Understanding Diabetes

Most diabetics don't understand their disease. This is usually because their physicians don't understand diabetes either.

Unfortunately it is not uncommon for diabetics whose blood sugar has been controlled by diet and/or oral drugs to have their blood sugar skyrocket because the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin. This overworked organ has failed and effectively their type 2 diabetes has become type 1 diabetes. Insulin is now necessary to maintain normal blood sugar levels. A tragedy often ensues. The patient assumes that an unhealthy diet is now okay since they can just take more insulin to control blood sugar levels. This is the basic misunderstanding of diabetes.

A good analogy for diabetes is a brush fire.  Brush fires are usually easily handled unless they start in California during the dry season. Diabetics are like dry season California. They have the underlying conditions to allow massive damage mainly because of vascular disease which is always present in diabetics. Macro-vascular disease leads to heart attacks, heart failure, strokes, limb infections and amputations. Microvascular disease leads to dementia, blindness, kidney failure, neuropathy. Diabetics on insulin have hugely increased rates of all these conditions.

The only way to avoid the progression of this vascular disease is through diet. Blood sugar control with insulin helps; it postpones the dreadful vascular complications for a while. But only diet prevents them. A good diet is like a long, drenching rainfall for California fires; it is the only way to prevent and treat diabetic complications. As prior blogs have explained, this means little or no animal products including dairy, vegetable oils, refined sugars and refined grains, salt. Good diet also requires plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices to provide nutrients necessary for health of blood vessels and all organ systems.