Author Archives: Lily Kiswani

About Lily Kiswani

I am an Integrative medicine practitioner. I transitioned into Integrative medicine after three decades of Gynecology practice and Endoscopic surgery. I was the first female Laparoscopic surgeon in India. I have co-authored a textbook, Endoscopic Gynecologic Surgery, available on Amazon. Now, after all these years, with the realisation that I can help people regain their lost health, I find myself inordinately excited and blessed to have this opportunity.

How toxins affect our health

Leave a reply

Dr. Junger

We live in a world filled with toxins. We hear about toxins in our food, water, and air, but we also hear about “toxic” relationships and “toxic” thoughts.

The cocktail of toxins we are exposed to everyday creates health issues that we are all experiencing to different degrees.

Commonplace complaints such as headaches, low energy, bowel irregularities, allergies, depression, skin issues and more are largely caused by overloaded detox systems in our bodies.

But we can change this situation.

Today, I’ll share with you how toxins affect our health and 5 ways we can reduce our exposure to them.

Here we go. Let’s start by getting clear on what a toxin is.

 

A toxin is something that interferes with normal physiology and negatively impacts bodily function.

Some toxins, known as endotoxins, are waste products from the normal activity of cells. Uric acid, ammonia, lactic acid, and homocysteine fall in this category. When these toxins build up, they cause diseases. Some are very specific, for example, when uric acid lingers, it causes gout.

Exotoxins, or xenobiotics, are human-made toxins that we are exposed to intentionally or inadvertently. Thousands of chemicals are being invented every year. These chemicals, alone or in combination, may cause disruption of the normal cell function.

Let’s give some examples of where we are exposed to human-made toxins.

food
food packaging
prescription drugs
synthetic clothes
carpets (especially synthetic wall-to-wall carpet)
house paint
building materials in offices and homes
mattresses
vinyl shower curtains
air fresheners
household cleaning products
cosmetics
body-care products like shampoo and conditioner
perfumes and fragrances
consumer products like children’s toys
emissions from cars and trucks
car interiors (that “new car smell” is chemical off-gassing from PVC)
tap water and shower water
It’s amazing to think that most of these items were not to be found 100 years ago. Now more than ever we need to bring honest awareness about the extent of our daily exposure and its effects.

We do know how some of these chemicals negatively affect the body. Common chemicals in sunscreens are linked to hormone disruption, cell damage, and skin tumors.

While it’s impossible to exclude all toxins from our lives, it’s possible to reduce much of our exposure.

How toxins affect our health

Toxins have many ways of interfering with the normal physiology of life. They can do it in a unique and very specific way, like arsenic, a deadly poison that causes asphyxia by blocking the usage of oxygen needed for the full metabolism of glucose.

Toxins may block an enzyme needed for an important body function. Or they may stimulate a specific body function in such persistent ways that it begins to cause damage.

Other toxins kill the good bacteria in the intestinal tract, block oxygen from binding to red blood cells, interfere with DNA synthesis by switching genes on and off, or block the absorption of different vitamins.

That’s some of the specific ways a toxin can affect us. But a toxin tends to cause more damage when it’s in an environment with other toxins. There are two important concepts to help us understand how this works.

The first is called bioaccumulation. This means that toxins build up in our tissues and cells more quickly than they are eliminated. The second concept is synergy. Toxins work alone but more often than not, they work in synergy with each other.

Multiple toxins are already combining in our bodies, altering and shifting our inner environments in ways that we’re only just starting to figure out.

Toxicity describes the wider, low-grade state that, to one degree or another, everyone who breathes today’s air, eats today’s food, and lives in today’s cities, suburbs, or rural areas is experiencing inside.

The effects of toxicity are many. Allergies, constipation,headaches, depression, skin issues, digestive problems, and many more.

To help support our body we need some strategies to reduce our exposure and help us cleanse.

Let’s jump into those now.

