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Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes
Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes
Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes
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Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes

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Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes, by health writer David Drum, is a well-researched look at alternative therapies which may help people control diabetes in conjunction with good medical treatment. The book has chapters on vitamins, minerals, supplements and herbal medicines which may be useful in controlling high blood sugar and other symptoms of diabetes. Exercise, body work, new dietary strategies and more controversial therapies such as chelation therapy and DSMO are included. Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes includes chapters on the benefits of meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, social support, yoga, tai chi, music therapy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, flower remedies, light therapies and magnets, therapeutic touch and even spiritual healing. Includes a comprehensive resources section with freshly-updated Internet links and a comprehensive bibliography.

"Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes is a useful and comprehensive look at alternative therapies for people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. David Drum examines more than two dozen therapies and presents a great deal of available research in a factual manner. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in "going a little farther" along the road to self-managing their diabetes."
--Terry Zierenberg, RN, CDE, is a former program coordinator for the Diabetes Care Center at Tarzana-Encino Hospital in Los Angeles, pediatric diabetes educator at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, a Diabetes Nurse Specialist and Education Manager with MiniMed, Inc., a Clinical Education Specialist with Dexcom, the continuous glucose monitor company, and the co-author of the Type 2 Diabetes Sourcebook.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherDavid Drum
Release dateFeb 25, 2011
ISBN9780984564668
Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes
Author

David Drum

David Drum is an award-winning journalist and writer. He is the author or co-author of eight nonfiction books in the health area as well as the well-reviewed new historical novel Heathcliff: The Lost Years, and the comic novel, Introducing the Richest Family in America. His health books are known for their practical, well-researched content and have also been well reviewed.David has worked as a newspaper reporter, a sports editor, an advertising copywriter, a ranch foreman, an encyclopedia salesman, a short order cook, and an inner-city schoolteacher. He has been an independent writer since 1978.He is a member of the Authors Guild, the Independent Writers of Southern California, and the American Medical Writers Association.A native of Wichita, Kansas, he is a graduate of Brevard College, the University of California at Riverside and the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop.He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

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    Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes - David Drum

    ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

    FOR MANAGING

    DIABETES

    By David Drum

    Burning Books Press + Los Angeles

    Vintage Wellness Edition

    Copyright 2011 by David Drum

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    ISBN print edition # 0-658-01380-7

    ISBN this edition # 978-0-9845646-6-8

    For Koelle

    If we do not change our direction, we are liable to end up where we are headed

    —Old Chinese proverb

    *

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Preface

    Chapter 1: Alternative Therapies and Diabetes

    Popularity • Medical Progress • Other Approaches • Convergence • Some Precautions • Holistic Treatment • Research Support • Toward Wellness

    PART. I BODY THERAPIES

    Chapter 2: Nutrition

    Healthy Eating • Ray’s Story • Balance • Vegetarian Diets • Diets, Diets Everywhere • High Fiber •Very Low Calorie Diets • Better Quality Foods

    Chapter 3: Foods to Eat and Foods to Avoid

    Good Foods to Eat • Bad News Foods

    Chapter 4: Vitamins and Minerals

    Gail's Story • Antioxidants • Vitamins • Minerals

    Chapter 5: Other Supplements

    Alpha Lipoic Acid • Gamma Linolenic Acid • Amino Acids • Coenzyme Q10 • DHEA • Additional Supplements

    Chapter 6: Herbal Medicines

    Aloe Vera • Alfalfa • Astragalus • Bilberry • Bitter Melon • Burdock • Cayenne • Dandelion • Fenugreek • Gingko Biloba • Ginseng • Glucomannan • Gosha-jinki- gan • Guar • Gymnema • Hawthorn • Milk Thistle • Neem Oil • Psyllium • Pterocarpus • Saltbush • St. John's Wort • Valerian • Be Careful with Herbs

    Chapter 7: Exercise

    Insulin Sensitivity

    Chapter 8: Bodywork

    Swedish Massage • Shiatsu • Reflexology • Rosen Method • Feldenkrais Method • Trager Approach • Rolfing • Osteopathic Manipulation • Chiropractic Treatment

