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Herbal Diabetic Medicine

 
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So I'll start with explaining my situation.

I have been diabetic since I was 3. I have type 1 hyper glycemia (high blood sugar) diabetes. I have to constantly wear and insulin pump taking quiet large amounts of insulin at times.

So here is my question.

Has anyone here found out anything about herbal remedies that could help restore the beta cells that produce the insulin, a plant(s) or a combination of plants that some how can substitute insulin even in minute amounts, or even help to keep the blood sugar down in general.

Now I have found plenty of info that applies to type 2 diabetes but that is not what I'm looking for unless some of the "remedies" there could also benefit high blood sugars.

Thank you all in advance cant wait to see what kind of information everyone can come up with.
 
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I'm sorry Richard, I have no answer. But I can post this to bump your topic to the top of the list again.
 
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I have had blood sugar regulatory issues for about 30 years and was type II for four (recently 'reversed' or as I say 'much better managed'). Restricting carbs, and I take Ceylon cinnamon as two things to help control my blood sugar. The Ceylon cinnamon is rather mild in taste, low in cucurmin, and I add it to any higher carb food I'm about to eat. 6 grams is the recommended daily dosage which is just under 1 1/4 teaspoon. I had to address an 'insulin resistance' and those were the two steps I took to help lower my overall blood sugar levels and I have returned 5.1 on the A1c in the past three months. There is a lot more too it but that is the major two things related to blood sugar and diabetes that I do as part of my daily diet.
 
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I would definitely do some research into medicinal mushrooms. Many of the Polypores are immunomodulating and may help with some underlying causes. Here are a few articles that speak to how they might be able to help....
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22324407
http://www.realdiabetestruth.com/medicinal-mushrooms-can-aid-blood-sugar-contr/
 
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There has been great success at reducing insulin requirements with very low to zero carb diets. Making the transition can be a little tricky though. http://www.diabetes-warrior.net/ comes to mind.
 
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Check out http://www.diabeticdharma.com

A site where a husband chronicles his experiments in treating his wife, a type - 1 diabetic. They are doing fantastically well with lots of highly usable info. Below is a quote from the site.

“Seeing the level of deception and incompetence surrounding the care of type-1 diabetics,” says John, “has really made me hopeful about the possibilities that truly do exist to manage and cure the disease.”
 
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www.drdavidwilliams.com/7-best-anti-aging-herbs-gymnema-sylvestre  He states that gynema sylvestre can regenerate the pancreatic cells while also suppressing sugar levels.

Juniper berries also lower blood sugar, but it is advised generally not to take the two aforementioned herbs at the same time as it can drastically lower it too quickly.

Check out the Mercola site and GreenMedInfo.com, both have search engines and are free for the basic newsletter.

Dr. Faye
 
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I'm no doctor but just wanted to remind folks that Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes are really, really different. The outcome is often similar but as far as I understand that's where the similarity ends.

A huge majority of diabetics have Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes. Almost all advice you see out there is for Type 2 diabetics, and there seem to be a good number of options through exercise and diet to reverse Type 2. Type 2 diabetes might be called a lifestyle disease. As far as I know, very little of the advice you would give to Type 2 diabetics (read almost all the advice out there) applies to Type 1 diabetics. I.e., the usual "get more exercise, cut out sugars and starchy carbs, look into raw food," etc., etc. -- I don't think most of this will be of much help to Richard & other Type 1s.

Type 1 diabetes seems to be from birth or early childhood and is an autoimmune disease. So your immune system actually attacks your own pancreas and keeps it from producing insulin. Nothing to do with "normal" Type 2 diabetes.

I did a search for "Type 1 diabetes" on mercola.com and found some interesting articles. Some just mention Type 1 in passing but some really feature it well. Friendly bacteria, red hot chilli peppers, vitamin E, stem cells ... There seems to be quite a bit of interesting research and experiments going on. Here's a link to my search:

http://search.mercola.com/results.aspx?q=%22type%201%20diabetes%22

I don't have time to look through for practical advice, but I bet Richard if you have a look through some of the most promising articles, you'll find some stuff to follow up on for sure. If you find the name of a doctor doing interesting research, be brave and find their contact details and phone or write to them. Often these kinds of people will write back or talk to you! And they're often happy to do it. No harm trying anyway.

