Dr. Sarah Brewer - Overcoming Diabetes: A Doctors Guide to Self-Care

The information and advice given in this book is for general information only. It is not intended to replace individual advice from your doctor, and is not intended for women who are pregnant or who develop gestational diabetes. This book takes an holistic approach, and is designed to complement the treatments your doctor prescribes. If youre taking medication tablets or injections for diabetes, follow your doctors instructions carefully on how often to take your medication. If you want to make dietary changes, or to start taking supplements, discuss this with your doctor. You must be aware of how to monitor your blood glucose, and be confident in adjusting your medication if your blood glucose control improves (or worsens). Dont stop taking prescribed medication without your doctors permission. Once your glucose control improves, your doctor should be willing to adjust your medication under supervision.

Unfortunately, for every person who knows they have diabetes, there is someone who is unaware they have the condition. Diabetes is associated with a number of unpleasant complications that claim more than three million lives every year one death every ten seconds. This is a tragedy given that most cases of Type 2 diabetes are preventable, and many people with raised glucose levels can revert to normal glucose control with the right dietary and lifestyle interventions.

Glucose is a very reactive chemical that attacks and binds to proteins in the circulation, and in organs such as the kidneys and eyes. This is why, in the long term, a high blood glucose level can cause the complications of diabetes: heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and loss of eyesight. By maintaining good control of glucose levels, the risk of developing complications can be significantly reduced.

If you have Type 2 diabetes, then losing excess weight, exercising and following a low-glycemic, wholefood diet can improve your insulin secretion, and reduce your bodys resistance to its effects. Many supplements, herbal remedies, complementary therapies and relaxation techniques can improve your glucose control, too. These measures are often enough to control glucose levels without the need for medication.

If you have Type 1 diabetes, theres little you can do to increase your natural insulin production, but dietary and lifestyle changes can improve your overall health, reduce your long-term risk of complications or alleviate the symptoms of complications if you develop them.

In this book I provide dietary and lifestyle information that will help you improve your glucose control and reduce your risk of diabetes complications. Because everyone is different, and no diet and lifestyle plan will suit all individuals, I have devised three different approaches: a gentle, a moderate and a full-strength program, one of which is likely to suit you. To help you work out which plan is right for you, complete the detailed questionnaire on pages 109110. This will help to point you in the right direction.

For people who want to take things slowly, the gentle program introduces you to healthy eating principles such as cutting back on refined carbohydrates, cooking without salt, eating more fruit, vegetables and fish, and lowering your consumption of red meat. Food supplements are suggested at the lowest level that research suggests can still have a significant beneficial effect on your health. The gentle program gets you doing abdominal exercises and walking briskly, and introduces you to complementary approaches that can improve glucose control, boost circulation and help you relax. These include yoga, massage, meditation, magnetic therapy, homeopathy and aromatherapy.

For those who are more adventurous, or who already follow a relatively healthy diet and lifestyle, the moderate program introduces you to a low glycemic way of eating based on the Mediterranean diet, which increases your intake of garlic, olive oil, fruit, vegetables and fish. Food supplements are suggested at more therapeutic doses, and the exercise program is more intensive. In addition, I introduce you to complementary approaches such as Ayurvedic medicine, breathing exercises and reflexology.

For those wishing to follow the full-strength program, the low glycemic dietary changes I suggest are based on one of the healthiest ways of eating in the world the Japanese diet. This includes exotic dishes such as sashimi (raw fish), medicinal mushrooms and sea vegetables. Food supplements are suggested at the higher end of the therapeutic dose range, and you are introduced to complementary techniques, such as shiatsu acupressure, acupuncture, and a series of yoga poses known as the salute to the sun.

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Throughout this book I have included boxes that highlight useful, interesting or important pieces of information. Each box bears a symbol (see below). The arrow symbol indicates that a box contains practical instructions. The plus sign means that the box contains additional information about the subject being discussed or about asthma in general. The exclamation mark indicates a warning or a caution.