Patrick Holford is the founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London and heads the Food of the Brain Foundation, pioneering nutritional approaches to mental health. He has written more than 20 health books, including the worldwide bestseller, the Optimum Nutrition Bible.
Diabetes is for life, and you will need to take medication for the rest of your life. This is what most people diagnosed with adult-onset, or type 2 diabetes, are told. One in 10 people over 40 now suffer from the life-threatening condition.
Yet, complete reversal, without the need for medication, is being reported by an increasing number of former diabetics by following a low 'glycemic load' diet, in combination with a mineral supplement and the spice cinnamon.
World renowned diabetes expert Fedon Lindberg from Norway has reported complete reversal of type 2 diabetes, the most common form, even in those injecting insulin, by this radical non-drug approach. 'A balanced low glycemic load (GL) diet, coupled with a healthy lifestyle, can also achieve non-diabetic sugar levels without the need for medication - therefore 'reversing' the disease,' he says. He has challenged the Norwegian Diabetes Association to change its advice.
Despite 15 controlled studies on chromium, 13 of which show benefit for stabilising blood sugar, most diabetics are still being told 'you get all the nutrients you need in a well-balanced diet'.
This is simply untrue for chromium. A really good, wholefood diet might give you 50mcg a day. You need 500mcg a day if you are diabetic. (It is very safe to take this much as the toxic level is above 10,000mcg.)
Chromium is in unrefined foods. Sugar, white flour and white rice have up to 98 per cent of the chromium removed. It works by improving the sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Insulin insensitivity, called insulin resistance, is the first indication of pre-diabetes, and affects the majority of overweight people.
Cinnamon, the other key natural remedy for blood sugar regulation, contains something called MCHP which mimics the action of insulin. There is a concentrated extract of cinnamon called Cinnulin® which is high in MCHP for those who do not like eating cinnamon every day.
In one study, volunteers with type 2 diabetes were given cinnamon capsules after meals. All responded to the cinnamon within weeks, lowering blood sugar levels by about 20 per cent. Some of the volunteers even achieved normal blood sugar levels. Tellingly, blood sugar levels started creeping up again after the diabetics stopped taking cinnamon.
The principle behind the low GL diet is eating foods which provide a slow release of sugar, together with protein foods. For example, having a few nuts with an apple, or seeds on an oat-based cereal, or fish with a small serving of brown rice. This leads to less hunger, reduced sugar cravings, increased energy and rapid weight loss, as well as stable blood sugar levels. But you have to do it properly - eating a strict 45 GLs a day.
If you have diabetes, I recommend supplementing 400mcg of chromium with breakfast, and 200mcg at lunch (it comes in 200mcg capsules). If you do not, but have low energy, weight gain or any other 'pre-diabetes' indicators, take 200mcg a day, with breakfast.
For cinnamon, you want 1g a day, or 500mg of a cinnamon extract. Half a teaspoon is 1g. If you are taking sulfonylurea medication be aware this might quickly become unnecessary and, in fact, cause too low blood sugar levels (a 'hypo') since the combination of diet plus supplements is so effective. This kind of approach is also great for prevention, and weight loss. Daily exercise is also an important part of the equation.
DIABETES- ARE YOU AT RISK?
>>Are you rarely wide awake within 15 minutes of rising?
>>Do you need tea, coffee, a cigarette or something sweet to get you going in the morning?
>>Do you crave chocolate, sweet foods, bread, cereal or pasta?
>>Do you often have energy slumps during the day or after meals?
>>Do you crave something sweet or a stimulant after meals?
>>Do you often have mood swings or difficulty concentrating?
>>Do you get dizzy or irritable if you go six hours without food?
>>Do you find you over-react to stress?
>>Is your energy now less than it used to be?
>>Do you feel too tired to exercise?
>>Are you gaining weight, and finding it hard to lose it, even though you are not noticeably eating more or exercising less?
>>Do you get very thirsty and pee a lot - especially at night?
>>Do you get blurred vision?
If you experience many of these symptoms, check your blood sugar levels. You are likely to have insulin resistance and benefit from a low GL diet, plus chromium and cinnamon.
DISCLAIMER: Any information or advice given in this column is not intended to replace the advice or services of your physician. The writer's views are his own and do not represent that of the publication.
If you'd like to find out more details on how to reverse diabetes with diet and supplements, please see www.holforddiet.com/diabetes