If other folks know of good alternative health sites with info on TYPE 1 diabetes, let 'er rip, but remember that advice and info on "regular"/Type 2 diabetes usually does not apply, so may not do Richard much good.
 
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I would second Brian.  There is evidence to suggest that very low carbohydrate diets can eliminate the need for insulin.  This usually means less than 10 to 20 gr carbs per day and none of it added sugar, with most coming from green leafy veggies. This can take 3 to 4 weeks to transition to and probably requires taking bile salts for a while till you adjust. It also means controlling the amount of protein carefully as concentrated protein leads to the conversion of some of it to blood glucose.  Since you probably have a blood sugar meter you can afford to experiment since you can see what is happening real time.
 
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Richard, I have not.

Do NOT give up hope: I have been hearing about transplanting pancreas cells, which then started producing insulin. We are NOT talking about organ transplants but cell transplants, some of which were transplanted under the skin.
 
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Not sure if this will help, but it's a good read and wouldn't be a bad idea for diabetics to follow his diet, because he's very focused on sugar levels.

"Wheat Belly" by William Davis

Good luck!
Thom
 
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Richard Force wrote:So I'll start with explaining my situation.

I have been diabetic since I was 3. I have type 1 hyper glycemia (high blood sugar) diabetes. I have to constantly wear and insulin pump taking quiet large amounts of insulin at times.

So here is my question.

Has anyone here found out anything about herbal remedies that could help restore the beta cells that produce the insulin, a plant(s) or a combination of plants that some how can substitute insulin even in minute amounts, or even help to keep the blood sugar down in general.

Now I have found plenty of info that applies to type 2 diabetes but that is not what I'm looking for unless some of the "remedies" there could also benefit high blood sugars.

Thank you all in advance cant wait to see what kind of information everyone can come up with.



Hi Richard,
I know of nothing that will restore beta cells, except maybe gene therapy.  I do have a book called Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine, which has a lot of info on how it has been used in Mexico to lower blood sugar for many years.  But I think they are talking about type 2.  However, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try it, since they are also a common food item, and pretty tasty!
 
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I also agree T1 and T2 are very different. I have not read anything about restoring beta cell function. The best internet resource is Dr Bernstein who has lived with T1 for over 50 years and he is responsible for many interesting developments such as home testing of blood glucose. He had to fight HARD against the medical establishment at the time who believed there was no benefit to home testing!

 
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You can also look into the GAPS diet.gapsdiet.com No "program" to purchase, just dietary changes. Not a quick fix, it may take a while to help you. Good luck!
 
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I'm an optometrist.  I work with a lot of diabetic patients, both T-1 and (the vast majority) T-2.

They are different diseases really.

The Mayo Clinic has a nice summary page on the current research efforts to regrow or regenerate Beta cells.

http://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/focus-areas/beta-cell-regeneration


And, as noted by others, a ketogenic diet may reduce your need for insulin.  And perhaps dramatically.  

Dr. Jeff Volek is the go to person to get technically accurate information about the ketogenic diet.  The short, grossly oversimplified, totally inadequate version is to eat less than 30 or 40 grams of carbs a day (both simple and complex).   Just to get a sense of scale, a smallish potato can have 40 grams of carbohydrates.  So really, we're talking no bread, no potatoes, no rice, no wheat, no pasta, no sugar and limited fruit.   He was one of three authors to update the Atkins diet.  The NEW Atkins Diet for the new you.  Very accessible and lots of recipes.

Hope you like bacon and butter.




IF YOU CHOOSE TO TRY THIS APPROACH, CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR, REPEATEDLY.  If your doctor won't play ball, get another doctor.

