“Sugar” – A Preventable Disease with Devastating Consequences

“Sugar” – A Preventable Disease with Devastating Consequences

by | May 3, 2013 | Magazine

As a child, more than four decades ago, I once heard older relatives talking about their health troubles related to diabetes, which they often simply called “sugar.” This sounded more to me like a tasty treat than a disease. I soon learned that diabetes could have dreadful health consequences, often resulting in much suffering and early death. Sadly, more than 20 million Americans have diabetes, which is a nutritionally related disease that is preventable, reversible, and often curable (in cases of Type 2) by dietary changes.1

Type 1 vs. Type 2

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases that result in a person having abnormally high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or cells do not respond to the insulin produced. Nearly all cases of diabetes mellitus are either Type 1 or Type 2. Type 1, which accounts for about 5 to 10% of diabetes cases, typically develops in early childhood and adolescence and is sometimes called juvenile diabetes. Type 2 accounts for about 90 to 95% of diabetes cases and used to be referred to as adult-onset diabetes, but now up to 45% of new cases are actually in children.2-3

 

A Physiological System Gone Haywire

After we eat, the carbohydrates in food are broken down into simple sugars that enter the bloodstream. In response, the pancreas normally produces insulin, which helps the glucose enter cells for both short and long-term energy. However, in diabetes, this process breaks down. Type 1 diabetics cannot make enough insulin since certain cells in the pancreas have been destroyed, whereas Type 2 diabetics do produce insulin, but it is not effective. Both types lead to dangerously high levels of blood sugar, which has detrimental health consequences, both short and long-term. Complications of diabetes include increased risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and limb amputations. More than 80% of adults who have diabetes die from heart attacks or strokes.1

Genes and Destiny

Doctors and nurses recognize the importance of recording detailed family histories from patients, and diabetes in a family is always considered noteworthy. Unfortunately, in my experience, too many patients leave their doctors’ offices believing that a strong family history of a certain disease, such as diabetes, is essentially a crystal ball sealing their fates.

As mentioned in my last column, I strongly believe that Type 2 diabetes (and most other common chronic diseases that impact Americans) has more to do with families eating the same fatty, salty, sugary, high calorie, processed, animal-based, low-nutrient foods and sharing the same couch than having the same DNA.

 

Research Support for Plant-Based Diet

The results of many research studies strongly suggest that the clinical course of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can be dramatically improved simply by making dietary changes. For example, Dr. James Anderson studied the effects of 25 Type 1 diabetics and 25 Type 2 diabetics in a hospital setting, all of whom were taking insulin. His experimental “veggie” diet consisted of mostly whole-plant foods. After only 3 weeks, the Type 1 diabetic patients were able to lower their insulin medication by an average of 40%. Their blood sugars improved greatly and their cholesterol levels decreased by 30%. For the Type 2 diabetics in his study, all but one were able to discontinue their insulin medication after only a few weeks.4

It is also worth noting that in the early 20th century, H.P. Himsworth compiled research comparing diets and diabetes rates in six countries. He found that some countries were eating diets high in fat and animal-based foods while other countries had diets high in plant-based foods that were low in fat. Diabetes related death rates dropped from 20.4 to 2.9 per 100,000 people, as plant-based carbohydrate (low-fat) intake increased and animal-based (high-fat) intake decreased.5

On a Personal Note

I was obese and pre-diabetic until only a few years ago. Now, I am now cured of prediabetes and no longer obese, simply because of significant dietary and lifestyle changes. Fortunately, my doctor suggested diet and lifestyle to me as a cure rather than a lifetime reliance on prescription medications, which may delay the onset of diabetes-related complications and death, but will not prevent, reverse, or cure diabetes. As health professionals, we are most effective when we are able to address root-cause in order to prevent, reverse, or cure any disease for our patients—and for ourselves.

Also, remember that overcoming obesity is essential for beating diabetes. Losing weight by adopting a plant-based, whole-food, healthful diet and lifestyle, including regular exercise, is the best diabetes “medicine” and offers many other health benefits, as well. As we health professionals personally begin to embrace healthier lifestyles, we can often cure ourselves and will be in a much better position to advise our patients, families, and friends, so we can all be

… healed and free at last!

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References

  1. American Diabetes Association: Diabetes Statistics. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics. Accessed January 14, 2013.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes fact sheet: general information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2007. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008.
  3. 3.      American Diabetes Association. Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Diabetes Care. 2000;23(3):381-389.
  4. Anderson JW. Dietary fiber in nutrition management of diabetes. In: Vahouny GV, Kritchevsky D, eds. Dietary Fiber: Basic and Clinical Aspects. New York, NY: Plenum Press; 1986:343-360.
  5. Himsworth HP. Diet and the incidence of diabetes mellitus. Clin. Sci. 1935;2:117-148.

