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AskNadia: Reversing and Curing Diabetes

Dear Nadia,

I sell a supplement that reverses and cures diabetes. It controls high blood sugars. I think your readers will benefit from using my product.

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Dear Jennifer:

There are many companies like yours who promise to cure diabetes with their product. The reality is, at this juncture in science and research; you can not cure diabetes.

 

I find it questionable when companies or people such as yourself, make this type of claim. Either you don’t understand diabetes, or you are intentionally misleading people with diabetes. Either way, your claim discredits you.

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I am going to assume you don’t understand diabetes and are not intentionally misleading vulnerable people living with diabetes. I am also going to assume that your intention in selling this product is something you believe reverses and cures diabetes without understanding the science of maintaining good blood sugars.

 

For now, let us ignore your claim and look at what happens to blood sugars when people with diabetes consume food.

 

My explanation will be an over-simplification of a complicated disease. It does not take into account other variables such as the impact of various medications and other existing conditions.

 

My intention is to give you a macro perspective on how food consumption impacts blood sugars.

 

You claim your product helps people with diabetes maintain normal blood sugars. You refer to this result as, “reversing and curing diabetes”.

 

Diabetes Basics:

 

Type 1 Diabetes:

The cure for Type 1 diabetes is a multi-billion dollar question. There are no known cures. People with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections for life until there is a cure.

A few have achieved some success with organ transplants. After surgery, the organ transplant recipients no longer require insulin and considered themselves ” cured”.

Organ transplant recipients have to take anti-rejection medication to ensure their body does not attack and reject the new organ. Unfortunately, some of these medications list diabetes as a side effect.

What is considered more promising for people living with type 1 diabetes is the artificial pancreas.

The artificial pancreas is a technology that prevents blood sugars from being too high or low by substituting an artificial endocrine function with an insulin pump;  a medical device that withholds or delivers insulin based on your blood sugar reading. This is not a cure but it is considered the closet thing to a cure.

 

Type 2 Diabetes:

There is no cure for type 2 diabetes. However, you can maintain good blood sugars with diet and exercise. If success is not achieved with diet and exercise, physicians will put a type 2 patient on another medication to help achieve good blood sugars.

 

The medications can be oral, insulin or a class of medication that is known as a DPP4 Inhibitors. Some of these medications will also be combined to achieve good blood sugars. Conversely, you can achieve normal blood sugars with diet and execise. Sometimes people refer to this as being in remission or curing type 2 diabetes

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How Food Impacts Diabetes:

Food raises blood sugars. Some foods like pasta, pizza, rice and desserts raise your blood sugars a lot. Other foods like lean proteins fish, chicken and fresh blueberries don’t raise you blood sugars like pasta or pizza.

 

Lesson number 1

Eating foods that don’t raise your blood sugar is good for your health. It also keeps your blood sugars in the normal range and offers the same benefit and result, as your product claims to do.

 

What you refer to as reversing and curing diabetes, is not having high blood sugars.

 

Maintaining normal blood sugars can be achieved with diet and exercise. By definition; eating a low carb, low glycemic diet also does what your product promises to do; control blood sugars, which you refer to as “curing and reversing diabetes”.

 

The problem with your statement; curing and reversing diabetes, implies that your biochemistry reverses its insulin resistance permanently; meaning a person with diabetes suddenly becomes cured and does not have diabetes because they took your supplement.

 

My second issue with your statement. You are using words that play on people’s vulnerability. “Reverse and cure” means you can go back to being someone that does not have diabetes.

 

People that don’t have diabetes will not experience the same elevated blood sugars that a diabetic will. If a person with diabetes starts their morning with a large glass of organ juice and bagel, then has 2 pieces of pizza for lunch with a soft drink and follows it with a large pasta dish and ice cream sundae for dessert, for dinner, this could land them in the hospital. Even if they are taking a supplement that promotes better blood sugars.

 

For someone without diabetes, They may not feel good after eating a high carbohydrate meal. This would not land them in the hospital unless they contracted something from the food or preparation of the food, that made them ill enough, to seek emergency care.

 

My great grandmother who had diabetes went to sleep and never woke up, after making her last batch of donuts. Would your supplement have reversed her diabetes? I don’t think so. My grandmother’s food choices were her demise. Of course, that was the late 1800’s  and today, we know a lot more about diet and nutrition.

 

Lesson Number 2:

You can not reverse or cure Type 2 diabetes because of a supplement you take.

The reason being is that your blood sugar will go up depending on what you eat. The supplement might offer a benefit, but the benefit does not cure or reverse diabetes permanently. Why? Because if you resume a high carbohydrate diet when you have diabetes, your blood sugars will go up.

 

Lesson number 3

The food you eat requires insulin. Insulin is a hormone that converts food to energy. Not enough insulin gives you high blood sugars while too much insulin gives you low blood sugar.

I hope you find this helpful in understanding diabetes in the broadest sense

 

 

Disclaimer:

Nadia’s feedback on your question is in no way intended to initiate or replace your healthcare professional’s therapy or advice. Please check in with your medical team to discuss your diabetes management concerns.

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AskNadia (ranked #1 by Google), named “Best Diabetes Blog for 2017 by Healthline and with 23 nominations, Nadia Al-Samarrie’s efforts have made her stand out as a pioneer and leading patient advocate in the diabetes community.

Nadia was not only born into a family with diabetes but also married into one. She was propelled at a young age into “caretaker mode,” and with her knowledge of the scarcity of resources, support, and understanding for people with diabetes, co-founded Diabetes Interview, now Diabetes Health magazine.

Nadia has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and other major cable networks. Her publications, medical supply business, and website have been cited, recognized and published in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, Ann Landers advice column, former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca, Entrepreneur magazine, Houston News, Phili.com, Brand Week, Drug Topics, and many other media outlets.