At this point, it is unrealistic to think you might get completely off insulin.  At this point...
 
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Hey Richard!
You could check Dr. Gabriel Cousens from Tree of life foundation in AZ, apparently he has helped heal numerous people with raw food.

https://treeoflifecenterus.com/the-medicine-for-healing-diabetes/

http://www.treeoflifefoundation.org/service/reversing-diabetes-2/

Good luck my friend
 
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Given that Type 1 diabetes has an autoimmune component, it's possible that one of the dietary autoimmune protocols might help manage the symptoms. The three big ones (in order of development) are the Specific Carbohydrate Dirty, the GAPS Diet, and Autoimmune Paleo (AIP). They all have slightly different methodologies and approaches so it's best to read up on all of them (or at least GAPS and AIP) to see which one you think will fit you best. I'm happy to expand on each a little more later on when I have a bigger keyboard in front of me.
 
Terri Matthews
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For those who do not know this: diet changes have a poor track record when it comes to type 1. The people who make it sound simple are the people who are being deceptive.

I am NOT saying not to post what you have heard, because I am pleased to read all of this stuff! I *AM* saying that this is not a quick fix. Do not expect it to be.  
 
Richard Force
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Okay so I haven't read all the post and when I do I'll post again.

Yes type 1 & 2 diabetes are very different. Type one is autoimmune and mine was cause by a viral infection at age 2 or so we are guessing because I was diagnosed and very sick a 3 yrs old.

I have done a lot of research for myself but I can find very little information.

Someone mentioned that transplanting insulin producing cells. This does work but everything I've read from medical articles to personal stories states that it usually only works for about a year.

Also low carb diets for me personally do help but only by extending a few hours of just feeling good but while still constapumoed with insulin.
This does not help getting away from insulin dependency because no matter the diet without the pump us all a living hell within a hour or 2 if I'm lucky to go that long.
 
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Not herbal or food remedy, but helminthic therapy (intentional infection with a carefully controled therapeutic number of beneficial parasites) has shown some promise in preventing type I diabetes, and a few people well into the disease have reported needing less insulin after using helminths.  The therapy is more often used for conditions like allergies and multiple sclerosis, but a few diabetics have tried it too.  

Might be worth checking out.  There is a very helpful facebook group called Helminthic Therapy Support - it's a closed group, just send a request to join. Then go to the group Files and scroll down until you find the one about diabetes.  Unfortunately type I and II are kind of mixed together, but there is quite a lot of info there.
 
Richard Force
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One of the main problems is that finding things that focus on type 1 diabetes rather than type 2 which is why I'm here asking the permies family.
 
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You will have to do the research because I would not presume to know what would be good for you. That said, I have heard about Iguana Venom. It may be related to the helminthic therapy in the last post but I saw a news story about it as one of unconventional but effective medical treatments - like bee stings, or leaches (really) - and did find a link to it once. The problem is that it is not a Pharmaceutical so most medical people I have spoken to have never heard about it. There is a reptile farm in Arizona (and others) that gathers it and provides it for Diabetics. The report was that it helps the body balance the insulin production and the side effect was weight loss (as we now know the weight is not because of poor diet but an actual effect of the body fighting the process).

Perhaps someone else can help you find the link.
 
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I don't know a lot about this, and I'm not saying this would be easy     or quick, but before insulin, type 1 diabetics were treated with no to very very low carb diets.  The role of insulin as I understand it, is to get glucose out of the blood and into the cells.  And the liver stores a few hours worth of what is it called, glycogen.


The medical community, and nutritionists mostly believe that the body must MUST run on glucose, but that's a mis interpretation.  Our bodies do quite well on ketone metabolism, where the body "burns" fats rather than sugars.  Ketone metabolism is said by many AMA doctors to be advantageous to the brain.  Ketosis is different than Diabetic ketosis, which I believe is life threatening, has to do with pH imbalances.  At least one organ system in the body, possibly the gut, can produce small amounts of glucose.

