Let us look at diabetes. Because diabetes is now almost a pandemic. And it can lead to a host of serious complications.

‘I have been diagnosed with diabetes – help! I have been handed a life sentence!’ And the usual reaction is one of fear, hopelessness or even denial.

But it doesn’t have to be!

There’s a whole lot of stuff one can do, and actually get back to how things were before ‘that’ happened. If we can decide to take control, and not permit the diagnosis to overwhelm us.

To start with, let’s understand what’s happening. Diabetes – and we’re talking of Type II diabetes or ‘Adult Onset’ diabetes – occurs, to put it very simply, when our body cells don’t respond to insulin like they’re expected to, and as the condition progresses, the body is unable to produce insulin as required. Insulin is required to ‘escort’ sugar into the cells, where it is used for energy. When the circulating level of sugar is too high, the cells have enough sugar for their need, they stop responding to insulin – hey! Don’t get more sugar in, we don’t need any more. So sugar level in the blood rises, because the cells aren’t taking in any more. Now the body senses the high sugar level and produces more insulin, because that is the natural response for utilizing sugar. But the cells don’t respond. This is the stage known as Insulin Resistance, or Pre Diabetes.

At this stage, there are many interventions available to us. But if, as is common, Pre diabetes is not diagnosed ant treated, the condition escalates into full-blown diabetes. Several oral medications are available for the treatment of diabetes, acting at various stages, such as improving insulin secretion, improving sugar utilization,etc,. If the pancreas which produce insulin, get ‘tired’ due to chronically making high levels of insulin, they may ‘give up’. Treatment at this stage is, therefore, with the use of insulin to replace the body’s own production.
What can we do?

1. Establish a Diagnosis.

Now you may wonder : Why does the Lab report I got, give much higher “Normal” values?

This is because doctors rely on “diagnostic criteria” set by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) decades ago, to define what are normal and abnormal blood sugar levels. The science used to define these diagnostic levels is outdated and inaccurate. The ADA resists changing these diagnostic criteria for reasons that are almost entirely political.

2. The earlier you accept that the blood sugar level is NOT normal and begin taking steps, the better the chances of complete control and avoiding all complications.

3. Diet : Understand what is good and what is not.

Sugar and all its avatars, including honey, high-fructose corn syrup, apparently ‘natural’ products like honey and jaggery and molasses, and, very important – all sugar substitutes except stevia need to be avoided. Sugar is the most addictive substance on earth. Read labels to detect presence of hidden sugars. Best, avoid all processed foods. Stick to freshly home cooked meals. And this holds true not just for diabetics but  for all of us.

Positive side effect : Lose the pot belly you’ve been living with despite all your crunches!

Avoid bad fats in diet. But don’t give up fats. No fried foods. NO trans fats. This means no bakery goods, no biscuits unless specifically made without trans fats. Anything with an expiry date has trans fats added to prevent the fat in food turning rancid, and is out of bounds.

Sugar makes you fat. Fat makes you thin. WHEN correctly used.

Fiber is very important to keep you full and reduce calorie intake. Start a meal with a salad.

Q: Should you substitute foods with low-fat and sugar-substitute variants?
Surprising answer: No!!
Because low-fat foods often have sugar and other flavorings added to make them palatable. They are not good for you. Just limit your intake of the regular variety. Sugar substitutes, as we have already seen, can lead to many unpleasant side effects such as headache, depression, worsening of diabetes, even development of some cancers.

4. Exercise is a crucial part of management. Even in patients who don’t need to lose weight.

Whenever you actively use a muscle, you burn both fatty acids and glucose. During and after periods of activity, your falling sugar level is sensed by the pancreas, and they relax their output of insulin. Aim for 150 minutes a week of moderate activity such as fast walking. Include resistance training to build lean muscle and reduce body fat.

5. Weight loss, even 5% of body weight, will help normalize blood sugar levels. Aim for normal BMI, which can easily be calculated using online calculators. More important is waist measurement – upper limit of normal is 38’’ for women and 40’’ for men.

6. Drugs will be prescribed by your doctor. Especially Metformin, sometimes combined with other drugs. Injectable Insulin if control is not obtained with oral drugs. Do not be afraid of insulin use. The needles are really tiny and do not hurt. Honestly.

