3 PART REPORT
#1
Diabetes, Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Life Extension
Diabetes
For several years now, people have been begging me to specifically address the issue of “diabetes,” and I have consistently resisted. I fully understand that it is a serious problem. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the incidence of diabetes leaped almost 50% in the last ten years, and the number of obese Americans has increased a startling 57%.
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the developed world today, with something around 17 million sufferers in the United States alone, and with the incidence still accelerating – not to mention the millions more who are hypoglycemic and/or borderline diabetic.
But the problem is that diabetes is, for the most part, a self-inflicted disease – a disease that can be prevented and almost always reversed by following a program like the Baseline of Health.
Knowing this, I was very reluctant to address the issue of “symptom management” – to, in effect, assist people in avoiding doing those things that they needed to do to truly reverse problems in their own bodies.
Last year, however, I became convinced that I needed to modify this rigid point of view. There were three primary reasons for this change.
- In the United States, per capita sugar consumption now averages a mind-blowing 152 pounds per year per person. This is hardly surprising, though, when you consider that virtually every packaged food contains several kinds of sugar disguised in ingredient lists as sucrose, corn syrup, fructose, and even caramel color. The net result is that the CDC now refers to diabetes and obesity as an “unfolding epidemic.”
Probably the single most important step you could take to reverse that trend is to find a way to help people reduce the glycemic (blood sugar) index as much as possible with each meal. This would, of course, have life saving consequences for both diabetics and the obese, but would also be extremely important for the rapidly growing percentage of “ordinary” people who may unknowingly be in the early stages of diabetes caused by our modern diet of processed foods and hidden sugars. - I became convinced that most people were incapable of making the required changes to control their own diabetes. In other words, it became essential to find some way to assist this large number of people who were unable to assist themselves.
- As I began to play with the idea, I became convinced that it would be possible to do more than just control blood sugar. I became convinced that it would be possible to develop a natural supplement that would not only help manage most of the symptoms associated with bad diet (blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and weight), but that could also help rebuild the very organs (such as the pancreas and liver) that had been damaged by poor diet and that were now instrumental in causing the symptoms that we were now dealing with. This was exciting.
Developing a Natural Formula For Diabetes
Once you begin to explore the world of herbs and supplements that relate to the symptoms of bad diet, you soon discover that there are literally dozens and dozens of them. But after experimenting for a number of months with all of them, I eventually began to focus on a combination of just four. The value of this particular combination lay in the fact that each of the ingredients addresses the key problems through entirely different mechanisms – thus not just reinforcing each other’s benefits, but actually amplifying them. The bottom line is that it became quickly evident that the effect of this combination was far greater than the sum of its parts (as significant as that sum was).
Improving the Effect on Blood Sugar Levels
Unfortunately, figuring out what ratio to use when combining these ingredients was not easy since no one else had worked with this combination before, and there were no studies to base any decisions on. That left only one alternative – trial and error with multiple variations, combined with rigorous testing. After months of playing with the formula and months of tweaking, I was able to determine an optimum formulation of:
- Nopal cactus
- Konjac mannan
- Gymnema sylvestre
- High galactomannan fenugreek extract (galactomannan content of 60-80%)
Nopal Cactus
Nopal is native to the southwestern desert regions of the United States and Mexico, and has a whole range of health benefits (all proven in numerous studies, both animal and human). These include the ability to:
- Lower blood sugar levels by blocking absorption of sugar in the intestinal tract.
- Lower overall cholesterol levels, improve the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol, and lower triglycerides by preventing the conversion of blood sugar into fat and by eliminating excess bile acids, which would ultimately be converted into cholesterol.
- Lower blood pressure.
- Induce weight-loss by curbing appetite and facilitating the breakdown and excretion of fat.
- Prevent ulcers.
- Support the liver and pancreas as demonstrated by improved liver function and increased insulin production over time.
- Block the absorption of fat.
- Cleanse the bladder and lymphatic systems.
Konjac Mannan
Like nopal, konjac mannan benefits the human body in numerous ways. Studies have shown that it can:
- Lower blood sugar levels by ameliorating insulin resistance.
- Improve cholesterol profiles by binding to cholesterol and removing it as waste.
- Dramatically lower triglycerides.
- Lower blood pressure in a matter of weeks.
- Reduce constipation in as little as three days.
- Help people lose weight and then keep that weight off (significant weight-loss for about 10 weeks, followed by indefinite stabilization).
Fenugreek
As far back as ancient Egypt, fenugreek was prized for its healing properties. However, its strong bitter taste and its tendency to produce strong odors in sweat and urine made it less than optimal as a substantial component of any formula – until now. Recently, a tasteless, odorless fenugreek extract with a 60-80% galactomannan content was developed. This allows access to all of fenugreek’s benefits, with none of the downside. Benefits include:
- Decreases the glycemic incidence of food. In studies, the unique galactomannan ratio of galactose and mannose in fenugreek reduced urinary sugar levels of participants by as much as 54%.
