The purpose of this posting is to help bring to and end the diabetes epidemic that is sweeping the nation. It is the first of a number of posting I intend to make of the subject of type 2 diabetes on the new forum in response to a suggestion by forum admin that I post my views on diabetes on the new forum. I must point out that I am not the originator of most of the material I will post, the credit for the truths that I will bring to your attention belongs to others. While I have made one or two links and useful observations my role is in the main to communicate to the sufferes of type 2 diabetes the true nature of their illness and show them how to cure it. In this first posting I will simply give to you the cure for type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is simple to cure and in fact it is not actually a disease in its own right. Type 2 diabetes is just one of many symptoms of an epidemic condition which has swept across the western world from its humble origins just over a century ago. Indeed type 2 diabetes did not exist one hundred years ago, but more of that later, first of all I will give you a cure program for type 2 diabetes which is just one of many symptoms of trans-isomer fat poisoning:
The cure program itself lies within the boundaries of orthodox medical treatments and recommendations. You need do nothing that your doctor or diabetic care team would not prescribe or recommend, in fact all you are going to do is make one small change to your diet, you are going to replace all the unatural trans-isomer fats in your diet with natural cis-isomer fats. You will continue to take all prescribed medications and stay within the limits of a calorie controlled diet as discussed with your dietician.
Currently about half of all supermarket products contain trans isomer fats and should not be purchased or consumed. Trans isomer fats are found in almost all products containing the following:
If you have any cooking oils of this nature either throw them away or shelve them for a few months until you have tested this diet.
Having removed the trans isomer fats from your diet you need to replace them with natural cis-isomer fats. While you will eventually learn how to do this by incorporating them into meals in the first place you simply need to build up a sufficient background level in your body so that they can be incorporated into your new body cells. Body cells are replaced on average every couple of years by new ones. As your diet progresses you body will be remade from undamaged and non diabetic body cells.
For the first six weeks take 3 or four tablespoonsful a day of linseed oil (flax oil). Linseed oil has a calorific values of 120 cals per tablespoon. Thereafter take the following per day:
1 tablespoonful of linseed oil.
1 desertspoonsful of hemp oil
1 teaspoonful of cod liver oil.
This medication is simply food and can be incorporated into prepared food. It should not however be cooked at frying temperatures. Only use olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, or any other cold pressed or declared trans fat free oils in food cooking or preparation in addition to the above list. Your dietician will probably recommend an intake of 500-625 calories a day in total by way of fats and oils, the lower figure being for a woman.
The cure times from the point of view of diabetic symptoms (blood sugar level) is in the region of 3 months to one year depending on how advanced your trans isomer fat poisoning is. However you are quite likely to experience beneficial improvements within the first few weeks of starting the cure. In particular you are likely to notice significant improvements in cardiovascular disease symptoms. Blood pressure may fall dramaticaly if you have hypertension and you may find you have to reduce your medication, in consultation with your GP of course. You may notice improvements in circulation and nerve damage and a cessation of post prandial tingles.
Well that is all there is to it? Remarkable isn't it?
I'm sure all readers are asking themselves the very obvious question: “If its that easy to cure diabetes surely my diabetic care team would have told me?” This is a very good question and one you should adress to them when you begin to get well.
Why should you believe me? This is a good question and the answer is that you should not believe anybody but proceed by reason alone. In future postings I am going to let you prove to yourself that you have been deceived about the nature of your illness by the entire medical profession who along with the food and drugs industries have been making huge profits out of a genocide far far bigger than the holocaust of the second world war! That you are an intended victim of this genocide will soon become clear.
These views are extreme indeed and while I am not the only one to subscribe to these views you may well regard me as a nut case. After all it must be difficult to believe your diabetic care team are actually engaged in the business of trying to kill you! So I call upon all right thinking sufferers of type 2 diabetes to try and prove me wrong. To change their diet in line with the above medically acceptable program and report back on a monthly basis to this site their progress (if any). If you can prove me wrong you will righly be able to call me a liar, a fraud and a charlatan. Either way there is one thing you can be sure of: while the doctors and pill pushers are making an absolute fortune out of their treatments, I will not make a penny piece.
Dr. J Midgley BA BSc MSc CSci CPhys MInstP
Quote:
The Diabetic Models
Orthodox medicine presents you with a simple model of diabetes within which context your treatment regime makes a good deal of sense. On this website type 2 diabetes is described as:
“Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to meet the bodies needs or the insulin is not metabolised effectively.”
The NICE website has a similar description in one of its guides:
“...develops when the body can make some insulin, but not enough for its needs, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance)....”
There are three things to notice about these two descriptions of type 2 diabetes apart from the contradictory statements involving insulin. The first is that they describe two entirely different medical conditions as a reduced capacity to produce insulin is an entirely different condition from a modification of insulin's behaviour. The second thing to notice is that neither of these descriptions gives a cause for type two diabetes. The third thing to notice is that both these alternatives as I first stated justify the prescription of insulin or insulin generating medication. It makes sense within these models to increase your insulin levels to make up for the deficiencies in your insulin, but as no cause for type 2 diabetes is given the treatment is simply a treatment of symptoms and not of cause.
The Trans Isomer Fat Poisoning Model
This states that every living cell in your body has been corrupted by the incorporation of unnatural fats into the body cells make up. The result of this corruption by toxins is that glucose has difficulty in crossing through all cell membranes and in consequence blood sugar rises, unable to penetrate the cell walls. I will discuss this in more depth in a future posting.
Note that as opposed to the orthodox model we only have one description of type 2 diabetes, not two. This model gives a cause for type 2 diabetes unlike the first model but it does not justify the treatment of type 2 diabetes by the use of insulin. Insulin will not in any way affect the cause of type two diabetes in this model.
So I have given you two possible models of type 2 diabetes, but can you by use of reason alone decide between the two? In my first posting I said that you should not believe anybody on this subject and with good reason. Most information posted on the Internet and in doctor's surgeries is posted by vested interests and the deluded so you must always proceed with caution.
The key to deciding if one of these models is wrong is by reference to the first form of diabetes, type 1, in which all (or virtually all) insulin generating capacity is lost entirely due to the destruction of insulin generating cells in the pancreas. Ask you self the question whether or not it would be possible to have both forms of diabetes at the same time:
1)With reference to the orthodox model would it be possible to simultaneously have a partially reduced insulin generating capacity and no insulin generating capacity whatsoever?
2)With reference to the orthodox model would it be possible to simultaneously have a modification of your insulin's behaviour and no insulin generating capacity whatsoever?
