Diabetes is associated with several other kinds of health problems: neuropathy, vision problems, early development of stroke, and low thyroid function. A growing number of Americans have developed type II diabetes. Why is having a high blood sugar level extremely bad for health? Because high blood sugar in elevated amounts is toxic to the nerves and blood vessels causing inflammation in the body. If you’re able to observe a diabetic patient’s blood vessels, you will notice they appear purplish and swollen suggesting poor circulation. The inflamed nerves can’t receive adequate nutrition and this is bad especially if its’s the blood vessels that are diseased. This can lead to poor vision and memory (similar to vision and memory most people have in their fifties), and inflamed nerves. When you’re diabetic, small cuts in the areas of damaged blood vessels in your hands or legs won’t heal easily which can develop to deep ulcers in the affected tissues. If the blood vessels in your ovaries or testicles are damaged, conditions such as ovarian cysts, , impotence, have irregular menses, and perhaps infertility can develop. If your prostate is inflamed, it might lead to prostatitis or worse, prostate cancer. If your thyroid is inflamed it may lead to a hypothyroid condition. This is the reason why thyroid dysfunction and diabetes often go together.
To Achieve Good Health, You Must Stabilize Your Blood Sugar Levels
But how do you regulate your blood sugar? The key is to eat whole foods. This does not mean that you need take out carbohydrates in your diet; in moderation, consume whole wheat combined with vegetables. Rather than drinking juice, eat fruits instead. Because of the fibers in the fruit, your body can slowly digest the fructose. When you take in processed foods, within 30 minutes, the simple sugars contained in those products can enter your blood causing your blood sugar levels to spike all of a sudden. This forces your body to manufacture more insulin in order to rapidly convey the blood sugar into your fat cells. After an hour or so, your sugar levels can fall to extremely low levels. This makes you crave for more sugar in order increase sugar levels in your body once again. This unhealthy cycle can damage your nerves and blood vessels and lead to tiredness and extreme moodiness, as well. But there’s also a good side to eating simple sugars. For about 30 minutes, it will make you feel happy due to the ability of simple sugars to stimulate the release of endorphins. Also, to digest sugar, enzymes are not needed, which help avoid bloating and gas. Simple sugars, however, gradually result in inflammation in your body especially in your joints besides containing practically zero nutrients.
The condition in which insulin is functionally impaired due to excessive sugar consumption daily is known as glucose intolerance. It renders insulin receptors insensitive, and so, even if your fasting blood sugar is normal, suddenly rising blood sugar immediately post meal time can irreversibly damage nerves and blood vessels. One study I shall discuss suggests that with acupuncture treatment in Vancouver, blood sugar surges artificially brought about by chemicals can be prevented. This implies that acupuncture can stave off stroke, neuropathy, and dementia, as well. Nerves and blood vessels that are healthy are extremely important for the brain and heart to function normally. But if you like to forget the names of your children by the time you reach eighty, then, by all means, consume processed food.
Led by Jiang YL, a team of researchers conducted a study that was featured in the Journal of Endocrinology Investigation, in 2011. In the study, in order to induce high blood sugar, a chemical known as STZ (streptozotocin) was injected once in the stomach of the rats. The rats were divided randomly into six groups: therapeutic and preventive acupuncture control, therapeutic acupuncture and streptozotocin injection and preventive acupuncture, streptozotocin injection combined with therapeutic acupuncture, streptozotocin injection plus preventive acupuncture, and control, diabetes. Routine standard methods measure factors that included antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, serum insulin, blood glucose, and body weight. A histological analysis of the pancreatic islets was also performed. Their outcomes revealed that preventive acupuncture led to a significant reduction of blood sugar levels. It also increased superoxide dismutase in the pancreas and the serum and lessened lipid peroxidation which prevented blood clotting and decreased oxidation stress. Preventative acupuncture also led to a significant reduction of blood sugar levels of the rats, lessened their body weight, and damage to their pancreatic islets, and improved insulin efficiency.
In clinical studies, when acupuncture was used to treat type I and type II diabetes after each meal of patients, within a couple of hours, their blood sugar reading usually lowers. Also extremely important in resensitizing the insulin receptor are the performing of regular exercises and the consuming of foods with low glyocemic index to lower blood sugar since not all people are able to have acupuncture every day. This helps lower insulin levels which helps people attain an optimized rate of blood sugar. If you’re exercising to build muscles, your body may need lower insulin rates to regulate blood sugar levels. Despite being a factor for growth, insulin can also cause chronic inflammation and hormonal imbalances. If you carefully observe individuals who started to use insulin a few years back, you may now observe they all have very thin limbs and a big stomach as they lose muscle mass.
With acupuncture, your blood sugar levels can be stabilized. This treatment can also address neuropathy since it has the power to boost blood flow to your feet and hands to facilitate the regeneration of the peripheral nerves. In the 2011 edition of Neuroscience, an article by Cidral-Filho FJ et. al. discussed the ability of manual acupuncture to decrease mechanical hypersensitivity set off by spinal nerve injury in rats, which helps lessen the pins-and-needles feeling. In 2011, human clinical research conducted Jin Z et. al showed that acupoint injection with methylcobalamin and electroacupuncture can improve increase sensory nerve and motor and conduction velocity, as well as alleviate and control diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms.