Testimonial – Diabetes Type II
Case No. 13, Mr. A, aged 64 – this is a case that was published in Dr. Georgiou’s book entitled “Curing the Incurable with Holistic Medicine: The Da Vinci Secret Revealed.”
Main presenting problem: Diabetes Type II, Hypertension, High Uric Acid levels
Medical diagnosis
Diagnosed as diabetes mellitus type II about three years ago by his medical doctor as his blood glucose levels in January 2008 were 122 (80-100) and could reach levels of 160 or more. Mr. A. was nottaking medication for diabetes. His hypertension reached levels of 170/95 and was diagnosed 12 years ago – he has been taking antihypertensive medication ever since. Uric acid levels have also been elevated for some time – a January 2008 blood analysis showed 7.86mg/dl, when the upper limit is 7.0.
Holistic diagnosis
Iridology showed deficiencies in minerals and vitamins, cervical and lumbar subluxations, blood sugar fluctuations, severe lymphatic congestion, liver congestion and irritation with a general toxic load.
VEGA food intolerance testing showed the following food intolerances that are all capable of causing inflammation: wheat, lactose and all dairy, pork, chicken, sugar, nightshade family of vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines) and caffeine.
He was also found to have systemic Candidiasis after extensive abuse of antiobiotics over a number of years. When Candida is identified, all yeast-related products will aggravate this condition such as yeast, mushrooms, alcohol products and vinegar products.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis has shown a general deficiency of many minerals and trace elements such as potassium, copper, iron, manganese, chromium and cobalt. Many of these are critical for insulin production. There were also high levels of circulating arsenic, also known to destroy the pancreas, as well as mercury, cadmium and aluminium.
Testing using Professor Rothbart’s protocol showed that he had a Primus Metatarsus Supinatus foot type, otherwise known as “Rothbart’s foot.” This can cause gross disturbances in posture as well as causing spinal subluxations with all their neurological consequences. This was adjusted using patented proprioreceptor foot soles.
Holistic treatments
He began an alkaline detoxification diet with fruit, raw and cooked vegetables with vegetable juices and soups over a 15-day period. In the first month he lost 7 kg (15 lbs) and was feeling a lot more energetic with stamina – his morning blood pressure dropped from 170/95 to 140/85 during this period. His morning glucose levels had dropped from 120 to 100.
A month later his blood pressure had dropped to 120/65 and he decided that he was going to terminate his blood pressure medication, along with the aspirin, which was substituted with vitamin E and omega 3 fatty acids. This he did and his blood pressure remained completely stable throughout, even though he has been taking anti-hypertensives for 12 years consecutively. Probably the main reason for this is that the high levels of inflammation and free radicals and lipid peroxidation products decreased with the detoxification.
Celery seed tea has helped to alleviate the joint pains related to the high uric acid levels.
Shortly after the detox he began the DaVinci Candida protocol (see chapter 5) using a variety of different herbal, nutritional, homeopathic and isopathic remedies – this protocol lasted 3 months. At the end of the Candida treatment his glucose levels were averaging 110 without diabetic medication, which he stopped about a month prior.
Mr. A was given a formula that contained Goat’s Rue, cinnamon (CinSulin®), bitter melon, quercetin and vanadyl sulfate – all have been studied for their ability to lower blood sugar, increase insulin sensitivity and protect against the damaging effects of high blood sugar.
Galega officinalis (Goat’s rue) has been used with success as an insulin-controlling agent. Goat’s rue is rich in guanidine, its hypoglycemic component. The guanidine in goat’s rue improves insulin sensitivity and is used to support the health of type 1 and 2 diabetics. Galega officinalis (20% guanylhydrazine) – is a botanical source for the life extension drug metformin (GlucoPhage – the drug that he was previously taking) which can decrease the formation of advanced glycosylation end products.
