Tag: diabetes mellitus

  • Is Your Hand Soap Putting You at Risk for Diabetes Mellitus? Here Are Soaps That Can Help Treat Diabetes

    Is Your Hand Soap Putting You at Risk for Diabetes Mellitus? Here Are Soaps That Can Help Treat Diabetes

    The FDA banned triclosan and triclocarban from general consumer products. They’ve been found to help cause a whole host of alarming diseases and disorders, including diabetes mellitus. The problem is that they’re popular ingredients in hand and dish soap. Here’s what you need to know, and a few alternative soaps that can actually help treat diabetes mellitus.

    Do You Know How Soap Cleans Your Hands?

    When it comes to sanitation, people become very germophobic. There’s a misconception that soap’s supposed to kill pathogens, which is what most people are misled into believing is how it clean your hands and body. But that’s far from the truth.

    If you remember back from high school science class (or in some cases, college chemistry class), soap’s main purpose is emulsification. It has parts that mix with lipids (or fats) and parts that mix with water. Lipids, like fats and oils, don’t dissolve in water, which is why they don’t really wash away when you wash your hands without soap. But soap’s lipid-friendly parts stick to these lipids when you lather. Then, when you rinse, soap’s water-friendly parts let soap dissolve partially into the water and be washed away – taking along the lipids attached to it.

    Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and almost all microbes have a lipid coating that soap sticks to, which allows it to remove them from your body when you rinse the soap off. That’s why doctors tell you to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle” while washing your hands – because you need to take that time to make sure you expose all the germs on your hands with soap before you rinse everything off.




    Then Industries Corrupted Soap, Turning It Into a Harmful Product That Can Cause Diabetes Mellitus

    Nevertheless, people popularly believed that soap cleansed you by killing microbes and washing away dirt. Industries banked on this misconception and created antibacterial soap, which most had the active ingredients triclosan and triclocarban. These two compounds had microbe-killing properties, which was a major factor that made them a popular choice for soap’s antibacterial agents. (Had because now many bacteria are immune to it.)

    But because antibacterial soaps (even dish soaps) became widespread, triclosan and triclocarban found their way into the environment after being washed down so many sinks and drains. Significant levels of triclosan have been detected in most freshwater streams. What happens when bacteria are exposed to triclosan daily? It gives them the opportunity to become immune. With so much triclosan and triclocarban saturating the environment, the bacteria strains with immunity to the two chemicals become favored for survival as the non-immune strains are killed off. And that’s how soap contributed to the rise in superbugs – which are immune to many antibiotics.

    But what effects did these two chemicals have on people? Researchers found that triclosan doesn’t just wash away with the soap – some of it is absorbed through your skin during contact, and in your GI tract when you ingest antibacterial soap residue from china and eating utensils. It has also been found in urine, breast milk, and serum, which means it can be passed from mother to child during breastfeeding.

    Triclosan mimics estrogen and has been found to increase your risk for cancer. They found that it can bind to estrogen receptors on cancer cells, and that has been found to aid in their proliferation. The researchers say that this is especially dangerous for cancers that are more receptive to estrogen, like breast cancer.

    There may also be evidence that triclosan can disrupt the endocrine system. The FDA states that these particular properties may make triclosan exposure dangerous for pregnant women and children.

    Triclosan has also been found to destroy pancreatic cells and have toxic effects on mitochondria, which can both increase risk for developing diabetes mellitus.

    What You Can Do to Protect Yourself From Triclosan and Triclocarban

    The good news is that the FDA has banned triclosan and triclocarban from antibacterial soaps. Unfortunately, triclosan and triclocarban are also found in shampoos, toothpastes, deodorants, conditioners, and other personal care products. Since these can be absorbed through your skin and mucosa lining (like in your gums), they can all lead to increased diabetes mellitus risk.

    But you can easily avoid them by actively checking the ingredients of the cosmetics you’re buying. Triclosan may also be present in tap water because it’s being detected in higher and higher levels in water resources and in farming soil. You can lower your triclosan exposure by drinking only bottled water.

    Some fish and plants have become contaminated by triclosan due to their environmental exposure. Radish, lettuce, and crustaceans seem to accumulate some of the higher levels. It’s best to wash your produce thoroughly to lower your chances of exposure. You can lower your seafood triclosan exposure by washing and cooking your fish to help remove some of the triclosan.

    Antibacterial Soap Alternatives That Can Help Prevent Diabetes Mellitus

    If your favorite antibacterial soap contains triclosan or triclocarban, there are better natural alternatives you can try that actually help prevent diabetes mellitus:

    Vinegar solution. Vinegar is a natural antibiotic with antifungal and antiviral properties as well. People have been using it to clean their homes or as a preservative for millennia. Dilute a tablespoon of vinegar in a cup of water and use it as a body wash – it not only kills germs on your skin, but has been proven to help clear acne, psoriasis, and other blemishes. If your skin absorbs any of the vinegar, it will help prevent and treat diabetes mellitus. It’s been proven to lower blood sugar levels by about 20 to 33 percent, depending on if you’ve just eaten and what you’ve eaten.

    Personal care products with tea tree oil. Tea tree oil also has antiseptic properties and has been proven to help clear blemishes. Luckily, there are many commercial natural personal care products that use tea tree oil as their active ingredient, like shampoos, soaps, deodorants, and more. Tea tree oil has also been found to alleviate symptoms of neuropathy that may arise from diabetes mellitus.

    Baking soda solution. Baking soda has also been used for millennia to clean homes because of its antiseptic properties. As the name implies, it’s also used frequently in the preparation of food. Mix a tablespoon of baking soda with a glass of water and use it as a body wash. It will help sterilize your skin of germs and also clear blemishes. If any of it gets absorbed through your skin, it also helps treat diabetes because drinking a baking soda solution has also been found to slow the progression of kidney damage arising from diabetes mellitus complications.

    Remember to be wary of cosmetics or any product that lists triclosan or triclocarban as ingredients. They’ve been found to be harmful to yourself and the environment, and can cause or worsen diabetes mellitus. Instead, opt for these natural antibiotic cleansers that can help prevent and treat diabetes mellitus.