5 ways to reduce your toxic load

We want to find a balance between reducing our exposure without making ourselves crazy with anxiety. It’s true that we can’t remove all or even most of the toxins we are exposed to, but we can make good progress to lessen the effects of them on our health.

 

1. Eat Whole foods.

The major source of chemicals and toxins comes from our food. So we’ll repeat this until the cows come home: Look for whole foods free of preservatives, conservatives, and coloring agents. If available, choose chemical-free and organic varieties.

2. Find your toxic triggers.

Toxic buildup could occur from eating too many of the foods that don’t work for you.

3. Use chemical-free cosmetics, body care, and cleaning products.

Over the last few years, this topic has been written about extensively. We now have lots of companies that are creating chemical-free products.

Yet, I can’t tell you how many of my patients still haven’t switched over. Perhaps, they just think it isn’t that important. But remember, a single toxin is often not the problem, it’s the symphony of them interacting together.

I always check how clean my products are at the Environmental Working Group‘s consumer guides.

4. Filter your water.

Water is a major source of toxins today. A recent study showed that people drink water contaminated with antidepressants, hormones, heart medications, and other prescription and over-the-counter medications that have made it through the water-treatment system.

Add to that the chlorine, carcinogens from industrial and agricultural waste, and you’ve got some real messy stuff.

Filter your drinking water and shower water. The city or town-supplied water in our showers and bathtubs has equal potential to add to our toxic load, because we absorb more water through our skin via bathing and showering than through drinking.

Use the water-filter buying guide from the Environmental Working Group to help you find a filter that’s a good fit for you.

5. Do a seasonal Cleanse.

Toxins bioaccumulate in tissues faster than they can be eliminated. When toxins cannot be eliminated in a timely manner, they remain in circulation causing irritation and damage. Contact your Integrative Medicine practitioner for a detox program.

Simple steps. Stay Healthy.

 

11 Myths About Fasting and Meal Frequency

Leave a reply

Kris Gunnars|

Brunette With Apple on PlateIntermittent fasting has become immensely popular in recent years.

This is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating.

However, there are still all sorts of myths surrounding this topic.

This article debunks the 7 most common myths about fasting, snacking and meal frequency.

1. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

There is an ongoing myth that there is something “special” about breakfast. People believe that breakfast skipping leads to excessive hunger, cravings and weight gain.

Although many observational studies have found statistical links between breakfast skipping and overweight/obesity, this may be explained by the fact that the stereotypical breakfast skipper is less health-conscious overall.

A study shows that it doesn’t make any difference for weight loss whether you eat or don’t eat breakfast, although there may be some individual variability.

However, there are some studies showing that children and teenagers who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school.

There are also studies on people who have succeeded with losing weight in the long term, showing that they tend to eat breakfast.

This is one of those things that varies between individuals. Breakfast is beneficial for some people, but not others. It is not essential and there is nothing “magical” about it.

2. Eating Frequently Boosts Your Metabolism

“Eat many, small meals to stoke the metabolic flame.”

Brunette Holding a Clock and Waiting to Eat

Many people believe that eating more meals leads to increased metabolic rate, so that your body burns more calories overall.

It is true that the body expends a certain amount of energy digesting and assimilating the nutrients in a meal.

This is termed the thermic effect of food (TEF), and amounts to about 20-30% of calories for protein, 5-10% for carbs and 0-3% for fat calories. On average, the thermic effect of food is somewhere around 10% of the total calorie intake.

However, what matters here is the total amount of calories consumed, not how many meals you eat.

Eating six 500-calorie meals has the exact same effect as eating three 1000-calorie meals. Given an average thermic effect of 10%, it is 300 calories in both cases.

This is supported by numerous feeding studies in humans, showing that increasing or decreasing meal frequency has no effect on total calories burned.

3. Eating Frequently Helps Reduce Hunger

Baby Carrots in a GlassSome people believe that snacking helps prevent cravings and excessive hunger.