Switching to ketotic metabolism can be uncomfortable, but only takes a few days.  Then once you become accustomed to it, many people's bodies switch back and forth with no trouble at all (non diabetic people, who have the luxury of eating a bunch of in season ripe fruit-- rich in carbs, just like potatoes, pasta, sweet potatoes, all the sweet veges, peas, corn, carrots, bread, oatmeal, grains etc etc etc

I believe that what ever the origin of the type one diabetes, it is a difficulty that arises out of an absence of insulin or lack of sufficient insulin, or insulin not able to function.  When the need for insulin is removed glucose removed from the blood (by not eating sugar or other carbohydrates), then the absence of insulin is not an issue.

Please check all of this if you choose to pursue any of it.  I am sure of it, but it is not my life that depends on it, so I may be confused about the specifics.  I do know that many non diabetics do quite well on no carbs, and on intermittent fasting.  There are scientific  studies that show benefits of fasting, increased longevity, and the body's ability to repair sclerotic lesions in the brain and CNS.  Many other benefits, look for TED talks on fasting coming out of Johns Hopkins University.  A lot of our shared beliefs about how often we need to eat and what we ought to be eating is driven by financial interests of various businesses and professions.

Good luck.
 
Deb Rebel
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Several things add up to my body wishes to store every spare calorie in my abdominal region and part of my 'recovery' into 'normal' health includes forcing my body into ketosis every day to burn the fat it so badly wants to hang onto. I fight the grand fight every day, but. It is part of what helped bring my blood sugar levels down, and melted off over 60# of weight I was carrying and was causing insulin insensitivity (my body wasn't using what insulin I produced, Glucophage (metformin) was a stopgap to help my body use the insulin. I was type II for four years and was facing insulin shots when the last key to the whole puzzle happened (severe carb restriction and forcing ketosis)

Type 1 aren't producing insulin, but if you have issues with your body not being able to use the insulin available, that makes it worse.

One other thing on the approximately 7 year journey I had to getting things managed, was my doctor prescribed I get a fitbit. It records my steps walked, my miles walked, my stairs climbed. I must walk 10k steps, 5 miles (which is about 12k steps for me) and climb 10 flights of stairs a day (it only counts UP as legit). it has a Bluetooth dongle that is on my computer, and finks to a website and page that shows what I did in 15 min increments every day. My doctor can look at this. At any time. He has. No lying about the exercise. That has probably saved my feet and legs more damage (I have some but considering what my A1c was at times, I got off light). Proper exercise is an important part of circulation and metabolism management. I always have been a walker, so this is just making sure I stir myself and do, every day. On days I feel lousy, have something acting up, and have the cane, I still walk. I have a single story house so I have to make a pilgrimage to the local courthouse and their steps do register, and they have a note at the sheriff dispatch office about me climbing the steps and I'm harmless. The fitbit also logs my accumulated progress, and awards 'badges' for various levels of activity posted in a day, and cumulative ones too. The motivation to keep at it. Nobody nags, it's just me and my little fitbit and the display on the computer. (I have almost climbed 4000 flights of stairs, 40k feet vertical, and will earn a '747' badge soon. The last one in the series is a satellite....)
 
Cj Sloane
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Agree with Troy. I'm on a ketogenic diet. It's doable. Eat greens, meats, eggs. High fat, moderate protein, low carb.

Volek, Phinney, Westman are the big three.

A good intro to the Ketogenic diet:



Troy Rhodes wrote:
And, as noted by others, a ketogenic diet may reduce your need for insulin.  And perhaps dramatically.  

Dr. Jeff Volek is the go to person to get technically accurate information about the ketogenic diet.  The short, grossly oversimplified, totally inadequate version is to eat less than 30 or 40 grams of carbs a day (both simple and complex).   Just to get a sense of scale, a smallish potato can have 40 grams of carbohydrates.  So really, we're talking no bread, no potatoes, no rice, no wheat, no pasta, no sugar and limited fruit.   He was one of three authors to update the Atkins diet.  The NEW Atkins Diet for the new you.  Very accessible and lots of recipes.