- Decreases insulin response to food and helps maintain normal serum glucose levels by slowing down the absorption rate of carbohydrates, thereby lowering the insulin requirement.
- Inhibits absorption of fats. (The steroidal saponins account for many of the beneficial effects of fenugreek, particularly the inhibition of cholesterol absorption and synthesis.)
- Aids in weight-loss by increasing the sense of fullness.
Gymnema sylvestre
Gymnema may be the classic “anti-sugar” herb. In India, its name literally means “The Sugar Destroyer.” Gymnema offers several unique benefits in this formula.
- It significantly reduces the metabolic effects of sugar by preventing the intestines from absorbing the sugar molecules during the process of digestion, and it accomplishes this through a different mechanism than any of the other ingredients. The active molecule in gymnema, called gymnemic acid, works by “filling” the sugar receptor sites in the intestine – making them unavailable to ingested sugars.
- It reduces the symptoms of glycosuria (sugar in the urine).
- It has been shown to regenerate the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, especially the beta cells. In tests on diabetic rats, the pancreas doubled in size and grew new insulin-producing cells. This is very significant.
- It stimulates the insulin secretion of the pancreas.
- Over time, it reduces the taste for sugar in much the same way that it prevents absorption in the intestine. The gymnemic acid blocks the receptor sites of the taste buds. (In fact, put some on your tongue, and it will kill all taste for sugar for a couple of hours.)
Testing the Effect on Diabetes
Maybe the greatest advantage of the visibility I have received from Lessons from the Miracle Doctors is that there are now a number of medical doctors eager to test things for me. This greatly simplified the next step – testing the concept/supplement. And over a period of about 6 months now, we have done just that. The results have been nothing short of miraculous. (Note: all of the subjects continued to eat their normal diet during the course of the test.)
Blood Sugar
There are two things that are important to understand. First, without the rest of the Baseline of Health Program being utilized, we are merely managing the symptoms here. As long as this supplement is used, the symptoms are controlled. With that said, the results have been mind-boggling. Below is a graph showing the blood sugar levels of a typical participant in the study over a period of about six weeks.
The graph shows an astounding drop of almost 500 points in just two weeks. The little hiccup resulted from the individual not using the formula for a day while at the same time indulging in sweets. The next day, when the formula was resumed, the sugar levels once again returned to normal. Other examples include patients dropping from 387 to 82 and from 488 to the mid 80s.
The bottom line is that when used as directed, the formula absolutely dropped dangerous blood sugar levels into the normal range almost without fail.
There is also another test, the A1c test, which shows the average amount of sugar (glucose) that has been in your blood over the last 2 or 3 months. It does this by measuring the amount of glucose that’s attached to your red blood cells. The higher the level of your blood sugar, the more sugar will be attached to your red blood cells. The glucose stays attached to the hemoglobin for the life of the red blood cell, which is about 2 or 3 months. Therefore, A1c test results give a picture of how much glucose has been in your bloodstream during the past 2 or 3 months. On the formula, we watched people drop from severe diabetic (9.0) to totally non-diabetic (5.7) in under six weeks. This is unprecedented.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is often overrated as a factor in heart disease. It’s more like it’s guilty by being found at the scene of the crime then actually committing the crime itself. (We’ll talk more about that at another time.) However, it is an indicator of other problems in the body; and there is no question that it thickens the blood, which when combined with narrowed arteries, is a very real risk to the heart and brain.
The real problem is that standard prescription medications damage the one organ in the body, the liver, that’s actually responsible for regulating cholesterol. To regulate cholesterol while truly supporting the liver would be a miracle.
On the supplement, we saw consistent downward trends in total overall cholesterol levels, and more importantly, consistent improvement in the LDL/HDL ratios (from 4 to 2.3 in just 3 weeks, for example) – all while helping rebuild the liver.
Triglycerides
We also saw consistent downward trends in triglyceride levels.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure dropped enough for several patients to discontinue their blood pressure medication.
Weight
Weight-loss in the range of 5-8 lbs during the study. (Again, with no change in diet.)
Immune System
Although nothing in the formula directly affects the immune system, the formula will, nevertheless, profoundly benefit that system. Since the intake of large amounts of high-glycemic carbohydrates plays havoc with the immune system, preventing the absorption of those carbohydrates will dramatically enhance most people’s natural immune functions.
Warning
After months of testing, the doctors involved issued two warnings.
- Anyone under a doctor’s care for diabetes, or high cholesterol, or high blood pressure must use this supplement with their doctor’s permission and guidance since it is extremely likely that it will require a change in their medication.
