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Diabetes
by Dr.Mercola
Diabetes
has increased by 700 percent in the last five decades?
It’s an epidemic of epic proportions that just keeps getting worse, and yet
it’s one of the most avoidable chronic diseases there is.
Are You Headed for Diabetes?
First, it’s important to realize that there are two types of diabetes. Type
1 is insulin-dependent diabetes, also commonly referred to as juvenile
diabetes. Type 2 is insulin-resistant diabetes, which is far more common of
the two.
Diabetes is diagnosed by a fasting blood sugar test. In the U.S., the
measurement used is mg/dl, and if your fasting blood sugar is above 125
mg/dl, then you have full-blown diabetes. If your blood sugar is between 110
to 125 mg/dl, you’re considered pre-diabetic.
However, I firmly believe that these criteria are not rigid enough and that
your blood sugar should not be in the triple digits. Ideally, you’ll want it
to be about 80 mg/dl to prevent health problems. Once you reach triple
digits, you have a problem even though you’re not officially diagnosed as
diabetic or pre-diabetic.
Unfortunately, conventional physicians are largely ignorant about diabetes,
and do not understand how to properly treat it. In fact, the traditional
recommendations from the conventional medical community are causing people
to die prematurely.
Why Conventional Treatment is Dead Wrong
What they fail to understand is that even though you’re diagnosed as
diabetic by a fasting blood sugar test, blood sugar is NOT the problem. It’s
merely a symptom that arises as your body attempts to keep itself in
balance.
The real, underlying problem is insulin resistance, along with faulty leptin
signaling. This is caused by miscommunication within and between cells --
usually related to the communication between the cellular receptors for
insulin and leptin.
When your blood sugar becomes elevated it is a signal for insulin to be
released to direct the extra energy into storage. A small amount is stored
as a starch called glycogen in your body, but the majority is stored as your
main energy supply -- fat. Thus, in this regard insulin's major role is not
to lower sugar, but to take the extra energy and store it for future times
of need.
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