Early onset diabetes mellitus.
On the Paracelsus mailing list in Oct96,
by Alan Tillotson
> Has anyone got any ideas about early onset diabetes mellitus?
I am a juvenile diabetic, insulin dependant, and have been so since age 10. I'm now 46. I have managed to avoid all complications so far, with perfect retinas, normal heart, liver and kidney function etc. I got involved with healing to try to find a way out of the bleak future I read about when I was 11 in a book I got from the library, which told me that I would most probably develop any number of serious problems. So far zilch. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It is very interesting that before I had any formal training in natural medicine, my body figured out several things (because it made me feel good), such as the addition of lots of blueberries and raspberries and carrots to my diet was good, as well as onion and garlic.
This was in the early 70's. I've learned a lot over the years. here is just some that comes quickly to mind-not totally coherent, its late at night:
- Juvenile diabetics can learn to sense their own sugar levels by developing body awareness. This makes it much less likely to eat when sugar levels exceed 200, thus driving them up to the 300's and creating lots of ketones, or to allow low blood sugars, with the negative effect of eating too much too fast and having an upswing.
- Juvenile diabetics which are called "brittle" are just nutrient deficient or very nervous/tight. I have maintained a high nutrient diet, especially easily assimilable minerals, for decades, and blood sugar swings have been minimal. This includes multi-minerals supplements and/or herbs like dandelion, turmeric, nettles, parsley, seaweeds.
- Juvenile diabetics need to constantly move their bodies. Hard work is excellent medicine.
- Juvenile diabetics tend to be vata natured (Ayurvedic term for nervous personality), and so their diet needs more good quality oils and fats than adult onset diabetics, to maintain healthy membranes.
- The Ayurvedic combination of triphala (three fruits, famous ayurvedic formula) plus shilajatu (ayurvedic mineral substance), taken long term, prevents deterioration.
- Some sort of Yoga or T'ai chi or meditation practice is essential to develop the ability to get really relaxed (I mean like super, super relaxed), which really helps maintain solid health, stable blood sugars. Advanced pranayama or qi kung exercises, in which qi is made to move or flow with strong diaphramatic control, improves the general circulation a lot.
- Aspartame sometimes raises blood sugar in diabetics worse than pure cane sugar. God know why.
- San qi (Chinese herb) can arrrest hemorrhage in diabetic retinopathy better than anything. 1-2 grams of concentrated powder TID, even useful long term.
- Blood thinning therapy (moving blood in Chinese terms) is essential. This includes herbs like salvia, red peony, carthamus, cnidium, bilberry, turmeric, bromelain. Keeps the tiny vessels happy, especially when combined with the minerals.
- I advocate not worrying about money for those damn expensive test strips, and just investing. Juvenile diabetics tend to have periods where their blood sugars become unstable, often for days or weeks. During these times it is essential to check the sugar every few hours, and take extra regular insulin if necessary, drink more water, and change to a lower volume high protein and fat, low carbohydrate and sugar-free diet for a short while, to even out sugar delivery to the system. When sugars are stable, change to a more high vegetable carbohydrate and raw vegetable diet to even things out. This alternation needs to be clearly understood.
- Juvenile diabetics need more vitamin E. They do not seem to benefit from chromium as much as adult onset types.
That's it. I'm going to bed.
Alan Tillotson
Chrysalis Natural Medicine Clinic
Wilmington, DE