- It is essential that you use this supplement with food (ideally about 5-10 minutes before eating). If you do not eat when using the formula, you are liable to see your blood sugar levels plummet. I personally made this mistake when playing with the supplement. I took it without eating, and “crashed” like I've never experienced before. Understand; this really works. Within minutes after eating, I was back to normal again.
What Next
The key question now is, “What next?” We've got a supplement that works unbelievably well. It has only multiple-benefit side effects (other than a mild tendency to intestinal distress if people use too much too soon). We've got the doctors who tested it begging for a regular supply for their patients who received such extraordinary benefits. We’ve got a huge and growing demand from people who desperately need it.
But, if you manufacture it, how can you market it? You can’t tell people what it does or how well it does it without running afoul of legal restrictions. And in fact, even if you say nothing about it, it works so well that the authorities might want to regulate it as a drug anyway. On the other hand, when all is said and done, what we’re talking about here is merely a combination of four natural ingredients – unique in effectiveness only because no one else has ever combined these ingredients in this way before.
Addendum to the Original Article
Changes to the Formula
Given time, and the ability to test several hundred more variations, I have been able to make two additions to the formula that significantly enhance its effectiveness. The problem lies not just in finding new ingredients and adding them, but in finding the right sources of those ingredients and determining the exact amounts to add without diminishing the effectiveness of the original ingredients. You can’t just slam it together based on something you read in an herb book and expect it to work.
1% Corisolic Acid from Banaba Leaf
The blood sugar regulating properties of corosolic acid, the active ingredient in banaba leaf, have been demonstrated in cell culture, animal and human studies. In isolated cells, it is known to stimulate glucose uptake. In diabetic mice, rats and rabbits, banaba feeding reduces elevated blood sugar and insulin levels to normal. In humans with type II diabetes, banaba extract, at a dose of 16-48 mg per day for 4-8 weeks, has been shown to be effective in reducing blood sugar levels (5%-30% reduction) and maintaining tighter control of blood sugar fluctuations. An interesting “side-effect” of tighter control of blood sugar and insulin levels is a significant tendency of banaba to promote weight loss (an average of 2-4 lbs. per month) – without significant dietary alterations. It is likely that modulation of glucose and insulin levels reduces total caloric intake somewhat and encourages moderate weight-loss.
Bitter Melon (Momordica Charantia)
At least three different groups of constituents in bitter melon have been reported to have blood-sugar lowering actions of potential benefit in diabetes mellitus. These include a mixture of steroidal saponins known as charantin, insulin-like peptides, and alkaloids. It is still unclear which of these is most effective, or if all three work together. Already, some clinical trials have confirmed the benefit of bitter melon for people with diabetes. (Raman A, Lau C. Anti-diabetic properties and phytochemistry of Momordica charantia L (Curcurbitaceae). Phytomed 1996;2:349–62.)
Early studies suggest that one of the components of bitter melon extract may be effective in slowing the growth or spread of some types of cancer, particularly breast cancer. Cervical cancer patients (stage II or III) have shown some evidence of immune system response to bitter melon while undergoing radiotherapy.
Some studies suggest that a component of bitter melon seeds may provide benefits for HIV by preventing the virus from infecting human cells. However, these studies have been conducted only in laboratory settings, and no research has been done in humans.
Note: There is some evidence that couples looking to conceive should not use bitter melon. One study in particular showed that bitter melon may have antispermatogenic activity. The study is far from conclusive, and even if true, the results are temporary -- with speratogenic activity quickly returning to normal upon ceasing ingestion.
Cinnulin
A Cinnulin PF is a water soluble polyphenol Type A polymer that is the only cinnamon extract validated in studies by the USDA to:
- Improve your body's insulin response up to twentyfold
Cinnulin is up to 700% more effective than cinnamon itself and avoids the potentially harmful allergic side effects that can occur when using high doses of cinnamon.
Cinnulin also has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. And Cinnulin can significantly lower blood serum triglycerides.
Life Extension
Of all the things one can do to increase longevity, only one has been proven to actually extend life across the board: caloric restriction (CR). Caloric restriction is the only means of retarding aging that is both well-researched and proven. (Note: CR is not the same as dieting or starvation. It entails the reduction of caloric intake while maintaining the optimal intake of essential nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals.)
What effects does CR have on the body that extend life? It appears that its effects are threefold:
- Lowers body temperature.
- Raises DHEA levels.
- Lowers plasma insulin levels.
Interestingly enough, lowering plasma insulin levels also tends to lower body temperature and increase DHEA levels, indicating that insulin may be a prime factor in the aging process. And in fact, this was supported by studies that showed that the glucoregulatory agent, metformin, might be just as effect as CR in reversing aging and rejuvenating the elderly -- thereby resulting in studies indicating that regular use of metformin might be the "Most Significant Anti-Aging Discovery in Medical History," as reported in Life Extension Magazine.
So what's the reality?
