Diabetes is the condition when the body either doesn’t make enough insulin, or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should. When you eat food, your body takes that food and turns it into sugar (or glucose). In order to make this happen, the pancreas releases insulin. This insulin opens up cells in the body, and helps the cells absorb the glucose. In a healthy body, insulin slowly breaks down sugars, and turns those sugars into energy. Vitamin B of coenzyme Q10 and magnesium help support this functioning. But with diabetes, the body is not able to properly process food and sugar into energy. Sugar levels rise all over the body, including in the blood, liver, and fat. Common treatment involves daily insulin shots to help regular blood sugar. Without treatment, diabetes can lead to complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and amputation of limbs.
There are four main types of blood sugar disorders: prediabetes, Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.
Prediabetes is indicated by higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, and is usually a precursor of Type 2 diabetes. However, there are often no signs or symptoms. Family history, genetics, inactivity and excess fat are all linked to the disease, and it can show up in children and adults. Blood sugar levels can be managed with a healthy diet and exercise, but without lifestyle changes, prediabetes will likely develop into Type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes often develops in children and teenagers, and is sometimes referred to as “juvenile onset diabetes”. For people with Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys pancreas cells, so the body can’t make insulin. Daily insulin therapy is required to regulate blood sugars.
Type 2 diabetes can develop at any age, but most often occurs in middle-aged people. It is frequently called “adult onset diabetes”. For people with Type 2 diabetes, the body does not make enough insulin, or isn’t able to use it. Treatments for Type 2 diabetes typically include diet and exercise, and may require insulin injections.
This type of diabetes develops during pregnancy, and can affect the health of both the mother and baby. Similar to other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes affects how your cells use sugar. Pregnant women can manage the disease with balanced nutrition and exercise. Following delivery of the baby, blood sugar levels typically return to normal.
Diabetes is not always evident to patients – in fact, sometimes there are no symptoms at all. This is particularly true for patients with prediabetes, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. Below are some of the most common symptoms:
The organs and systems in your body all work together and affect your blood sugar, so it’s rarely just ONE organ or system that causes your blood sugar problems. But, that’s why it can be challenging to pinpoint the problem. At Yost Wellness Center, our functional medicine doctors understand that there are many hidden causes of diabetes. Here are just a few:
We dig deeply and look at many more indicators than what a traditional doctor might find. We search for nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and specific organ dysfunction – all potential causes that might otherwise be missed! By looking at all of these factors, we can discover the underlying cause of your blood sugar issues.
If you’ve already been to a doctor to treat your Type 2 diabetes, he or she likely focused on treating your symptoms rather than treating the root cause of the problem.
Here at Yost Wellness Center, we recognize that your symptoms, fluctuating blood sugar levels, lack of energy, and stubborn pounds aren’t the real problem. Rather, it’s the underlying cause that’s the real issue. By evaluating all of your organ and body system functions, we can discover the root of your blood sugar issues. And when we know exactly what’s causing your problem, we can provide you with the treatment that really works. We have a clinically proven step by step process for helping our patients achieve health.
If you think it sounds too good to be true, know that many individuals have already shown it CAN be done. In fact, recent research has shown that the right treatment approach for Type 2 diabetes can reverse diabetes in as little as three weeks! Many have even been able to safely stop taking their medications – a true sign of success.
If you’re fed up with the traditional approach to diabetes – diet, exercise, and drugs – you’ve come to the right place. Your doctor treats symptoms. We don’t. What we do goes way beyond. We provide the support and tools you need for a life free of Type 2 diabetes.