Goat’s rue causes a long-lasting reduction of blood sugar content in rats and an increase in carbohydrate tolerance. This herb lowers blood sugar in both normal and diabetic humans.[1]
Cinnamon is another blood-sugar supporting nutrient that improves insulin sensitivity during in vitro, animal and human studies. Cinnamon reduces mean fasting serum glucose by 18-29 percent in subjects with type 2 diabetes after 40 days of daily consumption of 1-6 grams of cinnamon. Furthermore, subjects with the metabolic syndrome who consume cinnamon have been shown to have improved fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, percentage body fat and increased lean body mass compared with the placebo group.[2]
Cinnamon works especially well when combined with chromium, a mineral that has been found to improve insulin sensitivity (see footnote 111 below). Chromium also is helpful in reducing carbohydrate cravings.
Bitter melon is another botanical that has reduced insulin resistance in animals, partly through its ability to improve the function of insulin receptors in the liver. It also has been widely researched in animal studies for its ability to improve glucose and insulin tolerance.[3]
Quercetin, another important component of any blood-sugar supporting formula, is a flavonoid – recent research is unveiling additional properties of quercetin, including its ability to protect against oxidative stress in rodents with experimental diabetes and to prevent damage to the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.[4],[5]It also strongly inhibits aldose reductase, an enzyme which converts blood glucose into sorbitol, which is strongly implicated in the complications of diabetes. Quercetin also protects insulin-producing cells in the pancreas by blocking the genetic expression of cytokines and enzymes that are important mediators of inflammatory responses.[6]
Vanadyl Sulfate can work with goat’s rue, bitter melon, and quercetin to help support healthy blood sugar levels. In one of the newest studies on this mineral, it protected against damaging changes that occurred in the aortas of rats with experimental diabetes.[7] In obese humans with diabetes, vanadyl sulfate may improve a defect in insulin signaling specific to type 2 diabetes.[8]
Bitter Melon extract (Momordica charantia) can lower blood glucose without increasing insulin. In one study, bitter melon significantly improved glucose tolerance in diabetics by almost 54%.[9] Also added was Pyridoxine (Vitamin B-6) as it protects against the development of diabetic neuropathy and other complications of diabetes by inhibiting the glycosylation of proteins.
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) – is a derivative of the sulfhydryl amino acid cysteine. Cysteine is converted into the important antioxidant, glutathione. Cysteine, in fact, is considered the rate-limiting factor in the production of glutathione. NAC has both cytoprotective and antioxidant effects and prevents complications of diabetes. NAC also inhibits the activation of a key pro-inflammatory molecule called nuclear factor-kappa beta.[10] In addition, animal studies show that NAC inhibits the blood glucose surge and weight gain that occurs after consuming a sucrose-rich diet,[11] while also protecting against oxidative stress, a major factor in diabetic complications.
Vitamin E – is the major fat-soluble antioxidant that improves insulin action and helps prevent long-term complications of diabetes, especially cardiovascular disease. Studies reveal a strong independent association between low vitamin E status before follow-up and an excess risk of diabetes at four years. For Type 2 diabetics vitamin E supplements reduce oxidative stress, improve membrane physical characteristics and improve glucose sensitivity and transport.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid & ascorbyl palmitate) – inhibits sorbitol accumulation and glycosylation of proteins that cause any complications of diabetes. According to a large study of nearly 6,500 people aged 45-74 years, a vitamin C deficiency increased HbA1c, a measure of long-term blood sugar control that indicates how much glycation is occurring in the body. This study found that plasma vitamin C levels were significantly higher in subjects with HbA1c less than 7 percent compared with those whose HbA1c levels were 7 percent or more. The researchers concluded, “dietary measures to increase plasma vitamin C may be an important health strategy for reducing the prevalence of diabetes.”[12]
Human studies have demonstrated that vitamin C supplements may help lower blood glucose levels in diabetics. Vitamin C may also produce additional reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and plasma free radicals.[13] A recent study of nearly 22,000 non-diabetic patients found that those whose plasma vitamin C levels were in the top 20 percent had a 62 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than those in the lowest fifth.[14] Vitamin C also inhibits sorbitol accumulation and glycation of proteins that cause diabetic complications.
