Type 2 Diabetes Treatment.

Find information on type 2 diabetes treatment here. If you're a typical American, you're also a sugarholic: One of every five calories you eat is from sugar (in the form of sucrose, fructose, and other sweeteners), for a grand total of 140 pounds of sugar a year.

For many of us, that huge quantity of sugar isn't a huge problem. When you chow down on a bowl of ice cream or chug a sugary soda, your pancreas, a digestive organ, shifts into fifth gear, secreting large amounts of the hormone insulin.

The insulin quickly trucks the sugar (in the form of glucose) out of your bloodstream and into your cells for use or storage. About 6 percent of us, however, don't have the genetic makeup to cope with a lifelong sugar overload. If you're in that group (and there's no definitive way to know who is and who isn't), eventually-usually sometime in your forties or fifties some of the insulin receptors in your cells can go on strike and refuse to accept any more sugar deliveries, stranding excess sugar in the bloodstream. Also, the amount of insulin that your body produces is reduced. The result is Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, or high blood sugar.

Nearly 15 million Americans have to contend with this condition. Excess sugar in the blood damages the arteries and veins and can lead to fatal heart disease and stroke. (The death rate for middle-aged people with Type 2 diabetes is twice that of middle-aged people who do not have it.)

The glut of sugar can also cause kidney disease, eye problems, and severe nerve damage to the lower limbs and other parts of the body. (People with diabetes account for more than 50 percent of the lower limb amputations performed in the United States each year.)
If you have Type 2 diabetes, changes in the way you eat (and exercise, of course) may be your ticket back to good health, says
Jonathan Wright, M.D., a nutritionally oriented physician and director of the Tahoma Clinic in Kent, Washington. Here's what he suggests.

SUGAR AND REFINED FOODS: Cut Back First.
If you are looking for type 2 diabetes treatment then Dr. Wright believes, you should reduce sugar intake as well as minimize sugar's first cousin, the refined foods such as white bread and snack chips that contain white flour and other highly processed grains. Processed grains dump a load of glucose into the bloodstream.

WHOLE FOODS: Follow the Rainbow
Add more whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, to your diet. They're rich in fiber and other nutritional factors that help stabilize blood sugar. The simplest way to get a variety of whole foods is to try to eat every color each day, says Dr. Wright. Red tomatoes. Orange carrots. Yellow squash. Green salad. Blueberries. Brown rice. Black beans. "If you make sure to eat a nutritional spectrum of colorful foods every day, and if you concentrate on getting those colors from whole foods, you will begin to control high blood sugar with diet," he says.

FATTY ACIDS: For Damage Control
"I believe that supplements containing essential fatty acids, such as flaxseed oil, can help repair the cellular damage caused by a lifetime of consuming too much sugar," says Dr. Wright. When shopping for a supplement, look for the words high lignan on the label. This indicates that the product is rich in the omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids, all of which are necessary for cellular healing. Also, says Dr. Wright, if you're looking for liquid flaxseed oil instead of a capsule, look for a product that has been specially prepared using nitrogen. If that preparation method isn't used, the healthfulness of the oil is reduced during processing, he says. "A good product will tell you on the label that this was the preparation method," he says. Or look on the bottle of oil for a "use by" date. Follow the dosage recommendations on the label.

EXERCISE: Twice a Day, Every Day
Studies have shown that people who exercise cut their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 24 percent. That's because exercise is insulin's best friend: It lends a helping hand, moving sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells. When muscles are fit, it takes less of the hormone to move sugar into muscle cells, says Eric P. Durak, director of Medical Health and Fitness in Santa Barbara, California, and an expert on diabetes and exercise. If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, you may need the insulin-regulating power of exercise, says Durak. The key to using exercise to normalize blood sugar, he believes, is to work out twice a day every day-once in the morning and once in the evening, for 15 to 20 minutes each time.

