More and more evidence points to the real culprit of modern disease in America: sugar. And a new study shines a harsh light on the skyrocketing rates of prediabetes. In my view, it makes the case that pre-diabetes is really just a stepping stone to more serious, fatal health problems.
Granted, the body utilizes needed amounts of sugar for a multitude of processes. Your brain and bodily tissues burn sugar for energy. Your mitochondria (the cells’ energy factories) convert sugar to energy and water for cellular hydration (the process essential for the proper function of every tissue in your body). And hemoglobin (the iron-rich protein in red blood cells) carries oxygen from your lungs to various places within your body to combust, or burn, the sugar.
Clearly, sugar is necessary to help move these processes along.
But too much sugar in the blood is downright deadly.
For example, when an excess amount enters the bloodstream, it hijacks your blood cells’ hemoglobin and binds to it, instead of allowing it to carry oxygen to the blood vessels, brain, and nerves.
This process also makes blood vessels and nerves fragile, hindering their ability to do their jobs, which can lead to numerous complications in the body’s organs and brain.
Your doctor will perform a blood test called Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), which measures the percentage of hemoglobin bound to sugar. It’s important to note that this test also reflects your blood sugar control, meaning it takes your average levels over a duration of about three to four months, rather than your daily blood sugar fluctuations. Therefore, it’s an accurate indication of your risk for diabetes — or if you have diabetes, how well it’s controlled.
Of course, mainstream experts spend a lot of time and effort debating the cut-off levels of HbA1C that designate Type II diabetes, pre-diabetes, and related metabolic states.
In fact, as the new study’s author suggests, the very idea of “pre-diabetes” is somewhat controversial. And doctors still debate if — and how — they should diagnose and treat people with the only slightly elevated blood sugar of pre-diabetes.
In the U.S., we aim to keep HbA1C levels below 6.5 or 6.0. In Europe, they are more relaxed and typically aim for below 7.0 percent. A high level equates to a higher risk. (Of course, as I explained last month, setting targets too low for HbA1C in older adults has disastrous effects as well.)
Nevertheless, it’s important to know your numbers.
New study confirms growing epidemic
For the new study, researchers examined a national sample of 27,971 adults observed over four intervals from 1988 – 1994, 1999 – 2004, 2005 – 2010, and 2011 – 2014.
The researchers defined “pre-diabetes” as fasting blood sugar between 100 to 125 mg/dL, or HbA1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent.
Using these criteria, researchers estimated that the number of adults with pre-diabetes increased from 56.2 million in 1988 to 78.5 million by 2014. That’s almost a 30 percent increase. And it doesn’t even include the millions more who have full-blown Type II diabetes.
More than just sugar trouble
As you know, high blood sugar is not an isolated condition. In fact, by the end of the study, many people with pre-diabetes also had risk factors for cardiovascular and kidney disease.
It only makes sense…
Even just a little too much of a metabolic poison like sugar will have harmful effects. And way too much sugar — as happens in men and women with unmanaged, full-blown Type II diabetes — has disastrous effects.
It’s really not all that surprising how common pre-diabetes, diabetes, and their serious complications have become…
In my view, we can directly tie the problem to the modern, processed diet — laden with sugar and carbs.
But it’s not completely our fault…
The amount of nutrients in our food supply steeply declined between 1988 and 2014. So, even when you try to “eat healthy,” you aren’t getting as many nutrients as you could have had years ago with the same foods. This sad state makes supplementation an even bigger necessity.
In addition, millions of Americans during this time period tried to follow the government’s misguided recommendations to cut cholesterol and fat. And it led them to cut out some of the healthiest foods on the planet — including eggs and shellfish. Instead, they replaced these foods with “low-fat,” processed foods filled with sugars and carbs.
I can understand — to a point — how the food business simply responded to consumer demand. But I cannot excuse the government for telling people to wrongly cut cholesterol and fat…and for decades! And while doing so, they also gave sugar and carbs a free pass for all these years!
In the January 2018 issue of my Insiders’ Cures newsletter, you may recall how I urged you to break your sugar habit. I proclaimed it to be the single-most important lifestyle change you can make to prevent Type II diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease.
Unfortunately, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association still promote the government’s “fake science” implicating cholesterol, fat, and salt. (Which even the government itself now admits was wrong.)
The American Diabetes Association ludicrously blathers on about cutting cholesterol and fat to prevent and manage Type II diabetes. Ironically, it barely mentions cutting sugar as a way to manage this disease, which, by definition, is “high blood sugar.”
For years, I’ve been recommending metformin if you have Type II diabetes. It derived from an ancient European remedy called French lilac. And it also helps prevent the dangerous complications of Type II diabetes.
Just remember — metformin can reduce your absorption of vitamin B12, so make sure to supplement daily with a good vitamin B complex that contains at least 55 mg of B2, 50 mg of B3 (niacin), and 12 mcg of B12.
Also, I recently released a new online learning protocol — Dr. Micozzi’s Integrative Protocol for Defeating Diabetes — that details all the natural steps you can take to prevent and reverse Type II diabetes. Click here to learn more or enroll today.
Source:
“Cardiovascular and renal burdens of prediabetes in the USA: analysis of data from serial cross-sectional surveys, 1988–2014,” The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology (www.thelancet.com) 2/27/2018