  • 3 Hidden Causes of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 You May Not Know About

    3 Hidden Causes of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 You May Not Know About

    Diabetes mellitus type 2 is commonly known as type 2 diabetes, which you probably know is mostly caused by living unhealthy by eating too many sugary foods everyday. But that’s not the only way you can develop diabetes – here are a few things you didn’t know could put you at risk for developing diabetes mellitus type 2.

    Everytime you guiltily sink your teeth into your favorite glazed donut, creampuff, eclair, or other dessert, you probably feel in the back of your mind that you might get diabetes if you keep this up. So maybe you try to offset any damage by trying all sorts of things, but some of these things can actually increase your risk for developing diabetes mellitus type 2. Here are some surprising causes of diabetes you should refrain from doing:

    1. Using Artificial Sweeteners

    Lots of artificial sweeteners and products containing artificial sweeteners like to boast claims that they contain minimal carbohydrates or sugar. You start thinking that using these products safely lets you enjoy sweetened foods without the risk of diabetes mellitus. But sadly, you’d be wrong.

    Researchers took non-diabetic participants and had some of them take the zero-calorie artificial sweetener sucralose. The rest drank water. Ten minutes later the researchers had both groups ingest the same amount of sugar. Surprisingly, the participants who took sucralose beforehand experienced higher blood sugar levels for a longer period of time than the participants who drank water. The researchers officially concluded that ingesting sucralose can significantly affect your blood sugar level control.

    It seems that if you chronically use sucralose, it may increase your risk of developing diabetes mellitus type 2 because it can keep your blood sugar levels higher than they normally would. Other artificial sweeteners may have similar metabolic effects.

    If you’d like a safer zero-calorie sweetener, choose stevia, which is a natural sweet compound.




    2. Not Drinking Enough Water

    Some professional body builders say that drinking too much water is counterproductive to building muscle. Weight loss gurus also often talk about water weight and how losing it is a part of weight loss. With so much misrepresented negativity surrounding drinking water in both these popular aspects of fitness, it’s not surprising that some people might become wary of drinking too much water when trying to stay healthy. But doing so is another diabetes mellitus danger.

    French researchers found that drinking the recommended eight glasses of water daily can protect you from developing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) by 21 percent. Chronic hyperglycemia is a sign of prediabetes, which can lead to diabetes mellitus.

    3. Taking Too Much Niacin

    Being health-aware and taking multivitamins is great. But you could be increasing your risk for developing diabetes mellitus type 2 if you take too much niacin (vitamin B3).

    The National Institutes of Health list niacin intake as a potential cause of diabetes mellitus. They reviewed numerous clinical trials and found that long-term niacin supplementation moderately increases your risk for developing diabetes mellitus.

    Does that mean that taking vitamin B3 supplements is bad? No. The participants in these studies were taking higher doses of niacin, some as part of niacin therapy. You should only be worried if you’re taking so much niacin that you experience side effects – like niacin flush, which is when you experience redness or an uncomfortably warm feeling on your skin which lasts for up to an hour. Niacin flush can also cause tingling or itching of the skin.

    Take an appropriate amount of vitamin B3 and try not to exceed the recommended daily intake in order to prevent any increased risk for developing diabetes mellitus.

    Now you know that watching your sugar intake isn’t the only way to prevent developing diabetes mellitus type 2. You should also watch your vitamin B3 intake, and make sure you’re drinking enough water everyday and staying away from artificial sweeteners (and products that use them).

  • Could a Chemical in Broccoli Help Treat Diabetes Mellitus?

    Could a Chemical in Broccoli Help Treat Diabetes Mellitus?

    Scientists have isolated a chemical found in broccoli that shows promise in boosting blood glucose control in people suffering from diabetes mellitus.

    What Is Diabetes Mellitus?

    Diabetes mellitus is the medical term for what you may know simply as diabetes. The two common types of diabetes mellitus are type 1 and type 2.

    Diabetes mellitus type 1 is when the pancreas produces insufficient insulin, which your cells need in order to absorb sugar from your blood. If there’s not enough insulin circulating through your bloodstream when you’ve just eaten, your cells will have a hard time taking in the influx of digested carbohydrates. This causes your blood sugar levels to stay elevated, which is toxic to your whole body in the long term. If left untreated, common, but serious, complications that can develop include neuropathy, kidney failure, and necrosis of the lower extremities.

    If the complications are serious enough, the only viable treatment may be complete amputation of the affected lower limbs.

    The most common cause of type 1 diabetes is autoimmune – the immune system attacks the pancreas and destroys its insulin-producing cells. The onset of diabetes mellitus type 1 is most common around the early teens and is least common past the age of 40, which means if you’re 40 and up and haven’t developed type 1 diabetes, you’re most likely in the clear.

    It’s important to note that diabetes mellitus type 1 is not the lifestyle disease commonly associated with diabetes. It’s treated with insulin interventions to help offset the body’s low insulin levels. Thankfully, it’s one of the less common types of diabetes mellitus.




    Diabetes mellitus type 2 is when your cells become resistant to insulin, which means they don’t respond by absorbing more sugar when more insulin is pumped into your bloodstream by your pancreas. This causes your blood sugar levels to stay high after eating, which leads to the same dangerous condition as in type 1 diabetes.

    Type 2 diabetes is the infamous disease that’s most caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Many aspects of your life can increase your risk for insulin resistance, like not sleeping enough, drinking too many sugary sodas, and being too stressed all the time. But being overweight or obese, not exercising enough, and regularly eating a diet high in carbs are among the top causes of diabetes mellitus type 2.

    Diabetes mellitus type 2 can be prevented and treated naturally by keeping your cells sensitive to insulin and controlling your blood sugar levels. Exercising regularly has been found to lower insulin resistance. Adopting a diet low in carbs has also been found to lower insulin resistance.

    But type 2 diabetes is also prevented and treated with prescription medications that can increase insulin sensitivity and insulin production. Some medications can also directly lower blood sugar levels.

    The Newfound Diabetes Mellitus Breakthrough With Broccoli

    Scientists wanted to find a better treatment option for diabetes mellitus type 2 sufferers because most diabetes medications can have undesirable side effects, like weight gain. They decided to explore diabetes mellitus on a genetic level and mapped out the genes affected when someone becomes diabetic. They focused on 50 key genes and their alterations in diabetics.