All these ingredients help to improve glucose tolerance, inhibit the evolution of hyperglycemia and a life-long exposure to even normal blood sugar levels and prevent hyperglycemia by:
- improving hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity;
- enhancing insulin-mediated uptake of glucose into cells and glycogen synthesis;
- increasing glucose oxidation and glycogen synthesis;
- increasing insulin sensitivity by enhancing cell receptor binding of insulin.
These actions combine to reduce plasma glucose levels without abnormal and excessive insulin secretion, while simultaneously decreasing insulin requirements. These actions also inhibit the development of diabetes and its complications, including cardiopathy, angiopathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy and other disorders of hyperglycemia. This is exactly what was achieved with Mr. A.
Patient’s own account
My main problem was eating too much without thinking of the consequences. Eventually, I gained weight, my sugar and cholesterol levels went straight up and for the past 15 years I have hypertension. The cardiologist prescribed antihypertensive pills which I still took until four months ago. My blood pressure reached 180/110 mm Hg. I continued eating unhealthy, and my sugar levels remained high and my doctor suggested starting taking anti-diabetic pills too.
I also had palpitations, I felt a heavy feeling in my head, tiredness, very low energy levels and by evening I was too exhausted to do anything. All I wanted was to sleep more hours. My knees started to be painful. The stress at my work was making me feel weaker and weaker. Added to this I was a smoker too. I could not fit into any of my clothes and because of food allergies I had also stomach distention and felt uncomfortable. After my doctor told me to start taking anti-diabetic pills I reacted. I didn’t want to hear anymore about this. I refused and I tried to find solutions on my own when a close friend told me about the Da Vinci Holistic Health Center. I thought I had nothing to lose since I couldn’t find any medical solution to my problem apart from taking more and more pills.
I booked an appointment and after a series of tests we were able to identify and eliminate all the possible causes of my health problems. Starting with the detox diet and eventually with the Candida protocol (I had taken many antibiotics in the past) things started to return back to normal for me.
It’s been 4 months since I began treatment and my health has dramatically improved. I lost 15 kg (33 lbs), I completely changed my eating habits and my mood and memory even though I am 65 years old, have greatly improved. I feel very much alive with excellent energy levels and the most important of all my sugar level are now back to normal as well as my blood pressure! I threw away the antihypertensive pills as well as the diabetic medication and my stress levels have diminished a lot. I stopped taking my blood pressure medication a month ago and my knee pains have also disappeared, probably a side-effect of the pills.
My progression was so obvious and I was very happy about it. Thanks to the guidance of the Da Vinci Holistic Health Center I feel completely healthy again and have every intention to maintain it.
Dr Georgiou’s final comments
This is another pretty typical bread-and-butter case where all the symptoms presenting in this patient were suppressed using drugs without really understanding the causative factors underlying these symptoms. For example, blood pressure can be caused by inflammatory chemicals such as cytokinines and COX-2 chemicals that can also cause a constriction of internal blood vessels, hence elevating blood pressure. Food intolerances usually involve Immunoglobulin G (IgG) which can linger in the body for many months, sometimes up to a year. This IgG can bind to food proteins or lipids and become implanted in tissues in the form of ‘immune complexes’ which can cause many inflammatory disease processes.
Toxicity levels in the body from heavy metals and xenobiotics can also cause inflammatory responses as well as many other health issues – these ‘invisible’ toxins not seen by the usual technology used by medical doctors seem to be completely ignored. Toxins accumulate in the body over time causing ‘additive effects’ as well as ‘synergistic effects’ where mixing toxins greatly magnifies the sum of their parts – let’s say toxin A has a toxic value of 2 and toxin B a value of 5 – if they react synergistically the total may be 23. The older we get the more the toxic load in our bodies, so learning the art of detoxification is akin to learning how to clean our houses – this man had not cleaned his ‘house’ for over 60 years when I first met him in clinical practice the first time!
In addition, nutritional deficiencies in minerals, trace elements and vitamins, as well as fatty acids can cause serious free radical activity that damage cells and tissues over time. Spinal subluxations are also a cause of many symptoms depending on which spinal nerve is being impinged. Body posture is also important and many people have a Primus Metatarsus Supinatus (PMS) or Rothbart’s foot which grossly affects body posture and spinal positioning – this can easily be adjusted using Rothbart’s proprioreceptive insoles, as were fitted in the case of this patient and his knee pain subsided in less than a month.
