Today I had the pleasure of meeting a group of people to chat about social media networking and such. In this group, was a man claiming to be a Natural doctor with business cards. Not a "DO" or an "MD" but some kind of Natural holistic doctor. He proceeds to tell me that he could help me "REVERSE" my Diabetes. Of course this caught my ire. I asked him how can you reverse a pancreas that is only functioning at 50%? Then he starts to tell me about how if I lost weight and controlled my diet I could reverse my diabetes. I started to quiz him on insulin resistance, diabetes 1, 1.5, 2.0. I asked him what is the different between him and a physical trainer if this is the only thing he had to offer. He said he could prescribe medicine but doesn't. He also said he works with an Endo. I asked why would an Endo work with him? An Endo doesn't need him and his hocus pocus.
Personally I am so tired of these natural gurus making claims to reverse diabetes. They normally never have any proof or evidence that will stand up to scientific scrutiny. More over they normally can't answer questions about diabetes, mechanisms and how their own products work on a detail level. They normally promote a management system. This is what a physical trainer does. If their brand of treatment does not affect pancreatic function then why is it considered something feasible for a diabetic. Why is their information comparable or better than and ENDO's? What he wanted to focus on was insulin resistivity. When I started asking questions about this subject he started to falter and refused to answer my questions.
People I would suggest that when you come across these clowns that want to help you with herbs and spices and a diet program to put them under the microscope. I don't want to be to so cynical to suggest none of these natural gurus are all bad but I personally have not seen one to stand against my scrutiny. However I have had Medical doctors to go toe to toe with me and learn to respect. So please educate yourself so you do not waste time or money on people that just want to take advantage of you.
I agree, Christalyn. Whenever I read the term "reverse," in context with diabetes, I sense a dubious marketing scam that plays on the fear and ignorance of people in order to enrich the perpetrators. I see "reverse" as the new word for "cure," the hallmark of a quack.
I know that some symptoms of diabetes can be reversed, but the underlying condition does not go away. My lower carb way of eating has reversed some of my glucose variability, but it did not reverse my diabetes.
I despise the use of "reverse diabetes" and would reject, out of hand, anyone that uses it.
The frauds that use this marketing scam often don't know the difference between type I and type II diabetes. Their intended target is usually the much larger market segment of type II diabetes.
Bottom line, big claims require big proof. There is absolutely no substitute for dispassionate, tedious, thorough, and peer-reviewed science.
if you're type 2 your pancreas is functioning, you're making insulin and all the other hormones produced in the islet cells (beta, alpha). however, you're resistant to it so yes...all those things, metabolic wise certain can aid a type 2 to no medications at all, losing weight, diet - exercise, etc...but still no cure. type 1's have an autoimmune disease and have the 'broken' pancreas. Type 2 is not and their pancreas actually is working.
Well, we all know that it's not really insulin secreted by the pancreas that controls blood sugar, but actually a hormone called nosugarase secreted by the duodenum into the peritoneal cavity, lowering blood sugar by complex bioradiographic reaction binding sugars with mitochondria.
So this guy's obviously a snake-oil salesman.
However, I am selling vials of refined and purified nosugarase from South American guatto toad duodenums, and I'm having a special on them.
As a diabetic, what would you pay for a real cure? $15? $50? $500?
Nosugarase really works (imagine me walking back and forth with a pure whte background as I deliver this pitch)! And at only $495 a bottle. Try it, and if not fully satisfied, go ahead... try to get a hold of me at the money-back guarantee address!
Oh yes, I'm with you, Christalyn. And Terry. And important point Artwoman. Dave---I can just picture you with a slide show at TEDMED!
The most painful of such encounters that I've had (and there have been many)was with a very nice nurse in Urgent Care (I was there for an injury due to a fall in my garden. She noticed that my most recent A1c was within the "normal" range and congratulated me on "reversing" my diabetes. I explained to her that, while I had figured out how to have good control, I was diabetic for the rest of my life. She didn't get it. I finally asked her what she had eaten for lunch and told her that I couldn't ever eat like that again because I am diabetic---she still didn't get it---at which point I wanted to whack her upside the head. Fortunately for her, my injury was to the rotator cuff and I couldn't!
