Blood Sugar

October 9, 2000

From: <lbinujrsy@...>

> Does anyone know how to lower high blood sugar? Most people have low

blood

> sugar but I have had high blood sugar the past two test. My doc says we

> should just watch it because it isn't diabetes high......I say I should

start

> doing something about it,

You might want to try getting a hair mineral test from Great Smokies, if you

can talk your doctor into it. It's $50 and they give you a LOT of

information. They will test your chromium and vanadium levels and advise

whether you need supplementation for either.

Now that I take chromium and vanadium, I have very stable blood sugar.

Other possibilities for you are biotin, ginseng, and green tea extract I

believe.

__________________________________________________

October 9, 2000

Hi ,

I have been studying low carbohydrate books now for a couple months

and find them fascinating. I have been following one for a couple

months and it has cured my reactive hypoglycemia. I eat much less

than I used to (which is good), my stools have not been so good in 15

years, I sleep better, etc. There are many books out on the subject

now and I would recommend you get some. According to Life without

Bread, a low carbohydrate diet will normalize blood sugar in most

people tending towards diabetes within six months. The basis of the

books is that eating carbohydrates in any form, requires insulin,

which over time develops insulin resistance, in some people faster

than others. Insulin resistance means that it requires progressively

more insulin to process the same amount of glucose, which all carbos

turn into. Eventually the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to

supply the body and blood sugar gets too high. Fat is a more potent

form of energy than glucose anyway, and one that some orgrans, such

as the heart prefer. It's metabolism doesn not involve blood sugar or

insulin. If you don't eat carbohydrates, you will naturally have a

very stable blood sugar without the assistance of insulin.

Interestingly, many pwcs tend to do better on a low carb diet. Other

benefits are weight loss (for those that need it), prevention and

even reversal of arterial sclerosis, diabetes, and other illnesses.

I would recommend life without bread, protein power lifeplan, and Dr.

Atkins New Diet revolution (more geared towards weight loss), but the

titles available are almost endless, including many cookbooks, and

the websites are also abundant, although mostly geared towards

weightloss. A book which might be even better for you, but which I

haven't read, is Dr. Bernsteins Diabetes Solution - read the reviews

for it on Amazon, and syndrome x is another I plan to read. I agree

with you that you need to address your blood sugar problem now.

Diabetes is an illness which should be avoided if at all possible,

and I really think that the odds are that you will feel much better

as well, although it is very unlikely that it by itself will cure

your CFS

Matt

..

> Does anyone know how to lower high blood sugar? Most people have

low blood

> sugar but I have had high blood sugar the past two test. My doc

says we

> should just watch it because it isn't diabetes high......I say I

should start

> doing something about it,

October 10, 2000

,

I do not know if it was high or low, I was just told I needed to regulate it.

November 17, 2001

Dear ,

Annie is nine (going on fifteen).

November 29, 2001

Oh, my oldest has always been like that (no OCD), but he is now 17 and he is a

joy.

in Nebraska

Re: blood sugar

Dear ,

Annie is nine (going on fifteen).

September 4, 2003

Call doc's office! That is WAY too low . Mine has been running very

low, almost hypoglycaemic since surgery, too.

Jim

Blood sugar

September 4, 2003

What did Dr. Z say about it????? huhh? You didn't mention it?

Silly wittle girl...Call or email him tomorrow.

Jo

September 5, 2003

> What did Dr. Z say about it????? huhh? You didn't mention it?

> Silly wittle girl...Call or email him tomorrow.

>

> Jo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your right mamma Jo....I didn't mention not feeling well lately but

when we talked about my infection I did tell him My doc checked my

blood sugar and it was 53..He didn't say anything about it...I am

just glad I figured out what was going on I do not think there is

anything that can be done I'll just drink so O.J when I feel that

way..I told him though that I don't eat very much sugar my prob is

the damn bread...lol

in woodlake..(who has to teach bible study in less than an hour

and should be studing..lol but I study till 2 am so I'm ready)

August 23, 2004

It's no big deal. I erased the Instant Message. She knew I was black from

a post that I sent yesterday about Genetics. And yes, someone is changing

their screen names. Anyway, I am not going to focus on that. I think I may

need to be tested for diabetes. My blood sugar is always low.