3)With reference to the trans isomer fat poisoning model would it be possible to have cell walls that do not pass glucose easily and no insulin generating capacity whatsoever?
After you have answered these questions you might then ask yourself the question: What might the condition of have having both forms of diabetes at the same time be called? I'm going to give you a strong clue here: “Double Diabetes”.
Please put the expression “Double Diabetes” into your favourite search engine and stand well back. After a good poke around, taking care not to be deceived by any misinformation you may find ask yourself the further question: “Do I believe in the orthodox medical model of diabetes?”
If the answer to this question is “No” you might find further useful additional information in my future postings. If the answer is “Yes” please let natural selection take its course and go off and die at the hands of your diabetic care team.
JM
Quote:
The Blood Glucose Abstraction Diagram
This is something that you are going to have to draw for yourself. It is a useful exercise in furthering your understanding of type 2 diabetes.
I drew this diagram after returning from my last visit to a diabetic consultant. After this visit I had once again had my simple questions waved aside. Once again I was referred to deceitful literature which had done nothing for my understanding and served only to confuse me further. At that time I knew I had been lied to by one of the diabetic nurses. She had told me I would eventually be prescribed an insulin to “which I was not immune”. I had quizzed her most carefully on this and she was quite adamant that this was the case: an insulin existed to which I was not immune. “Excellent”, I thought. After years of suffering ever rising blood sugar levels as my condition worsened and all those unpleasant side effects I was finally going to be given a treatment which would keep my blood sugar down to normal levels and I would be able to recommence my life. For three years after this point in time I was denied this wonder treatment to my increasing disappointment. My blood sugar worsened further, I became increasingly depressed and unable to work with my mind. I was suffering symptoms of advanced cardiovascular disease: high blood pressure, thousands of ectopic heartbeats a day and crescendo angina. I think I was not far from death and death seemed like the best option. I wanted to die.
How many people who contribute to this site have had a similar experience? Ever rising blood sugar levels no matter how little you eat, how many pills or how much insulin you take? Why is it that you cannot stabilise your blood sugar? How come insulin treatment doesn't work?
Draw the following diagram:
Draw one large circle on a sheet of paper and write inside it: Blood glucose.
Around the outside of this circle draw three further “destination” circles and label them:
1)Body Cells 2) Fat Cells 3) Bladder.
2)Join the Body Cell circle to the Blood Glucose circle with an outward pointing arrow.
3)Join the Bladder circle to the Blood Glucose circle with an outward pointing arrow.
4)Join the Fat Cells circle to the Blood Glucose circle with two arrows. One pointing inward and one pointing outward.
The three destination circles represent the three ultimate destination possibilities of blood glucose. The pathways (arrows) to them should be labelled “metabolism”, “anabolism” and “excretion” respectively.
So how do we use this diagram to explain type 2 diabetes?
Well the excretion pathway is a pathway which evolution has tried to limit. There would not be much point in eating if all the resulting blood sugar were to be excreted so it is very much a small part of the picture although in type 2 diabetes elevated blood sugar increases glucose flow down this pathway and you lose more glucose this way. It is not a major part of the explanation although it is worth noting that when insulin treatment begins this pathway is curtailed, at least at first.
The metabolism pathway is the pathway which most blood glucose should ideally take. The metabolism pathway results in the consumption of glucose which is used to fuel most body processes from your beating heart to your cell repair and maintenance. The list is endless so look it up if you want to.
The anabolism pathway lies parallel to the reverse anabolism pathway (mark the other arrow thus if you want to). Insulin is an anabolic steroid, its job is to take blood glucose and turn it (eventually)into fat, more insulin makes the anabolic pathway operate more strongly. Insulin makes you fat. In a healthy human animal over time these two pathways are equal with as much blood glucose being turned into fat as fat is being turned into blood glucose. The healthy individual does not put on or lose significant amounts of weight.
So in terms of the blood glucose abstraction diagram it would seem that insulin is being prescribed to turn your blood glucose into fat. This would seem to be the result the doctors are looking for and indeed in terms of the orthodox model of the last posting it is. Remember that in the orthodox model you're insulin is either present in limited quantities or not working properly. So they give you more to get your blood sugar down. So if the orthodox model was correct type 2 diabetes would simply be a mild form of type 1 diabetes. Additional insulin in your system would be used to prevent high blood sugar and you would not gain weight. The doctors would be making up for a deficiency in insulin.
When you are first diagnosed and have been prescribed pills the orthodox model makes some kind of sense as your blood sugar will be held down to more or less normal levels and you may be a little overweight (but maybe you have been eating too much). Some people may even lose weight as excess blood sugar causes excess excretion of glucose. But as time progresses your blood glucose begins an inexorable rise and your prescription will be increased to combat this rise. Typically you will put on weight and very often begin to eat less and less to combat your rising weight. After years of this treatment the promise of insulin is held out to you. Soon you will be put on “an insulin to which you are not immune”. You look forward to this time as obviously with a working insulin you will be just like a type 1 diabetic with low blood sugar and the distinct possibility of losing weight.
But what happens is not as you suppose. Maybe your blood sugar is held down for a while but if anything your weight increases further. Then your blood sugar begins to rise even further, you increase the dose of insulin and this works for a while but then your blood sugar begins to rise again! You become desperate with the advanced symptoms of diabetes beginning to wreck your life. Perhaps you have extreme hypertension, a malfunctioning heart, extensive nerve damage, mental depression, tiredness. You may well be on an extreme diet just to fight the disease as far as you can. If still working your performance is suffering badly. Your feet are numb and your circulation is reduced in the extremities. The end of your life is approaching. How will you die?
How many people have reported these kinds of symptoms on this site and their failed attempts to lose weight? The weight issue is important. If like me you have been putting on weight and yet eating much less than the dietician recommends it is worth looking again at your blood glucose abstraction diagram. You see the dietician will almost certainly recommend you eat a normal diet of 2000 calories a day for a woman and 2500 calories a day for a man. You may well be eating half this or even a quarter of this and still not lose weight. The diagram makes it all clear, despite the increased excretion you will be suffering from increased blood glucose levels, despite the extreme diet you are on things are only getting worse. The doctors are treating you for a deficiency of the anabolic pathway, they are converting as much blood sugar as they can to fat!
You should have realised by now. You are not suffering from an inability to anabolise at all! You are suffering from an inability to metabolise! After all only the excretion and metabolism pathways can reduce your blood glucose without you putting on weight!
