Stuart A. Seale, M.D., board-certified family physician and co-author of The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle, has helped thousands of patients over the past quarter century. He serves as the medical director for Ardmore Institute of Health, and is the medical director, physician, and educator for Lifestyle Center of America’s Stopping Diabetes ProgramTM in Sedona, Arizona. He conducts an advanced wellness and healthy lifestyle workshop called The Well ExperienceTM, and also maintains a private, mobile medical practice, Room Calls Sedona. Dr. Seale has also received the 3-year AMA Physician Recognition Award eight times, most recently in 2007.

Guest Blogger Stuart Seale--

Type 2 diabetes is sweeping this country like a tidal wave of tsunami proportions. Currently 21 million Americans, 1 out of every 15, suffer from this disease and its deadly complications. But the worst is yet to come. The Centers for Disease Control has predicted that 1 out of every 3 Caucasian children that is 8 years old today, will develop type 2 diabetes. The numbers are even more grim for African-American, Native-American, or Hispanic-American children – for them the odds are 1 out of every 2 will become type 2 diabetic during their lifetime. With the current economic cost of diabetes at 174 billion dollars per year (twice that of the Iraq war), and with a death toll of 300,000 Americans per year as a direct result of diabetes, there are some very ominous economic, social, and physical handwritings on the wall regarding our future existence as a society. It is also no wonder that any hint of a “cure” for type 2 diabetes would be welcomed with open arms.

A recent Science Daily web article had the bold headline “Diabetes May Be Disorder of Upper Intestine: Surgery May Correct It.” The article was citing a recent study published in the journal Diabetes Care, touting the benefits of intestinal bypass surgery, and the observation that type 2 diabetes is often reversed after such procedures are performed. The study’s lead author, Dr. Francesco Rubino, was quoted as saying, “When we bypass the duodenum and jejunum, we are bypassing what may be the source of the problem.” He goes on to say, “There is in fact, growing evidence, that diabetes surgery can be effective even for patients who are only slightly obese or just overweight.” And finally, “The lesson we have learned with diabetes surgery is that diabetes is not always a chronic and relentless disease, where the only possible treatment goal is just the control of hyperglycemia and minimization of the risk of complications. Gastrointestinal surgery offers the possibility of complete disease remission. This is a major shift in the way we consider treatment goals for diabetes. It is unprecedented in the history of the disease.”

So, intestinal bypass surgery is the new-found cure for type 2 diabetes, according to Dr. Rubino. Oh, really? May I correctly assume, therefore, that the explosion of type 2 diabetes is really due to some developmental fluke of nature, causing up to 1 out of every 2 children born in the year 2000 to have their upper intestinal tract not connected properly, thus requiring intestinal bypass surgery? Or that those who are merely overweight or mildly obese are really just suffering from a deficiency – that of not having had enough major surgery performed upon them? I do agree with Dr. Rubino’s statement that “diabetes is not always a chronic and relentless disease, where the only possible treatment goal is just the control of hyperglycemia and minimization of the risk of complications.” However, while intestinal bypass surgery offers some interesting data as to how intestinal hormones play a role in type 2 diabetes, to infer that an intestinal abnormality is the cause of the disease, and therefore surgery is the cure, is fundamentally wrong.

Quite simply, and this is sometimes difficult to acknowledge, the cause for type 2 diabetes is behavior – the choices one makes, primarily in the areas of nutrition and physical activity. When you choose to put too much of the wrong kinds of foods into your mouth, and also choose to be sedentary instead of active, you bring about metabolic change in your body that leads to the development of type 2 diabetes. You gain weight, develop insulin resistance, and the pancreas is forced to work overtime. Eventually the pancreas can’t keep up with the burden of continual excessive energy flooding the body, in the form of blood sugar, and type 2 diabetes ensues. The traditional treatment for diabetes has involved the use of medications and/or insulin in an attempt to lower the blood sugar levels – but this only addresses this particular symptom of diabetes. It does nothing to change the underlying cause of type 2 diabetes – improper behaviors that have created insulin resistance, and resultant high blood sugar. What Dr. Rubino is also failing to recognize, is that intestinal bypass surgery does nothing to change the underlying behaviors that have led to the disease, and it therefore represents no more of a cure than does traditional treatment with medications.

So, what is the real cure for type 2 diabetes, if not medications, insulin, or intestinal surgery? This is where the really good news comes in - the cure is you. That’s right, you read correctly – it is up to you and the choices you make from this day forward. It only stands to reason, that if type 2 diabetes is caused by the choices you have made in the past, than it can be reversed and even cured if you correct those choices. If you want to start making an impact today, here are some pointers. The first is in the area of nutrition. Stop eating the standard American diet, rich in refined carbohydrates, salt, sugar, and saturated fats that come from animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy. Start eating a diet that is based on plants – a plant-based diet. The more animal products, refined carbohydrates, and sugars you can replace with whole plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains, beans, and nuts (in moderation), the better your diabetes will be controlled. Numerous scientific studies bear this out. Secondly, stop being inactive and get moving! Look for ways to incorporate more physical activity into your daily routine – take the stairs and not the elevator; park as far away from the mall entrance as you can; and stop using the television remote – you get the idea. Lastly, find a reason that will motivate you to obtain good health. Maybe it is because you want to run a marathon, or perhaps you want to see your grandkids (or great-grandkids!) graduate from college. Whatever it may be, let it be the inspiration that drives you to change your behaviors. These concepts in the areas of nutrition, physical activity, and behavior modification are more fully discussed in the book The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle, as well as on our website www.diabetesmiracle.org, but here are 6 simple and specific recommendations to get you started NOW:

1. Eat ½ cup of beans before every meal. Beans are a super-food, high in fiber and other nutrients, and they will help you control your blood sugar.

2. Eat “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper.” You will have better blood sugar levels if you consume energy at the beginning of the day when you need it most, and not at the end of the day when you need it least. Do not eat between meal snacks!

3. Stroll for 10 minutes after every meal.

4. Walk briskly for 15 minutes 2 hours after every meal. Exercise is medicine – if you want to see this in action, check your blood sugar at the beginning of the walk and again afterward – you will be amazed at the difference it will make in the reading.

5. Mind the gap. Quite simply, use the moment of time between when a choice confronts you, and when you actually upon the decision you make. Will your decision and subsequent action benefit or harm you in the long run?

6. Think long-term. Answer the question “Good health for what?” What is your long-term motivation for seeking good health? Dwell on that instead of any short-term pleasure you may find from making choices that will ultimately harm you.

Related Reading--The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle Cookbook

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Update on Apr 4, 2008 by At Basil & Spice

Seen at Reuters!          Reuters--US News!