FAIL: Diabetes Medication Isn't Working. So What Does?

9.3% of Americans and 6.5% of Canadians suffer from diabetes. There is a lot of agreement about the medical treatment. But does the treatment work? At least 5 crucial studies have found that it doesn’t.
People with type 2 diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to die from heart disease. But when the authoritative Cochrane group did a systematic review of 20 studies of type 2 diabetics, they found that there was no significant benefit to intensely targeting blood sugar control with drugs for either cardiovascular death or death from any cause. While it did reduce the risk of amputation, retinopathy and nephropathy, it also increased the risk of hypoglycaemia by 30% (Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011 Jun 15;(6):CD008143).
The same year, a meta-analysis of 13 controlled studies confirmed that there was no significant benefit of drug treatment for cardiovascular death or death from any cause. While at first it looked like drugs may reduce the risk of nonfatal heart attacks, when only the high quality studies were included, that apparent benefit disappeared; however, what now appeared was a 47% increase in the risk of congestive heart failure. So, diabetes drugs did not reduce the risk of death from heart disease, they increased them. They also doubled the risk of severe hypoglycaemia (BMJ 2011 Jul 26;343:d4169).
A third systematic review and meta-analysis included 14 studies of type 2 diabetics. Its negative findings went even further. Not only did diabetes meds confer no benefit for fatal or nonfatal heart attack or stroke nor for death from any cause, this study also found insuff Continue reading

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7 Signs You May Have Type 2 Diabetes

Not exercising. Supersize portions. Our love affair with food has taken a drastic turn. The number of Americans with type 2 diabetes—21 million, including adults and children—has risen with the obesity epidemic. Should you or you child get tested? Yes, if you have a family history of the disease and/or any of the following:
You're overweight. Even being just 10 to 15 pounds overweight can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If your child is overweight, make sure his pediatrician tests him, because type 2 diabetes is on the rise in kids. The encouraging news is that losing just 5% to 7% of your body weight can reduce your risk of diabetes, according to research from the Diabetes Prevention Program. Testing usually involves screening your blood for high glucose (sugar) levels. If they're too high, you could have either type 1 or type 2. (See box, right, for explanations of the two types.) Your doctor will most likely be able to sort it out based on your age and symptoms. In some cases, you may also need to see an endocrinologist (specialist).
You're constantly running to the bathroom. "If your body doesn't make enough insulin [a hormone that carries glucose into your cells to give them energy]," which can happen with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, "glucose builds up in your bloodstream and comes out in your urine," explains Janet Silverstein, MD, chief of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Florida. Because you're urinating a lot, you'll probably also be very thirsty and drinking more than usual.
Your vision is blurry. High blood sugar levels cause gluc Continue reading

A wealthier India sees alarming rise in adolescent diabetes

Rohin Sarin is midway through his 9th grade geography class when he starts feeling light-headed and dizzy, a sign that his blood sugar levels are dipping. He quietly removes his insulin pen from his school bag, gives himself one of four daily jabs and takes a bite of an energy bar.
The 15-year-old's classmates in New Delhi have seen the ritual so often they are no longer curious. Rohin is one of a growing number of Indians with diabetes, the disease increasingly afflicting children and adolescents in the fast-growing South Asian country.
More than two decades of rapid economic growth has changed Indians' lifestyles. People eat out more often, and prefer Western-style junk food such as burgers and pizza over traditional lentil and vegetable meals. They are also more sedentary, using cars and public transportation instead of walking or riding bicycles, and entertaining themselves with television.
The changes have brought a sharp rise in obesity, along with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, even as India still has some of the world's worst levels of malnourishment and stunted childhood growth due to a paucity of food.
"Over the last 20 years, we are seeing a huge explosion ... mainly because of increasing childhood obesity," said Dr. Monica Arora, a specialist with the Public Health Foundation of India.
Nearly 30 percent of India's teenagers are obese, nearly twice the number in 2010, according to health ministry statistics.
India has 70 million diabetics, though it has no data on how many are children and likely has millions more cases that haven't been diagnosed due to sp Continue reading

Diabetes: An Entirely Preventable & Reversible Condition

The title of this article may sound like heresy to those who have been schooled to believe that when diabetes "happens" to you, it is with you for life. There is far more to the story than both drug and naturally-based palliative medicine normally touches upon.
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) statistics, diabetes now afflicts 25.8 million Americans, or 8.3% of our population. Only 5% of diabetics are type 1, where through autoimmune destruction of insulin producing beta-cells, they are told they have a lifelong dependence on insulin. The rest are classified as type 2, resulting from insulin resistance (the cells of the body stop responding to insulin) combined in some cases with insulin deficiency. Additionally, according to the ADA 1 in every 4 Americans have pre-diabetes, or 79 million.
What's causing this epidemic?
While geneticists apply vast amounts of time, energy and money to finding the "causes" of disease in our genes, much less attention is placed on well-known triggers of autoimmunity such as infections, vaccines, pesticide and petroleum exposure (diesel fuel particles) and the consumption of foods like wheat, cow milk and soy (unfermented, GMO and/or excessive) are the major contributing factors in the development of type 1 diabetes. Additionally, the consumption of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil and basic deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and chromium contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes.
Blaming "bad genes" on diseases like diabetes is a convenient way to escape the obvious things we can do individua Continue reading

Diabetes dilemma: Prevalent disease is on rise, but it's largely preventable

Dominique Wilkins talks about diabetes and the importance of getting screened. Amanda Inscore/news-press.com
For the past few years, my best friend and I have gone on annual weekend buddy trips.
We’ve traveled to Orlando; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Madison, Wisconsin; Chicago and the Shenandoah Valley. We talk about the Cubs, Packers, sports issues, our wives, politics and anything that crosses our minds.
I have come to cherish every trip because I’m not sure how many we have left. My friend has Type 2 diabetes. Although he’s lost 50 pounds, he admits he needs to lose more. A new job that has him driving two hours a day doesn’t help. Walking is a challenge because he has knee problems. And while he has cut back on Coca-Cola, he still drinks enough of the stuff to make most health-care specialists cringe.
My friend also is a reminder that I need to take better care myself. I’m not skinny and I have had life-long kidney issues.
When I look at diabetes, it makes me believe excess sugar has surpassed cigarettes as the worst thing we put in our bodies. And excess eating isn’t too far behind. As Jon Burdzy, president of Lee County Medical Society, said, “We don’t do a good job of moderation.”
Smoking has gone down, but diabetes is on the rise. One of the main problems is that people weigh too much. It has become such a problem worldwide that there is a term for it - globesity. As a result, the World Diabetes Organization said 400 million people around the globe have the disease.
Diabetes has become so prevalent with youth that our children are at risk of not liv Continue reading