    They tried to synthesize these genetic alterations artificially, then experimented with almost 4,000 substances to see if they would restore the genes to their pre-diabetic states.

    They discovered that sulforaphane, which is found in broccoli sprouts, exceptionally helped reverse these genetic alterations caused by diabetes mellitus out of all the compounds they tested.

    They were able to create a broccoli sprout extract containing a concentrated amount of sulforaphane and instructed participants diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 2 to take it once a day for about three months. Although both the participants and the control group diabetics were both on metformin, which is a prescription medication that helps normalize blood sugar levels, those who took the broccoli sprout extract had lower glucose production, fasting blood glucose levels, and other markers linked with diabetes mellitus.

    The broccoli sprout extract also seemed to bestow protective effects against the development of diabetes mellitus complications, like neuropathy and kidney failure.

    If you’re diabetic, you can experience sulforaphane’s blood sugar-lowering effects for yourself by buying a natural broccoli sprout extract and taking one tablet per day. You should consult your doctor beforehand in case your particular situation may not agree with the supplement.

    Other Natural Ways to Help Prevent and Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    Here are other proven ways to help lower blood sugar and prevent developing diabetes mellitus type 2:

    Take vitamin D or go under the sun. Researchers found that patients who regularly took a vitamin D supplement had lower fasting blood sugar levels. You can get your vitamin D by enjoying the summer sun (with sunscreen), eating sunbathed mushrooms, or taking a vitamin D supplement.

    Drink coffee without sugar. Scientists also found that drinking coffee regularly can protect you from developing diabetes mellitus. The trick is not putting sugar in the coffee.

    Eat plant-based omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers found that alpha-linolenic acid, which is an omega-3 fatty acid common in plant sources of food, can lower your risk for developing diabetes mellitus type 2. You can eat walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, winter squash, and even beans to get your daily omega-3 fatty acids. These foods are also high in fiber, which helps you control your blood sugar by slowing the absorption of digested carbs in your gastrointestinal tract. The fiber acts like a narrow corridor that funnels a steady stream of sugar into your bloodstream rather than all the sugar entering your bloodstream all at once. This supplies you with energy for a longer period of time without spiking your blood sugar levels.

    If you’re suffering from diabetes mellitus, taking broccoli sprout extract along with your regular diabetes medications can give you better control of your blood sugar levels and help protect you from diabetes mellitus complications. You should also boost your vitamin D intake and eat more plant-based omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods, which also both help you to treat your diabetes.

  • Why You Should Ask Your Doctor to Switch You From These Diabetes Mellitus Medications That May Actually Cause Diabetes in the Long Term

    Why You Should Ask Your Doctor to Switch You From These Diabetes Mellitus Medications That May Actually Cause Diabetes in the Long Term

    Being proactive about your diabetes mellitus treatment is important. Sometimes there are safer alternatives to what your doctor is prescribing. Here are some common diabetes mellitus medications that actually worsen the condition.

    Contrary to popular belief, doctors don’t always know what’s best for your health. They’re trained to be competent, not excellent. They may prescribe you antibiotics for acne without telling you to stay away from dairy products, which have been proven to exacerbate acne. The same is true for diabetes mellitus treatment. Did you know there are some diabetes mellitus medications that can actually exacerbate the disease in the long run?

    If your doctor has you on these diabetes mellitus meds, here’s why and what you should ask him to switch you to:

    1. Rosiglitazone (Avandia)

    Dr. Louise Aronne, M.D. of New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center says that some doctors don’t know that some diabetes mellitus medications have weight gain as a proven side effect. Rosiglitazone, also known by its brand name Avandia, is one such drug. It increases insulin sensitivity. But it’s also known to increase your risk for heart disease and weight gain.

    In fact, the National Institutes of Health say that Avandia can cause rapid weight gain. In one study on mice given rosiglitazone, they gained significantly more weight than the control group of mice fed the same diet.

    Safer alternative: Metformin

    Metformin is also a medication used to treat diabetes mellitus, but it’s been shown to cause weight loss instead of weight gain. It helps lower insulin resistance, but also lowers your appetite. It can also prevent some diabetes mellitus complications, like kidney failure, blindness, and neuropathy.

    2. Pioglitazone (Actos)

    Pioglitazone, which is also known by the brand name Actos, is used to treat diabetes mellitus type 2 by lowering blood sugar levels. But researchers also found that pioglitazone caused significant weight gain in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients even though it lowered their fasting blood sugar levels.

    Safer alternative: Sitagliptin (Januvia)

    Sitagliptin, which is also known by the brand name Januvia, boosts insulin levels by inhibiting the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) enzyme. DPP-4 increases blood sugar levels by promoting glucagon production and secretion. With DPP-4 inhibited, insulin release is promoted because the hormones that downregulate it can’t activate.

    Sitagliptin doesn’t cause weight gain, and has actually been found to help prevent diabetes mellitus complications. Researchers found that sitagliptin helps prevent neuropathy and kidney failure by lowering inflammation, cell damage, and cell death in the nervous system and kidneys.

    3. Glibenclamide (Glyburide)

    Glibenclamide, which is also known as glyburide, is another diabetes mellitus medication that can cause weight gain. It boosts your insulin levels by binding to your pancreas’s insulin-producing cells and stimulating them to make more insulin.

    But glibenclamide has been found to cause weight gain. Researchers found that patients on glibenclamide gained about 3.74 more pounds, on average, than diabetes mellitus patients who simply made dietary changes.

    Safer alternative: Exenatide (Byetta)

    Exenatide, which is also known by the brand name Byetta, is an injectable medication that treats diabetes mellitus type 2. It’s injected within an hour before the first and last meals of the day, but there is also a once-a-week only dose. It acts on your pancreas’s cells and boosts insulin production while also lowering its glucagon production. It also slows down the absorption of sugar in your gut, which helps control blood sugar levels by preventing blood sugar spikes.

    Best of all, it also helps suppress your appetite, which leads to weight loss. Researchers found that diabetes mellitus patients on exenatide experience a long-term weight loss effect due to increased satiety.