Interestingly, several studies have looked at this, and the evidence is mixed.

Although some studies suggest that more frequent meals lead to reduced hunger, other studies find no effects, and yet others show increased hunger levels.

One study that compared 3 high-protein meals to 6 high-protein meals found that 3 meals were actually better for reducing hunger.

That being said, this may depend on the individual. If snacking helps you experience fewer cravings and makes you less likely to binge, then it is probably a good idea.

However, there is no evidence that snacking or eating more often reduces hunger for everyone. Different strokes for different folks.

4. Many, Smaller Meals Can Help You Lose Weight

Young Woman Staring at a Plate of VegetablesFrequent meals do not boost metabolism (increase calories out).

They also do not seem to reduce hunger (reduce calories in).

If eating more frequently has no effect on the energy balance equation, then it shouldn’t have any effect on weight loss. In fact, this is supported by science. Most studies on this do show that meal frequency has no effect on weight loss.

However, if you find that eating more often makes it easier for you to eat fewer calories and less junk food, then perhaps this is effective for you.

Personally I find it to be ridiculously inconvenient to eat so often, making it even harder to stick to a healthy diet. But it may work for some people.

5. The Brain Needs a Constant Supply of Glucose

Illuminated Human BrainSome people believe that if we don’t eat carbs every few hours, that our brains will stop functioning.

This is based on the belief that the brain can only use glucose (blood sugar) for fuel.

However, what is often left out of the discussion is that the body can easily produce the glucose it needs via a process called gluconeogenesis.

This may not even be needed in most cases, because our body has stored glycogen (glucose) in the liver that it can use to supply the brain with energy for many hours.

Even during long-term fasting, starvation or a very low-carbohydrate diet, the body can produce ketone bodies from dietary fats.

Ketone bodies can provide energy for part of the brain, reducing its glucose requirement significantly.

So, during a long fast, the brain can easily sustain itself using ketone bodies and glucose produced from proteins and fats.

It also makes no sense from an evolutionary perspective that we shouldn’t be able to survive without a constant source of carbohydrate. If that were true, then humans would have become extinct a long time ago.

However, some people do report that they feel hypoglycemic when they don’t eat for a while. If this applies to you, then perhaps you should stick to a higher meal frequency, or at least ask your doctor before changing things.

6. Eating Often and Snacking is Good For Health

It is simply not “natural” for the body to be constantly in the fed state.

Woman Eating a Cereal Bar

When humans were evolving, we had to endure periods of scarcity from time to time.

There is evidence that short-term fasting induces a cellular repair process called autophagy, where the cells use old and dysfunctional proteins for energy. Autophagy may help protect against aging and diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, and may even reduce the risk of cancer.

The truth is that fasting from time to time has all sorts of benefits for metabolic health.

There are also some studies suggesting that snacking, and eating very often, can have negative effects on health and raise your risk of disease.

For example, one study found that, coupled with a high calorie intake, a diet with more frequent meals caused a greater increase in liver fat, indicating that snacking may raise the risk of fatty liver disease. There are also some observational studies showing that people who eat more often have a much higher risk of colorectal cancer.

7. Fasting Puts Your Body in “Starvation Mode”

Hungry ManAccording to the claims, not eating makes your body think it is starving, so it shuts down its metabolism and prevents you from burning fat.

It is actually true that long-term weight loss can reduce the amount of calories you burn. This is the true “starvation mode”.

This is a real effect, and can amount to hundreds of fewer calories burned per day.

However, this happens with weight loss no matter what method you use. There is no evidence that this happens more with intermittent fasting than other weight loss strategies.

In fact, the evidence actually shows that short-term fasts increase metabolic rate.

This is due to a drastic increase in blood levels of norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which tells the fat cells to break down body fat and stimulates metabolism.

Studies show that fasting for up to 48 hours can actually boost metabolism by 3.6-14%. However, if you fast much longer than that, the effect can reverse and metabolism can go down compared to baseline.

