Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes is unknown, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

 

Diabetes is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease, stroke and reduced microcirculation and neuropathy in the toes and fingers. Incredibly, in just the USA there are 1.4 million new cases diagnosed each year.

 

1. When there is not enough insulin in the body.

2. When your body becomes less responsive to the insulin produced.

 

Regardless of the cause for diabetes the same result happens; the inability of blood sugar to properly enter the trillions of living cells, resulting in starvation of the cells within your body. This situation can best be summed up as both a drowning and drought occurring at the same time within the body. There is an abundant amount of blood sugar in the blood stream, yet the cells are starving and deplete of the blood sugar necessary to sustain them, let alone to allow them to survive. This lack of blood supply contributes to the fact that death rates are twice as high in middle-aged people with diabetes.

 

Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to numerous devastating effects within the body including:

Cardiovascular Disease - cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. Adults with diabetes have heart disease rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.

 

Stroke: Risk of stroke is 2-4 times higher among diabetics.

  

High Blood Pressure: 73% of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure so severe as to require medications.

  

Kidney Disease: Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure and roughly 38,000 diabetics begin dialysis treatment for this each year.

 

Nerve Conditions - called neuropathy that can result in excruciating and debilitating suffering, affecting 60-70 percent of diabetics.

  

 

Amputations – 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations are associated with diabetes.

  

Dental Disease – twice the normal risk.

  

  

Blindness – the leading cause of new cases of blindness including cataracts and conditions that can lead to blindness including a condition called retinopathy, which involves the part of the eye called the retina that is essential for vision.

 

Over 200,000 people die each year from diabetes based on death certificate data and this number is believed to be underreported. Imagine a small city in North America eliminated each year. Based on this, diabetes is clearly worth ongoing discussion and preventative action.

Unfortunately the incidence of diabetes in the USA and Canada continues to grow despite massive efforts to educate and medicate those most susceptible. With these types of severe consequences arising from diabetes a pre-emptive defense to avoid getting diabetes or actively managing it is essential.

 

Diabetes is newsworthy and numerous public service alerts have appeared in national newspapers in an attempt to educate people on this largely preventable disease. Diabetes and pre-diabetes is an epidemic and without an active defense, you, your loved ones and friends are likely to become statistics too. This level of public health concern by the scientific and governmental agencies can be equated to the degree of concern about the dangers of smoking.

 

Diabetes is now considered the health crisis ‘plague’ of the new century. There is currently a tremendous gap in what conventional modern medicine can offer to ward off this dread disease. As a result, the opportunity for complementary health care to assist diabetics and pre-diabetics is growing. Most people with diabetes now prefer and demand alternative, natural therapeutic intervention to help ward off unnecessary suffering and risk.

 

Type 1 diabetes - Type 1 diabetes results from the body’s failure to produce insulin, the hormone that ‘unlocks’ the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter them. This affects 5 – 10% of those diagnosed with diabetes.

 

Type 2 diabetes - Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance (when a body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. This affects from 90 – 95% of all those who are diagnosed with diabetes.

 

Both types of diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2) affect a total of 20 million people (13 million are diagnosed and 7 million are undiagnosed) in the USA and Canada, (6.2% population). Now with the new pre-diabetic criteria, it is estimated that an additional 20% of the North American are primed for conversion into full-blown diabetes.

 

A disease of these proportions obviously causes great suffering among many people, not including personal financial costs as well.

 

 

165,000 North Americans in this age group have diabetes. (Diabetes used to be limited to middle-aged).

 

One of every 400 - 500 children now has Type 1 diabetes.

 

Type 2 diabetes is increasing among American Indian, African American, and Hispanic and Latino children.

 

 

   20 million Americans and Canadians, (or 8.6%) of this age group has diabetes.

 

   9 million men (or 8.3%) have diabetes.

 

 11 million women (8.9%) have diabetes.

 

9 million Americans and Canadians, (over 18%) of all people in this age group have diabetes.

 

Incidence of diabetes

 

Over 1.4 million new cases will be diagnosed each year in the USA and Canada alone.

 

In addition to concerns of heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve conditions, amputations, dental disease, pregnancy complications and the threat of blindness, diabetics are often more susceptible to other illnesses. Once acquired, they can be difficult to treat, and often have a worse prognosis than those without diabetes.

 

Proper treatment of diabetes requires much more than just insulin and dietary modification. Herbal medicines are an effective aid in the treatment of diabetes, as well as the multiple complications of this disease. Heart disease is perhaps the most deadly condition associated with diabetes. In addition, concomitant disease conditions such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diminished microcirculation, elevated lipids and tissue damage from free radicals must be addressed.

 

Gan