- First, although, as far as drugs go, metformin is relatively benign, it is not totally without side effects. It occasionally causes death from lactic acidosis, for example, which is not insignificant for those who die.
- But more importantly, it is quite likely that some minor changes in lifestyle and the use of natural supplements (such as nopal, konjac mannan, fenugreek, gymnema sylvestre, corosolic acid, and bitter melon) can offer the same benefits with no negative side effects and at less cost.
You can find the herbal formula here: Diabetes Herbal Formula (Food & Drug Administration restrictions threaten the supplier's ability to talk about what this product does concerning diabetes)
Testimonials about the Herbal Formula:
“Six months ago I started on your product Glucotor-2. Yesterday (8-02-05) I went to my doctor for a check up. My AIC was 6.0 down from 8.4 last year. Overall cholesterol was 185. I take no prescription drugs. The doctor said he could not believe the results. Blood pressure was normal, chest x-ray was fine and blood sugar was fantastic.
“You may use this letter as testimonial for others. Your product does work and I am more than pleased. “
Joel, VA
"Glucotor-2 is working! Before I found out about Jon Barron, another source had suggested some of the same and similar ingredients as I've found in Glucotor-2. But, they didn't give me the amount of each one to take. But Glucotor-2 has it all wrapped up in one formula. My numbers went from a high of 210 down to 126 now in just a short time on Glucotor-2, and I'm wanting to get that number down even lower."
Donald T, AZ
"I finally found Jon Barron's website, and I'm tickled pink to be able to order his products. Expecially the Glucotor-2. My doctor said my hemoglobin has way too much sugar, and wanted to put me on prescription medications. I didn't want to do that.
“So I ordered Glucotor-2 instead, and in just a few days of taking it, I'm already feeling the positive effects it's having on me. I finally found a good product that works.
"I'm a very happy customer, and plan to order more Glucotor-2 and some other Baseline Nutritional products, and keep a good supply on hand."
J. Culp, NC
"I'm a diabetic, and knew I needed to make some changes in my life. I started off with the Colon Detoxifier and Glucotor and have already lost 30 pounds! My friends kid me that I'm getting slim now, but I'm determined to lose another 10! I'm on a mission to spread the word about Jon Barron and his wonderful products. I tell people, “You've got to take this (product)" or "You've got to take that (product) if you want to get your health back.” I tell anybody who'll listen that they have to read Jon's book Lessons from the Miracle Doctors; and that if they want to live longer, they've got to get Jon Barron's products. Period!
Charles H, FL
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#2
Diabetes: the Echo Effect
Date: 01/29/2007Posted By: Jon Barron
Over the years, I've talked about various aspects of diabetes, but never actually devoted an entire newsletter to the subject. Yes, high fructose corn syrup, starches, and added sugars are a problem, but they only scratch the surface of the issue.
The Diabetes Echo Effect
Type 2 diabetes is not like any other disease. Most diseases such as cancer and MS are linear. In other words, you get the disease and it progresses in a straight line, from point A to point B. It may have regressions and remissions in which it backs up on its linear path for a bit, but then it picks up steam and once again proceeds on down the same track to its ultimate conclusion.
Diabetes does not do that.
Diabetes actually follows multiple, mutually reinforcing paths -- an echo effect if you will, with each echo reinforcing and amplifying all the other echoes, or "effects". This distinction is of vital importance because it mandates multiple points of intervention if you wish to reverse diabetes and not just slow its progression.
Reversing Diabetes Begins with Understanding Insulin
Despite long intervals between meals and the erratic intake of high glycemic carbohydrates, blood sugar levels normally remain within a narrow range. In most humans, this range is from about 70-110 mg per dl. (Note: a blood sugar reading of 100 equates to about 1/5 of an ounce of sugar (5 g) total in the bloodstream of an average 165 lb (75 kg) male. That's it: 1/5 of an ounce.
The body's mechanisms for restoring normal blood glucose levels when it drops outside of its range (either low or high) are extremely efficient and effective.
High blood sugar levels are regulated by the hormone insulin, which is produced by beta cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. These cells are extremely sensitive to variations in blood glucose levels and, under normal circumstances, respond with extraordinary speed to any variation.
When you eat high glycemic foods, you suddenly increase the amount of sugar in your blood. This increase triggers the beta cells in the pancreas to release insulin, which travels in the blood to cells throughout the body, where it facilitates the uptake of sugar in the individual cells so that it can be quickly converted to energy. If you eat too much sugar, insulin tells the body to store the excess sugar as glycogen in the liver (and also, to a lesser degree, in muscle tissue). When the glucose levels come down to acceptable levels, this triggers the beta cells in the pancreas to stop the production and release of insulin, which allows the process to stabilize. When blood glucose levels drop too low, however, the hormone glucagon is released from alpha cells (located in the pancreas), which triggers the release of sugar stored in the liver as glycogen; thus, once again bringing blood sugar levels back to normal. One important note: release of insulin is strongly inhibited by the stress hormone, noradrenaline, which is why blood sugar levels increase so dramatically during stress.