One study showed that fasting every other day for 22 days did not lead to a decrease in metabolic rate, but the participants lost 4% of their fat mass, which is impressive for a period as short as 3 weeks.

Stay Healthy the easy way.

5 Reasons Why Diabetics Need to Eat Fat

Leave a reply

 

5 Reasons why People With Diabetes Need Nutrition Dietitian Minnesota Weight Coaching Fat
 

 

 

We work with hundreds of clients who have diabetes and, time and time again, we see their need for blood sugar reducing medications (like insulin and Metformin) decrease when they eat more fat. A common misconception when you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is you’re doomed to forever be “a diabetic” and your need for pills and insulin will continue to increase for the rest of your life. This flat out isn’t true. We can prevent and reverse the damage in our cells when we are eating the right foods in the right amounts, and this includes plenty of fat.

We know that healthy fat is important for everyone, for a million different reasons. If I were to pick one population who especially need to eat fat, even more than most, it would be people with diabetes. Ironically, this is the exact opposite of what we are being taught by the American Diabetes Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The standard diabetes treatment approach is a backwards, “after the fact” approach because it focuses on treating the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. With proper nutrition, medication isn’t needed to target elevated blood glucose levels. Carbohydrate counting is still considered the “gold standard,” ensuring that people with diabetes are getting “enough” carbohydrates for blood sugar control, with the general goal being 45-60 grams at meals and 15-30 grams at snacks. This boggles my mind since carbohydrates are the VERY thing that cause spikes in blood sugar levels! Fat doesn’t spike blood sugar levels, carbohydrates do. Once you understand the science behind the importance of fat for people with diabetes, you can quit feeling guilty about pouring melted butter over your vegetables and heavy cream in your coffee.

Before we look at the critical role fat plays in managing and reversing diabetes, let’s take a look at normal blood sugar response:

When you eat a carbohydrate, regardless of the source (bread, pasta, rice, cookies, candy, soda and even vegetables and fruits), it turns into sugar the moment it hits your bloodstream. Your blood sugar levels spike, which is alarming to your body, so it triggers your pancreas to quickly secrete insulin. Insulin’s job is to unlock the door to your cells, allowing glucose to get into the cell and out of the bloodstream, in turn driving blood sugar levels back down to normal. Once in the cell, glucose can be used for energy or it can be turned into fat and stored if it’s not needed. This works only if cells respond to insulin.

It’s not a good idea to overwork the pancreas by asking it to make more and more insulin. You may know, if you are a person with diabetes (or the arbitrary “pre-diabetes”), your cells have become resistant or desensitized to the blood sugar lowering effects of insulin. This happens when cells are exposed to too much sugar and insulin which is due to blood sugar levels being constantly elevated (too many carbohydrates, too often). It’s like when you walk into a noisy party and can’t hear a word your spouse is saying, and after a little while you can because you begin to drown the noise out. That’s what happens with insulin resistance as your cells are bathed in insulin and no longer “hear” the insulin’s command to open the door to your cells to take in the glucose, thus lowering blood sugar levels. As a person with diabetes, your goal is not to increase your insulin requirement but to decrease it, which in turn gives your pancreas a break and also reduces your need for an insulin supplying medication.

DiabetesPlacemat

*2015 Diabetes Placemat recommends mostly carbohydrate and a few ounces lean protein, and no fat.

Now that we understand how blood sugar works, let’s revisit why what is traditionally being taught is flat out wrong. I’m here to tell you that what may have been recommended to you in the past, consuming 45-60 grams of carbohydrate at every meal, is NOT the best way to control your blood sugars. In fact, it only causes more damage. Consuming LESS of what causes your blood sugar levels to spike (carbs!) and balancing ’em out with more healthy fat (and protein) will give you more control over your blood sugars. You can balance blood sugar levels by eating the right foods in the right combinations! Around here, we call it PFC (Protein, Fat, Carbs). And who doesn’t want permission to eat more butter and bacon? :)

Let me explain.