Hope you like bacon and butter.




IF YOU CHOOSE TO TRY THIS APPROACH, CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR, REPEATEDLY.  If your doctor won't play ball, get another doctor.

At this point, it is unrealistic to think you might get completely off insulin.  At this point...

 
Cj Sloane
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In case anyone is interested, there is a permies thread on ketogenic diets.
https://permies.com/t/42810/paleo/kitchen/Ketogenic-Diet
 
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[quote=Thekla McDanieWhen the need for insulin is removed glucose removed from the blood (by not eating sugar or other carbohydrates), then the absence of insulin is not an issue.


Good luck.

He may be able to reduce his need for insulin slightly, but the problem is that the brain needs glucose.  To get it in the abscense of carbs, protein and fats have to be broken down and converted to  simple sugars by glyconeogenesis.  So there wil always be a certain amount of sugar in the blood, and for that you need insulin to transport it into the brain.  He can't make insulin.  So I don't know what he can do.
 
Deb Rebel
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And as others have noted, you do need a doctor who you can work with and be under supervision. I have regular checkups/checkins and various blood work done to check levels of various things. By the last tests done last week; all my nutritional needs are being met and I am in balance, the A1c is returning low, liver enzymes are on spot, cholesterol is in normal and HDL is over 60. Other nutrients are at proper levels, and even the anemia I have fought for decades is no longer showing up. Those are the most important things; I am providing my body with what it needs within the confines of health issues, and allergies. And my big 4 are managed. Not totally gone, but managed into 'normal'. I will have to continue this for the rest of my life, but the improvement in the quality of my life just reinforces staying with the plan.

Type 1 will need this sort of commitment, but there are many things we are learning and will be able to do to help the condition. And more to come. I have learned a lot from the sharing here and am researching and saving information for later in case things change for me. Knowledge is a powerful thing, and learning to use what you learn, even better. Thanks everyone who has been contributing to this thread.
 
Deb Rebel
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Lori Ziemba wrote:
I know of nothing that will restore beta cells, except maybe gene therapy.  I do have a book called Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine, which has a lot of info on how it has been used in Mexico to lower blood sugar for many years.  But I think they are talking about type 2.  However, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try it, since they are also a common food item, and pretty tasty!



There are several kinds of Prickly Pear Cactus, and two different parts are eaten, the pads (paddles or 'nopales') and the fruits that form after flowering (they turn pinkish red usually when 'ripe'), (fruits or 'tuna'). I am propagating several kinds to find what gives the best fruits and will survive here. Some kinds grow wild here.

Both parts are incredibly spiny with very small hairlike spines, but a quick flash burn (think of using a crème-brulee torch) or soaking for awhile will soften them and they come off. The paddles can be peeled, cut into julienne and fried up and taste like green beans.. the fruit is the part that helps. You can juice them out and add the juice to smoothies. I can attest they seem to help with keeping blood sugar levels down. This area has a large Hispanic population and the local grocery store carries both in season, we are getting paddles right now. Local plants are just finishing blooming right now. You can process juice, freeze in ice cube trays and pop a cube into your smoothie as you make it.

Some varieties will winter here, zone 6b. Hopefully in a few years I will be growing what I need, and a few kinds may get big enough to be a real deterrent to tresspassers.
 
Thekla McDaniels
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Lori Ziemba wrote:
He may be able to reduce his need for insulin slightly, but the problem is that the brain needs glucose.  To get it in the abscense of carbs, protein and fats have to be broken down and converted to  simple sugars by glyconeogenesis.  So there wil always be a certain amount of sugar in the blood, and for that you need insulin to transport it into the brain.  He can't make insulin.  So I don't know what he can do.



From my understanding of current research, the brain does not necessarily need glucose, functions quite well without it.  I htink it stimulates the production of more mitochondria, and protects against some kinds of seizures and neurodegerative conditions.