    Exenatide’s common side effects are usually mild gastrointestinal symptoms, but it can also cause pancreatitis.




    4. Glipizide (Glucotrol)

    Glipizide, which is also known by the brand name Glucotrol, is another diabetes mellitus medication that acts on your pancreas’s insulin-producing cells to promote insulin production. But researchers found that glipizide caused an average weight gain of about 2.65 pounds in diabetes mellitus patients.

    Safer alternative: Pramlintide (Symlin)

    Pramlintide, which is also known by the brand name Symlin, is a medication that can treat diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2. It’s a compound that mimics amylin, and is injected to enter directly into the bloodstream. It helps inhibit glucagon production and suppresses your appetite.

    Researchers found that pramlintide caused an average weight loss of 3.75 pounds in diabetes mellitus type 1 patients and 8.16 pounds in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients after a year of treatment.

    If you’re on any of these potentially diabetes mellitus-causing medications that may also increase your risk for diabetes mellitus complications, you should consider asking your doctor about these safer alternatives since they promote weight loss and can even protect you from diabetes mellitus complications.

    How Weight Gain Can Cause and Exacerbate Diabetes Mellitus in the Long Term

    Diabetes mellitus type 2 is an unavoidable condition for only a minority of sufferers, like those with improperly functioning glands that result in obesity. The secret truth is that diabetes mellitus type 2 is a disease that’s mostly caused by a careless lifestyle. It turns out that about 90 percent of diabetes mellitus type 2 patients are overweight or obese. That means that if you’re not carelessly putting on the pounds, you’re only facing the risk of being in the 10 percent of normal weight diabetes mellitus patients. But if you’re not watching your weight, then you risk becoming one of the 90 percent of high BMI diabetes mellitus patients.

    Researchers also found that losing weight boosts insulin sensitivity even without exercise. They also found that obese diabetes mellitus patients who went on a calorie-restricted diet for only a week experienced a significant decrease in insulin resistance. These findings point to the conclusion that becoming fat can slowly cause the development of diabetes mellitus, while losing weight helps prevent and treat it.

    The theory (which seems to be correct, given all the evidence) is that when you get too fat, your body doesn’t want to store any more energy as fat. Since insulin tells your cells to take in energy, your cells start rejecting the excess energy by not responding to insulin. Then, when you lose weight, your body has the capacity to store energy again and your cells become responsive to insulin again.

    Another way to look at it is like when the milkman comes around the neighborhood delivering milk. If households are out of milk, they’ll welcomingly open their doors. But if they’ve still got a stockpile, their doors remain closed. If everyone has a stockpile of milk, the milkman ends up with a surplus of undelivered milk. The milkman is like sugar in your bloodstream, and the houses are like your cells. When you have a normal weight and have a great insulin response, your cells welcomingly take in the sugar. When you’ve got a stockpile of energy stored and have diabetes mellitus, your cells don’t “open the door” and the sugar builds up to high levels in your bloodstream. But once you get rid of the stockpile (losing weight), then your cells will welcome sugar again.

    But don’t think that you’ll automatically develop diabetes mellitus by becoming overweight or obese – only 30 percent of overweight and obese patients suffer from diabetes mellitus. Just consider that being fat is one of the major risk factors for diabetes mellitus. That’s why these diabetes mellitus medications that cause weight gain actually make your condition worse in the long run. In the short term, the medications lower your blood sugar levels, but if they make you fatter, then you’re only worsening your insulin response in the long term. It’s like they’re putting out the smoke but adding to the fire.

    Natural Supplements That Can Boost Insulin Sensitivity While Helping You Lose Weight

    If you’re now convinced to switch to these safer diabetes mellitus medications that promote weight loss, consider that even they have side effects (albeit less harmful). The good news is that there are natural, holistically healthy supplements that have been proven to lower insulin resistance, help normalize blood sugar levels, and promote weight loss. Of course, these won’t work as fast or efficient as pharmaceuticals, but they’re safer and healthy for your whole body. Here are a few:

    1. Fish Oil

    Researchers found that fish oil supplementation has protective effects against neuropathy arising from diabetes mellitus complications. They also found that diabetes mellitus type 2 patients who supplemented with more fish oil experienced a greater decrease in body mass index, blood sugar levels, and lipid levels. They concluded that taking fish oil supplements can help diabetes mellitus type 2 patients manage their blood sugar levels and protect them from heart disease arising from diabetes mellitus complications.

    But fish oil is also good for your brain and has been found to protect you from neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s. It also has been found to boost your cognition. Supplementing with fish oil has also been proven to lower depression.

    Fish oil also lowers your overall inflammation, and researchers found that fish oil supplements are a good alternative to anti-inflammatory medications. Since diabetes mellitus increases overall inflammation, fish oil supplementation helps counteract that.

    Fish oil also lowers your overall risk for developing cancer. More benefits from fish oil supplementation are still being discovered by scientists. But because of its lowering effects on insulin resistance, blood sugar levels, and weight, as well as its protective effects against diabetes mellitus complications, it’s definitely a supplement you should be taking if you have diabetes mellitus type 2.

    2. Magnesium

    Magnesium is a vital element everyone needs daily whether they have diabetes mellitus or not. But researchers found that most people suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2 are deficient in magnesium. They say that magnesium regulates insulin, and a magnesium deficiency can worsen insulin resistance. They even say that not getting enough magnesium is one of the risk factors for diabetes mellitus because there’s evidence that it lowers insulin sensitivity in people who don’t have diabetes mellitus.

    These researchers found that high blood sugar levels cause your body to excrete more magnesium into your urine, which worsens the magnesium deficiency. But they also found that most diabetes mellitus type 2 patients don’t take in enough magnesium through their diet.

    Magnesium deficiency in diabetes mellitus patients has also been linked with increasing the risk for diabetes mellitus complications. They found that very low levels of magnesium is a sign of neuropathy, while also increasing the prevalence of arrhythmias.

    The good news is that taking in higher levels of magnesium (without overdosing) has been shown to boost insulin sensitivity, lower overall inflammation, and delay the development of diabetes mellitus type 2. Although most doctors ignore the magnesium status of diabetes mellitus type 2 patients, researchers found that supplementing with magnesium lowers both their fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels, while also boosting their insulin sensitivity.