In a message dated 8/23/2004 6:22:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

dexter_morton@... writes:

I silently read messages unless I have a concern where a female perspective

is needed, but don't recall seeing that message. I didn't know if the slurs

were of a hispanic, asian, or african american tone. Either way, if the slurs

ocurred it was wrong. Okie doke

August 24, 2004

<<I think I may need to be tested for diabetes. My blood sugar is

always low>>

Diabetes is when high blood sugars are uncontrolled by not enough

insulin. Low blood sugar on the other hand is called hypoglycemia

and is caused by the pancreas creating too much insulin. People who

are diabetic can experience both swings, so it is best to get tested

if you get the shakes, with profuse sweating which are usually

resolved as soon as one eats something. Here is some info on the

types of diabetes, hypoglycemia etc so if see your doctor about this

you will have the right questions to ask:

http://www.pharmacyandyou.org/healthinfo/bloodsugar.html

<<joni>>

*Lift well, Eat less, Walk fast, Live long*

August 24, 2004

In diabetics the low blood sugar swings don't usually occur unless

they are already insulin dependent. Too much insulin, not enough

food, too much activity. You pump the insulin in and once in, you

can't take it out. That explains the frequent hypos. However,

diabetics almost have to have some hypos in order to maintain tight

control. It just goes with the territory. See your doctor anyway

because you may not have diabetes and can be treated less

aggressively for this condition.

Stasia

February 20, 2005

Re: Blood sugar

> I think the pharmaceutical take is that they now have pills not just

> insulin shots.

> So they can give you the pills sooner.

And for other symptoms - like PCOS. I know a fair number of women with PCOS

that started taking actos or metformin - and got pregnant after years of

trying.

> The problem there is, at least it is my understanding, that the pills

> lower your sugar but they don't help the problem of " insulin resistance "

> which is what most people have anyway.

Depends on the drug: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1139ce.htm

> So you can now take pills UNTIL you have to go on insulin.

Or, with this new class of drugs, a person may be able to control the

insulin resistance and never have to go on insulin. My father-in-law took

metformin when it first came out, and eventually they took him off of it -

he was diabetic for 10 years before he died and never had to go on insulin

(he died at 85)

;-) Ellen

> KM

February 20, 2005

kathy matthews wrote:

<<A man who's blood sugar would drop and he would pass out (a couple car

wreck's this way)>>

<< The doctor told him there was nothing he could do, until he became

diabetic

so he should carry candy with him and eat it every time he felt his

sugar falling

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>>>

Yikes indeed!!!

Been there - had hypoglycemia at one point and it often happens before

diabetes sets in. Eating sugar guarantees diabetes will set in.

Hypoglycemia actually needs similar handling to hyperglycemia - lots of

small high protein meals a day, and NO sugar!

What fools some quacks are!

> I think the pharmaceutical take is that they now have pills not just insulin

shots

..............

> So you can now take pills UNTIL you have to go on insulin.

Whoa - I think you may have confused that hypoglycemia needs the blood

sugar kept UP and insulin takes it DOWN. the last thing to give someone

with hypoglycaemia is insulin to knock down the sugar any further.

They just need to eat protein frequently to keep the blood glucose up.

Insulin is good for bringing down blood sugar that is too high. It comes

in several forms, and it is important to take the right kind at the

right stage so as not to overdo it and get hypoglycemia.

There is fast acting to use with a meal and slow acting to use overnight

for example.

<<The problem there is, at least it is my understanding, that the pills

lower your sugar but they don't help the problem of " insulin resistance "

which is what most people have anyway.>>

Type 2 diabetics have insulin resistance, not type 1. And ALL overweight

people have insulin resistance too.

What that means is that insulin is only doing one of its two jobs -

storing fat. It is not making glucose available as energy. So that's why

overweight people have such a hard time with exercise - apart from

carrying the extra weight around, their insulin is not allowing the

glucose to get to the muscles to help them work out - and they just feel

exhausted instead.

Dr B's book " Dr Bernstein's diabetes solution " explains all this so

well, and explains how to overcome insulin resistance - which basically

is NOT eating carbs. Carbs trigger insulin into this vicious cycle and a

lack of carbs fixes it over time.

