Blood Glucose – Know Your Number!

Source: www.walgreens.com/library/contents.jsp?docid=...

(Healthy Back institute Newsletter) When it comes to blood sugar, the closer you can keep it in the normal range of 80 to 89 mg/dL, the better.

For years I’ve been warning that blood sugars even in the 90 to 100 range show that you are becoming insulin resistant and on your way to diabetes.

A recent study of 47,000 Kaiser Permanente patients validated this observation.

The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, found that blood sugar, blood glucose (BG) levels in the 95-99 range, more than doubled a person’s risk of becoming diabetic.  In fact, for every point over 85 mg/dL the risk of becoming diabetic increased 6%, even when they controlled for other factors.1

Accordingly, the study noted that there was more incidence of cardiovascular disease and hypertension in those with higher BG.  Why is this research so important?  It flies in the face of currently accepted medical guidelines that for years have used 100 as the magic number for diagnosing “pre-diabetes.”

At LMI, I’ve been seeing red flags for years when patients come in with BG levels even in the 90s, because these levels are often accompanied by being somewhat overweight, having a thick waist, or the spare tire of dangerous belly fat. These are signs that the body can no longer efficiently process the sugars that come from complex carbohydrates in whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruits, and simple sugars.

In other words, they are signs of insulin resistance. Insulin is the “key” that unlocks the door to each cell in the body, letting glucose into the cell to be processed for energy.  If the insulin key is faulty, the glucose remains in circulation, raising triglycerides, lowering HDL, and usually ending up at the waistline.

Anytime you see your doctor for a routine physical, fasting blood glucose is tested along with other blood labs.  If your blood sugar comes in less than 100 mg/dL, you will likely get an “all clear,” when it comes to diabetes risk.  If you’re overweight, have elevated blood pressure and are sedentary – other risk factors for insulin resistance – your doctor may suggest you lose a few pounds and add a few days of walking to your weekly routine.

But typically that won’t happen unless your blood sugar levels come in greater than 100 mg/dL, but less than 126 mg/dL – the pre-diabetes range – then you will get a more stern warning regarding diet and exercise.  However, it’s not until your fasting blood sugar levels reach over 126 mg/dL that you are diagnosed with type II diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes.

By the time you get the “true diabetes” diagnosis – your body is so insulin resistant that it may need much more than the “diabetic diet” and a walking routine to get your blood sugar levels under control.  This is when you may need an oral hypoglycemic medicine, which comes with a nice little set of nutrient-depleting side effects.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your doctor had warned you of your increased risk way before you even reached the 100 mark for blood glucose?  For years, I have been warning my patients that blood sugar over 90 is a sign they are becoming insulin resistant.  But because medical guidelines give an “all clear” at anything under 100, too many patients don’t want to believe they could be at risk – even with fasting BGs of 98 and showing every sign of insulin resistance.

At LMI, we go to work on the insulin resistance by giving our patients blood sugar support nutrients like chromium and having our dietitians provide instruction on a lower carb diet.  Ironically, we sometimes receive calls from their primary care physicians questioning our course of action because they think these patients “are fine.” But our philosophy is, don’t wait to become diabetic – take action well ahead of time.

Hopefully, the medical community’s eyes will open after reading the newly published article in the American Journal of Medicine. This phenomenal research has hit the nail on the head and may finally spur new guidelines to be issued for the management of blood sugar. Medical news can take a while to trickle down into actual practice, so in the meantime, you may need to become more proactive on your own.

If your blood work reveals a high-normal fasting blood sugar level, cut down on carb-heavy sugars, starches, and fruits, up the organic vegetables and proteins, and get your body moving.  You may be saving yourself from becoming a diabetes statistic.

Reference

1.    Am J Med. 2008;121:519-524

[Ed. Note: James LaValle, R.Ph, ND, CCN, is the founding Director of the LaValle Metabolic Institute, one of the largest integrative medicine practices in the country.  He was named as one of the 50 most influential pharmacists in the US by American Druggist magazine.  Dr. LaValle is the author of more than a dozen books including the bestseller, Cracking the Metabolic Code: 9 Keys to Optimal Health.