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder not an anabolic disorder! Engrave this on what is left of your heart. To treat type 2 diabetes it is necessary to increase the metabolism not the anabolism. The orthodox treatment is based upon an orthodox model of type two diabetes. You have already demonstrated that the orthodox model is false. You now know that your treatment, based on a false model of diabetes, is false medicine. It is a treatment which will lead to your death.
Next time you visit your GP you might ask him or her if type 2 diabetes is a metabolic or anabolic disorder. Many hospital departments which dole out the false treatment for diabetes are actually called metabolic disorder clinics or departments. Its not as if they are acting in ignorance.
The treatment regime I suggested on the first posting lies within the permissible scope of the orthodox model but it differs in that it is treating the metabolic deficiency. The only reason I suggest you use linseed, hemp and fish oils is that they are reliably available alternatives to the trans-fat based oils which dominate the entire western food supply chain.
JM
Quote:
Obesity and the Diabetic Treatment Trap
There are several causes of obesity in type 2 diabetes. The first two are caused by trans fats. The first cause is mitochondrial disorder. Mitochondria are sub cellular organelles, microscopic parts of the body cells responsible for metabolism. Their action is impaired by trans fat poisoning. The second is the corruption of the cell walls due to trans fat poisoning. This corruption is due to the fact that trans fats found in the toxic oils which pervade our current food sources do not occur in biological nature. Their structure is different to naturally occurring cis-isomer fats and when incorporated into your body cells their function is impaired. They have difficulty in allowing glucose into the cell and your metabolism is therefore reduced further. Blood sugar rises and you get fatter. Increasing fat levels mean there is more fat in your blood stream. This is known to make glucose uptake by the body cells worse. As your blood sugar rises you become infected by candida fungal spores. This fungus turns your body into a lean burn machine reducing your metabolism further still. You are now diabetic and exhibiting the early symptoms and you go to your GP.
In the good old days of diabetes diagnosis the test for diabetes used to be to consume some glucose (a Mars bar say) and measure your blood sugar in half an hour or so. If it was over 5.5mmol/l or so you were diabetic and put on a diet. When I was diagnosed ten years ago the test had been changed because of some WHO recommendation. My doctor put me on an overnight fast and measured my blood sugar twelve hours later! Naturally my blood sugar had dropped overnight and I was declared free of diabetes! Why the test for diabetes has been changed in this manner I can only speculate. It is absolutely certain that early cases of diabetes are being missed because of this change and by the time you are diagnosed you are much further advanced down the diabetes path than you would be under the old test. Many people are now going straight onto medication post diagnosis because of this change and they will almost certainly be infected with candida at the time of diagnosis. It is almost as if they are trying to make you sicker!
Post diagnosis your will amongst other things be referred to a dietician. The dietician will advise you to eat a normal diet for a man and woman. This will make you gain weight. As your metabolism is already significantly reduced you will not be able to metabolise such large amounts of food and while obesity does not cause diabetes it does make it worse. Your metabolism will slow further as your weight increases.
Medication as we have already discussed makes the diabetic condition worse by forcing the anabolic pathway. As soon as you are put onto medication blood sugar is diverted into body mass, your blood sugar falls and there is less possibility of glucose getting into your body cells for the purposes of metabolism as there is less of it a round. In fact your body wants the blood glucose levels to be high so it can increase its metabolism. The medication slows your metabolism further and you will gain weight and get sicker.
One of the most emphatic pieces of advice I got from my GP was to avoid animal fat as being diabetic I was more prone to cadiovascular disease. Naturally I went away and binned all the animal fats and went to the supermarket and bought vegetable oils. While unlabelled most readily available oils (except olive oil) contain hydrogenated oils. The process of hydrogenation which first went commercial in 1911 is the process by which the natural cis fats your body needs are destroyed and replaced by toxic trans fats. My GP had in effect advised me to poison myself further! It is interesting to note that while people ate animal fat and smoked tobacco in the nineteenth century and earlier cardiovascular disease was quite rare. In fact most cardiovascular disease today is caused by trans fats.
How many of the contributors to this site have had similar experiences? The whole process of diagnosing, treating and advice given about diabetes to a patient in the UK makes diabetes worse. No attempt is made to treat the condition, only the symptoms. While the British Government is finally going to the food industry and asking them to reduce trans fats in their products the same advice about trans fats is not being given out in the doctor's surgeries!
The diabetes industry is worth a vast fortune. How much money are you making for them?
JM
Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:05 am
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Does CANNABIS help Diabetics?..INSULIN Industry NOT HAPPY?
PLEASE POST ANY INFO OR LINKS REGARDING THE ISSUES BELOW..Love and thanksx
2 weeks ago a friend of mines girlfriend who is Type 1 Diabetic had the first big Hypo she has had in years, ambulance got called the works...up to that night she had been fine...the only sudden and major change in routine?...stopping smoking for 3 days...I have been wondering if this was due to the fact that she was not smoking her usual joints of Cannabis with tobacco before and after eating?.
She was not at risk from "Munchies" induced excesive sugar munching as they eat very healthy and balanced diet, including healthy munchy food and use of Stevia instead of sugar.
The question is does Cannabis help control the swing in Blood sugar...I have encouraged them to conduct a careful test with different foods with smoking and not to see the effect on the swing when measured at 30 minute intervals. If these tests get completed I will post them on the forum.
In the mean time...below is some info Diabetics and tokers out there may find interesting, having learnt so much about the crimes of the Global food industry whilst researching Food and nutrition and fighting Cancer and having heard some anecdotal evidence that Type 1 and type 2 can be controlled sometimes "insulin free" with the herb, you couldn't put it past
the corporate market for therapeutic proteins, (of which Insulin is a major part) grew by almost 19% to $37 billion, and is predicted to achieve sales of over $90 billion by 2010...to have another good reason to keep Pot illegal and unexplored publically as a medicine?...
Any further info or experiences with dope and Diabetes would be much appreciated.
INFO SO FAR...