For example when I was diagnosed diabetic in November last year my

insulin level was 48 but normal is below 17. So you would think with all

that insulin in my blood I could eat a little bit of carbohydrate and

anyway it should knock down the blood sugar to normal. It doesn't.

It knocks carbs into fat cells just fine, but two things rae wrong:

* the pancreas is damaged in people with insulin resistance and it can

not *store* insulin. It needs to be stored because it takes too long to

make what's needed to get a load ready for a meal you are eating. It

takes about 1.5 hours to make it. Meantime for 1.5 hours after a meal,

the blood sugar sky rockets in type 2 diabetes.

* the cell receptors for glucose energy to the muscles are switched off

and unable to receive glucose. This is the " resistance " aspect.

It is more complex than this in that the liver is involved in converting

muscles to sugar as well etc - but those are the main two factors.

Also - the higher the insulin resistance gets, the greater the tendency

to get even more insulin resistance - a vicious circle.

To break the cycle, you have to eat no carbs so you do not trigger your

insulin over-response to them to store fat instead of energy.

Your body can burn protein for energy just fine - also fat for energy -

it does not NEED to burn carbs for energy.

So if an insulin resistant person eats protein and fat, the insulin can

do nothing - and over time the insulin level falls, and the resistant

cells become less resistant to taking in glucose for muscle energy.

In my case my " background " blood glucose was 136 or so in November due

to insulin resistance.

Eating no carbs for 2 weeks got it down to 126 provided I had no

infections at the time. (Infections make glucose go up especially in

diabetics and I have no immune system so I am very prone to them.)

I had it down to 100, two weeks ago and so that was great progress but

then I got an infection, and it is now fluctuating between 110 and 130.

(Previously it would be 185 or so with an infection).

The point is that insulin resistance can be improved and brought to

normal - with avoidance of carbs and high protein diet. And avoidance of

infection :-))

It's all very nicely explained in Bernstein's book by the way.

......Irene

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc; AASCA; MCSSA; D.I.Hom.

P.O.Box 4703, Spokane, WA 99220-0703.

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html

Veterinary Homeopath and Feline Information Counsellor.

February 20, 2005

Thanks Irene, your posts on diabetes and blood sugar have been very

enlightening. What blood sugar range to you aim for.

Is there anything else that lowers blood sugar, besides red wine?

Would you deal with hypoglycemia the same way? Small, frequent meals with

primarily protein and fat in them.

Thanks-

February 20, 2005

wrote:

> Thanks Irene, your posts on diabetes and blood sugar have been very

> enlightening. What blood sugar range to you aim for.

Hi ,

I am aiming for 80-90 but I am not there yet. I get closer each

month, (with interruptions for infections.) I'll explain how I have

progressed to give an idea:

When I started in late November I was ranging from 136 to 205 with

average 156. that was before I took out the beets, sweet potato and

Ezekiel bread.

A week later I was under 136 all the time but never below 110.

A month later I was between 110 and 115 except for an occasional 125

spike. By end of Jan I was between 82 and 115 with an occasional 125

spike. First week of Feb I made it down to 78 just once - but mostly

was 84 to 96 with spikes to 112 sometimes (like twice in the week).

So I was doing great - then got this infection I have now, and I am

all over the place from 102 to 135, mostly between 115 and 120, not what

I like, but it is hard to control when infection is present.

> Is there anything else that lowers blood sugar, besides red wine?

Yes. Food-wise:

Protein by itself helps a lot - like a three egg omelette with nothing

added except a dash of red pepper flakes. Or a chunk of steak by itself.

This will bring it down a bit quite soon.

So if I accidentally eat more carb than I realize, like when I used

broccoli instead of spinach (it's double the carb load, I had not

realized - or if I eat too much onion or tomato) - I'll go eat a load of

protein more.

Supplement-wise:

Alpha lipoic acid 100 mg three times a day

Chromium 400 micrograms, 3 times a day

Multi-mineral containing vanadium.

These do help lower blood sugar and/or lessen insulin resistance.

Homeopathic supplement-wise (3x a day each):

Insulinum 7C for insulin regulation

Pancreas 4C for pancreas stimulation

Saccharum officinalis 9C to suppress glucose effect

The homeopathic ones will help the pancreas regenerate within about 2

years IF there is enough to regenerate.

