Diabetes – The creeping epidemic of diabetes.
The diagnosis of diabetes (also known as diabetes), always means a new way of life.
This sounds rearing – and in fact the warnings about heart attacks or cancer are disproportionately louder and seemingly more dramatic.
But composure would be completely out of place. Diabetes is spreading like a silent epidemic; and so the number of diabetes cases is rising rapidly – with a tragedy that many sufferers have not even registered yet.
Unnoticed, their eyesight is threatened or the function of the kidneys is endangered and the risk of heart attack and stroke increases enormously. Toes, feet and legs suffer circulatory problems that are not noticed at first.
Patients with a variety of ailments lie in our hospitals. Their suffering has one cause, among others: diabetes.
Fig.1: Fat, sugar, convenience food, lack of exercise. Many causes. And there are solutions beyond all the medicines.
And numerous experts already fear: Within a generation, a huge wave of new cases of diabetes could collapse health systems, and then already pull countless young people into a vortex. In the U.S., the number of diabetics increased from one million to 22 million from 1970 to 2014. If prediabetes is included, half of all US citizens are said to be affected. The illness climbs inexorably on place 3 of the most frequent causes of death.
Largely unnoticed by the public, this condition has significantly changed its profile. Diabetes has a completely outmoded assessment as a relatively benign disease of the elderly. Professional information is available, but too little is perceived. In addition, patients are often treated with medications and told, "You can continue as before. "
Nothing could be more wrong! Especially if you take a "holistic" approach to the problem considered, or from the point of view of naturopathy. "Holistic", "Naturopathy". one hears gladly. Patients too. But are you also already to go the steps which are necessary for it?
The problem begins with the fact that many patients who develop diabetes usually do not suffer from "diabetes symptoms" for years suffer. The second problem: Many diabetes patients do not want to believe that they are really ill.
But the realities allow only alarming predictions for most nations with Western lifestyles. About one-third more people have diabetes in big cities than outside them. New cases develop twice as fast there – the particular influence of fast food or sedentary lifestyle in terms of health immediately comes to mind. Officials estimate: One in three diabetic adults is clueless. Has no idea about diabetes risk factors. Many live with the disease for seven to ten years without it being diagnosed. By the way: You can find a simple diabetes risk test here.
Possibly even one in two people with diabetes is unaware of it, as gloomy forecasts estimate. In Germany, around 8.4 million diabetics are undergoing treatment. Some experts fear an almost equally large number of unreported cases.
Overweight people or people near the poverty line have a higher risk. "Full-blown" or "healthy Nutrition, as well as targeted exercise are scarce there.
All are subject (more or less) to the same factors that make diabetes more likely: a population with increasing life expectancy, food overabundant in fat and sugar, and a lifestyle of abundance that does not encourage exercise and sports.
While other threats such as heart disease and some cancers are stable or even declining, diabetes is a rapidly growing problem. Diabetes progresses, is quite fatal, and sufferers experience a chaos of complications that can literally hit every organ.
Diabetes is also the most common cause of blindness in adults. The New York Times shocked the nation in 2005 with the report: Within one year, more people in the U.S. would lose a limb to diabetes than all American soldiers combined lost in combat in Vietnam.
So it pays to be informed about diabetes symptoms!
On the contrary, orthodox medicine judges prediabetes as a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The progression of diabetes in young people is particularly depressing.
"We are in the midst of an epidemic, and our children will be diagnosed within a year with 20.000 hours of advertising for fast food showered."
sociologists think it is possible that statistical life expectancy will decline, as some statistics already show. In the USA, life expectancy has fallen for the first time in 20 years. And it is not only patients who will suffer: Everyone will have to contribute, in the form of caring for a loved one, through higher insurance premiums or taxes.
It would be very easy to prevent this, but that is the problem. Nutrition in diabetes and sport in diabetes are very good and important – but why only when the disease is diagnosed?? And so lack of exercise and poor diet are precisely the main problems in diabetes.
Clinicians and experts estimate that 77% of type 2 diabetics could be treated with a consistent diet alone; at the same time, they complain that one in two diabetics is poorly controlled, primarily because patients exhibit poor self-control.
What exactly is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition in which the body struggles to get energy from food. After digestion, our organs convert food and drink into glucose, the main source of energy.