    Chapter 9: Chelation Therapy and DMSO

    Chelation Therapy • DMSO

    PART II. MIND/BODY THERAPIES

    Chapter 10: Stress

    Fight or Flight • Research • Mind and Body

    Chapter 11: Meditation

    Relaxation Response • Transcendental Meditation Mindfulness Meditation

    Chapter 12: Hypnosis

    Basics of Hypnosis • Susan's Story • Research on Hypnosis • Autogenic Training • Affirmations

    Chapter 13: Biofeedback Research

    Chapter 14: Social Support

    How Support Networks Help • Counseling • Organized Religion • Helping

    Chapter 15: Yoga and More

    Hatha Yoga • Good Postures • Tai Chi • Chi Gong

    Chapter 16: Music Therapy

    Healing Power of Music

    Chapter 17: Aromatherapy

    Treatment with Essential Oils • Popular Essential Oils

    PART III. SPIRIT

    Chapter 18: Acupuncture

    Acupuncture as Therapy • Research

    Chapter 19: Homeopathy

    Homeopathy Defined • Sharon's Story • Homeopathic Remedies • Classical Homeopathy • Research • Homeopathy and Diabetes

    Chapter 20: Bach Flower Remedies and Crystals

    Bach Flower Remedies • Other Flower Remedies • Crystals

    Chapter 21: Light and Color Therapies

    Light and the Body • Earthly Rhythm • Ultraviolet Light • Color Therapy • Color Reflexology • Color Breathing

    Chapter 22: Magnets

    Background • Research • How Magnets Work • Precautions

    Chapter 23: Therapeutic Touch

    Therapeutic Touch • Variations

    Chapter 24: Spiritual Healing

    Belief • Healing • Spiritual Healing • Healers • Final Thought

    Appendix A: Resources

    Appendix B: Bibliography

    About the Author

    Acknowledgments

    *

    PREFACE

    Increasingly, people are taking charge of their own health. Individuals from all walks of life are educating themselves in order to make informed decisions about treating their ailments, including patients with Type 2, or maturity onset, diabetes. There is tremendous change under way in how we look at health and wellness, and it is reaching the status of a movement as more and more people look toward alternative therapies.

    For example, futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil normalized the parameters of diabetes by the use of a program of complementary medicine designed in conjunction with his doctor. Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at the age of 35, in the middle of a brilliant career, Kurzweil turned his analytic and research skills on managing and mitigating his disease. Kurzweil now takes more than 150 pills a day, a mixture of vitamins, minerals, and other supplements. He has frequent medical tests of his vitamin and mineral levels. He returns to a clinic weekly for infusions and other treatments that have helped return the parameters of Type 2 diabetes such as blood glucose to normal. While Kurzweil’s program, the subject of a 2005 book, is more expensive and time-consuming than most people could manage, it is an example of how alternative therapies may be used to help people manage diabetes.

    For the consumer of medical services, unfortunately, the task of looking into alternative therapies can be daunting. In the first place, there are a bewildering number of alternative therapies out there. More than six hundred alternative or complementary therapies have been identified by the Office of Alternative Medicine, but not all of these therapies are appropriate for every medical condition. In addition, many medical doctors are only slightly familiar with alternative therapies, and most are reluctant to recommend them. Since the research on many of these therapies is scanty or difficult to find, many people wishing to supplement conventional treatment may have a very difficult time distinguishing potentially interesting and useful therapies from those which have no value or might be harmful. Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes provides a simplified and streamlined resource for making informed decisions.

    Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes is written for people who are curious, and perhaps a little skeptical, about alternative treatments for diabetes. It examines some of the more potentially useful alternative therapies, and presents some of the evidence that supports their use, as well as some precautions you should know.

    The first chapter provides a general overview of alternative therapies. The remainder of Alternative Therapies for Managing Diabetes is divided into three parts focusing on different types of alternative treatments.

    Part I, Body Therapies, focuses on alternative therapies that help the body.

    In Chapter 2, we take a fresh look at dietary strategies that help control blood sugar and other symptoms. Chapter 3 recommends particular foods to eat or to avoid.

    Chapter 4 evaluates vitamin and mineral supplements that may be helpful to people with diabetes, and Chapter 5 continues this examination with other potentially useful supplements.

    Chapter 6 looks at the herbs that may be useful in the treatment of diabetes and in controlling symptoms such as high blood sugar.

    Chapter 7 takes a new look at exercise—an effective way to combat insulin resistance and lower blood sugar. Chapter 8 examines bodywork or massage that may increase blood and lymph circulation, relax tense muscles, and relieve stress.