Anecdotal
ive heard that cannabis lowers blood sugar level and could possibly be used to control diabeates but obviously doctors wont recommend it due to its side affects although looking at the side effects my granddad suffered from using diabetes medication for many year ( mainly kidney failure)it makes you wonder. good luck
i am a 29 year old black male and i've been smoking marijuana for 10 years now. when i was 27, i was on a 1 year probation( driving on a suspended license). I refrained from smoking marijuana for 6 months then i found myself urinating frequently at night, like every 20 minutes or so through out the night. my mother took me to the hospital (upon my refusal) there i was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes ( my mom has it also). I spent a week in the hospital and was told that i would have to take insulin. well being on probation i couldn't smoke (that changed because i violated probation). one month after being diagnosed, I started smoking marijuana again and never took insulin. for the past 2 years (from 27-29) i never took one shot of insulin. I just smoke herbs twice a day. in my honest opinion, marijuana is a great cure for taking insulin. I don't get the munchies, don't feel tired or get the giggles or any of that stereotypical stuff that goes along with marijuana. I feel alot of people would say smoking herbs is bad because if they told the people the truth then there would be no need for "America's Drugs and Cure's". My point is, if you have diabetes (as well as other sicknesses) marijuana is the cure. Everyone with diabetes knows what can happen if you don't take insulin. for 2 years after being diagnosed, i'm as fine as ever. The only thing i have to work on now is excercising and loseing weight(i'm like 160 pounds over weight) i don't attribute that to herbs either, i've been big from the age 11. but that's another topic.....my brothers and sisters with diabetes....marijuana is the cure......
.................peace and blessings to all
well even though my last statement is my opinion, i am living proof that marijuana does help people with diabetes. As i've stated before, everyone with type 1 diabetes knows what would happen if you don't take your insulin. I've been diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 27, as a-matter-a-fact, when i went into the hospital(again, upon my refusal) the doctors told me that i could've died. They even told me that i would have to take insulin. Not taking insulin could result in my death. Again i have NOT taken insulin in the last 2 years, all i do is smoke marijuana, maybe this does not work for EVERYONE with type 1 diabetes but it sure does work for ME. If it didn't, I would be or should be dead by now, I'M ALIVE and WELL. No insulin just marijuana. I AM LIVING PROOF THAT SMOKING MARIJUANA DOES WORK. It's safe to say that either marijuana is working for me or the doctors lied to me by saying that i do have type 1 diabetes and gave me an 80 thiusand dollar hospital bill. Marijuana is also not addictive because when i was on probation (driving on a suspended license) I never felt the urge to smoke marijuana and it's also NOT a gateway drug. I dont smoke or ever have the intentions of smoking cigaretts or doing any drugs whatsoever....all i do is smoke marijuana 2 or 3 blunts a day. so once again, smoking marijuana DOES WORK FOR ME IN PLACE OF INSULIN....TO EACH HIS/HER OWN....
hello i am diabetic. I have been a diabetic for 13 years and going strong. My mother also has it too. I am a type one diabetic. I believe that medical marijuana should be legal. I have been smoking marijuana since i was 14 i am now 20 i have had no problems and i mean none. i am currently in college as a soph. The only time i have been in the hospital for my diabetes was when i was diagnosed with it. I have a minimed 508 insulin pump and had only one problem with it. but that was due to scateboarding. The way i see it is it is all up to you. The ball is in your court, you have to take responsibility for yourself and your own actions. As long as you know what you need to do and you do it you will be just fine. Its all hog wash that you don't have control of yourself.
Here's some more for that body of anecdotal evidence. My ex-daughter-in-law, who has Type I diabetes, found that her recreational use was helping her to control her blood sugar. My wee wifey, whose Type II is managed without insulin, found that it worked also for her, but doesn't enjoy it enough to continue use.
Posted by: triticale | October 30, 2005 at 01:51 PM
have smoked cannabis for four years my mum is a diabetic and my gran and grandad which means i am likely to get it but they have all had it since they were kids about my age they were diagnosed so could it be the cannabis that is preventing or covering it up????????????
Thanks for your question.
I hope no one will mind my adding some info here as I do know alot about the subject, sensitive as it is.
I have over the past 12 months done a lot of research on this subject and to my surprise there is a surprising amount of literature on this subject out there:
Let me pre-emt this discussion by saying that I do not advocate the use of drugs, however, I have used Marijuana before my Type 1 diagnosis and cocnsistently (thougfh moderatly) since, I have discussed this at length with my doctors who given the results that I have experienced are happy for it to continue.
I have been experimenting on my self with BG test every 30mins or so, eating exactly the same meals at the same times to check the BG curve whist using and not using cannabis.
The result, startling at it was, consistently was the amplitude of the curve was considerably shallower with cannabis, I took it one step further and found that with a combination of cannabis and X-4 units of insulin my BG would simply not get above 11(198)
where as with the X units (4 more than previously) and the same food,(no canmnabis) the BG 15-60 mins after a large meal (identical meal to prior) would surpass 13.5 (243) for brief periods.
the conclusions and this is consistent with previous findings is that cannabis can be used in conjunction with insulin to "smooth out "the BG curve, this is why despite a relatively high sugar diet, my control is exemplary, my HAb1c is always well sub 6.0
but most importantly the curve, ie the extremities of high and low are never beyong the 4.5- 10 region (81-180).
I am a succesful entrepreneur and MD of my own company, the use of marijuana is the UK is legal for personal. (though not for sale). In conclusion, some groups advocate the use of Marajuana for treatment of diabetes exclusively, see medical marajuana .com though obviously for type 1 insulin should not be used to replace insulin though can be used succesfully to complement it.
Let us not forget that it the high and lows that cause diabetic side effects, if one can keep the range of BG within the aforementioned ranges, the risk of complications tend to zero or at least decrease considerably.
I'm 25 years old and have had type1 diabetes since i was four. I've smoked cannabis regularly for the last few years and, as a result, have indeed developed greater control over my condition. I used to have a problem with alcohol which has led to some retinopathy complicatons as well as depression and often violent moodswings. It amazes that, despite a wealth of evidence I have found for cannabis, as well as a growing amount of use and support around the world, some people still regard cannabis as more dangerous than alcohol. I have read reports which seem to suggest that a lot of people are being fed anti-drug propaganda which lumps cannabis in with other illegal substances. For example, many reports warn of users being 'out of it' and unable or unwilling to test their blood levels. On the contrary, I have found that being 'out of it' is the time I feel more worried about diabetes and more likely to test my sugar. This is the exact opposite of being 'out of it' on alcohol which leads not only to no testing, but no injections and dangerous fluctuations in those same levels. It seems that a lot of govermental action against cannabis( labelling it 'wacky-backy' and reporting made up instances of ' reefer madness') has scared a lot of people into thinking that cannabis users are irresponsible, lazy or just plain crazy! I firmly believe the opposite to be true and that it's alcohol that leads to the irresponsible and crazies on the street( here in Britain, we have an escalating 'yob culture as proof of this) I strongly object to being persecuted for my method of relaxation as I refuse to use alcohol now as it clearly leads to depression and violence( for myself and, I guarantee, many others)
I have diabetes and pot does not effect me it accatually makes my blood sugar go down. It has not changed or differed scence I started smoken pot
Cannabis helps to lower my nerve pains from type 2 diabetes. It also calms my muscle spasams and puts me in a better frame of mind. It is a spiritual experiance for me and I consider it to be a miricle healing herb. A gift from the Goddess and from God Almighty.