Here are 5 reasons why people with diabetes NEED to eat fat!

1. Fat is satiating. It’s natural and easy to consume fewer carbs when you pair ‘em with fat because of the wonderful fat satiety factor: it fills you up! Thus, generally when you eat fat, you eat fewer carbs. Fats send your brain a hormonal message (cholecystokinin) telling you to stop eating. That’s why when you eat a banana by itself it doesn’t fill you up, and an hour or so later, you may even be hungrier than you were before you ate it. When you pair just half of that banana with a handful of almonds and have a beef stick or hard boiled egg with it (PFC balanced!), it fills you up and you feel stable until your next meal. Not only are you more satisfied, but you’re also  consuming way fewer carbs (sugar). By consuming fewer carbs, you are giving your pancreas a break, allowing your body to heal.

2. Fat is the best buffer for carbohydrates, and it lowers your insulin requirement. Fat slows the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream, thus promoting blood sugar stabilization. When you consume fat along with a carb source, it’s like you’re riding the slow and steady bunny coaster instead of a crazy, jarring blood sugar roller coaster. Since fat lessens the blood sugar spiking effect that carbohydrates (sugar) have, you don’t require a big surge of insulin. When you eat a carbohydrate by itself, you ask your pancreas to sprint a marathon as it tries to keep up with the sugar you are overloading your body with. Fat on the other hand, doesn’t stimulate an insulin release.

3. Fat promotes nutrient absorption. Vitamins A, D, E and K all need fat for their absorption into the body. Without fat, we don’t get the benefit of these powerful nutrients. People with diabetes can benefit from even more specific nutrients for blood sugar support. We recommend targeted quantities of these nutrients in the form of supplementing with high quality, pharmaceutical grade formulas. Now, what would be the point of making it a priority to take these great supplements if you weren’t absorbing them? This is where fat comes in. Fat helps promote nutrient absorption, making your supplements more efficient once they make it into your body, giving you the greatest effect and leading you one step closer to healing your diabetes.

4. Fat improves brain function. Fat is essential for nerve health as it supports the myelin sheath, which helps your brain make sense of the many messages it receives daily. Bumping up fat intake can also reduce risks of cognitive impairment and memory loss, which are common among those with diabetes. Improving brain function adds to quality of life, reduces stress and frustration, and it helps you remember to take your blood sugar support supplements mentioned in the previous point!

5. Fat is important for hormone production. A lot of our clients with diabetes have hormonal imbalances, and fat plays a critical role in hormone production in both women and men. Fatty acids provide the chemical structure of most hormones and balanced hormones leads to emotional stability, a tamed appetite, decreased cravings and consistent energy levels.

How much fat? For most people with diabetes, a good starting point is having two to three tablespoons of fat every single time you eat—meals and snacks! This could mean sautéing your veggies in a couple tablespoons of coconut oil at dinner or having a heaping spoonful of almond butter on your apple at snack time. For some of our clients, we find they benefit from even higher amounts of fats, which work best for balancing their blood sugar levels.

What kind of fat should I eat? Glad you asked because not all fats are created equal. We recommend avocados, butter, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds, cheese, olives, coconut milk (the canned kind), heavy cream, nut butters, coconut cream and fat from organic, grass fed meat (we refer to these as “healthy fats”). We recommend staying away from processed fat sources like canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, sesame seed oil, cottonseed oil, vegetable oil, shortening and margarine. Also, any oil that has been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated is a trans fat and should be avoided at any cost.

So now you understand my frustration when it comes to the mind boggling traditional advice STILL being given to those who are struggling with controlling their blood sugar levels. Drugs used to control diabetes are just expensive band aids with horrible side effects.

Stay Healthy.

Top 8 Reasons to not fear Saturated Fats

Leave a reply
 

Humans have been eating saturated fats for hundreds of thousands of years.