7. Supplements such as a good multivitamin, Coenzyme Q10, Garcinia, aid in the general health and also in recovery. Healthy vitamin D levels help people maintain normal blood glucose levels.

8. A Positive Mental Attitude, as in any situation, will help greatly in controlling the disease and avoiding all complications. There is no need to be afraid; there are so many things we can do. However, it is important to accept the diagnosis, and take steps to overcome it. Which we can.

Diabetes can be REVERSED. And we can Stay Healthy.

I am very excited to be writing this blog. There are huge advances happening in medicine, notably in the use of natural, safe methods to treat common complaints, usually without resorting to surgery.

I am Dr Lily Kiswani, MD, an Obstetrician and Gynecologist. That is, I help women get pregnant, help them deliver healthy babies, and also treat them for various conditions such as fibroids and ovarian cysts and many more.

I have been delivering babies since 30 years now. And you know what, the wonder of a new life is as awe-inspiring today as it was when, as trembling students, we witnessed our first delivery many (many) years ago. And the deep satisfaction when I can help a woman reach full term and deliver a healthy baby in high risk situations as when the baby is not developing appropriately, I believe cannot compare with any other experience on earth.

It has been a wonderful journey as an Obstetrician (dealing with pregnancy). And yet, I have been privileged to move to something even more demanding. I have been practising Endoscopic Surgery since 1983, when there were just a mere handful of us in India proficient in Endoscopy. I co-authored a Textbook on the subject, Endoscopic Gynecologic Surgery, published in Germany.

But that is not the end of my journey. I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to learn about Anti-Aging Medicine, also known as Regenerative Medicine or Advanced Personalized Lifestyle Medicine. Using this knowledge, I have been able to treat many conditions without resorting to surgery, which would have been an automatic choice 5 years ago. Even today, mainstream practitioners have no choice other than surgery. But, even more exciting, I have had considerable success treating patients suffering from Lifestyle Disorders, such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.

This is special, because we limit the use of ‘medicines’ which almost invariably have toxic side effects. We use a holistic approach, consisting of lifestyle changes –

• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Stress Reduction
• Supplements
• Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement
• Mind Body Balance
• And occasionally, traditional ‘medicines’.

This advanced approach is deeply satisfying to me as a clinician, as the results are incomparable.

Let us take a typical example.

A 45 –yr old lady complains of heavy periods, heavy enough to need treatment. Among the options available as a traditional gynaecologist, hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) is right at the top. And statistics from any of the developed countries show that hysterectomy is a very popular choice.

Such a patient often also has other complaints such as abdominal pain, tiredness and weakness due to associated anemia, and some amount of depression associated with fear of heavy periods.

Undergoing a surgical procedure is associated with risks of surgery as well as of anesthesia, and even though the risks may be small, they are real risks and may be serious enough to cause mortality. Surgery deals with the initial complaint of heavy periods, but it does not address any of the accompanying complaints.

Now let us see what happens with Anti-Aging medicine.

We use Bio-Identical Hormones to correct the imbalance of normal physiological hormones which cause the complaints. ‘Bio-Identical’ means it is the same molecule that we have in our bodies and which permits us to function optimally. This means that the body recognizes this molecule as normal, natural, as ‘its own’, and responds exactly like it normally does to its own hormones. In comparison, the traditional synthetic, chemical products are different from the body’s hormones and therefore the response is also different, uneven, inadequate and can even have side effects.

Additionally, the holistic approach with bio-identical hormones and other actions as mentioned above, affect the patient as a whole, and we find that other complaints settle even when not specifically addressed. For example, our typical patient above may find she loses excess weight, becomes more active and positive.

These are the results we expect, and get, with the new modality. Patients are thrilled to not only have their complaints settle without surgery, but they have positive ‘side effects’ – they have more energy, they sleep better, they have lost excess weight, their insulin resistance has disappeared!

Sounds too good to be true? There’s no magic, just the practice of medicine with an advanced, personalized and holistic approach. That’s what’s so exciting and what drives me to share my knowledge with everyone out there. For you to believe that there is, indeed, always a way. A way to avoid invasive procedures, to expect to be active and productive throughout life. And to live out life to the normal span of 120 years, in good health.