    These researchers conclude that supplementing with magnesium is a potentially viable diabetes mellitus type 2 treatment because of its beneficial effects on blood sugar levels and insulin response, and because it lowers the risk of diabetes mellitus complications by lowering inflammation and helping neutralize the elevated levels of free radicals caused by the condition.

    3. Vitamin D

    Vitamin D deficiency also plagues most people suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2. They also found that supplementing with vitamin D boosts insulin sensitivity and insulin production by the pancreas. Some studies have found that supplementing with vitamin D in conjunction with calcium lowers fasting blood sugar levels.

    Researchers also found that diabetes mellitus type 1 patients who were vitamin D deficient experienced better blood sugar level control after supplementing with vitamin D. Researchers also found that vitamin D deficient diabetes mellitus type 2 patients can enjoy the same enhanced blood sugar level control if they supplement with vitamin D.

    They also found that taking vitamin D promotes weight loss and suppresses your appetite by boosting your leptin levels, which is the hormone responsible for making you feel full. If you take vitamin D and it leads to you having a lower BMI, then supplementation helps directly treat your diabetes mellitus in the long run.

    Vitamin D also lowers cortisol levels, which lowers stress and inflammation. All these health benefits make vitamin D a necessary daily supplement if you’re suffering with diabetes mellitus. Given that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among diabetes mellitus sufferers and that supplementing with vitamin D seems to help insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels, there is a strong chance that vitamin D deficiency is one of the major risk factors for diabetes mellitus, which makes daily supplementation even important.

    If you’re vitamin D deficient, supplementing with vitamin D can only be good for your body. And even if you’re not deficient, getting higher levels of vitamin D has been shown to lower depression, boost bone health, boost immunity, protect your cardiovascular system, and protect against neurodegenerative disorders.




    But It Doesn’t Always Have to Be About the Pills and Injections. You Can Proactively Boost Your Insulin Sensitivity With These Physical Diabetes Mellitus Treatments

    Although taking diabetes mellitus supplements and medications are probably the quickest ways to boost your insulin sensitivity and lower your blood sugar levels, did you know there are also natural, healthy activities you can do that can improve your insulin response and normalize your blood sugar levels over a longer period of time?

    Here are a few you can try:

    1. Intermittent Fasting

    Simply change your eating habits to include a daily fast. Researchers found that diabetes mellitus type 2 patients who ate two large meals a day experienced weight loss, lower blood sugar levels, and increased insulin sensitivity. Specifically, the patients took their calorie-restricted six meals per day and combined them into breakfast and lunch. They didn’t eat dinner or any other meal besides those two.

    This diet regimen falls under intermittent fasting because you’re essentially starving your body between lunch and the next day’s breakfast. Intermittent fasting has been found to protect your cardiovascular health, help you live longer, improve your immunity, lower inflammation, and more.

    But it’s all or nothing – you have to commit to eating only breakfast and lunch. Breaking that arrangement by eating dinner will make you go over your daily calorie restriction and put you in danger for weight gain and high blood sugar levels.

    2. Exercise

    The American Diabetes Association (ADA) says that exercising can help boost insulin sensitivity and lower your blood sugar levels. It makes sense – if your muscles suddenly need more energy because you’re using them more, then they’ll take in more sugar from your bloodstream, which helps lower your overall blood sugar levels.

    Here are the two kinds of exercises they recommend the most for diabetes mellitus patients:

    Three days of aerobic exercise every week. The ADA says that diabetes mellitus patients should do moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise at least three times per week. They actually recommend exercising five times per week for 30 minutes each session, but say that you can also exercise a total of two and a half hours per week as long as you don’t go more than two days without exercising. They say that aerobic exercise boosts insulin sensitivity, while also relieving stress. You can jog, run, dance, play tennis, climb stairs, or even do heavy gardening to get your aerobic exercise in!

    Two days of strength training every week. The ADA says that strength training helps diabetes mellitus patients lower their blood sugar levels for the long term by increasing their muscle mass. Muscle cells passively burn more calories than fat cells, which means having more muscle boosts your resting metabolism. This leads to lower fasting blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance. Strength training also strengthens your bones. Strength training exercises range from carrying canned goods and water bottles to using weights and weight lifting equipment. Doing push-ups and sit-ups are strength training exercises too!




    Watch TV sitting on the floor or an exercise ball. It would be best if you could quit sitting or lying for long periods of time watching TV because sedentary activity lowers your metabolism, which could worsen your insulin resistance. But if you can’t stop, there’s a way for you to burn more calories while watching, which also helps lower your blood sugar levels and boost your insulin sensitivity. Instead of lying on a couch, chair, or your bed, sit on the floor or an exercise ball. These will make your muscles work harder to keep you balanced, which helps tone them and makes them burn a few more calories. Sitting on an exercise ball is the better choice because it helps tone more core muscles.

    What You Should Keep in Mind About Treating Your Diabetes Mellitus

    The key is knowing that not all diabetes mellitus medications are equal – some are bad for your condition in the long run. You should also know that there are natural, healthy supplements you can take that can have the same effects as pharmaceutical diabetes mellitus medications. There are also activities you can do regularly that lower your blood sugar levels and improve your insulin response.

    But the real takeaway is that if you want to permanently cure your diabetes mellitus type 2, you should strive for a normal BMI. All of your doctor’s advice, all these medications, and all these diabetes mellitus treatment activities – they’re all about losing weight. Your long-term goal should be to lose enough weight that your cells are responding normally to insulin again. Don’t lose hope – researchers were able to permanently reverse diabetes mellitus type 2 in patients by having them go on a strict fast, which led to weight loss.

    Remember to ask your doctor before changing your diabetes mellitus treatment – some medications, supplements, and activities are only effective for diabetes mellitus type 2, and can be dangerous for diabetes mellitus type 1.

  • How Standing on the Earth a Few Minutes a Day Can Help Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    How Standing on the Earth a Few Minutes a Day Can Help Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    Have you started earthing yet? It’s easy to do and has been proven to offer health benefits to your whole body. Scientists have even found that stepping on natural ground connected to the Earth can help treat diabetes mellitus.

