For some people this word means nothing personal. It sounds like the words “earthquake” for those who never experienced the actual it. For others diabetes is very personal. It is their lifestyle. To this category I refer people who have been diagnosed with this disease and also members of their families. Their life is a constant fight and challenge.
Pharmacological science, endocrinology and dietetics have made huge steps in conquering the disease. The scientific research is rapidly doing big progress. New methods of treatment and new prescription drugs are constantly being invented and implemented into practice.
Alongside with the scientific traditional methods there have always existed so-called non-traditional or alternative methods of treatment of different diseases. Diabetes also has its alternative methods. Many of them work, some don’t. People diagnosed with diabetes are usually ready to try every accessible kind of treatment, because each of them gives additional hope. This approach especially applies to parents of diagnosed children who feel desperate and do their best to get the best treatment ever for their kids, which is absolutely understandable.
Non-traditional methods, such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, yoga and hypnosis help to cope with such symptoms as nervous breakdowns, blurred vision, poor blood circulation and also kidney and heart problems. Other symptoms of diabetes, experienced by patients at different stages of the disease are also successfully treated with the help of alternative methods, such as, for example, herbal treatment. Herbs are good for eliminating the feelings of thirst, mouth dryness, excessive appetite, muscle weakness, loss of weight, excessive volume of urine and skin itching.
Herbal treatment of diabetes was known in different times and different places. For example, the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, who lived at the end of 16th and up to the middle of the 17th centuries and suffered with diabetes, was treated with rhizomes Elecampane, boiled in water. Well known herbs for diabetes are lilac buds, camomile flowers, black currants, eucalyptus leaves, calendula flowers and many others.
Especially useful is cinnamon, grown in India and Burma. The Latin name of the herb is Cinnamomum tamala. It’s pharmaceutical effect is very high, it changes its status from local to global and quickly gains popularity all over the world.
Herbal treatment is considered to be very effective. It does not just eliminate the undesirable symptoms, but also makes the metabolism system of the body much healthier. Herbal treatment is that it does not show immediate effect. Herbs should be taken regularly for a very long period of time. They work slowly, but very efficiently. The problem with most of the patients who give it up is lack of patience and persistence.
If herbs have been used for centuries, supplements are relatively new remedy. Supplements become more and more popular in diabetes treatment in many countries. Cod liver oil contains Omega 3, very essential fatty acids. Less than two grams of fish oil per day can increase insulin level in the blood. Omega 3 is also good for treatment of cardio-vascular pathology, caused by diabetes.
Nowadays yoga is gaining popularity in diabetes treatment. It used to be applied to symptomatic treatment. According to some yoga specialists it can cure diabetes because yoga offers a very healthy and natural method of regulating the breathing process. According to some theories, the surplus of sugar in the body is accumulated because the oxygen contained in the human body does not burn the sugar as it should.
Oxygen, which is transported to different parts of the body by haemoglobin, is not delivered properly due to the broken balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen. Russian scientist Buteiko proved that all metabolism processes in the body are well performed on condition that oxygen exceeds three times carbon dioxide. Otherwise oxygen hunger causes diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
For this reason it is crucial for diabetic patients that they know how to regulate the breathing process. It’s impossible to overestimate yoga’s role in teaching how to breathe in the right way in order to make the metabolism healthy. It is a rather complicated breathing method: it is breathing through the mouth, with a longer exhalation and shorted inhalation time, and also there should be a certain pause after exhalation. I would say it is a kind of art and one should take time to learn how to do it properly.
Physical training is important for diabetes treatment. Yoga knows methods of giving the muscles a very precise dose of work. As a result insulin from depots under the skin goes directly to the blood. There also other albumins organic matters which go to the blood when muscles work. There is no enough research data, but scientists consider those substances to have insulin-like effect.
When compared with traditional fitness, yoga system, skilfully applied, is harmless for diabetic patients. Again, yoga does not give immediate result, it requires patience. The reward is weight gain for skinny patients, weight loss for obese ones, and also the considerable reduction of insulin doses.
No matter how hope-inspiring alternative methods are or could be, dieting and insulin treatment are still the mostly used methods. New alternative methods play subordinate role, reinforcing traditional methods.
The attitude to this particular diagnosis is undergoing transformation throughout decades. If in my childhood diabetes sounded like the end of the world, nowadays the word itself does not scare any more. If back in the middle of last century people with diabetes were considered doomed, today the situation is different: men and women diagnosed with diabetes are able and active members of the society.
Statistics shows that the patients who follow the recommendations prescribed by their doctors all through their lives tend to feel better that the rest of the mankind, who do not have diabetes. It happens because diabetic patients pay proper attention to their nutrition, their body and keep their bodies in better shape. Consequently, they have a good chance to live longer than those who have chaotic lifestyle and don’t pay proper attention to their well-being.
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