Diabetes

Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the West, mainly due to our high fat high carb diets and increasingly sedentary lifestyle. This page concentrates on type II diabetes which is the most common and often preventable form.

A Low Glycaemic Index, Low saturated Fat diet, high in fresh vegetables and fibre is the diet of choice in 2004-5 plus 40 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week

Downloadable Ms Excel Spreadsheet of Glycaemic Index & Load

Goals for Type II Diabetics at Royston Clinic. All units below are for those used in Australia.

1. Weight goal is to get your Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 30 and keep it there. Above 30 you are officially OBESE, BMI 25-30 you are merely overweight.

2. Early morning fasting blood sugar level goal is between 5-8.

3. HBA1C ( this blood test tells us your average level of blood sugar control over the past 3 months) goal is < 7.

4. Total Cholesterol Goal is <4.0.

5. HDL (Good Cholesterol) goal is >1. 2 - the more the better.

6. LDL (Bad cholesterol) goal is < 2. 5.

7. Triglyceride ("Ugly" fat) goal is < 1. 7

8. Blood Pressure goal is < 120/80 sitting at rest.

8. Exercise goal is 35-40 minutes of walking (or the equivalent) 6 times a week. A certain amount of resistance i.e. muscle building exercise is also invaluable.

If you are achieving all these Your diabetes is very well controlled and the chance of high blood sugar damaging body organs such as kidneys, blood vessels, nerves heart or eyes is minimised.

Basic Prescription Medicines for type II diabetes.

Evidence has strongly showed that certain prescription medicines greatly improve outcomes for diabetics, and most diabetics should be on these pills:

1. Simvastatin (Lipex or Zocor) which is used to get cholesterol levels down to the targets above, and is beneficial even in those diabetics with low cholesterol. Ideal dose is 40mg/day.

2. An ACE Inhibitor such as Ramipril (Tritace or Ramace) greatly reduces risk of heart disease and stroke and protects against kidney damage, even when blood pressure is not raised in diabetics. Ideal dose is 10mg/day.

3. Low dose aspirin ( e.g. Cartia ) has also been shown to greatly reduce risks of strokes and heart disease in diabetics. Ideal dose is 100mg/day. Should not be used or only with great care if there is a history of retinal haemorrhages or other haemorrhagic disease.

4. Metformin (e.g. Diabex ) should be considered early in overweight diabetics, to lower insulin resistance. (Ideal dose is = or>2000mg per day in divided doses)

Natural Supplements for Type II Diabetes

Chromium Picolinate helps insulin resistance . Ideal dose at least 400IU/day though maximum improvement may be achieved on 1500 IU/day.
Salmon Oil (2-6g/day , 6 is better if you can tolerate it ) helps raise those HDL cholesterol levels and has many other health benefits. GLA (a good Omega 6 fatty acid ) from evening primrose oil or borage oil may also be helpful. Ideal overall omega 6: omega 3 ratio is 5-10:1. Avoid saturated fats and trans fatty acids.
CLA ( Conjugated Linoleic Acid ) 3-4g/day helps reduce weight and decrease insulin resistance
Magnesium 300mg-1000mg/day may help lower insulin resistance and help prevent diabetic eye disease.
L- Carnitine helps insulin resistance and may help prevent diabetic neuropathy dose is 500mg twice daily
Vitamin Bs especially B6, B12 and B1 may help prevent diabetic neuropathy.

Other supplements may also be worthwhile, for example antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C & E. Co Q 10 may be of benefit if there is existing heart disease, and possibly may help lower blood sugar.

Hormones Supplements for Syndrome X and Type II Diabetes

Hormone supplementation with both testosterone and DHEA may help lower blood sugar levels, decrease insulin resistance and lower weight and increase wellbeing in both men and women with syndrome X and type 2 diabetes. These hormones are often at the low end of normal or low in these patients, supplement goal is to bring these hormone levels measured by saliva or blood into the upper third of the normal range.

See Bioidentical Hormones and Andropause