    Earthing is when you make physical contact with natural earth or ground that’s connected to the Earth with no electrical insulation in-between. That means stepping on the grass with sneakers on won’t cut it because the rubber soles are insulators. But standing barefoot on the shore at the beach is one way to practice earthing.

    When you practice earthing, electrons from the Earth enter your body and neutralize harmful free radicals, which are more abundant in people suffering from diabetes mellitus. Researchers have proven that regularly practicing earthing speeds up wound healing and improves your sleep quality.

    If you’re dealing with chronic pain, earthing has also been found to lower your overall pain.

    How Earthing Helps Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    If you’re already skeptical about how standing on the ground can heal your body, you’re probably not even considering practicing earthing as a treatment for your diabetes mellitus. But doctors have found that such a simple and natural act can do wonders for your condition.

    Earthing has been found to lower your overall inflammation, which is elevated by diabetes mellitus. This helps prevent atherosclerosis caused by diabetes mellitus complications. It also lowers your risk for developing cancer and other diseases caused by chronic inflammation.

    Earthing has been found to regulate your nervous system, which relieves anxiety and lowers stress levels. This lowers your cortisol levels, which lowers your cells’ insulin resistance.

    Researchers have also found that earthing directly lowers blood sugar levels. They also found that earthing lowers blood viscosity caused by elevated blood sugar levels. Thicker blood increases your risk for a cardiovascular event, like a blockage. Less viscous blood means your risk for heart disease is lower.

    Safer and Easier Ways to Practice Earthing

    Standing barefoot on bare ground can carry risks. There are parasites that can enter through the soles of your feet, depending on where you’re planning on practicing earthing. The ground can also be polluted with toxins from artificial fertilizer, pesticides, and other pollutants. But there are ways you can get the Earth’s healing electrons without increasing your risk for coming into contact with these hazards:




    Wear socks, earthing shoes, or full-metal footwear. Wearing protective footwear can still allow you to practice earthing as long as it allows electric conductivity. Cloth still allows the passage of electrons, but at a hindered rate. Full-metal footwear will allow full conductivity without any loss in electron flow. You can also buy specialty earthing shoes that are made for earthing.

    You can use your hands too! Earthing isn’t just about stepping on the ground – you can practice earthing with any part of your body. For example, placing your hand on a boulder or natural rock formation will pass Earth’s electrons from them into your hand.

    Use earthing bands. You can also buy earthing bands that allow you to practice earthing indoors. One band goes on your wrist and it’s connected to a cord that plugs into the grounding prong of an electrical outlet. The grounding prong is connected directly to the ground, so the cord allows the flow of electrons from the Earth through the grounding prong and into the earthing band.

    Start practicing earthing today to lower your blood sugar levels and treat and protect you from other symptoms and complications of diabetes mellitus. It’s as simple as stepping outside and standing on the ground! You can also buy earthing bands and earthing shoes for easier earthing.

  • How Meditating Daily Can Help Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    How Meditating Daily Can Help Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    Researchers found that meditation can help lower blood sugar levels. Meditation can also help treat diabetes mellitus in other ways.

    Meditation Is a Healthy Activity, Not Just a Religious Ceremony

    Meditation should be an integral part of everyone’s lives. It’s not just an activity that religious monks do at a temple. Meditation has shown to improve your cognition and attention. Researchers found that meditating regularly lengthens your DNA’s telomeres, which are responsible for preventing aging by keeping your DNA safe from deterioration when your cells multiply.

    It’s also been found to boost your immunity. They found that people who meditate have a higher immunity against viral infections.

    And then there are the mainstream benefits you probably already know about that meditation confers: It lowers your blood pressure and stress.

    These are just the tip of the iceberg. Researchers are constantly discovering more health benefits that regular meditation can give you.

    Meditation Helps Treat Diabetes Mellitus

    But did you know that meditating everyday can also help treat diabetes mellitus? Researchers found that meditation lowers the levels of compounds responsible for causing inflammation, which is elevated in people suffering from diabetes mellitus. By lowering inflammation, meditation can help protect you from atherosclerosis and other diseases that you’re more susceptible to because of diabetes mellitus complications.

    Meditation’s stress-lowering effects are another way it helps treat diabetes mellitus. Since less stress means lower cortisol levels, meditation helps lessen insulin resistance.

    Meditation has also been found to directly lower blood sugar levels. Researchers instructed 50 diabetes mellitus patients to meditate after breakfast everyday for two weeks. They found that their postprandial sugar levels (their blood sugar levels after eating) were much lower after they started their meditation intervention.

    You should definitely include meditation into your daily routine because it will help treat diabetes mellitus, and is overall healthy for your body and mind.




    Here Are Some Ways You Can Ease Into Meditation for Diabetes Mellitus Treatment

    Meditation can be tricky and frustrating if you’ve never tried before. But you should make the effort because it’s a natural way to lower your blood sugar levels without medications. Here are a few helpful tips to get you jumpstarted:

    Try gradually. Do you remember when you first started learning to run or jog? At first you couldn’t go the full hour, but you gradually made your way there by increasing the time you ran or jogged each time you tried. Treat meditation like exercise – try meditating for only five minutes, then ramp it up to fifteen then twenty, and so on. You don’t have to go the full forty-five minutes on your first few sessions! This helps you ease into meditation without straining yourself and making the activity harder than it should be.

    Try mindfulness. Try mindfulness, which is probably the easiest form of meditation. Here you simply shift your focus to something else in a nonjudgmental manner. You’re concentrating on anything else, but objectively without emotions. You’re being an observer, like a scientist. For example, you can focus on your breath and try to feel all the sensations that come to you when you inhale and exhale. Soon you’ll find yourself in a deeper state of awareness with your blood pressure and heart rate lower. If you suddenly get lost in emotional or stressful thoughts, simply pull your focus back to whatever it was you were objectively focusing on.