I am also a downwinder with NO TUMORS!
I wonder if this has kept me alive? What do you think?
---------------------------------------
From: Marla James (09/13/06 09:22:31)
Ihave been diabetic for 10 years. One of the thing that cannibis helps with is the pain of nueropathy. These are electrical like nerve pains which go down the legs. It seems to calm those pains.
Treating Diabetes with Cannabis?
I'm grinning. Can you see me? Via a tip from Simon of Power and Control I've learned that cannabis (yep: pot, grass, weed, ganja...) can be used to treat diabetes. But no, really. This is legit! Check out a new research paper from the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis (AAMC).
This paper posits that cannabis can have the following benefits for diabetes patients:
* stabilizing blood sugars (confirmed via "a large body of anecdotal evidence building among diabetes sufferers")
* anti-inflammatory action that may help quell some of the arterial inflammation common in diabetes
* "neuroprotective" effects that help thwart inflammation of nerves and reduce the pain of neuropathy by activating receptors in the body and brain
* "anti-spasmodic agents" help relieve muscle cramps and the pain of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders
* acts as a "vasodilator" to help keep blood vessels open and improve circulation
* contributes to lower blood pressure over time, which is vital for diabetics
* substituting cannabis butter and oil in foods "benefits cardiac and arterial health in general"
* it can also be used to make topical creams to relieve neuropathic pain and tingling in hands and feet
* finally, cannabis helps still diabetic "restless leg syndrom" (RLS), so the patient can sleep better: "it is recommended that patients use a vaporizer or smoked cannabis to aid in falling asleep."
Now I have no idea how this has been received in the medical community, but that is one heck of a long list of potential health benefits! Where do I sign up for the clinical studies? (wink
Simon concludes: "If the stuff wasn't illegal it would be considered a medical super-miracle given all the problems it treats
Cannabidinoids are components of the Cannabis sativa (marijuana) plant that have been shown capable of suppressing inflammation and various aspects of cell-mediated immunity. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabidinoid has been previously shown by us to suppress cell-mediated autoimmune joint destruction in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis. We now report that CBD treatment significantly reduces the incidence of diabetes in NOD mice from an incidence of 86% in non-treated control mice to an incidence of 30% in CBD-treated mice. CBD treatment also resulted in the significant reduction of plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IFN-γ and TNF-α. Th1-associated cytokine production of in vitro activated T-cells and peritoneal macrophages was also significantly reduced in CBD-treated mice, whereas production of the Th2-associated cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10, was increased when compared to untreated control mice. Histological examination of the pancreatic islets of CBD-treated mice revealed significantly reduced insulitis. Our results indicate that CBD can inhibit and delay destructive insulitis and inflammatory Th1-associated cytokine production in NOD mice resulting in a decreased incidence of diabetes possibly through an immunomodulatory mechanism shifting the immune response from Th1 to Th2 dominance.
Keywords: Type 1 diabetes; cannabidiol; Th1/Th2 biology, IFN-γ
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1080/08916930500356674
Affiliations: 1: Hadassah University Hospital, Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cancer Immunotherapy, POB 12000, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel 2: Hebrew University Medical Faculty, Department of Medical Chemistry and Natural Products, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel 3: Hebrew University Medical Faculty, Department of Immunology, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel
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Diabetes Mellitus
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Diabetes mellitus is a group of autoimmune diseases characterized by defects in insulin secretion resulting in hyperglycemia (an abnormally high concentration of glucose in the blood). There are two primary types of diabetes. Individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) are incapable of producing pancreatic insulin and must rely on insulin medication for survival. Individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (also known as adult onset diabetes) produce inadequate amounts of insulin. Type 2 diabetes is a less serious condition that typically is controlled by diet. Over time, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, hardening of the arteries, and death. The disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer.
A search of the scientific literature reveals no clinical investigations of cannabis for the treatment of diabetes, but does identify a small number of preclinical studies indicating that cannabinoids may modify the disease’s progression and provide symptomatic relief to those suffering from it.[1-2] Most recently, a study published in the journal Autoimmunity reported that injections of 5 mg per day of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD significantly reduced the incidence of diabetes in mice. Investigators reported that 86% of untreated control mice in the study developed diabetes. By contrast, only 30% of CBD-treated mice developed the disease.[3] In a separate experiment, investigators reported that control mice all developed diabetes at a median of 17 weeks (range 15-20 weeks), while a majority (60 percent) of CBD-treated mice remained diabetes-free at 26 weeks.[4]
Investigators also found that CBD significantly lowered plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins) INF-gamma and TNF-alpha and significantly reduced the severity of insulitis (an infiltration of white blood cells resulting in swelling) compared to non-treated controls. “Our results indicate that CBD can inhibit and delay destructive insulitis and inflammatory … cytokine production in … mice resulting in decreased incidence of diabetes,” authors concluded.
Other preclinical trials have demonstrated cannabinoids to possess additional beneficial effects in animal models of diabetes. Writing in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Pathology, researchers at the Medical College of Virginia reported that rats treated with CBD for periods of one to four weeks experienced significant protection from diabetic retinopathy.[5] This condition, which is characterized by retinal oxygen deprivation and a breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier, is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.
Cannabinoids have also been shown to alleviate neuropathic pain associated with the disease. A pair of studies published in the journal Neuroscience Letters in 2004 reported that mice administered a cannabis receptor agonist experienced a reduction in diabetic-related tactile allodynia (pain resulting from non-injurious stimulus to the skin) compared to non-treated controls.[6-7] The findings suggest that “cannabinoids have a potential beneficial effect on experimental diabetic neuropathic pain.”
Finally, a 2001 trial demonstrated that delta-9-THC could moderate an animal model of the disease by reducing artificially-elevated glucose levels and insulitis in mice compared to non-treated controls.[8] With the incidence of diabetes steadily increasing in both the adult and juvenile population, it would appear that further cannabinoid research is warranted in the treatment of these diseases.
REFERENCES
[1] Croxford and Yamamura. 2005. Cannabinoids and the immune system: Potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Journal of Neuroimmunology 166: 3-18.