The Initial "Sound": Insulin Resistance
On the surface of the cells of your body sit insulin receptors. These little "lock and key" chemical gateways act like little doors that open and close to regulate the inflow of blood sugar. After many years of consuming a high-glycemic diet, these cells become damaged by exposure to so much insulin that their "doors" begin to malfunction and shut down.
As a result, the fat cells, muscle cells, and liver cells of the body become resistant to insulin so that normal amounts of insulin are no longer adequate to produce a normal response. The cells require ever and ever greater quantities of insulin to achieve even the most minimal response.
Insulin resistance in fat cells results in the breakdown of stored triglycerides, which elevates free fatty acids in the blood. Insulin resistance in muscle cells reduces glucose uptake which keeps sugar levels high in the blood, and insulin resistance in liver cells reduces glucose storage, which also raises blood glucose levels.
The First Diabetic Echo: Increased Production of Insulin
To continue the "door analogy" we started above -- with fewer doors open, as we mentioned, your body needs to produce ever more insulin to "push" the glucose into the cells. More insulin causes even more doors to close and as this vicious cycle continues, a condition called "insulin resistance" sets in.
This is a primary cause and effect response by your body. If normal insulin levels are not enough to make the cells behave properly, the beta cells in your pancreas continue to sense high levels of glucose in the blood; they thus go into overdrive to pump out ever greater quantities of insulin in an attempt to bring blood sugar levels back to normal. In most cases, this extra insulin is enough to bring things back under control -- for a time -- but with two significant side effects:
It puts undue stress on the beta cells in the pancreas. They can only operate in overdrive for a limited period of time before they burn out. At that point, not only can they no longer produce sufficient levels of insulin even under prodding, they have effectively lost all ability to produce insulin under any conditions. They are burnt out.
The increased insulin comes with a whole host of its own side effects. See Echo Three below.
The Second Diabetic Echo: High Sugar Damage
Too much sugar in the blood leads to increased thirst in the body's attempt to get rid of the extra sugar. This leads to increased urination and starts putting an extra burden on your kidneys. Too much sugar causes the small blood vessels throughout the body to narrow as your body tries to abate the damage caused to organs by minimizing the ability of the excess sugar to reach them.
The higher the blood sugar level, the more the small blood vessels narrow. The blood vessels thus carry less blood, and circulation is impaired. Poor circulation in turn results in complications such as: kidney disease, poor wound healing, and foot and eye problems. This sugar imbalance also alters fat metabolism, increasing the risk that cholesterol-laden plaque will build up in the large blood vessels. Finally, sugar also sticks to proteins, in effect carmelizing them, causing their structural and functional properties to be changed. It is a primary reason that wounds don't heal since they have trouble making quality collagen, the connective tissue that is the major structural protein in the body.
The bottom line is that people who have diabetes are at considerable risk of multiple "complications."
In addition, as we mentioned earlier, stress results in the adrenal glands pumping adrenaline into the bloodstream which increases free fatty acids in the blood and shuts off the release of insulin. In obesity, less and less insulin is able to reach the insulin-responsive muscles. In the end, there is not enough insulin to meet the demand.
Diabetic neuropathy (damage to nerves caused by diabetes) affects the peripheral nerves, such as those in the feet, hands and legs. Symptoms include numbness, tingling and pain.
The Third Diabetic Echo: Excess Insulin Damage
Excess sugar is not the only problem associated with diabetes. Excess insulin is also a killer. Insulin is the master hormone of your metabolism. When it is out of balance and your insulin levels are consistently elevated, a long list of deadly complications are created:
Heart Disease
Hardening of the Arteries
Damage to Artery Walls (elevated insulin levels are directly implicated in the damage done to arterial walls that leads to atherosclerosis)
Increased Cholesterol Levels
Increased Triglycerides
Elevated Blood Pressure
Vitamin & Mineral Deficiencies
Kidney Disease
Fat Burning Mechanism Turned Off
Accumulation and Storage of Fat
Weight Gain -- Obesity
The Fourth Diabetic Echo: Destruction of the Beta Cells
This is the big echo in which all the other echoes get ramped up to catastrophic levels. When blood sugar levels rise even slightly above 100 for as little as two hours, beta cell failure is detectable. People that maintain blood sugar levels of as little as 110 can lose as much as 40% of their beta cell capacity in as little as two years.
In other words, the very cells of your body responsible for keeping blood sugar under control are destroyed by the excess blood sugar that they are unable to control, which echoes back on the beta cells in the pancreas, destroying them and thus causing blood sugar levels to rise even further. This then reverberates through the body once again, echoing back once more on the pancreas, killing even more beta cells -- on and on until there are no beta cells left to destroy.