(I am not taking a homeopathic remedy specifically matched to me for

being a diabetic, as I have more serious issues to address and in my

case the diabetes is one of many side effects. If I only had diabetes to

contend with, that is what I would do however.)

Best foods to keep glucose down:

Beef, fish, egg (cheese if you are secretor), extra virgin olive oil.

Spinach, Collards, Dandelion greens, Mushrooms, Green and red peppers,

seaweeds, any spices and herbs, green tea.

Max one handful: Pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts.

Lesser amounts like 2 slices: Onion, tomato, Broccoli.

> Would you deal with hypoglycemia the same way? Small, frequent meals with

> primarily protein and fat in them.

Yes. The trick is to eat food before the blood sugar drops - and to

remember that protein holds it up the longest.

> Thanks-

Hope that helps.

Namaste,

Irene

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc; AASCA; MCSSA; D.I.Hom.

P.O.Box 4703, Spokane, WA 99220-0703.

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html

Veterinary Homeopath and Feline Information Counsellor.

February 21, 2005

,

Be careful about taking alpha lipoic acid with your hypothyroidism and

thyroid supplementation. Here is a section of an article that addresses the

issue:

" Lipoic Acid

Lipoic acid appears to influence the metabolic fate of T4 when

co-administered with T4 therapy. Administration of T4 for 22 days resulted

in a substantial increase in serum T3 concentrations; however, when lipoic

acid was given in conjunction with T4 therapy for nine days a 56-percent

suppression of the expected T4-induced increase in generation of T3 was

observed (although T3 levels were elevated above control levels). Continuous

supplementation of lipoic acid during T4 treatment resulted in a continued

lower production of T3 than would have been expected from T4 therapy.[121]

While the authors suggest lipoic acid might exert an influence on peripheral

tissue deiodinase activity, it is also possible this nutrient might have

influenced conjugation reactions. It is currently not known whether lipoic

acid supplementation influences thyroid hormone metabolism in normal

individuals who are not receiving T4 therapy. Since it is usually not a

therapeutic advantage to decrease peripheral activation of T3 subsequent to

T4 therapy, use of this supplement in hypothyroid patients receiving

exogenous hormone therapy should be approached with caution. "

You can read the whole article at:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_4_5/ai_65068470/pg_7

Other sources I have read seem to indicate that large amount such as 300mg

or more were a problem. Maybe you could use a smaller amount like 50 mg 2-3

times a day. Either way I would watch for increasing hypothyroid symptoms.

Don

Re: Blood Sugar

wrote:

> Thanks Irene, your posts on diabetes and blood sugar have been very

> enlightening. What blood sugar range to you aim for.

Supplement-wise:

Alpha lipoic acid 100 mg three times a day

Chromium 400 micrograms, 3 times a day

Multi-mineral containing vanadium.

February 21, 2005

Thanks Don-

At this point I'll just be using dietary approaches to the issue, since my

numbers are pretty close to where they should be.

Now if I could just get my sugar/carb cravings to go away...looks like I'll

be very high protein for the next few days.

RE: Blood Sugar

,

Be careful about taking alpha lipoic acid with your hypothyroidism and

thyroid supplementation. Here is a section of an article that addresses

the

issue:

February 21, 2005

Lemon water is good for digestion and is supposed to help lower blood sugar.

KM

<bloggertypeo@...> wrote:

Thanks Irene, your posts on diabetes and blood sugar have been very

enlightening. What blood sugar range to you aim for.

Is there anything else that lowers blood sugar, besides red wine?

Would you deal with hypoglycemia the same way? Small, frequent meals with

primarily protein and fat in them.

Thanks-

February 21, 2005

Does anyone know what sugar alcohol actually does. A diabetic friend gave

me a box of Atkins' Endulge bars because she loves them and, of course, does

not believe in the blood diet. I gave them back to her after I read all the

avoids, but I wonder what they are doing to her blood sugar. Even if sugar

alcohol fails to trigger an insulin response, is it bad in other ways?