For those who might be interested, here is an article from Scientific American dated October 2013 about ketosis and brain function and more:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/the-fat-fueled-brain-unnatural-or-advantageous/
 
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Good news!  Dr. Joel Wallach has been influential in reversing many diseases, including Type I diabetes.  See page 321 and following, in his book,  "Dead Doctors Don't Lie".  Dr. Wallach bases his nutritional supplements on plant products.  Take a look at Dr. Wallach's website and at CriticalHealthNews.com
 
Laurel Finch
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Deb Rebel wrote:

There are several kinds of Prickly Pear Cactus, and two different parts are eaten, the pads (paddles or 'nopales') and the fruits that form after flowering (they turn pinkish red usually when 'ripe'), (fruits or 'tuna'). I am propagating several kinds to find what gives the best fruits and will survive here. Some kinds grow wild here.



Deb, He goes into the various species in the book.
 
Deb Rebel
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Lori Ziemba wrote:

Deb Rebel wrote:

There are several kinds of Prickly Pear Cactus, and two different parts are eaten, the pads (paddles or 'nopales') and the fruits that form after flowering (they turn pinkish red usually when 'ripe'), (fruits or 'tuna'). I am propagating several kinds to find what gives the best fruits and will survive here. Some kinds grow wild here.



Deb, He goes into the various species in the book.



What I was trying to point out is I'm trying to get some that will grow here, survive without my tender ministrations, and also produce a good crop of tasty 'tuna' for me. I want them to be permie type natural food forest items that I can plant along my fences and borders then sort of forget until the fruits ripen and I dare brave with tongs and serious gloves to go harvest, process, and consume. Otherwise they are not cheap and very highly seasonal here....
 
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I have known many diabetics in my life, some very severe, I always wondered how the powers that be could allow such a situation to transpire. It is like a daily game of Russian roulette for those inflicted with it. With that said I have recently received my blood work and discovered how out of wack my triglyceride levels are which led me to realize through other avenues that I suffer from candida. I have dove head first into this dark world of bad biotics and weakened blood cells and came out the other side with this theory, Diabetes and candida are on some level related and possibly co-depended on each other. There are just to many common denominators between the two, Pancreas,liver, stress, antibiotics, illness, fructose, insulin and the list goes on and on, My theory is that Diabetes is caused by a candida infection some where in the organ system, possibly the pancreas or even the liver, I am still studying the symbiotic relationship of these organs with the digestive system and the information they share back and forth. I can not offer you advice or give it because I am not a medically trained Doctor but if I was you i would look into things like Agrisept-L , virgin coconut oil, olive oil with lemon juice as well as bone broth and milk thistle. I wish you the best my friend and hope you and others find relief from this condition some day soon.
 
Phoenix Blackdove
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I did a quick Google search to see if GAPS has been used to treat Type 1 diabetes, and apparently it has. Dr Campbell-McBride has claimed that all her (juvenile) patients with Type 1 have been cured following her recommended protocol. I find this claim to possibly be overblown, as most of what I've read about autoimmune disorders (which Type 1a diabetes is) states that it's impossible to stop the body from attacking itself once it's learned how. All you can do is remove the triggers that cause it.

I did however come across a rather interesting website, where a blogger has chronicled their family's journey to treat (hopefully heal) the wife's Type 1 diabetes. They report a modest amount of success in improving blood sugars, so it might be worth a thorough poke around the archives to see what might be of use.

http://diabeticdharma.com/gaps-year-one/
 
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david tyler wrote:With that said I have recently received my blood work and discovered how out of wack my triglyceride levels are which led me to realize through other avenues that I suffer from candida.


Look up Thorne Labs Formula SF722. It takes a while to work but it's very effective. Works on fungal sinus infections too. You still need to go very low carb or "zero" carb to keep from feeding pathogens.

Zero Carb is worth looking at. I want to try it. The cook, not so much. People are thriving on it.  
https://zerocarbzen.com/
http://www.zerocarbhealth.com/
 
Troy Rhodes
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Here's another good interview by Dr. Eric Westman from Duke University.



