 Health and Wellness
Best Practices
Life is
Sweet ...
So Hold the Sugar and Add
more Water
By
Dr. Cesar Lara
Have you been craving sweets lately? Is your energy
down? Do you feel tired and is your thirst more
prominent? These are some of the classical symptoms of
increased glucose in your bloodstream or diabetes. Other
symptoms include increased frequency of urination, loss
of muscle mass while at the same time increasing the
percentage of body fat and, typically, weight gain.
There are two types of diabetes: Adult onset, or type
II, and Juvenile onset, or type I. The latter is
directly related to the inability of the pancreas to
produce insulin and is thought to be secondary to an
auto immune reaction where your body’s immune system
overreacts and destroys its own organ’s ability to
produce insulin. These types of patients require
insulin, as their bodies don’t have any or not enough.
Most of the type I diabetics are thin and usually were
diagnosed with their disease as children or young
adults.
Type II diabetes is the most prevalent and is not
related to a lack of insulin, but to a resistance by the
body’s insulin receptors to its own insulin. The
pancreas has to maximize the production of insulin to
supercede the receptor resistance. If one were to
measure the insulin level in a type II diabetic, it
would be high.
In a simplified way, the role of insulin in the body is
like that of a transporter, i.e. like a trailer. The
glucose is the energy that the body depends on to
maintain and build. Energy is the end result of our
consumed food and once that product is created, it will
be in the bloodstream ready to be dispersed to the
appropriate organs. This is where insulin - the
transporter - is essential. It provides the mechanism
for the nutrients - the glucose - to reach its desired
destination, i.e. the brain, heart, muscles, etc.
When the body develops insulin resistance, the pancreas
produces more and more. The medications available to
help treat this condition do so by improving the ability
of the pancreas to maximize the production or by
mechanisms that improve the sensitivity or reduce the
resistance. When we start a patient on insulin it is
because despite all, the body’s resistance is such that
we need to provide more insulin than the pancreas can
produce.
Insulin is essential to life but it requires a balance.
This is no different than the role provided by the
mechanism of transport that a trailer provides. If we
have to transport ten (10) trailer loads from point A to
B but suddenly our trailer develops a malfunction and
now to move the same load we need one hundred (100)
trailers and a year later a thousand (1000) trailers. In
a nutshell, this is the detrimental cost of insulin
resistance to the body - the higher the insulin and the
higher the glucose, the greater the damage.
Insulin has multiple roles and a very prominent one is
that it is the hormone that produces the most fat in the
body. Hence it is not surprising to note that most type
II diabetics are overweight or obese and typically it is
a progressive problem. With obesity as the leading cause
of preventable death, second only to smoking, and with
over 127 million Americans overweight and over 60
million obese, it is not astonishing that type II
diabetes continues to rise.
Unfortunately diabetes is a progressive disorder that
affects every organ of the body, from the eyes to the
toes and everything in between, including the heart,
kidneys and sex organs. A large percentage of diabetics
eventually require dialysis and leg amputations.
What can be done to prevent this condition or minimize
its negative effects? The first step is to have a good
general physical examination where your physician can
best assess your personal health and provide specific
and individualized recommendations. However, in general
terms, by enhancing your life style, beginning to
exercise and focusing on losing excess weight, a
magnificent change is attainable. Insulin resistance
decreases as a patient’s weight decreases and a 10%
decrease in excess weight has shown definite
improvements in diabetics.
In my practice I have seen patients who were at one time
taking 50 units of insulin, plus multiple diabetic
medications and today, at fifty (50) pounds lighter,
they take no diabetic medication and their glucose
levels are normal. Of course, these patients are not
cured. They must maintain a balance with proper eating
and exercise. If tomorrow they resume their old
lifestyle, become off balance and regain their weight,
the diabetes will accompany them.
Life is an adventurous journey, where wealth and wisdom
can accompany one, but without a balance of health, the
laughter can turn to sadness. Walk your path, but be
firm in your resolve to take your health seriously and
take the time to care for yourself.
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Dr. Lara is a Board Certified and Diplomat in Family
Practice with over 20 years of extensive experience
helping manage Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Disease,
Cancer, Strokes, Arthritis, Depression, and many other
illnesses. Now he is dedicating his experience and
expertise to fight obesity.
www.cesarlaramd.com
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Published September 2007,
Volume 1, Number 6,
Bay
Area Business Magazine
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