The 2022 CDC statistics on diabetes state that 37 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year – that is 1 in 10 people in America being diagnosed with Diabetes. The same data notes that 96 million Americans are diagnosed with pre-diabetes each year – that is 8 in 10 people heading toward a diagnosis of diabetes.
Let’s get into the details of what diabetes is, how you can reverse the trend of poor blood sugar regulation and avoid the needless suffering that comes with this disease.
This blog post will cover the following:
📌 What is Diabetes / Pre-Diabetes / Metabolic Syndrome?
📌 Signs that your blood sugar may be an issue affecting your health
📌 Common factors affecting your blood sugar
📌 Post covid effects on the pancreas and your blood sugar regulation
📌 Test labs to run a functional medicine evaluation of your blood sugar health
📌 ART (muscle testing) assessments to help identify root cause of poor blood sugar regulation
📌 Qest 4 comprehensive energy screening for imbalances and nutrition recommendation
📌 Thermometry Screenings to evaluate your nervous system’s ability to regulate organs and glandular function, with top 6 priority areas to work on
What is Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome?
Diabetes is a name given to a metabolic problem that keeps you from balancing your blood sugar. If left unhandled, diabetes can cause obesity, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage or neuropathy, poor circulation, eye damage, and kidney disease. Let’s talk about how to keep that off your plate!
Here are a few of the different categories of diabetes:
Pre-Diabetes or Metabolic Syndrome – There are health conditions that are signs you are leaning toward poor blood sugar metabolism and potential future of being diagnosed with diabetes.
- Abdominal Obesity- gaining weight around the waste and stomach
- Fatty Liver Disease- diagnosable by blood labs, indicates liver stress
- Dyslipidemia – high triglycerides (above 150), Low HDL/good cholesterol (less than 40 for men and less than 50 in women)
- Hyper Glycemia (elevated Blood sugar) – greater than 100 mg
- Hypertension (high blood pressure) – upper number (systolic) greater than 130 and lower number (diastolic) greater than 85
Type I Diabetes – also known as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes, is a condition where the body’s insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas produce little to no insulin. Type 1 diabetes typically develops during childhood or adolescence but can occur at any age.
Type II Diabetes – also known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes or adult-onset diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes. It occurs if your body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t produce enough insulin to be able to balance your blood sugar. This type of diabetes is often associated with lifestyle issues like obesity, inactive lifestyle, and unhealthy diet. Initially, your pancreas may produce extra insulin to compensate for insulin resistance, but over time, insulin production can decrease leaving you with elevated unbalanced blood sugar. With appropriate functional blood labs, the underlying causes of type 2 diabetes can often be managed with lifestyle modifications, herbal and nutrient based therapies and recovering a healthy gut microbiome.
Diabetes type III – this is a new one that some professionals are using interchangeably with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. There is strong evidence that blood sugar imbalances are a leading factor (besides environmental and medication toxicity) at cause for Alzheimer’s disease. Chronic inflammation from elevated blood sugars can start to affect the blood brain barrier. This is a special kind of blood vessel in the brain that keeps toxins from crossing into the brain tissues. If this tissue becomes compromised from chronic elevated blood sugar and inflammation, toxins make their way into the brain and contribute to the disease process known as Alzheimer’s.
Gestational Diabetes: Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy and usually resolves after childbirth. It occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin to meet the increased insulin needs during pregnancy.
Secondary Diabetes: Secondary diabetes refers to diabetes that occurs as a result of another medical condition or factor, like hormonal disorders, medications (e.g., corticosteroids), or genetic syndromes (e.g., Down syndrome).
The top 5 signs you may be dealing with poor blood sugar regulation:
Poor blood sugar regulation can manifest in various ways. Here are a few symptoms that may be connected to blood sugar imbalances happening in your body.
- Frequent Fatigue and Weakness: If your blood sugar levels are fluctuating frequently, you might experience bouts of fatigue and weakness that seem to be coming from nowhere. These spikes and drops in blood sugar can cause your cells to become resistant to insulin and can lead to problems converting glucose into energy, leaving you feeling tired and lethargic.
- Increased Hunger and Cravings: When blood sugar levels drop too low, it can trigger feelings of hunger and intense cravings for sugary or carb heavy foods. These cravings are your body’s way of trying to quickly replenish glucose levels.
- Mood Swings and Irritability: Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can affect your mood and emotional well-being. Low blood sugar levels may lead to irritability, anxiety, or mood swings. While high blood sugar levels can cause feelings of confusion or difficulty concentrating.
- Frequent Urination and Increased Thirst: Poor blood sugar regulation can result in frequent urination as your kidneys work to eliminate excess glucose from the bloodstream. This can lead to increased thirst as your body tries to compensate for fluid loss, creating a cycle of dehydration and thirst.
- Blurry Vision and Headaches: High blood sugar levels can cause fluid to be pulled from the lenses of your eyes, leading to temporary changes in vision and blurry eyesight. Additionally, persistent high blood sugar levels may contribute to headaches and migraines.
- Elevated Cholesterol Labs: Chronic low grade blood sugar imbalances can lead to insulin resistance. This is where the cells resist accepting the insulin hormone that balances your blood sugar levels. When this happens blood sugar levels will be elevated and can lead to high triglycerides. Elevated triglycerides can be the reason cholesterol is also too high. That is a lot of language to say, blood sugar imbalances can be the cause of your elevated cholesterol. Target the blood sugar function to avoid needing statins.
Common Factors That Can Affect Your Blood Sugar Balance
- Stress – Okay, everyone is tired of hearing about stress and all of its effects! That said, stress directly elevates your blood sugar so you can increase the energy to the large muscles in your body so you can run. When you are in fight or flight, your body will break sugars out of your tissues and dump them into your bloodstream so you can have the necessary energy needed to escape the perceived threat to your survival.