They were demonized a few decades ago and claimed to cause heart disease, but new data shows that to be completely false.

Here are the top 8 reasons not to fear saturated fats.

1. Saturated Fats Increase The Size of LDL Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a molecule that is absolutely vital to life. Every cell membrane in our bodies is loaded with it. It is used to make hormones like cortisol, testosterone and estradiol. Without cholesterol, we would die… and our bodies have developed elaborate mechanisms to manufacture it, to make sure we always have enough.

But a protein that carries cholesterol in the blood, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), has been associated with an elevated risk of heart disease.

However, new data shows that there are subtypes of LDL:

  • Small, Dense LDL: Particles that are small, dense and can easily penetrate the arterial wall.
  • Large LDL: Particles that are large and fluffy like cotton balls. These particles are NOT associated with an elevated risk of heart disease.

Saturated fats raise the large subtype of LDL… which means that the cholesterol-raising effects of saturated fats (which are mild) are irrelevant.

2. Saturated Fats Raise HDL Cholesterol

HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) is also known as the “good” cholesterol.

It transports cholesterol away from the arteries and towards the liver, where it may be either excreted or reused.

The higher your HDL levels, the lower your risk of heart disease… and saturated fats raise blood levels of HDL.

3. Saturated Fats Do Not Cause Heart Disease

A massive review article published in 2010 examined data from 21 studies and a total of 347,747 individuals. They found absolutely no association between saturated fat and the risk of heart disease.

Other systematic reviews that look at the evidence as a whole found literally no evidence of an association.

No, the idea that saturated fat caused heart disease was a myth all along, based on flawed studies by biased scientists that were in love with their theories. Somehow this became common knowledge and both the media and health professionals accepted it as a fact that “artery-clogging saturated fat” was harmful.

4. Saturated Fats May Lower The Risk of Stroke

Strokes are the second leading cause of death in middle- and high-income countries, right after heart disease.There are multiple studies showing that saturated fat consumption is associated with a reduced risk of stroke, although it isn’t always statistically significant.

 
5. Saturated Fats Don’t Damage Easily in High Heat

Saturated fats are much less likely to react with oxygen than unsaturated fats

Unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturates, contain many double bonds and are therefore especially prone to oxidation, meaning they  go rancid. Therefore, saturated fats like butter and coconut oil are better options when you need to cook something at a high heat.

6. Foods With Saturated Fats Are Nutritious

There are many healthy foods that are naturally rich in saturated fat. These foods tend to be highly nutritious and contain an abundance of fat soluble vitamins.

Prime examples are meats, eggs, organs and high-fat dairy products. The key here is to eat animals that ate foods that were natural to them, such as grass-fed cows.

Grass-fed beef, pastured eggs and dairy from grass-fed cows are much more nutritious than their “conventionally” raised counterparts. They are especially rich in fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, E and K2.

7. Diets High in Saturated Fat Are Good For Weight Loss

We often hear that “high fat diets” make you fat.

It’s only half-true, though.

These diets are fattening… but it’s because they usually contain sugar and refined carbs as well, NOT just a lot fat.

Diets that are high in fat but also low in carbs actually have the opposite effect.

Low-carbohydrate diets, which are usually high in saturated fat, actually make you lose MORE weight than diets that are low in fat. They also improve ALL biomarkers of health much more than low-fat diets.

8. Saturated Fat Tastes Amazing

Bacon, cheese, meat, eggs, butter… a life rich in saturated fat sure as hell beats a life without it.

From Kris Gunnars. 

Turmeric Extract May Prevent, Even Reverse Diabetes – both Type 1 and 2

Leave a reply

Turmeric Extract May Prevent, Even Reverse Diabetes (Type 1 and 2)

What if the long sought after “cure” for diabetes was as safe, affordable, and accessible as a spice sitting in your kitchen cupboard?

Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can cure the patient with food.”

