In addition to his weekly Dr.Mirkin ezine, Gabe Mirkin,M.D. publishes many important reports supported by research.

In this report D222, Treatment of Insulin Resistance, Dr.Mirkin says:

Most people who develop diabetes in later life can be controlled so that they are not at increased risk for the many complications of diabetes such as heart attacks, strokes, blindness, deafness, amputations, kidney failure, burning foot syndrome, venous insufficiency with ulceration and stasis dermatitis.

Late onset diabetes usually means that a person has too much insulin because his cells cannot respond to insulin. Too much insulin constricts arteries to cause heart attacks, and stimulates your brain and liver to make you hungry and manufacture fat.

Consequences that follow the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (IRS)

The insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) puts you at very high risk for a heart attack and is associated with storing fat in the belly, rather than the hips; having high blood triglyceride levels and low level of the good HDL cholesterol; high blood pressure and an increased tendency to form clots.

Dr.Mirkin says:

If you have any of these signs, check with your doctor who will order a blood test called HBA1C. If it is high, you have diabetes and can usually be controlled with diet and/or medication.

What you should do:

1. You should learn how to avoid foods that give the highest rise in blood sugar. When you eat, blood sugar level rises. The higher it rises, the more sugar sticks on cells. Once stuck on a cell membrane, sugar can never detach itself. It is converted to a poison called sorbitol that damages the cell to cause all the side effects of diabetes mentioned above.

2. Avoid the foods that cause your blood sugar to rise quickly. These include all types of flour products: bread, spaghetti, macaroni, bagels, rolls, crackers, cookies and pretzels; refined corn products and white rice; and all sugar added products.

3. Eat lots of vegetables, un-ground whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts. Eat fruits and root vegetables (potatoes, carrots and beets) only with other foods!

Dr.Mirkin says about remedies:

There are two type of drugs that are used to treat diabetes: those that lower blood sugar and raise insulin, and those that lower blood sugar and lower insulin also. As I mentioned earlier, insulin is a bad hormone, so the safest drugs are those that lower both insulin and sugar. Virtually all diabetics should be on Glucophage before meals. It prevents blood sugar levels from rising too high and sticking to cells and has an excellent safety record.

However, eating a few bagels will produce such a high rise in blood sugar that Glucophage will not be effective. So Glucophage is used in addition to avoiding foods that cause a high rise in blood sugar.

If HBA1C  cannot be controlled with diet and Glucophage, your doctor will usually add Actos 30mg.

They are essentially the same and can cause liver damage, so liver tests must be done monthly, at least for the first few months.

Dr.Mirkin says:

You should be seen monthly and get either a HBA1C (which measures blood sugar control over the past two months) or fructosamine (which measures control over two weeks).

Each time your HBA1C is above normal, you should yell at your doctor to change your drugs and he should yell at you to change your diet.

What happens next? Dr.Mirkin says:

If your HBA1C is still not under control, you need to take a bad drug that raises insulin levels. I usually start with Glipizide XL. If that doesn’t control your HBA1C, I raise the dose, and if that still doesn’t work, you will need to inject yourself with insulin.

Note: I have broken up Dr.Mirkin’s text with the intention to make it easier for anyone to understand. I have not changed any of the text or facts.
Fran
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Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine

The e-Zine is provided as a service.  Dr.Mirkin’s reports and
opinions are for information only, and are not intended to
diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and
treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.
For more information drmirkin.com
————
Dr.Mirkin follows each of his e-zines with some reports on various medical subjects.
A click on the above link will take you to the ezine site where you can look through those reports and also a long list of previously published reports. There is even a Search function where you can enter a keyword to a subject you do not see.

Dr.Mirkin’s e-zine. In this Feb.2 report, Dr.Mirkin says:

One of three North Americans will become diabetic, and almost all are pre-diabetic long before they become diabetic. Signs of pre-diabetes include:

• a protruding belly
• small buttocks
• love handles around the belt line
• high triglycerides (greater than 150)
• low HDL (good) cholesterol (lower than 40)
• fatty liver
• fasting blood sugar above 100
• blood sugar above 120, two hours after eating

If you change the habits that cause the signs of pre-diabetes, you can probably avoid ever becoming diabetic.

EXERCISE HELPS TO LOWER HIGH BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS.

People who are pre-diabetic have a far more dramatic lowering of high blood sugar and insulin with exercise than non-diabetics (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, December 2011;43(12):2231- 2240). High blood sugar levels cause sugar to stick to the outer surface of cell membranes and destroy them. High blood insulin levels constrict arteries leading to the heart to cause heart attacks.

INTENSE EXERCISE IS FAR MORE EFFECTIVE IN CONTROLLING BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS THAN JUST EXERCISING.

In another study, men performed the following workout three times a week: They warmed up by pedaling on a stationary bicycle for five minutes, performed two 20-second hard sprints and then cooled down by pedaling slowly for five minutes (European Journal of Applied Physiology, December 2011). After six weeks, there was an incredible drop in blood sugar and insulin levels, far more than a diabetic achieves by exercising less intensely for more than one hour a day. The authors write: “These sprints break down as much glycogen in two 20-second sprints as moderate endurance exercise would in an hour.”

Muscles store sugar inside their cells as glycogen. Emptying muscle cells of glycogen markedly improves the ability of muscle cells to remove sugar from the bloodstream.

BAD HABITS THAT CAUSE DIABETES

If you have type II diabetes, you probably did it to yourself. More than 90 percent of diabetes is caused by inability to respond to insulin. Insulin cannot do its job of driving sugar from the bloodstream into cells until it attaches on special hooks on cell membrane called insulin receptors. So anything that blocks insulin receptors prevents insulin from working and causes blood sugar levels to rise too high. Also, anything that drives sugar into cells without needing insulin helps to prevent and treat diabetes. Behaviors that block insulin receptors include:

• Eating Red Meat

The saturated fat in red meat blocks insulin receptors to prevent insulin from doing its job.

•Being Fat

Full fat cells block insulin receptors.

•Lacking Muscle

Contracting muscles can remove sugar from the bloodstream without needing insulin. However this effect lasts only during exercise and up to 17 hours afterwards, so you have to exercise every day. Exercise draws sugar into cells without even needing insulin, and exercise makes your body respond better to insulin (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, December 2011;43(12):2231-2240).

•Lacking Vitamin D

Vitamin D is necessary for your cells to respond to insulin. Lack of vitamin D blocks insulin receptors and prevents insulin from doing its job of lowering blood sugar levels. Vitamin D levels should be above 75 nmol/L.

SUGAR AND OTHER REFINED CARBOHYDRATES

Eating or drinking sugar and refined carbohydrates (such as bakery products and pastas) raises blood sugar levels the most. A high rise in blood sugar causes sugar to stick to cells. Once there, sugar can never be removed. It eventually is converted to sorbitol that destroys the cell to cause all the horrible side effects of diabetes: blindness, deafness, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, impotence, kidney failure, amputations and so forth.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine

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use in your own  newsletter, company or club publication,
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The e-Zine is provided as a service.  Dr.Mirkin’s reports and
opinions are for information only, and are not intended to
diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and
treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.
For more information drmirkin.com
————
Dr.Mirkin follows each of his e-zines with some reports on various medical subjects.
A click on the above link will take you to the ezine site where you can look through those reports and also a long list of previously published reports. There is even a Search function where you can enter a keyword to a subject you do not see.