Suggested Media

Books

  • Eat to Live, by Joel Furhman, MD
  • The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and Thomas M. Campbell II

Films

  • Forks Over Knives (www.forksoverknives.com)
  • Hungry for Change (www.hungryforchange.tv)

A foundation for future growth

by | Apr 15, 2013 | Magazine

In an effort to combat the major health issues plaguing American Indians, the University of Kansas Medical Center and the American Indian Health Research and Education Alliance announced plans to create a Center for American Indian Community Health, with help from a $7.5 million grant from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities and the National Institutes of Health. This new Center is sure to bring some much-needed care to the American Indian community, through improving education, outreach, research, and community resources.

Compared to the U.S. population as a whole, American Indians are astronomically disproportionately affected by a number of diseases: they are 420% more likely to die from diabetes, they are 100% more likely to die from tobacco-related illnesses, they have the lowest screening rates for breast and colorectal cancer, and they have the lowest five-year cancer survival rate.

Researchers plan to use the grant money in their efforts to recruit American Indian high school and college students into the health sciences programs at University of Kansas. No American Indians had been enrolled in the programs until recently. Now, three students have graduated, five are enrolled, and several more should be matriculating. Outreach has also been performed at the Haskell Indian Nations University to find students who might be interested in the public health program. 

Historically, American Indians have been very distrustful of outsiders, including medical care providers, after a tumultuous and tragedy-filled history since explorers first came to America. The hope is that these graduates will return to their communities to improve the quality of care and work toward eliminating health disparities.

Beating Diabetes

by | Apr 15, 2013 | Magazine

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) released new data regarding the mortality rate for those living with Type 1 Diabetes during their June annual meeting, highlighting a drop in deaths related to the disease. Analysis of data from the Allegheny County Type 1 Diabetes Registry, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, revealed a dip in the number of deaths for the 1,100 individuals diagnosed with the disease between 1965 and 1979.

Disparities were noted between gender and race. Presented findings said that women were still more likely to die from the disease than men–females were 13 times more likely to face mortality from type 1 diabetes than those without. Similarly, African American women were 30% more likely to die when compared to Caucasian women, perhaps connected to racial disparities facing the health care industry as a whole.

According to the ADA, those with type 1 diabetes account for 5-10% of the estimated 23.6 million people dealing with the disease, the vast majority of whom are diagnosed as children. Advances in insulin therapy treatments and early detection can be credited with the lower death rate.

Mobility limitations in African Americans linked to depressive symptoms

by | Apr 1, 2013 | Magazine

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has led a study displaying a relation between demographic health issues and mobility limitation. Researchers found that depressed African American women had almost three times the odds of mobility limitations than those who are not depressed. Additionally, African Americans reporting multiple medical conditions tended to have a higher risk of mobility limitations than those with fewer medical conditions. The study can be found in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Gerontology.

The study was conducted with 602 African Americans, made up of men and women between the ages of 48 and 92. The participants previously reported having difficulties walking and climbing stairs. The researchers used logistic regression to measure how demographics and health independently affected mobility. Results proved that pre-existing medical conditions in African Americans were associated with mobility limitations; however, African American women with lower incomes were affected the most.

Roland Thorpe, assistant scientist with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management, says depressive symptoms have not been labeled as a mobility limitation factor in the past, but the studies have begun to prove otherwise. Thorpe says the problem might have been a lack of motivation rather than a mobility limitation; therefore, in order to repair mobility, African Americans must tend to medical conditions right away and control their depressive symptoms.

New autism research links maternal obesity to diagnosis

by | Mar 31, 2013 | Magazine

About one in 88 children are diagnosed with autism, but it is possible that 10% of affected children will outgrow their diagnosis by the time they are teenagers. April was National Autism Awareness Month, which put a start on new research regarding the causes of the disorder.

One study presents a theory that mothers who are obese or have diabetes during pregnancy will see a higher rate of autism in their children. Researchers from the University of California, Davis observed 1,004 children ages two to five involved in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study between the years of 2003–2010. There were 517 children with autism, 172 children with other developmental disorders, and 315 normally developing children included in the study.

According to the study, the findings showed obese mothers were 67% more likely to have a child with autism and more than twice as likely to have a child with another developmental disorder than a mother of normal weight. Additionally, mothers with diabetes are 2.3 times more likely to have a child with a developmental disorder, but there wasn’t any statistically significant difference in having a child with autism.

There is still no real answer to what actually causes autism, according to Paula Krakowiak, the lead author of the study. But one research takeaway is a little bit of common sense: pregnant women must take care of themselves in order to keep their babies healthy and avoid the risk factors of autism.

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