Diabetes (Type 1, Type 2, Gestational)

There is no cure for diabetes. The goal of diabetes treatment is to achieve and maintain blood glucose levels within or near the normal range. The long-term goals of treatment are to prolong life, relieve symptoms, and prevent long-term complications such as heart disease and kidney failure.

A recent major study, called the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), found that diabetics who kept their blood glucose levels close to normal reduced their risk of developing major complications from the condition. Maintaining blood glucose levels is often very difficult, however.

People with diabetes must learn how to manage their condition on a daily basis to prevent blood glucose levels from dropping too low (hypoglycemia) or spiking too high (hyperglycemia). Treatment for Type 1 diabetes requires a strict regimen that typically includes a carefully calculated diet, planned exercise, daily blood glucose testing at home (even several times per day), and, most importantly, multiple daily insulin injections. Similarly, healthy eating habits, physical activity, and daily blood glucose testing are the basic tools that people with Type 2 diabetes need to manage their condition. Some people with Type 2 diabetes (30% to 40%) also require insulin injections.

The following is a list of recommendations for treating diabetes using different alternative healing practices. Veria strongly encourages consultation with expert practitioners before beginning any treatment plan.

Ayurvedic Treatments
Vasantkusumakara easa is the ayurvedic preparation most often prescribed for diabetes. Mix two grains with  teaspoon of cream and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and take twice a day on an empty stomach.

Other treatments include:

• Decoction of Chebulic myrobalan, nut grass and Lodh bark, 15 ml twice a day
• Decoction of red sandalwood, Arjuna tree bark, Deodara bark and Costus root, 15 ml twice a day
• Fresh juice of Tinospora cordifolia along with honey, 30 ml twice a day
• Powder of three Myrobalans, powder of purified Asphalt and purified Iron calx should be taken in the dose of 1 g twice daily
• Cold infusion of turmeric, three Myrobalans and tree turmeric with honey, 30 ml once a day
• Vanga bhasma, 250 mg twice a day, along with Tinospora cordifolia powder and honey or with powder of fruits of puncture vine, sugar and milk.
• Pure Asphalt powder should be taken along with milk and sugar in the dose of 250 mg daily.
• Purified Iron pyrites calx should be taken with extract of Tinospora cordifolia and honey.

Other remedies are:

• Chandraprabha vati, 500 mg with 500 mg karela (or stone of rose apple) taken three times a day
• Shilajit - 240 mg, twice a day after meals
• Nyagrodadhi churna - 3 gm, twice a day after meals
• Vasantkusumakara rasa - 120 mg
• Nag Bhasma - 120 mg, twice a day with honey
• Haldi - 500 mg, twice a day with honey
• Amalaki churna - 500 mg twice a day with honey

Acupuncture
Some researchers speculate that acupuncture may trigger the release of natural painkillers and reduce the debilitating symptoms of a complication of diabetes known as neuropathy.
Interested patients should discuss acupuncture for treating diabetes with a licensed practitioner.

Homeopathic Treatments
The following homeopathic remedies are recommended, in accordance with the symptoms described below:

• Phosphorus: to stabilize blood sugar and energy levels.
• Codeinum: 3X four to six times daily for depression and skin irritation.
• Syzygium: 1X every eight hours as a general remedy.
• Argenticum metallicum: a remedy for emaciation and great weakness; pale and sallow face and swollen feet.
• Arsenicum album: for dry, brittle scaly skin, dry mouth, unquenchable thirst, no appetite, constipation. Often this patient wastes away and becomes very dry and thin.
• Carbo vegetabilis: dryness of mouth in the early morning, pain in liver as if bruised; sudden weakness and fainting, physical depression and lassitude.
• Chionanthus Virginica: for a pre-diabetic state in the patient with liver disease; great thirst, dark, sugary urine; insulin resistant.
• Moschus: for diabetes with impotency.
• Natrum muriaticum: for dry skin, itching all over body; restlessness, frequent urination
• Nux vomica: stupor and vertigo, buzzing in ears, sleeplessness.
• Phosphoric acid: fits the nervous patient who has milk-colored urine; great debility and bruised feeling in muscles; symptoms worsen with grief, worry, anxiety; early stage diabetes.
• Plumbum metallicum: for constipation, and protein overflowing into the urine (which is determined by urinalysis).
• Ratanhia: for scanty urine.
• Uranium nitricum: for diabetes caused by defective assimilation; weak digestion, languor, debility; hunger even when stomach feels full.