    Visualize light. If you feel like trying an advanced form of meditation, try visualizing light. Imagine a golden light shining down on you from above, like the sun. After a while, imagine that the light can enter your body through your pores, penetrating every cell and healing them of their insulin resistance. Doing this has been proven to help treat your diabetes mellitus two-fold. The meditation lowers your blood sugar levels, while researchers found that healing visualization boosts rates of healing in diabetics. Diabetics with foot ulcers who were frustrated and depressed healed much slower than those who had positive thinking toward their condition and focused on healing.

    Meditation is a holistically healthy activity. Start meditating everyday and it will help treat your diabetes mellitus. There are no drawbacks, only good things can come from including this ancient practice into your daily life.

  • Can Losing Weight Permanently Reverse Diabetes Mellitus Type 2?

    Can Losing Weight Permanently Reverse Diabetes Mellitus Type 2?

    Scientists may have found a way to permanently reverse diabetes mellitus type 2. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because the catch is something you probably will find difficult doing. But even if you can’t go through the treatment, there’s still hope – losing weight may also permanently reverse diabetes mellitus type 2.

    Doctors have always said that diabetes mellitus is a lifelong condition – and your doctor must have given you that speech too. But a UK study may have changed that – researchers reported they were able to completely reverse diabetes mellitus type 2 in patients that followed their very low-calorie diet.

    Actually, “starvation protocol” might be the better term to describe their diabetes mellitus cure. That’s because for eight weeks you can only eat 600 calories total everyday. Remember that a single slice of toast and one egg are already around 160 calories combined. But their diet may further constrict you to eating only non-starchy vegetables and liquid diet drinks – so no solid foods, like toast, at all!

    Does the starvation protocol really cure diabetes mellitus type 2? All diabetes mellitus patients who participated in the study were cured – that means the cure has a 100 percent success rate. But after 90 days, about 36 percent of the participants regressed and developed diabetes mellitus type 2 again – all participants were advised to eat a healthier diet after the study, but some regressed back to their normal eating habits.




    How Weight Loss Can Affect Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

    The starvation protocol is extreme, and the researchers strongly advise anyone who’s thinking about undergoing it to seek the supervision of a licensed medical practitioner. But when pressed about the diet, lead researcher Professor Roy Talor says that what’s important is the 600-calorie limitation and not the liquids and veggies component.

    He also says that bariatric surgery can also reverse diabetes mellitus type 2. This may mean that the key to reversing diabetes mellitus type 2 is losing weight.

    It does make sense – if you’re on a 600-calorie diet for two months, you’re going to lose a significant amount of weight. But also, Harvard says that 90 percent of diabetes mellitus patients are overweight. By losing weight until you’re at a normal body mass index, you may have a 90 percent chance of reversing your diabetes mellitus. What are the chances that you’d end up in the 10 percent percentile of diabetes mellitus patients who are normal weight?

    If you lose weight, there’s no downside. At best you’ll have reversed your diabetes mellitus, and if not, then you’ll be healthier and lower your risk for many chronic diseases, like cardiovascular problems.

    A Few Easy Changes That Lead to Weight Loss

    If eating less isn’t easy for you, there are other ways you can shed a few pounds:

    Exercise more. If you spend an hour a day doing moderate exercise, you’ll lose at least a pound per week. Of course, you need to make sure you’re eating the same or less. It’s simple math – you’re burning more calories per day without taking in more. A brisk jog outside or joining a karate class can help you meet this requirement. You can do fun things too – like play football, basketball, or any other high-activity sport. Dancing to pop music for an hour is great too – you can enjoy your favorite songs while burning carbs.

    Include more fiber into your diet. Fiber does wonders for your appetite and blood sugar level control. It keeps you feeling full and can help you eat less. If you include more fiber in your diet, you may find that you’re eating less because you’re not as hungry. Fiber also prevents sugar from being absorbed into your bloodstream all at once, which helps prevent blood sugar spikes and that helps treat diabetes mellitus.

    Walk to the grocery, take the stairs, park further away. You can also boost your daily carb burn by changing a few of your daily habits. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs. Instead of driving to the grocery store, walk there – it will save you fuel costs and help you get more vitamin D from the sun exposure while you’re burning carbs. Park further away from work or places you drive to – this makes you walk a longer distance and burn more carbs.

    Drink a solution of vinegar before eating. Drinking water or a vinegar solution before a meal helps sate your hunger. Mix a tablespoon of vinegar with a glass of water and enjoy. Vinegar has appetite-suppressing effects, which means you’re more likely to eat less during your meal. But vinegar also lowers your blood sugar levels by up to 33 percent – so it also helps treat diabetes mellitus.

    Feel empowered that you can reverse your diabetes mellitus type 2 – all it takes is a lot of sacrifice for eight weeks. If you think you can’t handle that, try losing weight and getting back to a normal BMI – you’ll most likely also reverse your condition because it seems as though diabetes mellitus type 2 largely affects overweight and obese people.

  • New Wristwatch-like Device for Diabetes Mellitus Patients Can Measure Your Blood Sugar Levels Without Drawing Your Blood

    New Wristwatch-like Device for Diabetes Mellitus Patients Can Measure Your Blood Sugar Levels Without Drawing Your Blood

    If you’re suffering from diabetes mellitus, here’s some great news – researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas have bioengineered a device that goes on your wrist and can monitor your blood sugar levels without taking your blood.

    Diabetes mellitus affects about 29 million U.S. residents, but an estimated 8 million more people in the U.S. have diabetes but haven’t been diagnosed. It’s a disease of serious concern because it can lead to many fatal and debilitating conditions, while also being difficult to manage daily. The good news is that bioengineers from the University of Texas at Dallas have found a way to make life a little bit easier for those suffering from diabetes mellitus. They’ve created a device much like a wristwatch that can measure key vitals without a blood sample.

    The device only needs 1 to 3 microliters of sweat to get readings of your sugar, cortisol, and interleukin-6 levels. The researchers say that the device can also help prediabetic patients and hyperglycemia sufferers to help prevent progression into diabetes mellitus type 2. They say that when these patients experience chronic stress, the increase in their cortisol levels can cause insulin resistance, which can raise their blood sugar levels above the normal range. If left unchecked, this cycle can push their conditions over into full-blown diabetes mellitus type 2, which then increases their systemic inflammation, which can be measured by their interleukin-6 levels.

