"The International Diabetes Federation predicts that one in 10 adults could have diabetes by 2030, according to their latest statistics.
In a report issued on Monday, the advocacy group estimated that 552 million people would have diabetes in the next two decades based on things like aging and demographic changes. Currently, the group says that one in about eight people have diabetes.
The figure includes both types of diabetes as well as cases that are undiagnosed. The group expects the number of cases to jump by 90 percent even in Africa, where infectious diseases have previously been the top killer. Without including the impact of increasing obesity, the International Diabetes Federation said its figures were conservative.
According to the World Health Organization, there are about 346 million people worldwide with diabetes, with more than 80 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries. The agency projects diabetes deaths will double by 2030 and said the International Diabetes Federation's prediction was possible.
"It's a credible figure," said Gojka Roglic, head of WHO's diabetes unit. "But whether or not it's correct, we can't say."
Roglic said the projected future rise in diabetes cases was because of aging rather than the obesity epidemic. Most cases of diabetes are Type 2, the kind that mainly hits people in middle age, and is linked to weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle.
Roglic said a substantial number of future diabetes cases were preventable. "It's worrying because these people will have an illness which is serious, debilitating, and shortens their lives," she said. "But it doesn't have to happen if we take the right interventions."
Let's take the Third World part of that sad...or should I say S.A.D. story: they are starving, we send them our excess grain and powdered milk, and they go from lean and running on ketones to bloated and running on carbs and alien foods.
Now let's take the Asian part of that story: grains (mainly rice) have been a staple in their diet for centuries, so you'd expect to see diabetes there. India has it's own problem with running exclusively on carbs, since the population is largely vegetarian/vegan.
Up until very recently, grains were the cheapest form of food on the planet--and then the recession hit, followed by weather-related calamities, and commodities traders bidding up the market price in an effort to secure something for themselves backed by demand. Over time, pancreases will cease to function as they once did, and people can even be born with an undersized pancreas for the job (my F-I-L was one).
Of course we're going to wind up with diabetes eventually, and Big Pharma is there waiting for the crowds to blow their door down looking for their shot cure. When the last diabetic standing takes his/her last dose, THEN what happens to the insulin makers?
Who cares? It's profits now. No wonder the sane diet gurus and enthusiasts are being shouted down and denounced at every turn! Insulin makers, glucose monitor makers, test strip companies, alcohol prep pad makers, needle makers, drug stores, and doctors/hospitals all profit form one person eating more starch than his/her body can handle. The disease comes with all these things attached to it, and it's no longer an affordable disease--insulin prices alone have doubled in the last 5 years. The glucose monitor you can get for free by signing up with one of those home medicine delivery companies (courtesy of Medicare), but the strips for it cost about $1.00 each, and come in boxes of 50 or 100--not enough for the average diabetic who conscientiously test multiple times daily.
If you wind up getting the foot sores that frequently plague most diabetics who can no longer feel their feet (yes, numbness is common), the you throw in diabetic socks and shoes, and maybe an amputation if the sore(s) get bad enough.
Sometimes the numbness climbs all the way to the waist, and sexual function is lost--for men, there's that little blue pill for about $10 each.
See how this disease adds up? All they have to do is stop eating starches, and all these costs go away, or they can avoid incurring them to begin with.
As it is, now diabetes, just like heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, is seen as "part of aging." It isn't and never was...or until I found this.
UPDATE: From Dr. Barry Sears (from the Zone diet) and the Christian Broadcasting Network (hey--I take health news where I can get it):
During menopause, the ovaries slowly shut down, reducing the production of estrogen by about two-thirds (adrenal glands and fat cells make the remaining amount). During this time of rapid hormonal changes, the body’s eicosanoid balance gets thrown off, giving rise to hot flashes, as well as other discomforts.
New evidence suggests that hot flashes may stem from rapidly changing levels of eicosanoids and may be due in part to an over-production of the “bad” eicosanoid PGE2. One reason may be that the plunge in estrogen levels during menopause also leads to a corresponding increase in the production of insulin. This increase in insulin leads to an increased production of arachidonic acid, the building block of “bad” eicosanoids such as PGE2.
Since high-dose fish oil will reduce the production of this eicosanoid by reducing arachidonic acid levels, this may explain why your grandmother rarely complained about hot flashes. Her daily dose of cod liver oil would have reduced or even eliminated this symptom.
Moreover, Japanese women who consume large amounts of seafood and soy rarely suffer from hot flashes. As I pointed out in my book, The Soy Zone, soy is rich in chemicals called phytoestrogens, which mimic the effects of estrogen in your body. Researchers have found that eating 20 grams of soy protein per day (in the form of soybeans, tofu, and tempeh or soy milk) provides a modest decrease in the severity of menopausal symptoms.