- Diet – Candy, cakes, cookies, ice cream and pies can affect your blood sugar levels and so can over consumption of grains. Especially processed gains like breads, pastas, bagels, crackers, cereals etc. We will talk later about the foods to include (herbs and nutritional supports as well) that can help your body balance your blood sugar.
- Gut Microbiome Health – Certain bacteria in a healthy gut microbiome can ferment non-digestible fibers (from cruciferous veggies like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages etc.) producing certain fatty acids and gut specific hormones that improve your cellular response to insulin and regulate your blood sugar levels.
- Leaky Gut and Poor Digestion Issues – Inflammation and increased gut permeability (leaky gut) can cause chronic low-grade systemic inflammation. This ongoing inflammation can add to insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance. A compromised gut barrier allows bacterial toxins and other harmful substances to enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.
- Liver Function – Your liver produced bile acids that are important for lipid/fat digestion and absorption. Bile acids also act as signaling molecules that regulate blood sugar metabolism. If you are experiencing issues with your liver health, this could be contributing to poor blood sugar levels as well.
- Lack of exercise – During exercise your muscles take up glucose for maintaining energy to keep moving. Sedentary lifestyle or lack of movement can reduce your cells response to insulin and leave your blood sugars trending too high.
- Post Covid Effects on the Pancreas Affecting Blood Sugar – The spike protein is a protein that is part of the covid virus and is present at high levels in the covid shots. This protein causes severe inflammation in the blood vessel linings and the liver. Because the liver and gallbladder share a duct with the pancreas (Common Bile Duct), these spike proteins can make their way to the pancreas causing inflammation, elevated pancreatic enzymes, and poor blood sugar regulation.
Best Labs to Run for Evaluating Your Blood Sugar Regulation
Most people are aware of checking your blood glucose levels for diabetic evaluation. Here is a list of the labs functional health physicians would want to see for a more in-depth evaluation.
- Fasting Blood Glucose – looking for elevated blood sugar
- Hemoglobin A1C – elevated blood sugars as a 3-month average
- HDL cholesterol levels – low levels in good cholesterol can be part of pre-diabetic conditions
- Triglycerides– elevated triglycerides can be a sign of hidden elevated sugar issues
- Insulin levels – super important for insulin resistance evaluation
- Fasting Plasma Glucose – good for capturing hidden blood sugar issues
- C-Reactive Protein– elevated inflammation at the heart can be a sign of blood sugar imbalances
- Omega 3 Fatty Acid levels – low levels of omega 3 fatty acids can lead to poor blood sugar balance
Lifestyle and Nutritional Tips for Balancing Your Blood Sugar
Please note that this list may not be exactly right for you or your situation and this is not meant to be medical advice. Of course, I would advise an autonomic response testing (muscle testing) session with us to come up with a plan specific to you and your health needs.
You may notice that much of this advice overlaps with cardiovascular health advice – they do go hand in hand 😊
Managing diabetes involves a combination of lifestyle modifications, dietary changes, and regular physical activity. While some are needing to use pharmaceuticals to manage their diabetes, adopting natural approaches can help improve blood sugar control and overall health leading to potential reduced dosages in medication and for some, replacement of medication with lifestyle, nutritional supplements and herbs. Here are some natural ways to manage diabetes:
- Healthy Diet: Focus on a balanced diet that includes plenty of organic fruits, vegetables, proteins, legumes, healthy fats with moderate amounts of whole grains. Limit intake of refined carbohydrates (breads, pastas, cereals, crackers, pizza, etc.), and sugary foods. Eating smaller more regular meals with protein and healthy fats may reduce the spikes and valleys of your blood sugar levels.
- Regular Physical Activity: Engage in regular exercise to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels. Aim for at least 30-40 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity 4 days per week, such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing. Resistance training can also be beneficial for building muscle mass and improving glucose metabolism.
- Weight Management: Maintain a healthy weight through a combination of diet and exercise. Losing excess weight, especially around the abdomen, can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of complications associated with diabetes. In our office we would be looking at root cause issues leading to abdominal weight gain. Many times, we need to work on the adrenals, gut microbiome and stress hormones.
- Stress Management: Chronic stress can raise blood sugar levels through hormonal responses such as increased cortisol production. Practice stress-reducing techniques such as deep breathing, tapping, meditation, yoga, tai chi, or mindfulness to help manage stress levels. Consider herbal supports for stress like ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, licorice, and vitamins like B complexes, trace minerals, D3 and iodine.
- Adequate Sleep: Prioritize good sleep hygiene and aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night. Poor sleep can affect blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity, so establishing a regular sleep schedule and creating a relaxing bedtime routine can be beneficial.
- Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of filtered water throughout the day to stay hydrated. Avoid sugary beverages and opt for water, herbal teas, or infused water instead.
- Quit Smoking: If you smoke, consider quitting. Smoking increases the risk of complications associated with diabetes, such as heart disease, stroke, and nerve damage.
- Herbal and Nutritional Supplements: There are herbal supplements that can target blood sugar control. Examples include cinnamon, fenugreek, bitter melon, gymnemma, ginseng, berberine, bergamot, milk thistle, black cumin seed and turmeric. Nutritional supplements that may come into play would be fish oils, Vitamin A and C, B vitamins, inositol, and pancreatic enzymes. Consult with a healthcare professional before starting any herbal supplements, especially if you’re taking medications or have underlying health conditions.
- Visit Us, Of Course: 😊 If you or someone you love is struggling from any of the above-mentioned health imbalances, please give our office a call for a consultation and evaluation today – (802) 863-5828 or email info@cwnhc.com