    Chapter 9 covers chelation therapy and DMSO, two potentially useful but controversial treatments.

    Part II, Mind/Body Therapies, begins with Chapter 10, which examines the impact of stress on diabetes. Chapter 11 discusses the benefits of meditation, and the relaxation response that is the opposite of stress. Chapter 12 covers hypnosis, autogenic therapy, and affirmations. Chapter 13 explains the potential benefits of biofeedback.

    Chapter 14 taps into the important but often unrecognized health benefits of social support.

    Chapter 15 presents yoga, tai chi, and other exotic mind/body therapies that may benefit people with diabetes. Chapter 16 attends to the sounds of music therapy. Chapter 17 sniffs out the evidence on aromatherapy, which delivers health benefits through its direct yet subtle effect on the mind.

    Part III, Spirit, covering energy therapies, begins with Chapter 18 which looks at the potential benefits of acupuncture.

    Chapter 19 examines homeopathy and how it can strengthen the body. Chapter 20 takes a peek at gentle Bach flower remedies and crystals that may provide emotional solace.

    Chapter 21 looks at light and color therapies, which may be helpful with depression and other symptoms. Chapter 22 covers magnet therapy.

    Chapter 23 covers therapeutic touch and other therapies that are modern variations of the laying on of hands. Chapter 24, the final chapter, covers faith healing and spiritual healing.

    A wonderfully useful Resources section in Appendix A, provides information on medical and support organizations for various alternative therapies.

    All of the alternative therapies presented in this book have potential benefits for people with diabetes. In the author’s opinion, all of them are best employed in a complementary way. When used judiciously, and in tandem with good conventional medical treatment, the therapies presented in this book may well offer you the gift of improved health.

    *

    CHAPTER 1: ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

    More and more people are looking to add alternative therapies to conventional medical treatment. While even the most useful alternative therapies can't cure either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, many therapies can complement good medical treatment and help control the worst effects of this common, debilitating disease.

    Alternative treatments such as homeopathy, acupuncture, and naturopathy are based on a rationale that is different than conventional medicine. These and other treatments can greatly strengthen the natural energy of the body. Herbal medicines, hypnosis, certain vitamin and mineral supplements, biofeedback, and other therapies may help people cope with and manage diabetes more successfully. Some alternative therapies may help you control symptoms such as high blood sugar and high blood pressure, and ward off or manage particular complications.

    Among the best existing alternative therapies, some may reduce stress, increase your energy, and buttress your overall health and well- being. Some may give you a greater perspective on yourself, the management of your disease, or an enhanced sense of well-being. Some supplements, herbs, and treatment systems covered in this book may help you control particular symptoms, or lose or maintain weight. A few alternative therapies may just help distract you from the drudgery of diabetes and help you feel a little better for a while.

    Alternative therapies have strengths and weaknesses, which are highlighted in this book. They do not replace good, conventional medical treatment. If you use your common sense, educating yourself as you go along, you may find that alternative therapies open an entire new vista of good health for you.

    Popularity

    Alternative practitioners of all stripes are experiencing an unprecedented interest, often from well-educated, relatively affluent people. In 1993, a survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that about one in three adults had used an alternative therapy in the previous year. A recent Stanford University study found that while the number of visits to conventional medical doctors did not increase between 1990 and 1997, visits to alternative practitioners jumped a whopping 47 percent.

    Health-care practitioners, including diabetes educators, are becoming more open to alternative therapies. A 1998 survey found that more than 60 percent of doctors had recommended alternative therapies to their patients at least once in the prior year. Certified diabetes educators include nurses and other medical specialists trained to educate people about diabetes self-management, and many recommend alternative therapies. According to a later survey published in The Diabetes Educator, almost two-thirds of certified diabetes educators recommend alternative therapies to their patients with diabetes as an adjunct to good, basic medical care. These numbers are probably higher today.

    People are interested in these therapies, and they want to know more about them, observes Dr. Susan Rush Michael, a professor of nursing at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and one of the authors of the survey. Dr. Michael says an even greater percentage of certified diabetes educators probably recommend alternative therapies today than when the survey was first published.

    Traditional medicine doesn't have all the answers, Dr. Michael observes. Alternative therapies offer hope for a lot of people.