Echo Five: Breakdown of the Body
At a certain point in the process, when your body can no longer produce any insulin and resists even the insulin you take through injection, you begin to experience the ravages of diabetes. At that point, you're looking at:
Neuropathy
Amputation
Kidney failure
Dialysis
Heart disease
Blindness
Death
Summarizing the Diabetic Echo Effect
Let's say you start developing the early signs of diabetes and you decide to clean up your diet.
The problem is that you've already started the echoes. So although your diet may now have lower amounts of sugar, your pancreas is compromised so that it can't produce enough insulin to handle even normal amounts of sugar, and the cells of your body are now resistant to insulin so that even if your pancreas weren't damaged, it couldn't produce enough insulin. This means that sugar levels remain high in your bloodstream even though you've corrected your diet, and the diabetic damage continues apace.
But it doesn't stop there. Remeber, an entirely separate echo has also been set in motion. As a result of the higher than normal levels of sugar and insulin in your blood, you've damaged your kidneys so that they can no longer fully cleanse your blood of waste. That means that even if you are able to reestablish normal blood sugar levels, the toxins not cleared by your kidneys continue to damage the organs of your body -- including the pancreas and the kidneys, which means the damage continues apace and eventually your pancreas and kidneys will fail.
Don't worry. Although the situation may sound grim, it's not hopeless. It does, however, present the limitations of the medical approach, and it does show why the Baseline of Health program, which deals with the whole body all at once, is likely to produce significantly better results than the medical approach.
So What Can You Do About Diabetes?
Standard medical treatment offers several flawed approaches:
Drugs like metformin seek to inhibit the absorption of high glycemic carbohydrates in the intestinal tract and enhance insulin sensitivity in the body, thereby reducing the need for extra insulin.
The major problem with metformin is its effect on the gastrointestinal system, ranging from a mild loss of appetite to nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, cramps, flatulence and diarrhea. Many patients find these symptoms impossible to cope with and discontinue the tablets within days.
Lactic acidosis is a rare but dangerous side effect of metformin. This is a serious condition where the cells of the body do not get enough oxygen to survive. It is caused by a build up of lactic acid in the blood. Most of the cases described have been in people whose kidneys were not working well (as we've already seen, an inevitable problem with diabetes).
Drugs like glyburide work by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin. Glyburide is so effective that you need to carry glucose pills with you in case you produce so much insulin that your blood sugar drops too low and you fall into a diabetic coma. Although this rarely happens, it is indicative of the larger problems with glyburide:
It raises insulin levels so high that your body faces all of the problems of high insulin levels discussed above.
It doesn't repair beta cells; it just forces them to work harder -- thus speeding up the day when they break down and become dysfunctional.
Extra insulin in the form of pills or injections cover you when the beta cells in your pancreas have burned out and can no longer produce sufficient insulin by themselves or even when stimulated by drugs such as glyburide -- until, that is, your body's insulin resistance is so high that no amount of insulin is adequate for the task at hand. At that point, your body goes into rapid decay.
A Diabetic Alternative: Stopping the Echoes
Obviously, any viable alternative needs to address the problems that medicines do not. They also need to work "with" the body so that they can work long term -- not squeeze your body dry until it eventually breaks down. And finally, any viable alternative needs to stop all of the echoes -- all of them without exception -- so that nothing bounces back to retrigger the problems.
With that in mind, in addition to changing your diet (no more sodas and high glycemic snack food), you will want to explore the following options:
Inhibit absorption of high glycemic foods, without creating unwelcome responses in the intestinal tract, such as those experienced using metformin. This can be accomplished with the following herbs:
Nopal cactus
Gymnema sylvestre
Naturally reverse insulin resistance so less insulin is required through:
Konjac mannan
Cinnulin PF
Chromium GTF
Omega-3 fatty acids
Repair beta cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas to optimize insulin production reserves as opposed to forcing the cells to dramatically overproduce as with glyburide, which leads to inevitable burn out.
Gymnema sylvestre
Alpha lipoic acid or R lipoic acid
Lower blood sugar levels through proper diet and herbal supplementation:
Fenugreek extract
Momordica charantia
Corosolic acid
Mulberry
Reduce stress. Remember, adrenaline suppresses the release of insulin.
Protect organs and proteins from damage caused by higher than normal levels of sugar through a mixture of antioxidants and nutraceuticals such as:
L-Carnosine
Acetyl-l-carnitine
DMAE
CoQ10
Alpha lipoic acid or R lipoic acid
Benfotiamine
Protect organs from damage caused by higher than normal insulin levels by cleaning the blood and by using:
A blood cleansing formula
Proteolytic enzymes
Omega-3 fatty acids
The bottom line to preventing and reversing diabetes is to do everything, and do it all at once. Since diabetes is not a single straight line progression disease, you need to stop every single "echo" so that no aspect of the disease can reverberate and start the whole process moving downhill again. You need to stop it all or it will all start again.