In that video, he discusses how, if you are a type 1 diabetic, you will likely need to cut your insulin in half when you start the very low carbohydrate diet.

YOU MUST DO THIS WITH THE SUPERVISION OF YOUR DOCTOR/ENDROCRINOLOGIST.


Yes, he said cut it in half.  


It is extremely unlikely you can get off insulin if you are a Type 1 diabetic.

But your energy levels will be better.  And your blood sugar levels will be better.  And your A1C levels will be better.  And your triglycerides will be WAY better.  And your good (heart protective) cholesterol will get better (in fact, no drug regimen give better or even as good, improvements in your HDL cholesterol levels).


 
Deb Rebel
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Troy Rhodes wrote:But your energy levels will be better.  And your blood sugar levels will be better.  And your A1C levels will be better.  And your triglycerides will be WAY better.  And your good (heart protective) cholesterol will get better (in fact, no drug regimen give better or even as good, improvements in your HDL cholesterol levels).



Side corollary, part of my issues is my blood pressure skyrocketed (high enough that the dentist would not work on me, he caught the problem). With raising the HDL levels (normal is 40-60, it actually helps heart health if you can get it over 60) it will help remove LDL from your system. With carb restriction, and taking a LOT of omega3, I have managed to boost HDL over 60. In months, my blood pressure has dropped. Low enough that the doctor said cut your pills in half for a few weeks, if your pressure stays where YOU want it, try cutting it out. (after a half mile powerwalk to the appointment and being cuffed within minutes of arriving, my lower was still 62. Down from 110 six months previous). A high HDL level helps clean out the accumulations in your arterial and venous walls, and that helped lower pressure-the vessels are more elastic, and the heart is under less stress and needs less pressure to do the job.

Even non-diabetics, could probably benefit from this. Nothing is a wonder cure-all, but putting together your own puzzle can mean a lot better health.
 
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I'm a naturopathic doctor with actual experience working with diabetics.  As several people have said, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are completely different processes.  Type 1, what the OP has, is an autoimmune process that destroys the cells that make insulin.  The herbs that people are talking about can be helpful in type 2 diabetes as they work by increasing insulin production in the pancreas or by decreasing insulin resistance.  Neither of those strategies are going to work in type 1 diabetes as there is no insulin resistance, just no insulin.  Increasing production of insulin won't help as there are no beta islet cells to make the insulin; it's like whipping a dead horse.  Autoimmune protocols are also not going to be effective unless they were being used when the op was 3-years-old at the time of the autoimmune attack.  The only option I know of is going to be dietary.  The extremely low carbohydrate diets are the only real strategies as several people have said.  I would start with Bernstein's book - someone already posted info on that above.  That is a strategy you can do mostly on your own with the cooperation of your endocrinologist or primary care to prescribe different forms of insulin.  This is not easy and you'll need to proceed slowly and carefully so you don't have hypoglycemic crashes.  You may then consider going even more extreme with the ketogenic diets people mentioned which basically is cutting out almost all carbs.  At this point in our understanding of type 1 diabetes, those are your only real options.  You are not going to be able to get off of insulin but you can reduce the amount you are taking and the stability of your blood sugar so that you have fewer long-term problems such as heart disease, kidney damage, blindness, and peripheral neuropathy.  Good luck with this.
 
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Troy Rhodes wrote:
In that video, he discusses how, if you are a type 1 diabetic, you will likely need to cut your insulin in half when you start the very low carbohydrate diet.

YOU MUST DO THIS WITH THE SUPERVISION OF YOUR DOCTOR/ENDROCRINOLOGIST.


Yes, he said cut it in half.  




No! You can cut your insulin in half if you are a T2 NOT T1!!! Watch it again.


The reason you need to cut it is because your blood glucose drops on a ketogenic diet. If you still take the same amount of insulin you're likely to have very low blood sugar and this is a problem.

T1s constantly monitor their BG so this is not such an issue
 
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