Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment
Diabetes is affecting up to 33 million people in the United States, while 84 million Americans are categorized as “pre-diabetic”. The term pre-diabetes is a very poor term as the truth is that our bodies are either handling our blood sugars well, or they are not. When blood sugars become poorly managed, the high sugar content in our bloodstream attaches to our red blood cells and damages them. Our red blood cells are what carry oxygen from our lungs to our cells. Therefore we measure hemoglobin A1c in order to diagnose Diabetes. Damage to red blood cells can cause a slew of other complications like fatigue, poor circulation and chronic, recurring infections because high sugar feeds bacteria in our system! Even more, chronically high blood sugars cause damage to the blood vessels themselves, putting us at risk for deteriorating eyesight, kidney disease, and heart disease. Most of those diagnosed with diabetes have likely been told to stop eating sugar, but for many it might not be that simple or easy. Even nutritional deficiencies like B vitamins, chromium and copper can promote poor blood sugar management. Research has also shown a link between heavy metal toxicities, like excessive amalgam fillings, and the development of diabetes and heart disease. The key to managing any case is to know and understand what is triggering the disease process to occur. Each of these risk factors must be investigated so that we know best how to treat the cause. The answer does not always have to be medication or insulin for life!