Monday 29 April 2013

Can supplements & exercise cure Type 2 diabetes?

Definitely, maybe!
From http://health-in-hand.co.uk/2013/03/24/supplements-for-the-non-supplement-takers/
According to Hyppönen and Power, in a large sample of the white British population born in 1958, 60.9% of subjects had serum 25(OH)D (the active metabolite of Vitamin D) of less than 75nmol/L in Summer & Autumn, and 87.1% had serum 25(OH)D of less than 75nmol/L in Winter & Spring. 75nmol/L ≡ 30ng/mL.

 From Hypovitaminosis D is associated with insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction, 2-hour post-load blood glucose level in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) has a negative correlation with 25(OH)D concentration (Fig 1C). 25(OH)D concentration has a positive correlation with insulin sensitivity (Fig 2A). Therefore, 2-hour post-load blood glucose level in a OGTT has a negative correlation with insulin sensitivity.

"Extrapolation from the observations in the current study suggests that increasing 25(OH)D from 10 to 30 ng/mL can improve insulin sensitivity by 60%, from 3.8128 to 6.1176 (umol/L)·m-2·min-1·(pmol/L)-1. This improvement in insulin resistance could potentially eliminate the burden on cells and reverse abnormal glucose tolerance. Furthermore, the 60% improvement in insulin sensitivity that results from vitamin D treatment indicates that that treatment is more potent than either troglitazone or metformin treatment (54% and 13% improvement in insulin sensitivity, respectively). The modest effect of vitamin D on insulin sensitivity in individual persons may translate into a dramatic effect in the population as a whole because of the high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, which, in a large population, carries an attributable risk for type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Although a review of the literature suggests non-calcium-mediated effects, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated."

As my 2-hour post-load blood glucose level in a OGTT became low (3.7mmol/L, from 8.7mmol/L in 2003) after supplementing with 5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3, this means that my insulin sensitivity became high. Therefore, I cured my pre-type 2 diabetes using supplements.

My fasting blood glucose level also fell from 6.8 mmol/L (> 7.0mmol/L = type 2 diabetes diagnosis) to 5.0mmol/L. I achieved this without taking any drugs for type 2 diabetes - not even Metformin, which I consider to be a safe & effective insulin-sensitiser, though it can cause gastric distress and B12 absorption issues, long-term. The supplements that I took had zero side-effects and merely corrected deficiencies.

Diabetes drugs cannot cure type 2 diabetes. However, supplements & exercise can cure type 2 diabetes, if the type 2 diabetes is caused by nutrient deficiencies and/or sedentary behaviour and if all pancreatic beta cells haven't been destroyed. Insulin injections can preserve pancreatic beta cells, while insulin resistance is being tackled. See Dr. Richard K Bernstein on insulin for type 2 diabetics, and some definitions.

Sadly, if there are no nutrient deficiencies and/or all pancreatic beta cells have been destroyed, supplements & exercise will not help.