    Support groups, meditation, lifestyle diets, laughter and humor, exercise, relaxation therapy, prayer, imagery and visualization, massage, music therapy, and homeopathy are among the therapies frequently recommended in the survey. Approximately 63 percent of diabetes educators recommend alternative therapies. Altogether, 87 percent of the educators surveyed thought the therapies they recommended were helpful to people with diabetes.

    Most Recommended Therapies

    The Diabetes Educator survey found that almost two-thirds of certified diabetes educators recommend alternative therapies to some of their clients with diabetes. The ten therapies most recommended by diabetes educators include:

    Physical Activity

    Self-help Groups

    Lifestyle Diets

    Laughter and Humor

    Relaxation Therapy

    Prayer

    Imagery/Visualization

    Meditation

    Massage

    Music Therapy

    Least Recommended Therapies

    The following alternative therapies were recommended least frequently by diabetes educators. Hydrogen peroxide therapy, the least popular, was recommended less than 1 percent of the time.

    Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy

    Manchurian Mushrooms

    Ozone Therapy

    Crystal Therapy

    Magnetic Therapy

    Wheat Grass

    Ayurveda

    Chakra Balancing

    Reiki

    Macrobiotic Diets

    Not surprisingly, the most frequently recommended alternative therapies have the greatest body of research data behind them. Rarely recommended therapies such as hydrogen peroxide therapy, ozone therapy, Manchurian mushrooms, and crystal therapy have the least research data to support their use. According to the survey, older educators and female educators are more likely to recommend the use of humor therapy, relaxation therapy, and music therapy. Male educators, on the other hand, are more likely to recommend homeopathy and megavitamin therapy.

    Dr. Michael refers clients with diabetes to alternative therapists based on each person's individual interests, whether they are experiencing great stress, and other factors. Recently, she's referred several people to a local reflexologist, with excellent results. One older individual with balance problems was referred to tai chi classes. Several people have tried guided imagery, utilizing audio tapes made by a social worker to assist them. Others have benefited from therapeutic touch, aromatherapy, music therapy, and other alternative therapies, which complement their doctor's care, Dr. Michael says. However, she adds, referrals to alternative therapists do not always produce good results.

    Rosa Mantonti, a certified diabetes educator and hospital administrator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where alternative therapies are quite popular, says, People are going toward alternative therapies because they don't want to take insulin, they don't want to take pills, and they don't want to lose weight. Around here we have people who say that if it's easier to take an herb than to go for a walk, then I'm going to do the herb.

    In New Mexico, Mantonti says, some alternative therapists have a problem with what might be called false advertising—promising patients a lot more than they can possibly deliver. Some therapists promise patients they may be able to get them off insulin or diabetes medications, for instance, promises that can be impossible to fulfill.

    Dr. Michael adds: People in the health care professions had better become educated about these therapies so they can advise their clients, who are interested in them, and help keep them away from unsafe practices. Nurses are in a good position to help people understand these therapies.

    Medical Progress

    Conventional medicine has made extraordinary progress in the treatment of diabetes, a disease that has plagued humanity for thousands of years. Doctors now have a sophisticated understanding of the importance of diet, exercise, and powerful new medications. Extremely sensitive measuring devices have made Type 2 diabetes quite manageable. However, though conventional medicine has made great progress, diabetes remains difficult to live with and often difficult to manage. It is still one of the most frustrating and time-intensive of all chronic diseases. Western medicine is the best in the world, but is reductionist in its approach to health and disease. Type 2 diabetes, for instance, is typically diagnosed by symptoms such as high blood sugar and high insulin levels in the blood. These symptoms are then treated. Controlling these symptoms is of enormous benefit to people with the disease, but even the best conventional medical care doesn't make diabetes go away.

    Look at the best-known symptom of diabetes, high blood glucose or high blood sugar. Normal levels of blood sugar are around 100 mg./dl.(milligrams per deciliter), increasing a little after eating, but normalizing quickly. In people with diabetes, blood sugar levels rise to dangerously high levels and remain there unless controlled. Lengthy periods of high blood sugar are linked to long-term complications affecting the heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and feet. Controlling this symptom with diet, exercise, and medications is the focus of good conventional medical care, and the wisdom of this strategy is well-documented. High blood pressure is another symptom that troubles medical doctors.