[This is NOT an endorsement of any services or products of the LaVelle Metabolic Institute, of which I have no affiliation. It is merely an acknowledgement of the writer and the contents of his article.]

Diverticulosis: A Prevalent Disease In Older People

Diverticulosis -- Source: www.drmarkbowles.com/gi4.html

So you’ve had a colonscopy and found out you have diverticulosis. Your doctor prescribed Benefiber, then left the room and never returned. Now what? Will you have this forever? Are you unhealthy? How does one develop diverticulosis? And what is the difference between “osis” and “itis?”

By age 60, half of the people in North America will have diverticulosis. By the time they reach 80, this number mushrooms to two-thirds. A diverticulum is a bulge of the inner colon lining through the colon’s muscular wallto its outer surface. A diverticulum looks like a small soap bubble and is only 1/5 to 2/5 inches (0.5-1 cm) in diameter.

If you’ve been eating a diet devoid of fibrous foods, then someday soon you also will be welcomed to the world of diverticulosis. Too many foods today are refined – lacking enough fibre to effectively sweep out the colon and keep it clean. This is especially true of grains, where we throw away the bran – the outer coat. In countries where 100% whole grains are used, diverticulosis is a rarity.

“Diverticulosis has been considered a degenerative disorder in the past. However, there is compelling evidence that, in many patients, it develops as a result of longstanding irritable bowel syndrome: chronic constipation; alternating constipation and diarrhea; abdominal cramps and tenderness; mucus; abdominal bloating and gas; incomplete evacuation; etc. Many patients with diverticulosis have, unfortunately, been the recipients of bad advice regarding their diets. In many cases, high fiber foods have been severely restricted, only making the condition worse. I would submit that most of the symptoms of diverticulosis are actually symptoms of spastic colon/irritable bowel syndrome and are particularly aggravated by fatty foods and emotional stress. (www.drmarkbowles.com/gi4.html)

Bran and other fibre hold water in undigested food, making stools soft. Without sufficient fibre, undigested foods become hard and dry, causing the colon walls to strain to keep the matter moving. In some, the diverticulum breaks and causes a local infection in the colon. This condition is called diverticulitis, with subsequent pain in  the lower left corner of the abdomen. Sometimes there is also an accompanying fever and chills.

Source: www.drmarkbowles.com

“This picture shows small ulcerations in the colon representing inflammation. The two most common types of colitis we encounter are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The more difficult of these two to treat is Crohn’s as it may involve the small bowel as well as the large intestine.There is an increased risk of colon cancer with longstanding (10-20 years) ulcerative colitis and to a slight degree with Crohn’s.” (www.drmarkbowles.com). So practice prevention today! Eat at least 30 grams of fibre daily, consisting of fruits with edible skins, vegetables and whole grain products such as oatmeal, 100% whole grains, baked flatbreads such as Ryvita and brown rice.

Bursitis: The Ugly Stepsister Of Arthritis

Editors Comment: Bursitis, is a painful inflammation or irritation of the bursa (a soft, fluid-filled sac that covers and cushions the movement between the bones, tendons and muscles near the joints). The human body has about 150 bursae, and any joint from the neck or shoulder to the big toe may be affected by bursitis. However, inflammation usually occurs under the shoulder muscles, at the elbows (called epitrochlear bursitis or tennis elbow, the hip sockets (called trochanteric bursitis), heel bones (called retrocalcaneal bursitis) or the kneecaps (called infrapatellar bursitis or “housemaid’s knee”). It can also occur in the buttocks (called ischiogluteal bursitis) or the thigh (called trochanteric bursitis).

Risk factors occur with athletes who chronically overuse the joint, overweight people, occupations that involve heavy repetitive motion, particularly workers that are over the age of 45. Additionally, patients with the pre-existing conditions such as gout, arthritis, staphylococcal infection, and in rare instances, tuberculosis are at an increased risk for bursitis.

When a joint is overused or when it stays under pressure or tension for extended periods of time, a nearby bursa can become inflamed, fill with excess fluid, and cause pressure on the surrounding tissue, resulting in bursitis. The pain can be sudden and sharp pain following an injury) or chronic (a recurrent inflammation in the same area). Either way, it’s no fun.

