Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Written by Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com† Last week we talked about prediabetes. While not all people with diabetes type 2 first present with prediabetes, in my clinical experience many people do. Likewise while not everyone with …
Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com† Last blog I wrote about diabetes type 1. Today we will be talking about the interesting topic of prediabetes. From a holistic point of view, prediabetes is very interesting. It …
Diabetes type 1
Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com†
Diabetes type 1 is a type of diabetes that is commonly found in children. In fact it used to be called juvenile diabetes. But what is diabetes type one? To start with, it is an autoimmune disease of the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin. While there are many hypothesis as to why the immune system starts to attack the pancreas as of now no single reason has been confirmed as the cause. Now the destruction of the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin means that no insulin is produced. While the blood sugar going up would normally signal the body to produce insulin due to the destruction of the insulin producing cells no insulin is made. This is what makes diabetes type one so unique. In general in other cases of high blood sugar there is actually adequate insulin but the body loses its sensitivities to it. Thus treating diabetes type one is more about replacing the missing insulin and protecting the body from damage caused by high blood sugar. (1) †
SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES
What are the symptoms of diabetes? Type one diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood, in my clinical experience it is usually diagnosed quite young. However, I have had clinical experience where diagnosis was delayed or children were actually misdiagnosed at first and later diagnosed as diabetic. Due to the possible complications of diabetes this is a huge concern. If you suspect your child has diabetes please see a doctor as soon as possible? Usually the first sign of diabetes type one is high blood sugar. This is usually accompanied by increased urination as well as increased thirst. Other symptoms include increased appetite with weight loss, blurred vision, bed wetting, and irritability and performance issues at school. Recurrent skin infections can also indicate high blood sugar. (2) If diagnosis is delayed there an also be persistent fatigue, dry or flushed skin, abdominal pain as well as nausea and vomiting. Additionally the child may act confused and have trouble breathing. Interestingly there can even be a fruity smell to the breath. (3) †
RISK FACTORS
As I stated at the beginning of this blog, in type one diabetes the insulin producing cells are destroyed by the immune system. For unknown reasons the body is triggered to make antibodies that then destroy the insulin producing cells. There are certain risk factors that are being studied at this time. These include genetic susceptibility, diabetic triggers and or exposure to an antigen. (4) It also appears that the risk of diabetes type one is higher in children of mothers what are obese or older than 35. It also appears as though a cesarean birth is also a risk factor. There has also been found to be an association with cow’s milk intake as well as high sugar intake. Some studies have found an association of diabetes type 1 with gluten intake. (5) Certain medications are also associated with an increased risk of type 1 diabetes. (6) †
DIAGNOSIS
Diagnosis is done by testing the blood sugar as well as the A1C. For more information please see my previous blogs on these blood tests.
Complications from diabetes are very severe. According to the National institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases about 130,000 people in the United States with diabetes have amputations each year. (7) Other complications include keto acidosis, hyperosmolar coma, poor healing, heart disease (and all the complications that fall under this category), hypoglycemia (once again all of the complications associated with this) and damage to eyes. There can also be confusion, memory loss, and even seizures. And of course coma. Diabetes can also damage the nerves as well as the blood vessels leading to poor circulation. (8) †
Diabetes type one is treated with insulin. There is no way around this. Diabetics type one DO NOT PRODUCE INSULIN therefore they must take it. Yes there is such a thing as a “brittle diabetic” however that is a unique concern that does not affect the majority of type 1 diabetics. I want to emphasize that the supplements that are fantastic for other types of diabetics do not replace insulin. A type one diabetic cannot just take a supplement to increase sensitivities to insulin because as I’ve said they don’t make it. Insulin can be given via subcutaneous injection with a syringe or an insulin pump. Blood sugar can also be managed with diet and exercise. Because the complications from diabetes type 1 are so severe we want to help keep the body healthy and this is where supplements can be fantastic!
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT
ALA has been found in studies to help with damaged nerves. It has even been found that it can help in cases of nerve apoxia! This is important because the high blood sugar in diabetes can damage nerves. (9) Please see Invite’s Alcar with ALA or our ALA formula.
Benfotiamine (fat soluble B1) has been found in studies to help with the symptoms of neuropathy (10) Please see Invite’s Nerve Hx!
Methyl-B is a combination of B vitamins that are methylated. Studies show that b vitamins can help with nerve damage and even peripheral neuropathy (11)
Beets have been found to help with circulation which is a concern for long term diabetics! In long term diabetes the inflammation can affect the circulation.
In addition to helping with overall circulation studies show that beets can help to lower the inflammation. (12) Please see Invite’s Beets Hx
Chromium, Zinc and Magnesium have been correlated with better blood sugar control. Studies show that those with low levels of these nutrients have less stable or even poorly controlled blood sugar. (13) Please see Invite health for all of our options containing these fantastic nutrients!
Multivitamins are important to help prevent any deficiencies and for overall health. Additionally studies show that in the long term a good multivitamin can help with energy. (14) Please see Invite’s extensive line of multi vitamins!
