Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). High blood sugar is toxic to the cells and can lead to serious complications like kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, vision loss, sexual impotence and nerve damage. In addition, diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic amputation of the toes, feet and legs. According to the CDC, 30.3 million people have diabetes, about 1 in every 10 people. Diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death in 2015. The average medical expenses for people diagnosed with diabetes is $13,700 per year. This is a disease that does not spare any aspect of our lives, including our finances. Diabetes is therefore a very serious disease which requires more attention on our health priorities list.
Diagnosis of Diabetes
Clinically, diabetes is diagnosed when your fasting blood sugar level is greater than 125mg/dl on two separate occasions, when you have a random blood glucose of 200mg/dl or greater, or a hemoglobin A1C of greater than 6.5%. We have not been very successful as a nation in our treatment of diabetes, despite the millions of dollars spent on research. Because of how diabetes is defined and diagnosed, the prevailing treatment approach is to manage the blood sugar with pills and eventually insulin in order to reduce the HbA1C to below 7%. This approach has failed, and continues to fail in keeping diabetes in check because even though the hallmark of diabetes is high blood sugar, this is merely a symptom of an underlying problem. The main problem in diabetes is a problem of fat. Fat deposits and eventual poisoning of the cells and tissues of the body makes them resistant to the action of insulin. Because the primary responsibility of insulin is to drive blood sugar into the cells, insulin resistance eventually leads to high blood sugar.
Risk Factors
From the famous Harvard Nurses study, 85,000 pre-diabetic patients were followed for 16 years. At the end of the study, 3,300 of them developed full blown diabetes. The researchers concluded that being overweight was the number one risk factor, and those with the highest weight vs. the lowest had a 40-fold relative risk of developing diabetes. A point of contention among healthcare professionals is how to explain the fact that there are many thin individuals with type 2 diabetes. There is no need for any controversy on this because it has been shown that each person has their own individual fat threshold, the amount of intraabdominal fat one can accumulate before developing insulin resistance and full blown diabetes, and many thin diabetics seem to have a lower fat threshold.
Reversal of Diabetes
To reverse diabetes we need a paradigm shift from the current treatment which targets the blood sugar, to a brand new approach which targets the intracellular fat and optimizes the metabolism in order to restore insulin sensitivity. As radical as it sounds, this scientifically proven approach is not new at all. It has been available in the published medical and scientific literature for over 60 years. We just have not paid enough attention to bring it to the forefront of diabetes care.
What is needed now, contrary to the prevailing opinions, is not new research or a new genetic cure, but a bold determination to change the way we think about what causes diabetes and to implement the research already available to us. That is exactly what we are doing at the ProNatural Physicians Group Diabetes Reversal Clinic as we help many people reverse their diabetes and get a new lease on life.
Dr. Martin Opoku Gyamfi is a Medical Doctor and Naturopathic Physician. He is a wellness expert and educator with clinical and research experience from Argentina, Canada, Mexico and the USA. He has also lectured on University campuses, and to various groups and congregations in different states here at home, as well as in Mexico, Argentina and Canada. He also gives regular health talks which are broadcast across North America and Europe. Dr. Opoku Gyamfi is the Director of the Diabetes Reversal Clinic at ProNatural Physicians Group, 120 Webster Square Rd. Berlin. Please call 860-829-0707 to book an appointment with Dr. Opoku.