    By monitoring these levels and understanding what they mean, they can serve as biofeedback for both prediabetic and diabetes mellitus patients. They can see what they’re doing in their lives that are aggravating their condition and can make lifestyle adjustments. This is very helpful since food isn’t the only factor in diabetes mellitus – perhaps their work life is raising their cortisol levels, or something as simple as not waking up earlier, which can lead to a more stressful morning that spikes their blood sugar levels because of the combination of breakfast and high cortisol levels.

    The researchers also say that their device is cheaper in the long run because it lasts for up to a week, whereas most current monitors for diabetes mellitus are only for one-time use.

    This new device can help curb the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in America where it’s caused by high-fat, high-sugar diets and sedentary lifestyles.

    If you’re wondering whether you should buy this device, consider the following:




    Over 70 Percent of People With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Die of Cardiovascular Disease

    Researchers found that over 70 percent of diabetes mellitus type 2 patients die of cardiovascular-linked events. They’re saying that the diabetes mellitus type 2 epidemic taking America will forseeably lead to an epidemic of cardiovascular disease.

    That’s not a surprise since diabetes mellitus complications can cause atherosclerosis, which can increase your risk for heart disease greatly. When your blood sugar levels are high, it increases the free radical levels in your bloodstream, which damages your blood vessels. This also consumes the nitric oxide that your blood vessels need to relax and dilate, which means they’re more likely to stay constricted. These conditions increase your risk for a cardiovascular event.

    But these cardiovascular complications can be lessened if you use the device to better control your blood sugar levels. If it allows you to better keep your blood sugar levels optimal, you’ll help prevent damage to your blood vessels caused by too much sugar circulating in your bloodstream.

    Soon these week-long diabetes mellitus wristwatch monitors will be available for purchase. Buying one will help you understand how your daily routine affects your blood sugar levels. It will also help keep you protected from cardiovascular disease by giving you better vigilance over your blood sugar levels. And remember – it doesn’t require a needle prick, just a bit of sweat!

  • 3 Sweets and Carbs You Need to Include In Your Daily Diet If You Have Diabetes Mellitus

    3 Sweets and Carbs You Need to Include In Your Daily Diet If You Have Diabetes Mellitus

    If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus but have a sweet tooth, you’ll be happy to know there are sweets and carbs that health professionals recommend for diabetics. Here are three healthy foods that help you control your blood sugar levels.

    Diabetes mellitus is a trying condition to live with because you have to watch your blood sugar levels throughout the day. If you eat something that’s too high in carbs and sugar, it could dangerously spike your blood sugar levels and make you sick. That means that liking sugary treats can be dangerous. But like everyone else, your body still needs your daily carbs for energy and to make vital proteins – so you’re allowed some leeway to sate your sugar cravings.

    But did you know there are sweets and carbs that are almost a must for people suffering with diabetes mellitus? Here are a few expert-recommended healthy foods that help you keep your blood sugar levels safe:

    1. Blueberries

    Blueberries are sweet and melt in your mouth. They’re great with salads or just about any meal. But blueberries are also a superfood because they’re rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Their antioxidant content can help protect and lessen any damage arising from diabetes mellitus complications.

    But despite their sweet flavor, blueberries have been found to help prevent and treat diabetes mellitus type 2 by lowering insulin resistance. They gave obese and insulin-resistant adults blueberry smoothies or blueberry and bilberry extracts for six weeks and found that the participants experienced greater insulin sensitivity.

    They also fed blueberries to rats that were also on an unhealthy high-fat diet for 1 to 3 months and found that they had better glucose tolerance.

    Blueberries are also fiber-rich, which allows you better blood sugar level control because it steadies the amount of sugar absorbed from your gut. The fiber slows sugar from being absorbed by getting between it and your intestines’ villi. Instead of all the sugar from your meal being absorbed rapidly, blueberries’ fiber slows its absorption such that all of it enters your bloodstream steadily over a longer period of time, which helps keep your blood sugar levels normal and keeps you feeling sated for longer.

    Blueberries seem to help boost your insulin sensitivity independent of your diet, and their fiber content helps keep your blood sugar levels from spiking after eating. They’re definitely one food you need to include in your diet if you’re suffering from diabetes mellitus.




    2. Tree Nuts

    Most tree nuts, like Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, and cashews, are superfoods because they’re rich in vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, protein and other nutrients that are important for your brain, heart, and many other vital organs.

    Eating tree nuts has also been found to help treat diabetes mellitus. Participants suffering from diabetes mellitus were instructed to eat two servings of tree nuts everyday for two weeks. The researchers found that the participants didn’t gain weight and had improved fasting blood sugar levels. They stated that eating tree nuts can best prevent and treat diabetes mellitus type 2 if they’re eaten in substitution of simple sugar foods, like white rice.

    Tree nuts are also fiber-rich, which allows them to help you maintain normal blood sugar levels.

    Include tree nuts in your diet and you most likely will see an improvement in your blood sugar levels – you’ll also be enriching your body with vital nutrients.

    3. Purple Yams

    Purple yams, like most yams, are sweet and scrumptious. They’re also known as the Okinawan Sweet Potato because they’re a main part of the Okinawan diet, which is famous among health enthusiasts as the diet that lets you live until 100 years old with the ability to run fast even in your 80s.

    Purple yams are superfoods rich in vitamins A, C, and B6. They’re also loaded with antioxidants and contain the vital trace elements copper and manganese.

    Researchers found that purple yams’ flavonoids, which are a type of antioxidants, lowered diabetic rats’ fasting blood sugar levels and their cholesterol levels. Another study found that these purple yams’ flavonoids also protect your cardiovascular system from artherosclerosis caused by diabetes mellitus.

    And you guessed it – purple yams are rich in fiber, which lets them help you keep your blood sugar levels stabilized.

    Since purple yams can lower your blood sugar levels and help protect you from diabetes mellitus complications, you should switch out your bread for this diabetes mellitus-protective carb.

    You can indulge your sweet tooth daily with these healing sweets and carbs that help treat and protect you from diabetes mellitus. It’s best if you switch out your regular carb foods, like white bread and white rice, for these three superfoods if you want the maximum healing benefits they can offer you.