The bar has 14 grams of carbs, but says to subtract 3 grams for dietary

fiber and 7 grams for sugar alcohol. The bar only has 4 grams of protein,

and to top it off, warns about sugar alcohol's laxative effect!

Thanks, Pat

..

RE: Blood Sugar

Thanks Irene, your posts on diabetes and blood sugar have been very

enlightening. What blood sugar range to you aim for.

Is there anything else that lowers blood sugar, besides red wine?

Would you deal with hypoglycemia the same way? Small, frequent meals with

primarily protein and fat in them.

Thanks-

February 21, 2005

honiholo wrote:

> Does anyone know what sugar alcohol actually does.

Pat How do you mean " sugar alcohol " . Sugar and alcohol are separate

molecular structures.

Alcohol drops blood glucose - and sugar of any kind raises it.

Red wine is my favourite " emergency insulin " if I have had an excessive

size meal.

Namaste,

Irene

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc; AASCA; MCSSA; D.I.Hom.

P.O.Box 4703, Spokane, WA 99220-0703.

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html

Veterinary Homeopath and Feline Information Counsellor.

February 21, 2005

sugar alcohols are like malitol and sorbitol, they are hard to digest, but I

don't know much else about them.

I'd be interested to know what vegetable glycerine does though, it works

well for me in most regards, in moderation.

Re: Blood Sugar

honiholo wrote:

> Does anyone know what sugar alcohol actually does.

Pat How do you mean " sugar alcohol " . Sugar and alcohol are separate

molecular structures.

Alcohol drops blood glucose - and sugar of any kind raises it.

Red wine is my favourite " emergency insulin " if I have had an excessive

size meal.

Namaste,

Irene

February 21, 2005

wrote:

> sugar alcohols are like malitol and sorbitol, they are hard to digest, but I

> don't know much else about them.

Ah - light dawns!!! I guess my age is showing. When I studied chemistry

these were called polyhydric alcohols or polyols for short - made by

changing the structure of sugar to a form that is neither sugar nor

alcohol but has a changed chemical group in one part of a chained sugar.

Calling them sugar alcohols seems odd to me but I am too picky I guess.

As far as I know they have plenty of calories, and it varies from one to

the other - based on the sugar from which they are derived. They are not

well absorbed in the human gut so they end up having the effect of less

calories than sugar but not that much less - and because of the chemical

structure they do not do much if anything to raise blood glucose. But it

is like eating sugar calorie-wise. It's no diet food.

May work as sweeteners for diabetics??

I wonder how they are listed for carbohydrates. Depends whether carbs

are listed according to effect on blood sugar or effect on calories?

> I'd be interested to know what vegetable glycerine does though

It is also one of these polyhydric alcohols - alternate name glycerol.

So it will have lots of calories and not a lot of effect on blood sugar.

How much and what I don't know.

If we can't find some data on what it does to blood sugar - One day I'll

test it away from meals - ugh - by checking my blood sugar, taking a

half teaspoon and checking again :-)) I dislike the taste :-((

> it works

> well for me in most regards, in moderation.

I have a small bottle but can't say I use it to speak of. I tried it for

making " diabetic crystallized ginger " but that experiment did not go too

well :-)))

Namaste,

Irene

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc; AASCA; MCSSA; D.I.Hom.

P.O.Box 4703, Spokane, WA 99220-0703.

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html

Veterinary Homeopath and Feline Information Counsellor.

February 22, 2005

Thanks Irene, I've heard that glycerine helps stabilize blood sugar, but

unlike sorbitol and other 'sugar alcohols', it is digestible. So it

probably ends up as more calories than sorbitol, though without the

digestive troubles that the others cause, and that's a good thing. It is

classified as a carb on labels, currently, though it's argued that it's more

of a fat, as far as impact goes. It might make a nice ginger syrup, but

doesn't solidify like sugar. It works well in pumpkin pie, cranberry

relish, chocolate-if kept in the refrigerator, and tea. It's about twice as

sweet as sugar, by measurement, but start out with less because it's easy to

err on the too sweet side. I'd test it for you if I had the equipment for

that.

-----Original Message-----

From: Irene de Villiers [mailto:furryboots@...]

wrote:

> sugar alcohols are like malitol and sorbitol, they are hard to digest,

but I