[2] Lu et al. 2006. The cannabinergic system as a target for anti-inflammatory therapies. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 13: 1401-1426.
[3] Weiss et al. 2006. Cannabidiol lowers incidence of diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice. Autoimmunity 39: 143-151.
[4] Ibid
[5] El-Remessy et al. 2006. Neuroprotective and blood-retinal barrier preserving effects of cannabidiol in experimental diabetes. American Journal of Pathology 168: 235-244.
[6] Dogrul et al. 2004. Cannabinoids block tactile allodynia in diabetic mice without attenuation of its antinociceptive effect. Neuroscience Letters 368: 82-86.
[7] Ulugol et al. 2004. The effect of WIN 55,212-2, a cannabinoid agonist, on tactile allodynia in diabetic rats. Neuroscience Letters 71: 167-170.
[8] Li et al. 2001. Examination of the immunosuppressive effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in streptozotocin-induced autoimmune diabetes. International Immunopharmacology (Italy) 4: 699-712.
Neuroprotective and Blood-Retinal Barrier-Preserving Effects of Cannabidiol in Experimental Diabetes
Azza B. El-Remessy*, Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, Yousuf Khalifa, Nai-Tse Tsai, Ruth B. Caldwell and Gregory I. Liou
From the Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology* and Ophthalmology, the Vascular Biology Center, Cellular Biology and Anatomy, and the Medical College of Georgia; and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
Diabetic retinopathy is characterized by blood-retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown and neurotoxicity. These pathologies have been associated with oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines, which may operate by activating their downstream target p38 MAP kinase. In the present study, the protective effects of a nonpsychotropic cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), were examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats after 1, 2, or 4 weeks. Retinal cell death was determined by terminal dUTP nick-end labeling assay; BRB function by quantifying extravasation of bovine serum albumin-fluorescein; and oxidative stress by assays for lipid peroxidation, dichlorofluorescein fluorescence, and tyrosine nitration. Experimental diabetes induced significant increases in oxidative stress, retinal neuronal cell death, and vascular permeability. These effects were associated with increased levels of tumor necrosis factor-, vascular endothelial growth factor, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and activation of p38 MAP kinase, as assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunohistochemistry, and/or Western blot. CBD treatment significantly reduced oxidative stress; decreased the levels of tumor necrosis factor-, vascular endothelial growth factor, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1; and prevented retinal cell death and vascular hyperpermeability in the diabetic retina. Consistent with these effects, CBD treatment also significantly inhibited p38 MAP kinase in the diabetic retina. These results demonstrate that CBD treatment reduces neurotoxicity, inflammation, and BRB breakdown in diabetic animals through activities that may involve inhibition of p38 MAP kinase.
Neurosci Lett. 2004 Sep 16;368(1):82-6. Related Articles, Links
Cannabinoids blocks tactile allodynia in diabetic mice without attenuation of its antinociceptive effect.
Dogrul A, Gul H, Yildiz O, Bilgin F, Guzeldemir ME.
Department of Pharmacology, Gulhane Academy of Medicine, 06018 Etlik, Ankara, Turkey. dogrula@gata.edu.tr
Diabetic neuropathic pain is one of the most commonly encountered neuropathic pain syndromes. However, the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain is challenging because of partial effectiveness of currently available pain relievers. It is well known that diabetic animals are less sensitive to the analgesic effect of morphine, and opioids are found to be ineffective in the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain. Cannabinoids are promising drugs and they share a similar pharmacological properties with opioids. It has been reported that cannabinoid analgesia remained intact and to be effective in some models of nerve injury. Thus, we investigated antinociceptive efficacy and the effects of cannabinoids on behavioral sign of diabetic neuropathic pain in diabetic mice by using WIN 55, 212-2, a cannabinoid receptor agonist. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) (200mg/kg) and animals were tested between 45 and 60 days after onset of diabetes. Antinociception was assessed using the radiant tail-flick test. Mechanical and thermal sensitivities were measured by Von Frey filaments and hot-plate test, respectively. Tactile allodynia, but not thermal hyperalgesia developed in diabetic mice. Systemic WIN 55, 212-2 (1, 5 and 10mg/kg) produced a dose-dependent antinociception both in diabetic and control mice. WIN 55, 212-2-induced antinociception were found to be similar in diabetic mice when compared to controls suggesting efficacy of cannabinoid antinociception was not diminished in diabetic mice. WIN 55, 212-2 also produced a dose-dependent antiallodynic effect in diabetic mice. This study suggests that cannabinoids have a potential beneficial effect on experimental diabetic neuropathic pain.
Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 15342139 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Neurosci Lett. 2004 Nov 23;371(2-3):167-70. Related Articles, Links
The effect of WIN 55,212-2, a cannabinoid agonist, on tactile allodynia in diabetic rats.
Ulugol A, Karadag HC, Ipci Y, Tamer M, Dokmeci I.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University, 22030-Edirne, Turkey. aulugol@trakya.edu.tr
The antinociceptive action of cannabinoids in acute and inflammatory pain states have been well-documented. There is also accumulating evidence suggesting that cannabinoids are effective analgesics in chronic pain conditions. WIN 55,212-2, a mixed CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptor agonist, has been shown to be effective against hyperalgesia and allodynia in painful peripheral mononeuropathy. Recently, in addition to their spinal and supraspinal antinociceptive action, cannabinoids have also reported to exert local analgesic effects. The aim of this study is to observe the effect of a high affinity cannabinoid, WIN 55,212-2, on tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in diabetic rats. Diabetes was produced with the injection of a single dose of streptozocin (50 mg/kg, i.p.) and this procedure resulted in neuropathic pain behaviors in the hindlimbs. Mechanical allodynia was detected by application of von Frey filaments to the plantar surface of the foot, and thermal hyperalgesia was studied using the Hargreaves' method; however, thermal hyperalgesia did not develop in diabetic rats. With its higher doses, both systemic (3 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.) and peripheral (30 microg, i.p.l.) injections of WIN 55,212-2 reduced mechanical allodynia. These results suggest that WIN 55,212-2 has an antiallodynic effect in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats and may be a promising approach in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.
Publication Types:
Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 15519750 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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In the 60's/70's in UK, there was a horse trainer/dog trainer on UK tv called Barbara Woodhouse. She'd lived in Argentina in the 30's in her youth. In her autobiography 'A Woman's Best Friend' she told how she developed life threatening, presumably type 1 diabetes and was given some Argentinian natural herb remedy which she assumed had stimulated the pancreas and cured the disease.