    After we eat, insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, is released by into the blood. Normally, insulin helps blood sugar enter the cells, but the bodies of people with diabetes resist this. This insulin resistance is the defining symptom of Type 2 diabetes, helping trigger high levels of blood sugar. Despite the presence of what should be adequate insulin, blood sugar levels remain high. Although there are exceptions, most people with Type 2 diabetes have two or three times the normal 30 units of insulin in their blood, but blood sugars remain too high unless steps are taken to control this symptom.

    An important British research study, the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, followed 5,000 Britons with Type 2 diabetes for 20 years. When the study concluded in 1997, researchers found that people who kept their blood sugars close to the normal range reduced their risk of small vessel blood complications by 25 percent, lowered their heart attack risk by 16 percent, and lowered levels of damaged or glycosylated proteins in the blood by 11 percent. This study also concluded that people who kept their blood pressure near normal levels significantly reduced their incidence of complications involving the blood vessels, heart, and eyes.

    This large, well-supervised study conclusively proves that controlling symptoms such as high blood sugar and high blood pressure is quite important for the long-term health of people with diabetes. However, results also indicate that there is more to managing diabetes than simply controlling these symptoms. If symptom control were all there was to it, people with good blood sugar control would not have experienced fewer complications, they would have experienced no complications at all.

    Diabetes may be viewed as a metabolic disorder. A nutritional disease, diabetes interferes with the normal process of converting food to energy. It affects the endocrine system, which contains the pancreas, the adrenals, and other glands. Diabetes also affects the digestive system, the circulatory system, the immune system, and the nervous system. Diabetes may contribute to mental and physical stress and highly unpleasant emotions such as depression, anger, irritability, resentment, and fear. Therefore, a holistic approach is probably best.

    Other Approaches

    Other types of therapies look a bit beyond physical symptoms such as high blood sugar. Mind/body therapies, for instance, target their efforts mostly on the mind, aiming to lower stress levels, increase relaxation, and produce a number of positive, indirect effects on the body of the person with diabetes.

    Naturopathy looks at some of the other symptoms that signal the onset of diabetes such as excessive thirst and excessive urination, regarding them as useful insights into the body's natural coping mechanisms at work, which may provide clues to treatment.

    Other practitioners work with energies that aren't recognized by conventional medicine. Homeopathic practitioners might recommend remedies that strengthen a life energy they call the vital force. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine might suggest acupuncture or herbal treatments with an eye toward maximizing the strength of an invisible natural energy they call chi. Practitioners of an Indian folk medicine called Ayurvedic medicine might look at prana, an energy said to flow into the body through a series of seven invisible chakras, located in the trunk of the body and the head, which roughly correspond with the glands of the endocrine system. In Ayurvedic medicine, and in some other alternative therapies, practitioners might focus on the third chakra, where the pancreas, adrenal glands, and most of the digestive system are located. Even the emotions may factor into the onset of diabetes. Dr. Richard Gerber, author of Vibrational Medicine for the list Century, notes that the pancreas is associated with obsessive worry in Chinese five-element theory. Worry itself could cause a kind of burnout of the pancreas, he suggests, expressed as symptoms such as high blood sugar and diseases such as diabetes.

    Conventional medicine recognizes that hereditary factors, environmental factors, endocrine imbalances, dietary discretion, obesity, and stress all contribute to diabetes. But for the moment, the root cause of diabetes remains unknown.

    Convergence

    Conventional medicine has slowly begun to embrace the best alternative therapies, which many doctors call complementary or supportive therapies. In the past, one definition of alternative therapies was that they were therapies that weren't taught in medical schools. This definition no longer holds true. Alternative therapies are now popping up in medical school curriculums in the United States and Canada. More than half of North America's medical schools currently offer course work.

    The American Medical Association's Resolution 514 did not endorse these therapies, but encouraged physician members to become better informed regarding alternative (complementary) medicine and to participate in appropriate studies of it. Some medical doctors are practicing alternative therapies alongside conventional medicine.

    We are now witnessing the emergence of what might be called retro medicines. Older, gentler systems of folk medicine such as herbalism, Ayurvedic medicine, massage, light therapy, and homeopathy are being taken seriously again.

