During my regular check-up, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I am trying to come to grips with this and the fact that I have to go on meds. Meanwhile, I was wondering if I could add any natural approaches.
Wow! It is amazing how diabetes sneaks up on you. In fact you are numbered along the many people who leave their doctor’s office in utter shock at such news. “But I have/had no symptoms” is the usual lament. Truth be told, I’m not sure that even the medical community knows exactly what causes diabetes. In fact, even today, many people still think that just less sugar and less weight is the solution. I am sure on your lab work you’ve seen the term “diabetes mellitus” – literally translated means “sweet urine”. That leaves a lot to our imagination especially before we had all these fancy glucose measuring gadgets. (Back then, if ants found your “pee” attractive then you knew you were in trouble.)
Seriously, though, the amount of sugar in your blood changes all the time. Too low, and you are hypoglycaemic – dizzy, shakiness, racing heartbeat, headaches, and clamminess. In fact, you could actually pass out if you don’t get something sweet to eat or drink. Too high, and you are hyperglycaemic and that’s where constant hyperglycaemia gets labelled diabetes. Tiredness, yeast infection, slow healing of cuts and scrapes, dry skin, dry mouth, blurry vision, erectile difficulties are all warning signs; but pay special attention if you also experience extreme hunger and thirst as well as frequent urination.
So, normally, our pancreas squirts out two main hormones (insulin and incretin) both of which have the same job description – to break down sugar. Think of your cells as having various doors that are locked; and think of insulin as the key to unlock these doors. When the doors open then voila! Blood sugar is allowed in. This is a good thing when the key (insulin) is functioning since on the inside of the cells, this sugar turns to energy. So you see what happens when insulin can’t unlock the doors. Like school kids, all the sugar just loiters outside – in the bloodstream. The result is hyperglycaemia or diabetes. So we see that a diet high in sugar and white flour can sometimes lead to diabetes.
By the way, I haven’t forgotten your question of what you can take naturally to assist with your situation:
- Fenugreek – it has some highly active compounds that lower blood sugar and help boost the release of insulin.
- Chromium – anyone with diabetes should definitely be supplementing with this one. Chromium makes the cells more sensitive to insulin.
- Gymnema Sylvestre – the Indian translation of this herb is “sugar destroyer”. It gets high ratings for having a remarkable ability to help normalize blood sugar and cholesterol at the same time. The best news, though, is that it is a craving killer for sweets.
- Vanadium, selenium and zinc are three minerals that assist insulin to work more efficiently to unlock the “doors of your cells”.
Another time we’ll chat a little about what we can eat and how to simplify the monitoring of the blood sugar. In the meantime, please do your own personal research and do listen to your doctor’s advice and monitor your blood sugar on a routine basis.