I don't know what the remedy was but googling shows up the following herbs as reducing blood sugar levels and helping in diabetes management in some studies:
No. Here's a little different take on the subject of diabetes, though--
There are many things you can do to overcome type II diabetes, and improve life as a Type I diabetic. I've been researching alternative medicine, and the amount of help that's available to diabetics is amazing.
Natural remedies are quite effective, and include:
Cinnamon regulates glucose, and has a polyphenol compound called MHCP that mimics insulin and activates cell receptor sites. Everything on the above list has a use in fighting diabetes. If you are serious about learning how to use these herbs and not falling victim to diabetes needlessly, I suggest getting a copy of--
"One Son's Quest for the Cause and Cure of Diabetes", ISBN 7890766313
The author, a doctor, lost his mother to diabetes and spent the next 20 years finding a way to overcome it. My brother was dying of diabetes, and I was just starting to need insulin when we came across this definitive work which was first availale in February 2005. We both lead mostly normal lives now. It's a life saver, and the best money you'll ever spend on the subject.
You might want to check Abe Books, Alibri's, or Amazon.com for a good used copy cheap. I bought mine new, and I think it was about $35. I don't get any money from anybody for telling you this--just want to help, and the techniques in this book is what made the difference for me and mine. Best of luck.
Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:16 pm
madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8187 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
Quote:
Diabetes Experiments on Mice Irrelevant to Humans
For decades, countless rats and mice have been used in tens of thousands of painful experiments to study diabetes, a disease in which the body is unable to properly control the amount of sugar in the blood. When certain cells in the pancreas (called the Islets of Langerhans) fail to produce enough insulin or the body fails to use the insulin properly, diabetes results. Experimenters have induced diabetes-like symptoms in rats and mice by injecting them with chemicals that render the pancreas dysfunctional, by cutting into the pancreas, by surgically removing the entire pancreas, or by genetically manipulating the animals so that the pancreas fails to secrete enough insulin.
Recently, scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine discovered fundamental differences between the Islets of Langerhans in humans and those in mice. Using high-resolution three-dimensional images, the scientists observed that while the hormone production centers in human islets are randomly distributed, in mice islets, hormone production centers are clustered in the core. Vivisectors had previously assumed basic similarity between mice and humans islets, but with this new discovery, researchers are advocating human cell-based research as a more accurate and effective way of studying human diabetes.
Why would they want to give a natural remedy when they openly advocate eugenics and depopulation programs.
The ones suffering the most from these diseases are not the rich elites but the poor who think Dr. WHO is going to find the cure to all their problems. Its really quite simple cut your damn sugar and grain intakes and insulin levels go back to normal.
Of course we all know that kind of strategy doesn't sell and it doesn't help get rid of "the useless eaters."
Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:54 am
madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8187 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
Diabetics cured by stem cell treatment
Quote:
Diabetics cured by stem cell treatment
Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again.
In a breakthrough trial, 15 young patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes were given drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by transfusions of stem cells drawn from their own blood.
The results show that insulin-dependent diabetics can be freed from reliance on needles by an injection of their own stem cells. The therapy could signal a revolution in the treatment of the condition, which affects more than 300,000 Britons.
People with type 1 diabetes have to give themselves regular injections to control blood-sugar levels, as their ability to create the hormone naturally is destroyed by an immune disorder.
All but two of the volunteers in the trial, details of which are published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), do not need daily insulin injections up to three years after stopping their treatment regimes.
The findings were released to reporters yesterday as the future of US stem-cell research was being debated in Washington.
Stem cells are immature, unprogrammed cells that have the ability to grow into different kinds of tissue and can be sourced from people of all ages.
Previous studies have suggested that stem-cell therapies offer huge potential to treat a variety of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neuron disease. A study by British scientists in November also reported that stem-cell injections could repair organ damage in heart attack victims.
But research using the most versatile kind of stem cells — those acquired from human embryos — is currently opposed by powerful critics, including President Bush.
The JAMA study provides the first clinical evidence for the efficacy of stem cells in type 1 diabetes. Sufferers of the chronic condition, which normally emerges in childhood or early adulthood, have to inject themselves at least four times a day.
Type 2 diabetes, which tends to affect people later in life, is linked to lifestyle factors such as obesity. There are almost two million type 2 diabetics in Briton, most of whom control their blood-sugar levels with pills or through diet.
The new study, by a joint team of Brazilian and American scientists, found that one of the first patients to undergo the procedure has not used any supplemental synthetic
insulin for three years. “Very encouraging results were obtained in a small number of patients with early-onset disease,” the authors, led by Julio Voltarelli, from the University of São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. write. “Ninety-three per cent of patients achieved different periods of insulin independence and treatment-related toxicity was low, with no mortality.”
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s own immune system malfunctions and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, causing a shortage in the hormone.
By the time most patients receive a clinical diagnosis, 60 to 80 per cent of their beta cells have been wiped out. The disease progresses from this point very quickly, and can result in serious long-term complications including blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and stroke.
Dr Voltarelli’s team hoped that if they intervened early enough they could wipe out and then rebuild the body’s immune system by using stem cells, preverving a reservoir of beta cells and allowing them to to regenerate.
They enrolled Brazilian diabetics aged between 14 and 31 who had been diagnosed within the previous six weeks. After stem cells had been harvested from their blood, they then underwent a mild form of chemotherapy to eliminate the white blood cells causing damage to the pancreas. They were then given transfusions of their own stem cells to help rebuild their immune systems.
Richard Burt, a co-author of the study from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said that 14 of the 15 patients were insulin-free for some time following the treatment. Eleven of those were able to dispense with supplemental insulin immediately following the infusion of stem cells and have not had recourse to synthetic insulin since then, he said.
“Two other patients needed some supplemental insulin for 12 and 20 months after the procedure, but eventually both were able to wean themselves from taking daily shots,” he added. One patient went 12 months without shots, but relapsed a year after treatment after suffering a viral infection, and resumed daily insulin injections. Another volunteer was eliminated from the study because of complications. The therapy, known as autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, has already shown benefits to individuals with a range of auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and lupus.
There are still question marks about exactly how the treatment works, and further studies will be required to fully evaluate it’s safety and efficacy.
“As a research scientist I am always hesitant to speak of a cure, but the initial results have been good and show the importance of conducting more trials,” Dr Burt said.
Given the right funding opportunities, university hospitals in London could be conducting research into the therapy within the next 12 months, he added.
