Global Diabetes Epidemic Rages On

By Dr. Mercola

Worldwide, more than 346 million people have diabetes, and deaths from this disease are expected to double by 2030, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

With type 2 diabetes now so incredibly common, some may regard a diagnosis as “no big deal” … but this disease can be devastating and it can kill you if you don’t take steps to manage it quickly.

So if you’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes it’s important that you take it seriously — and that you know it can be fully reversed with lifestyle changes.

Better yet, if you have signs that you may be at risk of developing diabetes (79 million Americans have pre-diabetes, and many are unaware of it), be aware that you can absolutely stop the disease from progressing and get your body back into a state of optimal health.

What is Causing So Many People to Develop Diabetes?

Unlike type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease that shuts down your body’s insulin production, type 2 diabetes, which makes up about 90 percent of cases worldwide, is directly caused by lifestyle.

Even WHO states:

“Healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.”

The reason why your diet and activity levels play such a powerful role in this disease is because of their impact on your insulin and leptin levels. You see, your blood sugar levels are not the root of the problem when it comes to type 2 diabetes, as most conventional physicians would have you believe.

As Dr. Ron Rosedale wrote in this classic article, if you follow the misguided belief that diabetes is a disease of blood sugar, you are likely destined for premature death. Taking insulin is one of the WORST things you can do, as it will actually make your insulin and leptin resistance worse over time. Dr. Rosedale, an expert on leptin physiology and one of my early mentors in this area, developed the appropriate acronym — D.I.E. — to illustrate what’s happening in conventional diabetic treatment.

Doctor Induced Exacerbation

Yes, most doctors make diabetes worse and accelerate the death process. I’ve explained the mechanics of insulin resistance and the role of leptin and insulin before, but let’s review it again.

• Leptin is a hormone produced in your fat cells. One of leptin’s primary roles is regulating your appetite and body weight. It tells your brain when to eat, how much to eat, and most importantly, when to stop eating. And leptin tells your brain what to do with the energy it has. Leptin is largely responsible for the accuracy of insulin signaling and whether or not you become insulin resistant.
• Insulin: Sugars and grains raise your blood sugar. When this happens, insulin is released to direct the extra energy into storage. A small amount is stored as a starch called glycogen, but the majority is stored as your main energy supply—fat. Insulin’s major role is not to lower your blood sugar, but rather to store the extra energy for future times of need. Insulin’s effect of lowering your blood sugar is merely a “side effect” of this energy storage process.
• Insulin resistance: Insulin resistance occurs when your body becomes resistant to the hormone insulin. Any time a cell is exposed to insulin it is going to become more insulin resistant. If you eat too many sugars and grains, it provokes insulin surges and every time you provoke an insulin surge it exposes your body to more insulin. Just like walking in a dark room where it is difficult to see, after awhile your vision accommodates, your pupils dilate and you can see much better. Similarly, when your body is exposed to excess insulin soon it no longer responds to it properly and becomes insulin resistant.

In order to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes, your body needs to regain insulin sensitivity and reverse insulin resistance — and this can be achieved very effectively with changes to your diet and activity levels.

Diabetes Complications Can be Deadly

The upward trend of diabetes around the globe is set to become one of the greatest public health concerns of all time. As reported by the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS):

“In the United States, diabetes now affects 25.8 million people of all ages, or 8.3 percent of the population, and is the 7th leading cause of death; but only 18.8 million are diagnosed, with the remaining 7 million undiagnosed.”

If you’re one of the millions walking around with undiagnosed diabetes, you are at great risk of diabetic complications so it is crucial to regularly screen yourself for diabetes. There are a large variety of complications you can get from diabetes and the earlier you know you have it the sooner you can take action to prevent them. As insulin resistance sets in and your blood sugar levels spike out of control, those with type 2 diabetes experience an increased risk of:

• Heart disease and stroke (which end up killing half of diabetics)
• Foot ulcers and limb amputation
• Diabetic retinopathy, which can cause blindness
• Kidney failure (10-20 percent of people with diabetes die of this)
• Premature death (diabetes approximately doubles your risk of death)

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