Sarah you missed the point I was making. I am not trying start any T1/T2 drama here. I wanted to point out this person was trying to pass himself as a respected person in the medical industry that somehow has found a way to "REVERS DIABETES." Disseminating erroneous information is not good what ever your Type may be. Most T2 at the time of diagnosis have a pancreas working at less than 50%.
well, they're all over the place, raw diets, blah, blah, blah. I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree about the pancreas of a type 2 not working 50%. I've had this discussion with many endos. the pancreas of a type 2 is indeed working, cpeptide typically above average and islet cells functioning as well as still producing amilyin, etc...type 2's have insulin resistance...i.e., they're resitant to the insulin they produce. type 1's make little or not insulin and are insulin sensitive. vastly different and I won't argue the points.
true! and everyone comes back with a diagnosis of the SAME LONG list of food allergies,. candida, hypoglycemia which doesn't exist on it's own, same Dx for everyone. they are a joke!
I had planned to just lurk on this conversation, but I'll put my two cents on this point. Even endos can sometimes do more harm than good. Many years ago, one of my mother's former endos promised her he could wean her off of insulin after 13 years. He stated as a Type 2 she shouldn't be an insulin dependent diabetic and she didn't need insulin. She ended up DKA in the ICU with a BG of 880. She had never been DKA in the 14 years of being a diabetic.
While in the hospital, a new endo visited her and told her never to let another doctor talk her out of quit taking her insulin. The new endo said her pancreas was basically dead and insulin was her lifeline if she wanted to keep living.
Her father had the same issues of DKA, insulin dependent but labeled Type 2. I don't know the 'ins and outs' of the science behind diabetes, just the destruction it has caused in my family.
If anyone could give a quick lesson of insulin dependent type 2 diabetes and DKA, I'd be grateful.
Thankfully, this past October she celebrated her 31st diabetic-anniversary.
After many years with type 2, a person with type 2 does become insulin-dependent (often). The longterm insulin resistance results in high bg's (which we all know) and the type 2 pancreas secretes for of the hormones to control it. Eventually, the type 2 pancreas cannot keep up with the demand, and exogenous insulin is required. I was having this discussion (regarding insulin dependent diabetics) with some EMS people, and tried to impress upon them that it is very important to know whether it is IDDM - type 1 or IDDM type 2. Since the majority of people with D have type 2, there is a risk of assuming IDDM type 2 and giving way too much insulin to a IDDM-type 1 person - since people with type 1 ae typically very insulin sensitive.
Again I am not trying to start any T1/T2 drama here. Nobody is denying that a pancreas has some limited abilities in a T2. That will vary from person to person. To make an assumption everybody is the same is not a good thing. T1's can be insulin resistance too and may have to take metformin for this. Understand I am not trying to have a "whose got it worse campaign with you or with any T1." I am really beyond that thinking. If that is what you want to prove than you win.....
AGAIN.... I am trying to point the fact that this person not doing a service to anybody but himself in giving out erroneous information. I don't like the use of the word "Reverse Diabetes" because it is erroneous too.
One of the people most guilty of the "reverse Diabetes BS" is Dr Oz! Not just on his TV show, but he has a syndicated column in newspapers where he spouts the same erroneous info. If he would just say something about "getting off meds" for a while" and state that once Dx'd with D you'll always have D - just manage it different. Way too many people get their health info from Oz (of course, in Oz the scarecrow got a brain...)
Oooh--Now There is a doc I would Really, Really like to whack upside the head---gracefully, of course, Artwoman. My rotator cuff injury is in pretty good shape now, so beware, fools of the world, I do not suffer thee any more without whackability! We could try it in unison, Artwoman, or give it the old One Two!