“It will probably be five to eight years before we see a treatment being widely available,” he said.
In an accompanying editorial in JAMA, Dr Jay Skyler, of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami, wrote: “Research in this field is likely to explode in the next few years and should include randomised controlled trials, as well as mechanistic studies."
Thu, 2007-05-03 13:28 — BJS
The sore on Catrina Hurlburt's leg simply wouldn't heal.
Complications from a 2002 car accident left Hurlburt, a borderline diabetic, with recurring cellulitis and staph infections. One of those infections developed into a troublesome open sore that, despite the use of oral antibiotics, continued to fester for nearly eight months.
Then Hurlburt's physician, Jennifer Eddy of UW Health's Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic, suggested she try using topical honey.
Within a matter of months, the sore had healed completely.
"I remember thinking, holy mackerel-what a difference," says Hurlburt, who can't use topical antibiotics because of allergies. "It's a lot better than having to put oral antibiotics into your system."
With funding provided by the Wisconsin Partnership Fund for Health and the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, Eddy is currently conducting the first randomized, double-blind controlled trial of honey for diabetic ulcers. Eddy first successfully used honey therapy a few years ago with a patient who was facing amputation after all medical options had been exhausted.
Experts believe that treating wounds with honey has tremendous potential for the approximately 200 million people in the world with diabetes, 15 percent of whom will develop an ulcer, usually because of impaired sensation in their feet.
Currently, every 30 seconds someone somewhere in the world undergoes amputation for a diabetic foot ulcer. In 2001, treating diabetic ulcers and amputations in U.S. patients cost $10.9 billion.
"Patients like Catrina Hurlburt are a great example of the potential health care savings," explains Eddy, who is also assistant professor of family medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "Unsuccessful conventional care for ulcers can cost thousands of dollars. Therapy with honey may only cost a few hundred."
Diabetics typically have poor circulation and decreased ability to fight infection. Diabetic ulcers treated with long courses of systemic antibiotics can become colonized with drug-resistant organisms--so-called "superbugs" such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Since honey fights bacteria in numerous ways, it is essentially immune to resistance. Honey's acidic pH, low water content (which effectively dehydrates bacteria), and the hydrogen peroxide secreted by its naturally-occurring enzymes make it ideal for combating organisms that have developed resistance to standard antibiotics.
"This is a tremendously important issue for public health," explains Eddy, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have identified bacterial resistance as one of the most important medical problems of our day.
Patients in the clinical trial will receive ulcer care and treatment by an expert podiatrist. Half will be randomly assigned to receive honey, while the other half will receive a wound-care gel that has been compounded with inert components to give it the flavor and color of honey. The ulcers will be measured to see how quickly they heal, to evaluate whether honey or the standard wound gel is better for healing.
If honey proves the more effective method, Eddy cautions patients against using it at home without a physician's involvement. "Unfortunately, diabetic ulcers are very complicated, and honey would only be part of the solution," she says. Successful care also requires off-loading-avoiding walking and putting weight on the sore-and the sterile removal of dead skin and bacteria from the wound.
"If we can prove that honey promotes healing in diabetic ulcers, we can offer new hope for many patients," says Eddy. "Not to mention the cost benefit, and the issue of bacterial resistance. The possibilities are tremendous."
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Tue May 22, 2007 10:09 am
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madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8187 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
Researchers zero in on high fructose corn syrup
August 24, 2007
Researchers have found new evidence that soda pop sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to the development of diabetes, particularly in children.
In a laboratory study of commonly consumed carbonated beverages, the scientists found that drinks containing the syrup had high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown by others to have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause the disease, which is at epidemic levels.
The syrup, commonly called HFCS, is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and easier to blend into beverages than table sugar.
Some researchers have suggested that high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim the food industry disputes. Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.
In the current study, Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found "astonishingly high" levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages.
These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with “unbound” fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are “bound” and chemically stable, the researcher notes.
Reactive carbonyls also are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to the complications of that disease. Based on the study data, Ho estimates that a single can of soda contains about five times the concentration of reactive carbonyls than the concentration found in the blood of an adult person with diabetes.
Ho and his associates also found that adding tea components to drinks containing HFCS might help lower the levels of reactive carbonyls.
The scientists found that adding epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound in tea, significantly reduced the levels of reactive carbonyl species in a dose-dependent manner when added to the carbonated soft drinks studied. In some cases, the levels of reactive carbonyls were reduced by half, the researchers say.
“People consume too much high-fructose corn syrup in this country,” says Ho. “It’s in way too many food and drink products and there’s growing evidence that it’s bad for you.”
The tea-derived supplement provides a promising way to counter its potentially toxic effects, especially in children who consume a lot of carbonated beverages, he says.
But eliminating or reducing consumption of HFCS is preferable, the researchers note. They are currently exploring the chemical mechanisms by which tea appears to neutralize the reactivity of the syrup.
Ho’s group is also probing the mechanisms by which carbonation increases the amount of reactive carbonyls formed in sodas containing HFCS.
They note that non-carbonated fruit juices containing HFCS have one-third the amount of reactive carbonyl species found in carbonated sodas with HFCS, while non-carbonated tea beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup, which already contain EGCG, have only about one-sixth the levels of carbonyls found in regular soda.
In the future, food and drink manufacturers could reduce concerns about HFCS by adding more EGCG, using less HFCS, or replacing the syrup with alternatives such as regular table sugar, Ho and his associates say.
Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:10 am
madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8187 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
American scientists have claimed that a teaspoon of cinnamon a day may help prevent and fight Type 2 non-insulin dependent diabetes.
“Cinnamon itself has insulin-like activity and also can potentiate the activity of insulin. It has a bio-active component that we believe has the potential to prevent or overcome diabetes,” said Don Graves of UCSB.
Type II diabetes causes cells to lose their ability to respond to insulin, the hormone which tells the body to remove excess glucose in the bloodstream.
Glucose build up in the blood leads to tiredness, weight-loss, blurred vision and in extreme cases blindness, heart disease and premature death.
Cinnamon is also a rich source of magnesium, which is essential for maintaining bone density, electrolyte balance, and certain enzyme functions.
It can also be used to treat infections, common colds, menopausal symptoms, rheumatic conditions, hypertension, angina and kidney disorders.
Joe discusses different alternatives to sugar including artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Nutrasweet & Saccharin to more natural alternatives such as honey, molasses, Stevia & fruit.
Better Body Clinical Nutrition
Joe Stickland, A.C.N
Applied Clinical Nutritionist