-Hippocrates, 420 BC

Slowly but surely the world is waking up to the reality that diabetes is not only a preventable but  reversible, and that the drug-based model of symptom suppression and disease management has fatal flaws. For instance, some of the drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes actually increase the risk of death, with a recent study showing GMO insulin given to type 2 diabetics may lead to the development of so-called “double diabetes“: type 2 and type 1 diabetes, together. Clearly, if medicine can’t at least abide by its founding principle to “do no harm,” it must seek the answer somewhere other than from the “chemist’s pot.”

There are now thousands of studies on hundreds of natural substances and therapeutic activities that may treat blood sugar disorders and their complications.

While plants like cinnamon and gymnema sylvestre have received plenty of attention for diabetes over the years, one special plant extract that is beginning to stand out from the crowd as being exceptionally valuable as an anti-diabetic agent is turmeric.

Turmeric’s primary polyphenol curcumin is the main compound in the plant that has been researched for it’s blood sugar regulating properties. One particularly striking study, published in the American Diabetic Association’s own journal, Diabetes Care, found turmeric extract to be 100% effective in preventing pre-diabetics from developing type 2 diabetes — a feat of prevention that no FDA approved drug for type 2 diabetes has yet come even close to accomplishing.

Turmeric Extract May Reverse Pancreatic Damage In Type 1 Diabetes

 Pre-clinical research now reveals it may have a role in reversing pancreatic damage in insulin-dependent, type 1 diabetics, who are routinely told that their condition can not be cured. 

Back in 2013, an exciting study published in the journal Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome titled, “The effect of a novel curcumin derivative on pancreatic islet regeneration in experimental type-1 diabetes in rats (long term study),” found that diabetic rats who received a  curcumin derivative orally for 40 days showed an improvement of their plasma glucose, insulin and C-peptide (a marker for the health and insulin producing capability of the beta cells) levels, that began after about 4 months, and continued to improve until the 10 month mark, when their values were almost completely normalized and evidence of significant pancreatic regeneration could be observed. The researchers concluded the novel curcumin derivative (NCD): “…possesses antidiabetic actions and enhanced pancreatic islets regeneration.”

figure 2Plasma C peptide

The daily dose used in this rodent study (80 mg/kg) was the body weight equivalent of 6,400 mg or 6.4 grams of curcumin for an average North American male adult (80 kilograms). Rodent and human physiology is, of course, radically different, but significant crossovers nonetheless do exist. In another article, titled “Why Turmeric May Be the Diseased Liver’s Best Friend,” we reviewed research indicating that turmeric may help to reverse damage in and even regenerate the diabetic liver, as well as safety literature on what is a safe human dose: 

A 2001 study in cancer patients reported that quantities of curcumin up to 8 g, administered per day for three months, were not toxic and resulted in significant anti-cancer properties in a number of those treated. Turmeric is only 3-4% curcumin by weight.

Given that organ transplantation (pancreatic islet transplants) is exceedingly expensive and prohibitive due to a lack of donor material and the potential for rejection by the host, the notion that a safe, affordable, and non-prescription spice extract like curcumin may have significant therapeutic value and may even regenerate damaged pancreatic tissue, is truly exciting. That said, it should be noted that since curcumin is not patentable, it is unlikely the 800 million dollars or more needed to fund the requisite clinical trials needed to obtain FDA drug approval will materialize. Because the so-called “evidence” needed to justify the use of a new treatment is locked behind an insurmountably high paywall, don’t count on randomized, controlled, trials being performed on this “natural cure” in the near or distant future.

Curcumin’s  benefit in type 1 diabetes, also known as autoimmune diabetes, appears to be based on it reducing the activity of the host immune system in attacking self.

As the research continues to accumulate on the value of natural substances for disease prevention and treatment, it is clear the future of medicine will rely on returning to the wisdom of the ancients, where Hippocrates’ fundamental principle that one can “cure the patient with food” is once again passionately embraced.

It is indeed simple to Stay Healthy!