If you have to eat three or more times a day to keep your blood sugar on an even keel, what makes you think that you can exercise at the often-recommended level of three times a week and still control your sugar levels? You can't, Durak says. To create an enjoyable exercise routine that you can stay with for the rest of your life, Durak suggests that you do one type of exercise in the morning and another in the evening. For your morning routine, he recommends doing anything that you enjoy, whether it's one of the gentler exercises like yoga or tai chi (a Chinese exercise routine of flowing movements) or a slightly more strenuous activity like working out with light weights. For your evening exercise, he suggests walking as the easiest way to get out and get going. (There's one caution, however. If you work out with weights, do it only every other day to avoid straining your muscles.)

Restoring Energy-And Health With Traditional Chinese Medicine
Type 2 diabetes is "an exhaustion syndrome caused by overindulging in sweet, fatty foods and wearing out the body," says Maoshing Ni, O.M.D., Ph.D., a doctor of Oriental medicine and director of the Tao of Wellness Center in Santa Monica, California.
The alternative home remedies of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are aimed at curing exhaustion by stimulating energy-restoring points on your body, eating energy-building foods, and taking energy-giving herbs.

Before using TCM remedies, however, "you should inform your allopathic physician (a doctor who uses Western or non alternative medicine) about what you are going to be doing," says Dr. Ni. And, if you are taking insulin, "you should carefully monitor your blood sugar levels with your doctor before you adjust your medication," he says.

ACUPRESSURE: A 10- Point Plan
In TCM, the body's energy, or chi, is said to flow throughout the body in currents called meridians. By stimulating specific spots along these currents (acupressure points) you can move the chi, sending healing energy to any part of your body.

The following points are designed to bring energy not only to your pancreas but also to all of the other parts of your body that diabetes can damage, such as your kidneys, eyes, and feet.

•    SP6 is four finger-widths directly above the bulge of the ankle bone on the inside of your leg.
•    KI3 is in a hollow area midway between the ankle bone and the very back of your ankle.
•    KI6 is one thumb's-width directly below the inside ankle bone.
•    CV4 is four finger-widths below your navel, on an imaginary vertical line running down the middle of your body and directly through your navel.
•    CV12 is on the same line but above your navel, exactly between your navel and the lower edge of your sternum.
•    LI11 is at the end of the skin crease on the outside of your elbow when the elbow is slightly bent. .
•    LU5 is on the inside of your elbow on the outer edge of the ridge of tendons that are an extension of your biceps muscle.
•    LI4 is in the web between your thumb and index finger, at the highest point of the muscle that protrudes when the thumb and index finger are close together.
•    LU9 is on the crease on your wrist closest to the palm, on the inside of the radial artery. (To find the artery, press on your wrist directly below the base of your thumb; you can feel your pulse in the radial artery.) .
•    ST44 is on the top of your foot between your second and third toes, about  ½ inch above the point where the toes connect with the rest of the foot.

In each case except for the CV points, you'll press the corresponding points on both sides of your body one at a time. To activate a point, apply steady pressure for 2 minutes with your thumb or a finger. To help reverse Type 2 diabetes, press a set of three to five points each day. For example, do SP6, KI3, and KI6 on Monday, then CV4, CV12, and LI11 on Tuesday, and so on, rotating through the list.
 
Stop doing this routine when your blood sugar has stabilized at a normal level-a result, says Dr. Ni, that is "entirely possible" based on his experience with many patients with diabetes.

PUMPKIN FOOD: Eat Some Daily
This category includes all types of pumpkins; the entire squash family, such as winter, summer, spaghetti, and yellow squash; and cucumbers. Studies in China have shown that these foods help lower blood sugar, says Dr. Ni.

WILD YAM: A Herbal Helper
People with Type 2 diabetes should use this herb daily to help maintain blood sugar within the normal range, says Dr. Ni. You can take wild yam every day for the rest of your life without harm, he says. Follow the dosage recommendations on the label. A typical dose would be equivalent to 1,500 to 3,000 milligrams a day, says Dr. Ni.

HE SHOU WU: Another Herbal Helper
He shou wu, also known as fo-ti, is "very useful in lowering blood sugar and energizing the body," says Dr. Ni. He says that, like wild yam, you can take it safely every day for as long as you'd like. Follow the dosage instructions on the label.