A new study published May 10, 2010, in the online journal, Circulation, looked at the effects of red meat versus processed meat (hot dogs, deli meat). It found that processed meat, not red meat, increased the risk for heart disease by 42%, and diabetes, by 19%. Eat naturally; it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, and it’s unhealthy too.
Speaking of diabetes, the epidemic is gathering steam here in the US. Nearly one in 10 adults in this country are, and more than one in four adults over age 60 are now afflicted, and those are the ones that know about it. Vision loss, neuropathy, lower limb amputations, and kidney failure are brought on by diabetes-induced nerve and blood vessel damage. I did some volunteer work a few years back for the Arizona Kidney Foundation, lecturing on the importance of exercise and diet to combat this disease. Trust me on this: you do not want to have kidney failure, and undergo dialysis. I’ve spoken to many of these people on dialysis, and they are miserable.
The intensive drug regimens used by conventional medicine to control blood sugars is at best ineffective, and in some cases, causes side effects worse than diabetes itself. Instead of reducing heart attacks, strokes, and deaths, the drugs actually made the risks worse. In fact, two studies of different drugs were halted early, due to fact that people were dying from the drugs.
As Dr. Julian Whitaker so aptly stated, “there is no drug in the world that can make you choose salad, salmon, and veges over a hamburger, french fries, and a coke. But study after study shows that adopting a high-fiber, nutrient dense, low-glycemic, low-fat diet, and avoiding processed foods, starches, and sugars, improves blood sugar control, lowers heart disease risk factors, and prevents diabetic complications.”
Even if you have slow-healing wounds, neuropathy, vision problems, kidney problems, or heart disease, there’s still hope, as long as you take the initiative. Get it? YOU TAKE THE INITIATIVE! What a novel concept. In a nutshell, lose weight, dietary change, and exercise are the best offense in combating diabetes (also known as glucose intolerance, metabolic syndrome). There are nutritional supplements also needed such as alpha lipoic acid (ALA), benfotiamine, vitamin C & E, selenium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, folic acid, vitamin B12, B6, and vitamin D.
Stay well, John R Blilie, M.S.