The Rising Tsunami Of Metabolic Syndrome and Type II Diabetes

BY DR. GREG FORS, DC,
BOARD-CERTIFIED NEUROLOGIST

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 2 out of every 3 adults and 1 out of 3 children in the United States are overweight or obese, and the number only continues to climb. Our Standard American Diet, high in refined carbohydrates and sugars, is creating a modern plague of obesity and type 2 diabetes. There are nearly 21 million Americans suffering from diabetes, and the National Institute of Health estimates that as much as a third of these individuals are unaware that they have diabetes. Astonishingly, the CDC announced on June 15, 2003, that as many as one out of every three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes by middle age.

The primary culprit behind this rising tsunami of metabolic dysfunction is the lack of exercise and a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugars with a high glycemic index. Complex carbohydrates from unprocessed whole foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts and whole grains have a comparatively low glycemic index. Important to your personal health is the fact that recent research has found that a diet of high glycemic foods not only leads to obesity , diabetes and heart disease  but also chronic inflammation, pain and eventual cognitive impairment and dementia.  In fact Alzheimer's disease is now being referred to in many research articles as type III diabetes. With these alarming facts it is now vital for everyone to be doing everything possible to educate themselves on this destructive epidemic.

Even in nondiabetic individuals when blood sugars are not tightly controlled, the high availability of glucose in the blood causes glucose to be attached to proteins in your cells that act as building blocks or enzymes. The attachment of glucose to proteins form destructive products called AGEs (short for advanced glycosylated end products). AGEs are aptly named because they definitely increase the aging process and the development of chronic degenerative disease. It is this attachment of glucose to structural or functional proteins in the body that causes many of the side effects in diabetes, such as heart disease, blindness, loss of sensation, and poor wound healing. One of the primary ways that AGEs create all these health problems is by attaching to cell membranes and turning on a gene that creates chronic inflammation.

Diagnosing Metabolic Syndrome

An excellent way of diagnosing and monitoring formation of AGEs is having your blood tested for hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C). This lab test is usually utilized in diabetics to measure blood sugar control by measuring the rate of AGE formation over the last ninety days. The more glucose floating around in the blood, the more glucose is attached to the hemoglobin, paralleling the formation of these AGEs in other vital tissues, such as the eyes, kidneys and nerves. For optimal health though you should work to have a hemoglobin A1C less than 5.6%. If you're hemoglobin A1C runs between 5.6 and 6.4%, you are developing insulin resistance. When you have a hemoglobin A1C of over 6.5%, you are now in the diabetic range, and over 7% are him you in serious risk of tissue damage from AGEs. Every individual of all ages should know their hemoglobin A1C level, I even find many children in my practice running hemoglobin A1c levels above 5.6% with a high normal fasting blood glucose.

To know if you are developing insulin resistance, it is also helpful to have your doctor run other diagnostic blood tests. A fasting blood sugar test is primary and should be well under 100 mg/dL. A second test to always consider is a fasting insulin test, which should be under 10 uU/L. Having blood sugar levels over 110 mg/dL indicates hyperglycemia and increases your risk for a deadly heart attack by 500% and your risk of death from a stroke by as much as fifteen fold. Another very helpful indicator of insulin resistance is changes in your blood fat profile. Triglycerides are blood fats that can be easily stored as body fat around your waist, and triglycerides increase with insulin resistance. Triglycerides in the blood should be under 150 mg/dL and the good cholesterol (HDL) should be greater than 40mg/dL for men, 50 mg/dL for women. Your triglyceride-to-HDL ratio is probably the best indicator of metabolic syndrome; your ratio must not be greater than 3.5 to 1. A triglyceride-to-HDL ratio larger than five to one has been shown to be very predictive of insulin resistance.

Properly Treating Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome and Early Type II Diabetes

1. Eat a low glycemic diet: eliminate sugars, refined flours, and simple carbohydrates from their diet. Utilize resources online such as www.glycemicindex.com and www.whfoods.com
2. Remove all processed foods, junk food, sodas and other sweetened drinks from your diet.
4. Remove all artificial sweeteners: they fuel cravings for sweets and trigger an insulin response from your brain.
5. Eliminate all trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated oils.
6. Limit caffeine intake to herbal teas with beneficial flavonoids, limit alcohol to three to four drinks per week.
7. Use specific nutraceuticals shown in research to benefit insulin resistance & improve glucose handling.

Mulberry Leaf, Cinnamon and Banaba Extracts-Unique Botanicals for Insulin Resistance & Mild Diabetes
In insulin resistance as body fat rises, production of a hormone called resistin increases, causing cells to become more resistant to insulin,  and Mulberry leaves contain substances that reverse this defect. In one study Mulberry leaf powder was compared to the drug glibenclamide in patients with type II diabetes. Patients taking mulberry leaf at the end of the 30-day trial had significantly lower fasting glucose, while the drug group had no significant decline. In this study Mulberry leaf extract also showed significant improvements across all blood lipids, including an 18% increase in HDL and a LDL decline of 23%.  This study showed that Mulberry leaf extract reduced harmful lipids and improved sensitivity to glucose, but also provided beneficial antioxidant properties to tissues. Other research studies have shown that animals with experimentally induced diabetes also experience dramatic improvements when fed mulberry leaf extract.  

A recent study on the use of cinnamon to treat type II diabetic patients found after 40 days, the study groups receiving cinnamon demonstrated significant reductions in blood sugar levels of up to 29%, triglycerides reduced up to 30%, and cholesterol reduced up to 26%.  Research has demonstrated that the polyphenol type-A polymers from cinnamon up-regulates genes involved in blood sugar control,  and the polyphenol polymer methylhydroxychalcone also has beneficial effects on blood sugar control.  Multiple recent studies consistently show the anti-diabetic effects of cinnamon extracts in validated animal models. ,  

Human studies also show that the Banaba leaf extract, corosolic acid, effectively helps to support optimal glucose metabolism.  When adults with diabetes were given corosolic acid prior to an oral glucose tolerance test, they demonstrated significantly improved glucose handling.  A randomized clinical trial showed that Banaba leaf extract rich in corosolic acid benefited adults with type II diabetes, lowering their blood glucose levels by 20-30% within only two weeks.  

Before considering any natural treatment program for metabolic syndrome and mild type II diabetes it is vital to consult with a doctor knowledgeable in these disorders and their treatment. This epidemic is real and growing and is leading us to become the ‘Land Of The Unwell’. Before joining this growing population of the metabolically walking wounded do some reading, eat a low glycemic diet, get out and exercise, and find healthcare practitioner can help you improve your insulin sensitivity.

Dr. Greg Fors, D.C. is a Board-certified Neurologist (IBCN), certified in Applied Herbal Sciences (NWHSU) and acupuncture. Trained through the Autism Research Institute he is a registered Defeat Autism Now! Doctor. As the clinic director of the Pain and Brain Healing Center in Blaine Minnesota he specializes in a natural biomedical approach to chronic pain and neurological conditions. He is a sought after international lecturer for various post graduate departments and state associations. Dr. Fors is the author of the highly acclaimed book, “Why We Hurt” available through booksellers everywhere