What is Diabetes?

By DeWayne McCulley

Diabetes was identified as a medical problem centuries ago, but it didn’t become a major health issue until people increased their consumption of processed foods while reducing their physical activity during the past 15 years. This has lead to a steady increase in the number of overweight and obese people, with an increasing percentage of them developing insulin resistance and eventually becoming diabetic.
Consequently, diabetes, specifically Type 2 diabetes, has rapidly become one of the most chronic diseases in the United States and worldwide, with more than 7% of the adult population affected.

Type 2 diabetes is more common in the elderly and minority populations that are influenced by
economic/societal biases, specifically Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and
Asian and Pacific Island Americans. In these populations, Type 2 diabetes may be present in 10% to 50% of the adult population. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg of an epidemic of impaired glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes has been linked to the Western lifestyle, as it is uncommon in cultures consuming a more primitive diet. As cultures switched from their native diets to more commercial processed foods, their rate of diabetes increased, eventually reaching the same proportions seen in Western societies. A great deal of research has been conducted into the possible root causes of diabetes, with most of the prevalent ideas falling into the following categories: dietary indiscretion, obesity, endocrine imbalance, heredity, unknown virus, psychic stress, and environmental. This disease literally affects every cell in the body and the essential biochemical and metabolic processes involved with those cells.
As a result, diabetes is much more than a “blood sugar” disease – high blood sugar is just one of the symptoms of the disease. Unfortunately, the drug therapy is primarily directed at these symptoms (to lower the blood sugar level) and not at the underlying biochemical and metabolic root causes (to get rid of the disease), especially excess insulin production.
Obesity appears to be a significant factor, particularly considering the fact that more than 90% of Type 2 diabetics are overweight or obese. And, because diabetes appears to run in families, genetic factors may be important in determining susceptibility to diabetes. These genetic factors represent the “loaded gun” that presents a danger to your health. The poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle represent “pulling the trigger” of the loaded gun. In effect, if you do not “pull the trigger”, then, the “loaded gun” cannot damage your health. Unfortunately, since many siblings “inherit” the cooking and eating behaviors from their parents and relatives, it is the environmental, dietary and lifestyle behavioral factors that “pull the trigger” and fuel this disease. To support this contention, there are many clinical studies with significant evidence that diet and exercise can effectively control this disease and slow down many of its complications. The controversy and confusion is associated with the attributes of that diet, leaving many diabetics confused and frustrated with fighting this disease. Hopefully, this
book will clarify those attributes and eliminate the confusion by focusing on the underlying biochemical, metabolic, and hormonal root causes of this disease, e.g. hyper-insulinemia, insulin resistance, inflammation, nutritional deficiencies, toxic overload, oxidation, and acidity. Interestingly, in my research, I found that even non-diabetics were affected by these same root causes, leading to obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
What has become apparent through years of medical research is that diabetes is not simply a matter of one or two things having gone wrong. It is a complex condition with a multitude of biochemical, metabolic and hormonal imbalances. Consequently, although the conventional medical approach of using insulin or oral drugs to treat the symptoms of diabetes may be effective in the short term, it is not effective in the long term. An effective approach would be one that reduces the high level of insulin resistance and improves the health of the trillions of sick cells.

Types of Diabetes

There are primarily three (3) types of diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM) is associated with the inability of the pancreatic beta cells to produce insulin. This disease is classified as an autoimmune disease that attacks and kills the insulin-producing beta cells. The pancreas continues to form beta cells, but they are rapidly killed off by the malfunctioning immune system. Type 1 diabetes used to be called childhood-onset diabetes, because it primarily afflicted children whose immune systems had not fully matured. But today adults in their 20s and 30s are now developing this disease.
Type 2 Diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, NIDDM) is associated with excess
insulin production and the body’s inability to effectively utilize the insulin produced by the pancreas, leading to more insulin production. This is known as insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes, because it primarily affected older adults. But today with more children being overweight and sedentary, they are now developing this disease.
Gestational Diabetes is also associated with excess insulin production and the body’s inability to effectively utilize the insulin produced by the pancreas. But, Gestational Diabetes only occurs during pregnancy and usually disappears after the delivery of the baby.
Please Note: Despite the similarities, Type 2 Diabetes is a much different disease than Type 1
Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is a lifestyle disease with trillions of metabolically defective cells. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease with dead or dormant pancreatic beta cells that are not producing insulin. The focus of this book is the lifestyle-driven Type 2 Diabetes. However, many of the wellness principles can be applied to Type 1 Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes with the proper medical, lifestyle and nutritional guidance.

About Author:DeWayne McCulley is an ex-diabetic engineer who survived a near-death, diabetic coma and became renown Diabetes educator & author. For further inquiries he can be reached at: engineer@deathtodiabetes.com on on his website at: www.deathtodiabetes.com

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