Naturopathic treatments
Naturopathy advises a high fiber, complex carbohydrate diet, regular exercise and yoga therapy for the management of diabetes. A low calorie diet is advised for obese diabetics. Reducing weight in obese Type 2 diabetes patients can help to stop the medications including insulin.

The following herbs are used for treating diabetes:

• Bitter gourd fruit fresh juice " 50 ml 1 to 3 times per day (before meals)
• Gymnema leaves " 5 g 3 times per day
• Fenugreek seeds powder " 15 g 3 times/day 30 minutes before meals
• Ginkgo biloba extract - 40 mg 3 times per day
• Green tea " 2 cups daily
• Jambul fruit seeds and fruits
• Take two tender leaves of Neem and Bael each, on an empty stomach in the morning.

Yoga
Studies have shown that regular practice of yoga can prevent Type 2 Diabetes in susceptible individuals, and reduce blood sugar in both Type 1 and 2 diabetes. Some recommendations include:

• Bandha: Uddiyana bandha, Mula bandha, Jalandhara Bandha
• Ten rounds of Surya Namaskaram
• Forward bend poses like Shashankasana, Paschimottanasana, Baddha Konasana, Halasana
• Backward bend poses like Bhujangasana, Shalabhasana, Dhanurasana, Chakrasana, Matsyasana, Setubandha sarvangasana, Vipareeta Dandasana, Ustrasana
• Inverted poses like Sarvangasana, Sirsasana, Sarvangasana with the help of chair, or wall, Viparita karani
• Restorative asanas like Shavasana and Makarasana
• Pranayamas such as Nadi shuddhi, Surya bheda, Ujjayi, Sheetkari, Sheetali, Bhastrika, and Bhramari
• Meditation andYoga nidra.

Nutritional Therapy
People with diabetes can improve significantly from lifestyle changes" particularly diet and exercise. Type 2 diabetics can even eliminate the need for medications when they make adequate and appropriate lifestyle changes.

Diet
There is no special diet for diabetics except to avoid simple sugars. They can consume normal diet with few modifications. They should consume a healthy, low-fat diet, rich in grains and vegetables. A healthy diet typically includes 10% to 20% of daily calories from protein (including poultry, fish, dairy, and vegetable sources). Diabetics who also have kidney disease should limit protein intake to 10% of daily calories. A low-fat diet typically includes 30% or less of daily calories from fat"less than 10% from saturated fats and up to 10% from polyunsaturated fats (such as fats from fish).
In addition, weight loss should be part of the plan for those with Type 2 diabetes.

Moderate weight loss (achieved by reducing calories by 250 to 500 per day and exercising regularly) not only controls blood sugars but blood pressure and cholesterol as well. Diabetics who eat healthy, well-balanced diets will not need to take extra vitamins or minerals to treat their condition.

 

Recommended foods:

• Green leafy vegetables
• All vegetables except for roots and tubers
• Tomato juice or lime juice without sugar
• Sugarless green or black tea (without milk)
• Vegetable soups (without butter) or skimmed butter milk
• Salads, sprouts.

Foods to avoid:

• Jam, sugar, honey, glucose
• Sweets and desserts
• Corn flour
• Cakes and pastries
• Ghee, Dalda, Vanaspathi, coconut oil, butter
• Organ meats like brain, liver, kidney, etc
• Highly sweet fruits like banana, mango, dates
• Dried fruits
• Cooked carrots, sweet potato
• Tender coconut, coconut water
• Carbonated soft drinks such

 

Recommended nutritional supplements:

• Vitamin E - 600 IU/day
• Zinc Picolinate " 25 mg/day
• Chromium - 300 mcg/day
• Fiber (guar, oat bran, pectin) " 30 g/day

More than one-third of all people with diabetes develop a painful condition known as diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage). Studies suggest that the following antioxidant supplements may improve nerve communication in damaged areas and reduce the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy:

• Alpha-lipoic acid
• Gamma-linolenic acid (evening primrose oil is a rich source).

Exercise Therapy
Exercise plays an important role in controlling diabetes because it lowers blood sugar and helps insulin to work more efficiently in the body. Exercise also enhances cardiovascular fitness by improving blood flow and increasing the heart's pumping power. It also promotes weight loss and lowers blood pressure. People with diabetes who exercise are less likely to experience a heart attack or stroke than diabetics who do not exercise regularly. Exercise should be done regularly at least three to four sessions per week for 30 to 60 minutes per session. People with Type 2 diabetes who exercise regularly have been shown to lose weight and gain better control over their blood pressure, thereby reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease (a major complication of diabetes). Studies have also shown that people with Type 1 diabetes who regularly exercise reduce their need for insulin injections.