It never ceases to amaze me how a patient like this, after all their health improvements, and coming off all medications that he had been on for more than a decade, can sit and talk to their medical doctor about all these positive health changes and the only response that they get is: “Dr. Georgiou is not a medical doctor.” But how do they explain the fact that a non-medical doctor can achieve these results, or is the issue not one of medical vs non-medical but one of self-interests?
What further disturbs me is even if they see the evidence first hand, and hear from their own patients, they dismiss these attempts without even trying to understand how the patient improves. This particular patient became so disoriented with this polemic reaction from the medical fraternity that he has vowed never to return to a medical practitioner for as long as he lives!
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[1] Petricic J, Kalodera Z. Galegin in the goats rue herb: its toxicity, antidiabetic activity and content determination. Acta Pharm Jugosl. 32(3):219-23, 1982.
[2] Anderson RA. Chromium and polyphenols from cinnamon improve insulin sensitivity. Proc Nutr Soc. 67(1):48-53, Feb 2008.
[3] Nerurkar PV, Lee YK, Motosue M, Adeli K, Nerurkar VR. Momordica charantia (bitter melon) reduces plasma apolipoprotein B-100 and increases hepatic insulin receptor substrate and phosphoinositide-3 kinase interactions. Br J Nutr. 5;1-9, Mar 2008.
[4] Kim EK, Kwon KB, Song MY, Han MJ, Lee JH, Lee YR, Lee JH, Ryu DG, Park BH, Park JW. Flavonoids protect against cytokine-induced pancreatic beta-cell damage through suppression of nuclear factor kappaB activation. Pancreas. 35(4):e1-9, Nov 2007.
[5] Coskun O, Kanter M, Korkmaz A, Oter S. Quercetin, a flavonoid antioxidant, prevents and protects streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress and beta-cell damage in rat pancreas. Pharmacol Res. 51(2):117-23, Feb 2005.
[6] Zunino SJ, Storms DH, Stephensen CB. Diets rich in polyphenols and vitamin A inhibit the development of type I autoimmune diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice. J Nutr. 137(5):1216-21, May 2007.
[7] Akgün-Dar K, Bolkent S, Yanardag R, Tunali S. Vanadyl sulfate protects against streptozotocin-induced morphological and biochemical changes in rat aorta. Cell Biochem Funct. 25(6):603-9, Nov-Dec 2007.
[8] Halberstam M, Cohen N, Shlimovich P, Rossetti L, Shamoon H. Oral vanadyl sulfate improves insulin sensitivity in NIDDM but not in obese nondiabetic subjects. Diabetes. 1996.
[9] Welihinda J, Karunanayake EH, Sheriff MH, Jayasinghe KS. Effect of Momordica charantia on the glucose tolerance in maturity onset diabetes.J Ethnopharmacol. 17(3):277-82, Sept 1986.
[10] Ho E, Chen G, Bray TM. Supplementation of N-acetylcysteine inhibits NFkappaB activation and protects against alloxan-induced diabetes in CD-1 mice. FASEB J. 13(13):1845-54, 1999.
[11] Diniz YS, Rocha KK, Souza GA, et al. Effects of N-acetylcysteine on sucrose-rich diet-induced hyperglycaemia, dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in rats. Eur J Pharmacol. 543(1-3):151-7, Aug 2006.
[12] Sargeant LA, Wareham NJ, Bingham S, et al. Vitamin C and hyperglycemia in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer–Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) study: a population-based study. Diabetes Care. 23(6):726-32, June 2000.
[13] Afkhami-Ardekani M, Shojaoddiny-Ardekani A. Effect of vitamin C on blood glucose, serum lipids & serum insulin in type 2 diabetes patients. Indian J Med Res. 126(5):471-4, Nov 2007.
[14] Harding AH, Wareham NJ, Bingham SA, et al. Plasma vitamin C level, fruit and vegetable consumption, and the risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus: the European prospective investigation of cancer—Norfolk prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 28;168(14):1493-9, Jul 2008.
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