However, phytoestrogens are not the cure-all that they were hoped to be because they don’t contain adequate levels of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids, found in ultra-refined EPA/DHA fish oil concentrates. Soy alone won’t fully inhibit excess PGE2 production.
Post-Menopause
A rise in insulin that begins after menopause helps explain why women’s heart disease rates catch up to men’s within 10 years following menopause. It is the number-one cause of death in both women and men. Following the Zone Diet to lower your insulin levels and reduce the AA/EPA ratio will give you a far better defense against heart attacks than hormone replacement therapy (HRT). What’s more, Dr. Bruce Holub at the University of Guelph in Canada has shown that high-dose fish oil can decrease the TG/HDL ratio (an indirect marker for decreased insulin levels) and change the AA/EPA in postmenopausal women within 30 days.
Although heart disease is the number-one cause of death in women, breast cancer is the disease that’s the most feared. Following my dietary program is your best bet for maintaining an appropriate AA/EPA ratio and for decreasing your risk of breast cancer, as well as any other type of cancer.
Another major health problem seen in post-menopausal women is osteoporosis. Although HRT can slow the loss of bone that leads to debilitating spine curvatures and hip fractures associated with osteoporosis, hormones only delay the process and can’t reverse it. Just as with heart disease, the underlying rise in osteoporosis after menopause may not be primarily due from a lack of estrogen. Physicians have long known that corticosteroids will induce rapid bone loss. It turns out that another mediator of the development of osteoporosis is the overproduction of “bad” eicosanoids, in particular PGE2.
Bruce Wadkins at Purdue University has demonstrated that high-dose fish oil has the ability to significantly reduce bone loss by decreasing PGE2 levels. Therefore, reducing excess production of both cortisol and “bad” eicosanoids may be the optimal treatment for osteoporosis.
As I discussed earlier, two of the best ways to reduce cortisol output is through the use of high-dose fish oil (to reduce inflammation) and by stabilizing insulin levels (since stable blood sugar levels lower your body’s production of excess cortisol.) Thus, my dietary recommendations can be your best dietary weapon to reduce the likelihood of developing osteoporosis. I know of a 66-year-old woman who had been following my dietary program for about three years but had not been using any supplemental fish oil. Within a year after starting to take 3 grams of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids every day, the loss of bone mass in her backbone ceased, and her overall bone density went from being well below average to being 10 percent higher than the norm for women her age.
That’s why I always find it interesting that our grandmothers rarely had menopausal problems, heart disease, or osteoporosis. We know their bones didn’t turn to dust, nor did their hearts stop beating before their time, probably because their diet was similar to my current dietary recommendations. The one difference is that they used a tablespoon of cod liver oil each day instead of high-dose ultra-refined grade fish oil.
The hormonal communication system is vastly more complex in a woman’s body than in a man’s. My dietary program can see a woman through those phases of life when her hormones are likely to fluctuate. My dietary plan gives you the advantage of maintaining hormonal communication within your body throughout pregnancy, menopause, and post-menopausal years. It’s a “drug” that’s far superior to fertility shots or hormone replacement therapy. And unlike these pharmaceuticals, my dietary recommendations will help you improve your overall health as well as the fidelity of your female hormonal system.
Having bought and tried Sonne's cod liver oil myself (at first for cat food, but now EVERYBODY'S getting it), the taste is nothing, I repeat NOTHING like the cod liver oil of old--the taste was mostly neutral oil, followed by a slight tuna aftertaste.
Sure, you can get softgels, but you'd have to take a handful of them to equal what you'd get in one tablespoon of the stuff. Regular fish oil (caps or liquid) doesn't measure up to what you could get out of cod liver oil--this is why I went surfing and bought some for my stray babies. Seeing as how I could stand to use this just for arthritis, and now menopause (yes, it seems I've met up with the Big M), I'd stock up if it didn't require refrigeration.
There's already so much in my refrigerator, I may have to trade in my unplugged freezer for another fridge! :) Just a thought. Apparently, the Big M puts a serious damper on your appetite (as if the Paleo diet didn't do enough!). It also doesn't help that I still have somewhat of a frugal mindset, and haven't quite let go of the hoarding mentality, or the fact that we're just plain not eating as much as we used to--my grocery buying hasn't slowed down with my stomach demands yet.
Judging by what Dr. Sears had to say about insulin, I can certainly cut down on the vegetation assortment. Avocados and the occasional apple are my only fruits, and maybe I need to ditch the apples--anything for cutting insulin.
Is what's good for the goose good for the gander as well? I'm off to the web to find out. It's looking more and more like Primal Toad's Magic 4 Foods are just what the menopausal doctor ordered.
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