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March/April 2011 Alternative Health
Approaching Diabetes Holistically

by Dr. Mary Ann Wallace-Iyer

Can you manage and potentially heal type 2 diabetes by changing your lifestyle and attitude?

As a physician, I was intrigued when I heard about the experience of Rita Sandler, an Oregon-based host of the TV show Rita’s Room, who worked diligently with exercise, diet, meditation and affirmations to manage her diabetes, and even feel like she had reversed the disease.

“I attribute my success to taking my power back from the ‘dis-ease,’ and getting more in touch with my body from the inside out,” says Sandler. “I was willing to trust my intuition, and ask questions and for help from my wellness team. It didn’t take long before I was actually feeling spontaneous gratitude for the occurrence.”

 

Diabetes lends itself to a holistic approach because it is a whole body and life-altering illness. Although seen as a pancreatic or insulin receptor dysfunction, the impact of diabetes reaches every cell of the body. Lifestyle decisions are changed forever — this is no small ticket diagnosis.

Not all diabetes is created equal. Type 1 diabetes, which usually begins in childhood, is a failure of the pancreas to pump out insulin in adequate quantity for the body’s needs. With type 2 diabetes (also known as adult onset diabetes), the receptors that normally take up insulin in every cell of the body are malfunctioning. Because these receptors serve as on/off switches for the utilization of glucose, the body’s capacity to use glucose Mary Ann Wallace-Iyeras fuel is hindered. As a result, the liver pumps up the
body’s level of triglycerides — a move that can stress the heart.

What’s a Body to Do?

There are ways to improve insulin levels naturally. Although these whole-life suggestions will more likely influence type 2 than type 1 diabetes, these lifestyle changes offer a beneficial path to follow.

Exercise. Engaging in a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day does lower glucose levels, increase the apparent efficiency of the insulin receptors, help with weight loss, reduce blood pressure and make for a healthier heart. Make exercise easy and fun by choosing two or three things you like to do and alternate between them.

Nutrition. A good diet serves every body well, but it’s particularly important for someone with diabetes. The rigid American Diabetes Assn. diet has been relaxed somewhat – but there are basics that do matter:

Get your weight under control. Central obesity is associated with “syndrome X,” a malady of insulin resistance that has been estimated by some researchers to be a significant cause of heart attacks, among other things. Choose your calories wisely.

Dump the fat and go for the fiber. Whole grains, non-tropical fruits and vegetables are always a safe bet. Diabetes Care reports that men who consume processed meat at least five times a week have a 46 percent greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with men who consume processed meat less than once a month. Increase your consumption of omega-3s (found in walnuts, flax seeds, and cold-water fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel) and make it your fat-of-choice. Avoid high glycemic goods like white rice and corn flakes — they’re a waste of precious calories.

Sandler faced challenges with being on this new diabetic diet. She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes by Dr. Audrey Bergsma, who is a naturopath at the National College of Natural Medicine Clinic in Portland. Bergsma suggested a low carbohydrate diet (20 carbs a day) and eliminated all of the nutritional supplements Sandler was using (later, Sandler used aloe to drop her blood sugar significantly to the normal range). Sandler’s blood sugar and blood pressure went down, but not to a normal range. Being on a diet wasn’t smooth sailing.

“My old nutritional pattern of being on a diet or off a diet came into play, and I pretty much stopped paying attention,” says Sandler. “I gained weight, stopped watching carbs and let go of my exercise routine.”

According to Bergsma, for type 2 diabetes, the insulin receptors are “insensitive” for a good reason — they have been bombarded with glucose and they are trying to protect the cell, which has also been showered with glucose. Too much glucose is damaging to the cell and so the receptors shut down.

The goal of diet and exercise is to help the body reach homeostasis and open up the insulin receptors. Increasing exercise uses glucose and significantly reducing certain high carb foods (including grains, fruits and starchy vegetables) helps the patient achieve homeostasis. By monitoring the blood sugar level, the patient then knows what foods work in the diet. It is the hope that once the body heals and reaches homeostasis, the patient can eventually have a diet that includes “good” whole grains, fruits and starchy vegetables.

A New Attitude

Sandler’s challenge with the special diet ended when her health took another turn for the worse. She went blind in her left eye, and although the diagnosis seemed to be unrelated to her diabetes, the scare prompted her to do more research in what she could do to empower herself.

She became devoted to healing herself naturally. She began to keep a journal and use her blood sugar and blood pressure readings as barometers of what worked and what didn’t work.

“My favorite thing and biggest motivator was turning the readings into charts, which clearly showed a cycle and a continual lowering in numbers,” says Sandler. “A big healing factor is that I was happy through the whole experience. I wasn’t feeling like it was a burden.”

Sandler is really onto something here. Creative Nursing reported that an attitude that fosters optimism enhances the body’s capacity to heal. The field of psychoneuroimmunology, which investigates how emotions trigger physical responses, has outlined the clear connection between the parts of the brain associated with emotions (the hippocampus and amygdala) and the resultant physical and behavioral responses.

Research in Family Medicine found that an exercise aimed at increasing gratitude is associated with less depression. Writing down three positive things that happened during the day every night for one week increases gratitude. As Sandler found, the behavior changes that come from feeling more optimistic are likely to promote better health.

The Aloe Factor

Sandler’s success also came from using a nutritional product not usually offered in the realm of conventional medicine: an aloe-based supplement. Initially, Sandler stopped drinking aloe when she was on the low carb diet prescribed by her naturopath.

“When my blood sugar readings were in a comfortable zone, I chose to add aloe back to my diet,” says Sandler. “The results were amazing. Drinking aloe actually lowered my readings by 15 to 20 points almost immediately.”

Research supports her results on this front as well. Research in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine concluded that aloe vera has the ability to stimulate human skin fibroblasts and potentially improve wound healing. The American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy reported that five out of seven studies showed significant reductions in fasting blood glucose after treatment with oral aloe vera in patients with diabetes.

What is the secret of Sandler’s success?

“I totally live my life from the belief that we create our own reality and I was well aware during the course of my dis-ease, what I had thought, felt and believed that allowed this experience into my reality,” says Sandler. “I found myself in gratitude almost immediately, which allowed my body to go from damaged to repaired.”

Through a combination of attitude, gratitude and lifestyle, Sandler’s blood sugar levels decreased from 163 to 105 (normal blood sugar ranges from 80 to 130). Over the course of seven months, her hemoglobin A1c (which measures average blood sugars) decreased from 6.9 to 5.5 (normal is less than 7). Amazingly, she also regained the sight in her eye.

Follow your physician’s advice, but take control of your own health, choices and attitude.

Mary Ann Wallace-Iyer, MD, is a physician whose primary focus is mind-body and spiritual healing. For nine years, Wallace served as the medical director for the integrative medicine program she developed within a large regional hospital system. Visit www.maryannwallace.com.