Type-1 Diabetes:
It is an autoimmune disease. It will be discussed in detail in the section on autoimmune diseases.
Type-2 diabetes:
It is the type of diabetes that we will discuss in this section.
Type-3 Diabetes:
Also known as Alzheimer's. Neurological diseases will be discussed.
Since diabetes is a disease that can harm the body as a whole, its treatment should also be continued holistically.
Because the researches have shown that the success rate of regulating the lifestyle and making the proper diet is much higher than the diabetes drugs used.
Drugs used in diabetes treatments under the umbrella of classical medicine also cause side effects that make life difficult.
These side effects are:
➡️ Vitamin mineral deficiency
➡️ Disruption of digestion and intestinal flora ( which in itself invites many different chronic diseases )
➡️ forgetfulness
➡️ low libido
The main steps in the treatment of diabetes,
functional nutrition,
Natural supplements that provide insulin sensitivity,
Reducing inflammation, that is, increased inflammation in the body,
Ensuring the burning of increased fat tissue (for Type-2 diabetes and obesity),
Supporting energy metabolism
If we look briefly at the development mechanism of diabetes (Type-2 diabetes), we see increased insulin resistance on the ground. Excess sugar has toxic effects on the body. For this reason, energy is obtained by taking the sugar into the cell with the impact of insulin synthesized from the pancreas and burning it in the mitochondria. The increased consumption of carbohydrates and the intake of these carbohydrates with insufficient fiber and protein cause blood sugar to rise rapidly and rapidly, and we often see these two conditions together in today's diabetes patients. Due to this increased sugar, more insulin is produced, more sugar is introduced into the cell, and blood sugar is kept at a certain level. This period is the Insulin Resistance Stage , which is the first stage of diabetes . At first, this mechanism works; fasting blood sugar does not exceed 100 mg/dl, and postprandial blood sugar does not exceed 140 mg/dl. After a while, the cells become saturated with sugar, and despite insulin, sugar levels cannot be lowered sufficiently. This is step 2 to diabetes and we call it Impaired Blood Sugar. Despite the increase in insulin, fasting blood sugar is between 100-126 mg/dl and postprandial blood sugar is between 140-200mg and does not decrease.
In these two phases, the effects of increased insulin on the body have begun.
1- Increased body fat
2- Sleepiness after meals
3- Beginning of muscle loss
4- Chronic fatigue
5- The need to consume frequent and high-calorie snacks due to the rapid decrease in blood sugar and hunger after a meal
6- Fatty liver
These two stages are still the stage where things can be fixed quickly and cover 5-10 years before the diagnosis of diabetes. High sugar is toxic and harms the body because it binds to the structure of proteins and disrupts their 3-dimensional structure. All the messengers in the body, from hormones to antibodies essential for immunity, many substances are in protein structure. Cells recognize the 3-dimensional structure of these proteins and regulate their functioning according to the messages they express. The function of proteins whose structure is deteriorated due to high sugar decreases or disappears. In other words, high sugar disrupts all body parts with its toxic effect. For this reason, the protection mechanisms in the body come into play. If high sugar cannot be introduced into the cell with insulin, it is directed to the liver and converted into less harmful fat. This fat first accumulates in the liver. For this reason, the liver of people with diabetes is fatty and their detox capacity is low. If this situation continues, the increased fat is stored in the surrounding tissues (Of course, this situation is not harmless, but the transformation of sugar into fat, which reduces the toxic effects of sugar, has heavy costs on many tissues and systems, especially the heart, vein, liver and brain). For this reason, before the onset of diabetes, blood lipids deteriorate and the liver becomes fatty. Due to this mechanism, high triglyceride, the body's main fat molecule structure, is one of the earliest signs of diabetes, and a significant portion of diabetics are given cholesterol-lowering drugs.
So, is insulin resistance just due to excess sugar intake? No!
Here are other important factors that pave the way for diabetes:
-Increased inflammation in the body (i.e. uncontrolled inflammation)
-Toxins
-High stress
-Still life
-Polluted air
-impaired gut health
-Vitamin-mineral deficiency
-Insufficient or poor sleep is also a cause of increased inflammation and associated insulin resistance.
This mechanism, which I tried to explain by simplifying, cannot be corrected with drugs that focus only on lowering blood sugar, which we know to be harmful to many systems, especially the detox system.
For this reason, for the permanent treatment of diabetes, all the mechanisms mentioned above should be reviewed with a functional and holistic perspective, the necessary support should be made, and a treatment and supplement program should be made under the specific program and lifestyle suitable for the patient.
Within the scope of Functional Medicine, we get results that make us and our patients very happy. In this regard, I have patients who stop taking medication and insulin.
Stay Healthy.