THE NUTRITIONAL ASPECT ON CONTROLLING BLOOD SUGAR HEALTH
Next week we will navigate the confusing world of PREDIABETES!
SOURCES
“Diabetes Fact sheet N°312”. WHO. November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
Wolsdorf & Garvey 2016, “Type 1 Diabetes”.
“DKA (Ketoacidosis) & Ketones”. American Diabetes Association. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
Chiang JL, Kirkman MS, Laffel LM, Peters AL (July 2014). “Type 1 diabetes through the life span: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association”. Diabetes Care. 37 (7): 2034–2054. doi:10.2337/dc14-1140. PMC 5865481. PMID 24935775.
Norris, Johnson & Stene 2020, “Environmental factors”.
Repaske 2016, “Additional medications that decrease insulin release”.
https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/diabetes-amputation
Chiang JL, Kirkman MS, Laffel LM, Peters AL (July 2014). “Type 1 diabetes through the life span: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association”. Diabetes Care. 37 (7): 2034–2054. doi:10.2337/dc14-1140. PMC 5865481. PMID 24935775.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2836194/
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0029-1211460
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294980/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31343948/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26406393/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4750202/
The physiology of Diabetes Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com† One of the most common questions people call or ask about is regarding blood sugar. Statistics for diabetes are quite alarming. In the United States alone there …
cholesterol Suscribe Today! Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode. CERAMIDES MAKES CHOLESTEROL VERY DANGEROUS- INVITEⓇ HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 590 Hosted by Jerry Hickey, PH **Intro Music** InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InVite HealthⓇ podcast, where our degreed health care …
Diabetes Lab tests
Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com†
Diabetes is ruled out or confirmed with blood tests. One of the most important tests is A1c or hemoglobin A1c (hA1C). This measures the average blood sugar levels over three months. Because the A1c is an average of the blood sugar levels over three months, it is considered more accurate for diabetes than a morning blood sugar reading or a spot test. The reason for this is because, spot tests monitor your blood sugar for a very short period of time and are affected by what you eat. For example let’s say Monday you go to an ice cream all you can eat party, the next morning you test your blood sugar and it’s much higher than is healthy or normal. Meanwhile your A1c test results that you get in a few weeks shows you are fine. That is because A1c is an average, thus one or two days of sugar overload in most cases doesn’t affect the results. (1) †
Fasting blood sugar is a great day to day tool to make sure blood sugar is well controlled. Unfortunately unlike A1c it is affected by recent spikes in blood sugar. Therefore it is mostly used to monitor rather than rule out diabetes. It is also helpful when someone is having large spikes up and down in their blood sugar but overall the average blood sugar is normal. If there is a history of high fasting blood sugar this is an indicator that A1c should be tested. (2) †
HBA1C: WHY IT MATTERS TO HEALTHY AGING – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 515>>LISTEN NOW!
Another blood test is called the glucose tolerance test and is used to determine how well your body is able to cope with glucose. This is actually a two part test. First is the glucose screening test. After fasting you are given a glucose liquid and 1 hour later your blood glucose level is tested. If the glucose level is higher than 140mg/dl, then a glucose tolerance test is recommended. Once again after fasting you will be given a glucose liquid. This time however you will get your blood sugar level taken first to get a baseline number. Then you consume the liquid and after 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours, your blood sugar levels are checked again. Depending on the results, an A1c can be used to confirm the diabetes diagnosis. Glucose tolerance tests are often done to screen for gestational diabetes. (3) †
Overall the most common tests for blood sugar are HA1c or A1c, fasting blood sugar, glucose screening tests and the glucose tolerance test. In addition to these tests, random blood sugar can be tested. (1) †
Now you may be saying what about the line on my urine test that says glucose?? Normally urine contains little to no glucose so anytime glucose is detected, it is flagged as abnormal. This is because glucose is not excreted by the kidneys. However when there is too much glucose in the body, the kidneys will get rid of the extra glucose by excreting it in the urine. While in the past, urine glucose was very important in monitoring blood sugar, (Just a random fun fact diabetes means sweet urine!). Due to its inaccuracies, it has become less common to use. It is useful when blood testing is too difficult for example in the case of needle phobias. Additionally urine tests can indicate the need for more accurate testing such as A1c. (4) †
BLOOD SUGAR AND KIDNEY SUPPORT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 519>>LISTEN NOW!
In addition to glucose, the amount of insulin can be tested as well. Having too much insulin is called hyperinsulinemia. Having too much insulin can be a sign of insulin resistance, however I want to mention that other concerns such as tumors of the insulin producing cells can lead to an overproduction of insulin. (5) Low insulin is associated with type 1 diabetes. (6) †
I’ve included a chart for blood sugar numbers that indicates normal, pre and diabetic numbers so that as we get more into this topic a reference range is already available.(7) †
Next week we will be talking about Type 1 diabetes which was formally called Juvenile diabetes! †
SOURCES