In healthy individuals, insulin helps move glucose into cells. A "normal" Blood glucose levels are a prerequisite for optimal metabolism. Diabetes is present when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body cannot use it as intended.
The variant type diabetes 1 is said to be predominantly genetic (congenital). In this case, the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas are inactive. Autoimmune diseases or viral infections can also be responsible for this. Type diabetes 2 acquired gradually, for example through lifestyle. This form used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But type 2 diabetes is not a disease of the "old" today more. How it becomes "adult-onset diabetes Called.
In 1997, the current name was introduced worldwide, when this disease already affected many children. In the U.S. today, 20% of all type 2 diabetics are children, compared to only 5% a few decades ago. Type 2 affects 90 to 95 percent of diabetes cases. Always following the same pattern: obesity, high blood prere, lack of exercise or excessively high blood lipid levels disrupt the household.
The pancreas continues to develop insulin, but there is an undersensitivity to the body's own hormone. This in turn is compensated for by an increase in insulin production – it is needed, after all. Already now, the development of hypertension. A lipometabolic disorder continues to advance.
A cycle that is summarized as "metabolic syndrome. As the disease progresses, excess fats are even deposited in the walls of blood vessels. Circulatory disorders increase in drama.
And the diabetes late damage and consequences are serious:
The risk of stroke alone is increased two- to threefold as a result. Coronary artery disease is three and a half times more likely to be fatal. Influenza and pneumonia are increasing in threat.
The nervous system is damaged. Even the smallest leg injuries can lead to gangrene and decay, because the affected person feels nothing, because the nerves are damaged. Diabetes increases the risk of pregnancy problems and impotence. 70 percent of amputations have this cause. Adolescents can lose teeth.
A solution of the problem on broad front appears theoretically seizable – and nevertheless too little is done in the area of the Vorbeugung, although diabetes type 2 can be certainly delayed or possibly even completely prevented.
The course of diabetes can be closely monitored; drug assistance is constantly being improved – also in prevention. Chronobiology in particular is making progress in optimally adjusting blood glucose levels to needs.
Regular check-ups are a prerequisite for early diagnosis. Glucose levels in blood and urine are determined, but also insulin status. The HbA1c level, which indicates whether excess glucose is bound to hemoglobin, should also be monitored. The measurement of blood lipids (HDL/LDL) is also important as an additional risk factor.
For prevention, carbohydrates should only play a subordinate role as energy suppliers. The amount of omega-3 fatty acids (seafood), on the other hand, should be increased. The intake of omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils can be reduced. Overall, a high-fiber diet with sufficient vitamins and minerals is recommended. Exposure to pesticides and technical toxins (PCB etc) should be kept as low as possible. Exercise can increase the sensitivity of ties to insulin and leptin. In addition, exercise maintains an optimal body weight, which significantly reduces the risk of diabetes. A balanced lifestyle. Relaxation exercises also contribute to prophylaxis.
The problem is that in the past it was already hardly possible to decisively change the behavior of millions of people by campaigns.
Far too many people rely on conventional diabetes therapy.
And just as sobering: for every patient, there are two people who are classified as prediabetic: Their blood glucose level is elevated and becomes a disease when they are living their life, resp. Virtually turning her behavior on its head.
Know how your blood sugar is doing?
Almost as much is already spent on diabetes and its sequelae as on all cases of cancer. But public perception lags far behind the scourge of cancer, as I u.a. In the post "Diabetes Risk Factors – Ignorance is a Disaster" show.
So for the foreseeable future, diabetes remains a daunting challenge for everyone. And: It pays to be very well informed about alternative therapy options for diabetes. Because especially in the early stages of diabetes you can do a lot yourself. But this is not "alternative" at all, what I suggest on this website.
With best wishes for your health,
By the way, if this kind of information interests you, be sure to request my free diabetes newsletter about it:
Who writes here?
My name is Rene Graber. Since 1998 I have been working in my own naturopathic practice and since then I have been accompanying patients with a wide variety of complaints and diseases. Diabetes also plays an important role. Many forms of diabetes are absolutely avoidable and also curable – IF: the patients want that and also participate. On this web page I have published for you numerous facts, studies and experiences.