sugar levels.
To conclude it is best to avoid Insulin producing drugs as far as possible to bring down blood sugars as the long term effects are certainly not beneficial, instead its better to GO HOLISTIC and reverse Diabetes.
Dr. Sanchita Holistic Health Physician & Certified Coach dr.sanchitab@gmail.com +91 9811190356
#diabetes#bloodsugar#wellness#yoga#reiki#health#prevention#chronicdiseases
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