30 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm a T2 Diabetic (not overweight BMI 23.5, low insulin resistance, do a 3 - 5 km walk most days. Vit D and supplements do nothing for my BG levels which I monitor regularly each day. For the first 9 months after diagnosis I took no Vit D then got diagnosed Vit D deficient and did a course of 50,000iu/day and now take 5000iu/day. There has been no appreciable change in my BG's at all.
Like many thousands of informed T2 diabetics in this country who have sussed out that the NHS regime does more harm than good I control my condition by reducing carbs rather than take a bunch of insulin stimulating drugs that make your highly overworked pancreas work even harder than it already is and of course have a tendency for weight gain.
My philosophy has been to reduce carbs until my BG's normalise which in my case is to reduce to around 75g / day. My last hBA1c was 4.8% or 29mmol/mol so close to what a non diabetic would achieve. I know and converse with hundreds of other T2 diabetics who reduce carbs by similar kinds of levels ending up somewhere in the 25g to 175g / day range and follow the same ethos as me.
You imply those of us who lower carbs must be upping protein. That is not the case at all. Most of us follow a low carb high fat regime as advocated by say the Swedish Healthcare system. My regime equates to roughly 15% carbs 25% protein and 65% fat (mostly natural satuated fat). Sounds bad yet my cholesterol levels are also fine and well within the N.I.C.E guidelines for T2 diabetics i.e a total less than 4. If you looked at most meals I eat the comment likely be on how much green veg I eat and the all but total lack of sugar, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals and bread. I do eat starchy carbs but only occasionally and in very small portions.
I run my own IT company have to problem solve and think hard each day and have no issue whatsoever that my diet is at least semi ketogenic and consequently stopping my brain functioning! After diagnosis and finding out the NHS regime was actually compounding my condition I hunted around for advice. I ended up pretty much following the regime that is recommended by the Swedish Healthcare system. The Swedes don't even object to T2's doing a full on ketogenic regime so long as the person is monitored regularly my their health care team. The ADA in their position statements since 2011 on T2 only recommend 130g / day carbs (called quarter plate) or half what we are recommended in the UK dietary advice. My GP fully supports my regime.
I am certainly not cured even though to a casual observer my BG's are normal. I took a GTT (Glucose tolerance test) recently and spectacularly spiked my BG's into the high teens. What the test did prove was that I have lost insulin resistance by losing roughly 4 stone in weight as my BG's recovered quite rapidly. The result seems to suggest in my first phase insulin response is pretty shot to pieces but I still have a good second phase response. Vit D or any other supplement is not going to ever recover that first phase response caused by the damage to my beta cells.
Based on your posts and comments you need to answer why countries that advocate a low carb high fat diet such as Sweden and Iceland are two of the top 3 LOWEST rate countries for T2 diabetes in the industrialized nations. Please remember that variants of low carb were the recommended way of treating until the fill your plate with 50% carbs was introduced for all people in the UK regardless of their diabetes status in 1991. Starch has such a high GI that recommending a diet half of which is carbs to a diabetic seems the same as recommending an alcoholic drinks vodka. It is madness.
Finally as someone with T2 then realising if I muck it up I risk going blind, loosing a limb and potentially taking 15 years off my lifespan is one hell of incentive for me to get my treatment right! I would suggest until you have had that experience you would be wise not to be too over critical of us who have done a lot of research into what works and what doesn't.

Steve

Nigel Kinbrum said...

Hi Steve,

I'm not implying anything about people who have type 2 diabetes. My post is intended to attack Eddie Mitchell's staunch refusal to accept the idea that it's possible to tackle the underlying insulin resistance of type 2 diabetes.

As everyone is different, what worked for me won't necessarily work the same for you. Everyone needs to find out for themselves what works best. Have you tried all of the supplements mentioned?

Please click the label "diabetes" to see what else I have written on the subject. I fully support the use of low-carbohydrate diets.

Eddie has flung a lot of insults in my direction. Please don't take any insults that I have flung back at him as a personal attack on you or anybody else.

Cheers, Nige

Unknown said...

Eddie is just being Eddie. He does and has provided a lot of useful information on his blog for which is should be thanked.

If you can persuade him there is more than one way to treat T2 other than "eat less than 50g / day" then that'll be a first and you will gain my everlasting respect for your debating skills! Many including myself have tried and failed so be aware you are in a long line that stretches back years.

I put him in the mostly harmless category :-)

Have fun

Steve

Nigel Kinbrum said...

Hi again Steve,

I've come to the realisation that I'm never going to change Eddie's mind about anything. If you read other recent posts of mine, you'll see that this "spat" has been going for some time. I warned Eddie what would happen if he flung insults in my direction, but he seems to be a sucker for punishment!

Please read my other posts on diabetes by using the labels down the right hand side. If you find any errors in what I have written, please leave comments. I learn a lot from readers' comments!

Cheers, Nige

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