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#3
Who Says Low Blood Sugar Kills Diabetics?
Date: 2/18/2008Posted By: Jon Barron
I realize that investigative journalism is a dying art now that revenues for the world's major newspapers are dramatically down. But I hadn't realized until last week how completely reporters had redefined their jobs according to the limited definition of "reporter" as merely repeating what they have been told. When it comes to healthcare issues and studies, they ask no questions and use no logic or discrimination -- and for that matter, as we will see, have no memories.
So what exactly am I ranting about?
In media all over the world, reporters are trumpeting the results of a major new study on diabetes. Actually, what they're reporting on is the public announcement of a mid-term correction of one particular treatment within a large, ongoing clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease called ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes). Here are the shocking headlines.
Baltimore Sun: Diabetics' deaths tied to lower blood sugar.
New York Times: A major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday.
Los Angeles Times: Researchers had to curtail a major clinical trial of intensive treatment for such patients after concluding that patients with the lowest blood sugar levels had an increased risk of dying compared with those with a more modest reduction of sugar levels.
Talk about confusion and nonsense!!
First let's look at what the press actually said. Then we'll look at how they obtained their information. And finally, we'll look at the truth behind the announcement.
First: what the press said about the diabetes study
Here are some actual quotes from the New York Times article on the announcement. In fact, all the press announcements were virtually identical.
Dr. John Buse, the vice-chairman of the study's steering committee and the president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, described what was required to get blood sugar levels low, as measured by a protein, hemoglobin A1C, which was supposed to be at 6 percent or less.
"Many were taking four or five shots of insulin a day," he said. "Some were using insulin pumps. Some were monitoring their blood sugar seven or eight times a day."
They also took pills to lower their blood sugar, in addition to the pills they took for other medical conditions and to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol. They also came to a medical clinic every two months and had frequent telephone conversations with clinic staff.
Those assigned to the less stringent blood sugar control, an A1C level of 7.0 to 7.9 percent, had an easier time of it. They measured their blood sugar once or twice a day, went to the clinic every four months and took fewer drugs or lower doses.
And the conclusion as presented in the Times article: A major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday.
My problem with this is? The trial's data (or rather its methodology) doesn't say this at all. If you actually look at the trial, a statement that would more accurately represent the data would read:
During a major federal study that attempted to learn what happened when blood sugar was lowered in Type 2 diabetics, it was discovered that the aggressive use of insulin and pharmaceutical drugs to accomplish this purpose actually increased the risk of death.
Now, to be sure, when releasing the trial results, the researchers indicated that they had addressed this very issue as to whether there were any drugs or drug combinations that might have been to blame. And they said they found none.The exact quote from the announcement media kit is:
ACCORD researchers have extensively analyzed the available data and have not been able to identify to date any specific cause for the higher death rate among the intensive blood sugar treatment group. Based on analyses done to date, there is no evidence that any medication or combination of medications is responsible for the higher risk.
Well, I guess I stand corrected. I say the study data implicates the use of drugs in the higher death toll seen in the aggressively treated group, and the people in charge of releasing the data say there is no such connection. Unfortunately, even though they may be doctors, "authority figures," and talking heads, their conclusion does not hold up under even the slightest scrutiny. A little later, we'll discuss why, but for now, let's take a look at how the press viewed this information.
How the press came to their conclusions on the diabetes trial
So where did the press get its information from? Why is virtually every article identical? And why did they all come to the same erroneous conclusion?
As I mentioned at the top of the newsletter, reporting on medical research is by no means investigative. In fact, it functions very much like any good political announcement from virtually any country in the world. By that I meant that studies are often released as carefully orchestrated media events -- complete with live talking heads (doctors) for suitable quotes to provide the appropriate spin, media kits with carefully packaged Q&A, and carefully edited support materials to save the reporters the trouble of actually having to read the study in question. Coming from such "reliable" authorities, why would reporters need to investigate the information when it's so much easier to just report it?
The announcement on the ACCORD diabetes trial was no different. It included, among other things:
A press release
A telebriefing with prepared remarks
Q&A media kits to spoon-feed everything to the world's media
The bottom line is that like at a White House briefing, the press felt no need to dig any deeper. They had been told what they needed to know by an orchestrated slew of authorities and talking heads, saw no reason to question any of it, and merely reprinted what they were told.
The truth behind the diabetes announcement
In the Q&A media kit, the announcement as to what drugs were used in the study is very innocuous and would seem to support the statement that the drugs used were not responsible for the increased deaths. After all, it would seem that the drugs used in both groups were pretty much the same. In the Q&A media kit, we see the question: Which drugs were used in the study? The answer given:
Specific medications used included (in order of frequency of use): metformin; thiazolidinediones, or TZD's (rosiglitazone, pioglitazone); injectable insulins; sulfonylureas (gliclazide, glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide); and acarbose and exenatide.