    Traditional medicine is expanding its horizons, but the United States and Canada lag behind some European countries when it comes to the utilization of alternative therapies. In Germany and France, for instance, herbal medicine is well-established. It's said that people who visit a doctor in Germany are more likely to be prescribed herbs than conventional medications. In Great Britain, therapies such as homeopathy and spiritual healing are accepted. In many parts of Asia, medical doctors practice alongside practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese traditional medicine. And in much of the third world, folk medicine remains all that is available to most people.

    The public acceptance and growth of alternative therapies can be seen by looking at naturopathy, a treatment system combining diet therapy, exercise, counseling, homeopathy, herbal remedies, spinal manipulation, hydrotherapy, and massage. A few years ago naturopathy was virtually unheard of, and few states licensed naturopaths. But in July of 2,000 the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners began certifying naturopaths by a clinical licensing process similar to that for doctors and chiropractors. More and more states now license naturopathic physicians, and naturopathic colleges are participating in research studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. In the field of health care, professional certification of many alternative practitioners is an established fact.

    Guidelines

    Here are some general guidelines to be considered when looking at alternative therapies:

    •Do some homework before you decide on an alternative therapy approach to try. Select an approach that interests you and that you think might be helpful.

    •Ask your medical doctor, certified diabetes educator, or nurse for a referral to a practitioner. Many certified diabetes educators are familiar with useful alternative therapies. Nurses who are members of the American Holistic Nurses Association also receive special training in alternative therapies. Professional organizations, books, and support groups for people with diabetes may be other sources of referrals.

    •Investigate the training and background of a practitioner you are thinking of consulting. Medical doctors, osteopathic physicians, naturopaths, and acupuncturists are licensed by individual districts or states and have credentials that may be checked. Hypnotists, biofeedback technicians, massage therapists, music therapists, and others can be certified by professional organizations.

    •Meet with the practitioner. Ask about the risks and benefits of the therapy. Understand what you can reasonably expect to gain and what the therapy cannot do. Get an estimate of the costs and frequency of treatments, and inquire about possible side effects. Understand how you can tell if you are responding to the therapy, and how long it might take to see results. Trust your instincts.

    •Inform your medical doctor that you are using the therapy. Many doctors will work with alternative practitioners in lowering levels of diabetes medications when appropriate.

    •Report all adverse effects or reactions immediately to the practitioner, as you would with a medical doctor.

    Some Precautions

    It is necessary to discuss alternative therapies, prior to beginning them, with a good medical doctor. Some supplements can interact with existing medications and could require prompt medical treatment. Although many herbs may be useful in controlling diabetes, a few are quite dangerous and should be avoided. If supplements or alternative therapy treatments lower blood sugar levels, your doses of medications will have to be adjusted or you will be at risk of low blood sugar reactions. If you do achieve better control of blood sugars, reducing or discontinuing medication under your doctor's supervision is the safest and most conservative way to proceed, with the least possible risk to you.

    Note also that a few of the alternative therapies mentioned in this book are considered dangerous by some conventional medical doctors and should be carefully investigated beforehand. Chelation therapy, for instance, has potential benefits as a treatment for vascular problems, and some strong advocates. But before you try this therapy, you should fully understand what it might do for you, and the potential dangers of treatment. And, of course, it should be administered only by a medical doctor trained in its use.

    Alternative therapies work quite slowly compared to conventional medical treatment. Since so many therapies take a long time to achieve results, you should allow a reasonable amount of time to evaluate them. It can take several weeks, and even months, before you know whether some alternative therapies are having a positive effect.

    Of course, if you have an adverse reaction in the first week, stop the therapy right away. And if you try something for a while and it doesn't work, try something else. Work with both your alternative practitioner and your doctor to gradually reduce doses of diabetes pills or insulin when that is possible.

    Unfortunately, there are quack alternative practitioners at work in the world. If someone promises you something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The chance that you might abandon good, conventional medical treatment for an alternative therapy is the biggest single danger in seeking help from an alternative practitioner, and the easiest way to harm yourself.

    Mild side effects from alternative treatment are not uncommon. In 1994, a survey published in the magazine Nature found that nearly 16 percent of British users of alternative therapies reported a mild to moderate adverse reaction to the therapies they utilized. More than 12 percent using acupuncture reported an aggravation of their symptoms, fatigue, pain, and mental or needle trauma. Almost 10 percent

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