Choose an enjoyable physical activity that is appropriate for your current fitness level. Try to exercise every day, and at the same time of day, if possible. Monitor blood glucose levels before and after exercise. Carry food that contains a fast-acting carbohydrate in case you become hypoglycemic during or after exercise. Also carry a diabetes identification card and a mobile phone or change for a payphone in case of emergency.

Drink extra fluids that do not contain sugar before, during, and after exercise. Changes in exercise intensity or duration may require changes in diet or medication dose to keep blood sugar levels from going too high or low.

Psychotherapy and Counseling
Stressful life events can worsen diabetes in several ways. For example, stress stimulates the nervous and endocrine systems in ways that increase blood glucose levels and disrupts healthful behaviors (increasing the chances that an individual may consume a high level of calories and limit his or her physical activity"a pattern that leads to elevated blood glucose).

Studies have shown that diabetics who participate in biofeedback sessions are more likely to reach target blood glucose levels than diabetics who do not receive biofeedback. Biofeedback, tai chi, yoga, and other forms of relaxation may help motivate people with diabetes to change their habits in order to manage their condition.

Foot care
People with diabetes are prone to foot problems because of the likelihood of damage to blood vessels and nerves and a decreased ability to fight infection. Problems with blood flow and damage to nerves may cause an injury to the foot to go unnoticed until infection develops. Death of skin and other tissue can occur. If left untreated, the affected foot may need to be amputated. Diabetes is the most common condition leading to amputations.

To prevent injury to the feet, people with diabetes should adopt a daily routine of checking and caring for the feet as follows:

• Check feet every day, and report sores or changes and signs of infection
• Wash feet every day with lukewarm water and mild soap, and dry them thoroughly
• Soften dry skin with lotion or petroleum jelly
• Protect feet with comfortable, well-fitting shoes
• Exercise daily to promote good circulation
• See a podiatrist for foot problems or to have corns or calluses removed
• Remove shoes and socks during a visit to your health care provider and remind him or her to examine your feet
• Stop smoking, which hinders blood flow to the feet

Maintaining an ideal body weight and an active lifestyle may prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Currently there is no way to prevent Type 1 diabetes.

All adults should be screened for diabetes at least every three years. A person at high risk should be screened more often.

Type 1 risk factors:

• Family history of Type 1 diabetes
• Mother who had preeclampsia (a condition characterized by a sharp increase in blood pressure during the third trimester of pregnancy)
• Family history of autoimmune diseases, including Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, Myasthenia gravis, Addison's disease, or Pernicious anemia
• Viral infections during infancy including mumps, rubella, and Coxsackie's virus
• The mother of the person at risk was of an advanced age when giving birth
• Consumption of cow's milk during infancy

Type 2 risk factors:

• Family history of Type 2 diabetes
• Age older than 40 years
• Excess body fat, particularly around the waist
• Sedentary lifestyle and high-fat, high-calorie diet
• Abnormal levels of cholesterol and/or triglycerides in the blood
• High blood pressure
• History of gestational diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome (a hormonal disorder that causes women to have irregular or no menstruation)

High blood levels of glucose can cause several problems, including frequent urination, excessive thirst, hunger, fatigue, weight loss, and blurry vision.

However, because Type 2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all.

Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes:

1. Increased thirst
2. Increased urination
3. Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
4. Fatigue
5. Nausea
6. Vomiting

Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes:

1. Increased thirst
2. Increased urination
3. Increased appetite
4. Fatigue
5. Blurred vision
6. Slow-healing infections
7. Impotence

A urine analysis may be used to look for glucose and ketones from the breakdown of fat. However, a urine test alone does not diagnose diabetes.

The following blood glucose tests are used to diagnose diabetes:

• Fasting blood glucose level " diabetes is diagnosed if higher than 110 mg/dL on two occasions
• Random (non-fasting) blood glucose level " diabetes is suspected if higher than 200 mg/dL and accompanied by the classic symptoms of increased thirst, urination, and fatigue. (This test must be confirmed with a fasting blood glucose test)
• Oral glucose tolerance test " diabetes is diagnosed if glucose level is higher than 200 mg/dL after 2 hours (This test is used more for Type 2 diabetes).

Patients with Type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting. In addition to having high glucose levels, acutely ill Type 1 diabetics have high levels of ketones. Ketones are produced by the breakdown of fat and muscle, and they are toxic at high levels. Ketones in the blood cause a condition called acidosis (low blood pH). Urine testing detects both glucose and ketones in the urine. Blood glucose levels are also high.