However, in the telebriefing, we get a slightly different phrasing that should raise an eyebrow.
The medications included metformin; thiazolidinediones, or TZD's (such as rosiglitazone, pioglitazone); injectable insulins; sulfonylureas (such as glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide, and gliclazide); acarbose, and exenatide. Although the same drugs were used by both treatment strategy groups, more drug combinations and higher doses were prescribed to participants assigned to the intensive glucose lowering group than the standard group, in order to reach their assigned A1C goal.
Now that's certainly an interesting statement. The doctors involved in the trial used more combinations of drugs and higher doses of those same drugs in the intensive group and experienced more deaths. But any weight this statement might have had in getting reporters to question the role of these drugs in the increased incidence of death was negated by the categorical statement that the researchers found no connection between the use of the drugs and the increased number of deaths in the intensive group. To be fair, perhaps the researchers meant that since many different combination of drugs were used, there were no drugs common to all of the deaths, therefore no conclusion could be drawn vis-à-vis the drugs and the increased death rates.
And that would make sense, if indeed there was no single drug that was used differently across the board in one group versus the other. But that turns out not to be true. In fact, insulin was used with a consistent difference across the two groups. To quote from section 3.2.c (page 56) of the actual study protocol set out in 2005 before the trial even began:
Within 6 months of randomization, most intensive group participants will likely be on 3 or more injections of insulin per day in addition to 2 or 3 oral agents. Conversely, standard therapy participants are less likely to be on insulin, will be on <>
And in fact, the reality turned out to be even more extreme. To repeat the quote from Dr. John Buse when talking about the intensive group: "Many were taking four or five shots of insulin a day."
I'm sorry, but 0-2 injections of insulin a day versus 4-5 injections a day is a rather substantial difference that cannot be discounted with a nonchalant, "We could find no connection between drug use and the higher risk of death in the intensive group." Incidentally, this clarification also reveals a bit of data manipulation used in announcing the trial results. In the Q&A media kit, insulin is made to look somewhat innocuous as the drugs are listed in "order of frequency of use" -- with injectable insulin appearing down the list. But it only appears down the list if you average its use in both low and high intensity groups. If you consider its use only in the high intensity group (where the deaths occurred), insulin heads the list. This is a big deal!
Forget all of the other drugs used for the moment; the doctors involved were giving people 4-5 injections of insulin a day in the high intensity treatment group -- even using insulin pumps on some patients. This is not good. Keep in mind that even though injectable insulin is chemically identical to the insulin produced in the body, it doesn't work the same. Your liver and pancreas regulate insulin levels in your body on a second by second basis. Injectable insulin is a crude, blunt force instrument that massively pumps insulin levels every 4-6 hours with each injection.
As I said, this is not good. When insulin levels are consistently elevated (as they would be multiple times a day following injections), a long list of deadly complications are created, including:
Heart disease
Hardening of the arteries and damage to arterial walls (elevated insulin levels are directly implicated in the damage done to arterial walls that leads to atherosclerosis)
Increased cholesterol levels
Increased triglycerides
Elevated blood pressure
Congestive heart failure
High homocystein levels
Vitamin & mineral deficiencies
Kidney disease
Fat burning mechanism turned off
Accumulation and storage of fat
Weight gain -- obesity
The bottom line is that the doctors involved with the ACCORD trial should know better. In fact, the reporters should know better since they had already reported on the insulin death connection back in 2005 when UCLA researchers showed that advanced heart failure patients with diabetes who were treated with insulin faced a mortality rate four times higher than heart failure patients with diabetes treated with oral medications.
This information was known even as the protocol for the ACCORD study was being developed. There is no surprise here that patients on high intensity insulin dosage were dying in greater numbers, folks-- just bad science…and bad journalism.
Conclusion
But beyond everything we've discussed so far, the entire ACCORD trial and the reaction to its mid-term "adjustment" is all nonsense -- a magician's sleight of hand. It distracts you from the only valid approach to dealing with diabetes -- holistically.
Bottom line: forcing blood sugar levels down does nothing to relieve the underlying diabetic condition. It merely suppresses just one of its manifestations. If you want to prevent and reverse diabetes, you have to reduce sugar intake, reduce insulin resistance, improve beta cell function in the pancreas, and protect and repair insulin/sugar damage to mission critical organs in the body. And you have to do all of these things all at once. Since diabetes is not a single straight-line progression disease, you need to stop every single "echo" simultaneously so that no aspect of the disease can reverberate and start the whole process moving downhill again. You need to stop it all or it will all start again. For more details, check out Diabetes: the Echo Effect.
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