The American Diabetes Association states: ‘The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.’ Where is the mystery? It would be interesting to know the incidence of diabetes before the introduction of sugar and refined carbohydrates to the western diet.

Diabetes is a condition where the body either fails to produce insulin or fails to properly utilise the insulin produced. Insulin is produced by the pancreas. So what is affecting the pancreas? Let’s look at some common ingredients of the American diet, which is unfortunately becoming popular in many other countries.

Soft drinks. Many contain more than 10 teaspoons of sugar per can. What about the so-called diet soft drinks where a chemical is used instead of sugar? Aspartane is used as an artificial sweetener, but this chemical has been linked to an increased incidence of brain cancer and symptoms including: severe headaches, nausea, vertigo, insomnia, loss of control of limbs, blurred vision, blindness, memory loss, slurred speech, hyperactivity, gastrointestinal disorders, seizures, skin lesions, rashes, anxiety attacks, muscle and joint pain, numbness, mood changes, loss of energy, menstrual cramps out of cycle, hearing loss or ringing in the ears.

Refined white flour. Pancakes, doughnuts, cakes, biscuits, bread and so on. Not only is refined white flour lacking in nutrients, it often contains a chemical called alloxan. Alloxan damages the beta cells of the pancreas. Scientists use alloxan to induce diabetes in lab animals for their research.

Bacon. Bacon contains sodium nitrate which becomes a carcinogenic chemical in the body with damaging effects on the pancreas and other organs.

Bottled fruit juice. This often has a high glycemic index and may contain sugar and various chemicals.

The above ‘foods’ are not only high in sugar but they are low in essential vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is obvious that diet is a major factor in causing diabetes, but can a change in diet cure diabetes? In a clinical trial at UCLA, 50% of patients with type 2 diabetes were able to cure themselves of diabetes in three weeks by altering their food intake. “The study shows, contrary to common belief, that Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome can be reversed solely through lifestyle changes,” according to lead researcher Christian Roberts of University of California, Los Angeles. The diet used in the study was low in fat, moderate in protein and high in unrefined carbohydrates: whole grains (5 serves a day), vegetables (4 or more serves), fruit (3 or more serves), soy, beans, nuts, low fat diary with small amounts of fish and chicken.

So, will you remove all sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet?

References:

American Diabetes Association website. www.diabetes.org

Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink

“Effect of a diet and exercise intervention on oxidative stress, inflammation, MMP-9, and monocyte chemotactic activity in men with metabolic syndrome factors,” by Christian K. Roberts, Dean Won, Sandeep Pruthi, Silvia Kurtovic, and R. James Barnard, of the Department of Physiological Science at UCLA; Ram K. Sindhu of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine at Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles; and Nosratola D. Vaziri of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine at University of California, Irvine is in the online issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology published by the American Physiological Society.