The symptoms may include:

• Pain that increases with movement of joint
• Tenderness of joint
• Limited movement in the affected areas
• Swelling and redness in affected areas

The article below has mostly good advice for treatment of this condition – except for the use of anti-inflammatory medicine. Going natural is best, and I give some advice on that in the second comment after the article.

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Bursitis

8 Ways to Wipe Out the Pain

There are 8 of them around each shoulder, 11 around each knee, and as many as 78 on each side of the body. Most of them aren’t even named, and as long as they do their job, there’s no reason to ever notice a single one.

But let one stop working and you’ll know just how important those little sacs of fluid called bursae really are. And you’ll know just how painful the condition called bursitis really is.

Bursae ensure the smooth, frictionless working of the body’s many joints. They are so hard working, inconspicuous, and uncomplaining, one doctor wrote, “that even when one of them misbehaves, this is usually misattributed to some more important structure.”

And there’s no telling when it will happen. Bursitis strikes, it retreats, it strikes again. The on-again, off-again nature of acute bursitis is aggravating for sufferers and frustrating for those trying to determine what type of treatments actually work.

Compared with joint diseases like arthritis, bursitis is an ugly stepsister waiting for a date. Perhaps medical science will take greater notice of this wallflower affliction someday. Until then, here are some tried-and-true remedies that may bring temporary relief from this painful condition.

Rest is best. “The first thing you do with any joint pain is rest that thing,” says Alan Bensman, M.D., a physiatrist at the Minnesota Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Minneapolis. “Stop the activity that’s causing the pain and rest the joint. Forget that old sports adage about working through the pain.”

Immobilize and ice. “I will generally use ice if the joint is hot to the touch,” says Allan Tomson, D.C., of the Total Health Center for Natural Healing in Falls Church, Virginia. “Alternate 10 minutes of ice, 10 of rest, 10 of ice, and so on. As long as it is hot, do not apply heat to it.”

Attract relief with opposites. If the pain or swelling is not terribly acute and the heat is gone, Dr. Tomson sometimes recommends cold-and-hot combination treatments—10 minutes of ice, followed by 10 minutes of heat, followed by 10 minutes of ice, and so on.

Count on some OTCs. “I would recommend using an appropriate anti-inflammatory medication, as long as you’re not allergic to it,” Dr. Bensman suggests. “The one I like best is aspirin. Timed-release aspirin lets you build up a level in the blood without needing to take it so often. Enteric-coated aspirin (Ecotrin and Ascriptin are two examples) is absorbed through the intestines and is good for those with ulcers. But aspirin is still one of the best things going.”

Calm the pain with castor oil. The acutely painful stage of bursitis will usually recede in four or five days, but it can last longer. When the pain is no longer acute, therapy must be changed. At this point, heat replaces cold and exercise replaces immobilization.

Dr. Tomson recommends a castor oil pack, which is as simple to make as it is effective. Spread castor oil over the afflicted joint. Put cotton or wool flannel over that, then apply a heating pad. That’s all.

Become a swinger. If elbow or shoulder pain is the problem, doctors recommend swinging the arm freely to relieve the ache. Exercise for only a couple of minutes at first, but do it often during the day.

“You want to maintain range of motion,” says Edward Resnick, M.D., director of the Pain Control Center at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “You don’t want to get a stiff shoulder, but you don’t want to overstretch it, either.”

He recommends bending forward and supporting yourself with your good arm and hand on a chair. Allow the painful arm to drop downward, then swing this arm back and forth, side to side, and finally in circles both clockwise and counterclockwise.

Try a little cat tip. The importance of exercise following a bursitis attack cannot be overemphasized. Our experts all recommend stretching techniques to return full, normal movement to the joint.

An effective primary stretching motion for stiff shoulder joints is called the cat stretch. Get down on your hands and knees. Put your hands slightly forward of your head, then keep your elbows stiff as you stretch backward and come down on your heels.

“I tell people to walk their fingers up a wall in the corner,” Dr. Resnick says. “The object is to try and get your armpit in the corner. That way you know you’re getting effective exercise.”

Take time for ten. Some say the best cure for bursitis is one capsule of time taken daily for ten days. Sometimes less time is needed, sometimes more, but time is always the active ingredient.

If all else fails, say doctors, time will heal the wound.

Source: www.mothernature.com