Avoiding the Damage Caused by Diabetes

Please forgive us, but this was once called A Cure for Diabetes but it was just what it says now. Curing type 2 diabetes is very difficult, but while you’ve got it, you can reduce the damage it does to your body. Again, we apologize. It was just plain stupid to post that.

A long, long time ago when we were rigidly zoned in on metabolic syndrome (I think we called it the Disease of Our Time) I ran across this “gunk” created in our bodies called AGEs or Advanced Glycation End-Products.

Those of you who remember these articles will certainly remember that I had the darnedest time understanding what AGEs were, because every single page we found on the subject said the same exact thing, with no explanation of their terms or of the processes involved in their development.

It was then that we realized that not a single person writing about them on the web knew what the hell they were talking about and were simply parroting other websites and publications.

We were the first to actually explain the processes and we’re not about to explain them again, so if you want to know how they are created, go here: Advanced Glycation End-Products.

Editor’s Note: You will note the word “Cure” has quotation marks around it. This means “not what you think.” We are not “curing” diabetes, but rather the damage caused by type two diabetes. You’ll see this as you read on. The cure for type two diabetes has and will always be diet and exercise, and for some, it’s just not possible. That’s a cold hard fact.

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Now that that’s out of the way . . . .

Let me introduce you to something called MG, or Methylglyoxal. It is a metabolite. A metabolite is something that is either necessary for metabolism (the cellular level process of feeding all living creatures) or it is formed by metabolism.

Spoiler Alert!

MG is formed by metabolism.

Metabolites can be inert or reactive. Inert metabolites are usually passed out of the body by systems we’ve had for eons that detox these things. Reactive metabolites can trash a hotel room faster than Keith Moon, and there are also systems that can detox these nasty critters, but they need to be fed. (Fed what? you ask; read on!)

The pharmaceutical industry is well aware of these metabolites because when the body breaks down a drug, it’s the metabolites that can cause all those rotten side effects.

Sometimes, however, the metabolites are exactly what the drug was intended to produce. Take codeine.

When codeine passes by the liver, it is metabolized to norcodeine, codeine-6-glucuronide, and morphine. The metabolite morphine is the most potent and important in the pain relieving effect of the medication. [Ref]

MG is not your nice metabolite. It is produced during metabolic chemical reactions in our cells, but in diabetics, these metabolic chemical reactions are overactive, trying to do something with all that extra sugar floating around.

In fact, it’s that extra sugar that causes the glycation that produces those AGEs we talked about, and those interfere with our proteins in our muscles, eyes, kidneys, and heart (the parts that are most damaged for diabetics).

And folks, it’s that MG, a reactive metabolite, that starts the ball rolling on the glycation process.

Now get this.

Because MG is so prevalent in diabetics, it was thought that obesity and diabetes were causing MG to be produced. But new research tells us that MG is the cause of obesity and diabetes.

You see, scientists have been studying diabetes for a long time, and you’ve probably read advertising for a number of books telling you how to beat diabetes. And yes, there are things you can do to control your blood sugar with diet and exercise and supplements that keep blood sugar low, but there is still a problem.

The effects of diabetes on muscle tissues, the kidneys, and the heart just did not go away when people kept their blood sugar under control, and that baffled the hell out researchers.

Until they started examining MG. 

You see, one of the reasons all these terrible things were happening to the body when blood sugar levels were normal was because of this damn MG. He hung around and just kept trashing his hotel room.

So scientists took some poor little fruit flies (time flies out the window, but fruit flies last forever) and genetically engineered them to turn off the enzyme that breaks down MG. The flies developed insulin resistance and got so fat they had hard time taking off, let alone flying.

Now let’s jump ahead a few intermediary species to us humans.

There are treatments and there are treatments and supplements and exercise for diabetes. Diabetes has become an entire industry. Many of our recipes here at Wellness Journeys are designed to keep blood sugar levels from spiking. We’ve even developed a Banana Chocolate Chip Omega Muffin that doesn’t raise blood sugar (significantly).

Keeping blood sugar levels from spiking is still a good thing because it cuts inflammation. But there’s this other thing going on in diabetics and pre-diabetics.

Researchers have known all about antioxidants and how they can protect us, and many have suggested using those to help combat the effects on the body from high blood sugar. But they ran into problems with this route because studies show mixed results. And then there’s the fact that there are a good number of reactive metabolites out there for diabetics to deal with, not just MG, although this one seems to be doing most of the damage.

But let’s adjust our focus on this MG fellow and his role in creating AGEs, because it is this role (creating AGEs) where scientists made a breakthrough recently (April 2018) published in Cell Metabolism.

A friend of ours, Byron Richards (passed away jogging), wrote about this way back when, and we even wrote about it in our paper on AGEs, not knowing Byron had already written his paper (which we could have referenced).

First, Byron’s paper, “Carnosine is Lacking in Type 2 Diabetic Patients” tells us that carnosine is highly concentrated in the muscles, especially in the heart, is very protective, and performs even more in preventing kidney damage. It even enhances wound healing. [We are very sorry, but the FDA forced that website to take down this paper. The main reason the FDA does this is because they don’t want people selling supplements and posting studies about them at the same time. This is your FDA protecting you, or rather, the pharmaceutical industry.]

The problem is it’s lacking in diabetics, which can lead to that glycation process that stiffens up muscles (by forming those gunky AGEs) so that many diabetics really don’t get all the benefits of exercise.

This is Important:

L-Carnosine is a potent antioxidant that protects the muscles (and the heart) prevents kidney damage, has a relaxing effect on the brain (and can boost mood), and it halts the glycation process; those AGEs.

And how it halts the glycation process is why we wrote this article in the first place, because it also beats MG senseless.

Yes, it is L-Carnosine that is MG’s greatest nemesis, and MG cannot survive in a body charged with L-Carnosine.

If you’ve looked at our article on AGE’s, you’ll see we give a pretty hefty focus on L-Carnosine as being the best way to clean up these gunky things, and now we know from this new research that L-Carnosine will actually inhibit the process of glycation before the gunk is created, and inhibit MG from trashing his hotel room.

Even though there is continuing research going on right now, it’s pretty much accepted by nutritionists keeping up on this research that if your fasting blood sugar level is over 90, or if you have type two diabetes or are pre-diabetic, you should be taking at least one 500 mg capsule with three meals equaling 1500 mg of L-Carnosine per day.

And if you are just a regular Jane or Joe, 500 mg of L-Carnosine daily is a pretty darn good preventive measure.

And we get ours at Swanson Vitamins, our best affiliate program. Supporting our affiliates supports us. Websites don’t hold themselves up.

But We Are Not Finished Here

What has been discovered is only a cure for the damage type two diabetes and pre-diabetes can cause. We’ve not really cured type two diabetes. If a person takes L-Carnosine as needed, that person’s body is still resistant to insulin and if it’s resistant to insulin, it’s also resistant to leptin. So, we’re not out of the woods yet.

The Damage Already Caused

Sure, we want to prevent further damage, but what about venous hypertension and microangiopathy? This is the damage to smaller blood vessels that slows circulation leading to diabetic wounds in the lower legs and feet. Modern medicine has only amputation for these ulcers that become infected and turn gangrene.

However, we do have Ron Salley’s amazing healing creams and lotions and there is something we can do from the inside out and that is a simple supplement: pycnogenol.

In a study out of Chieti-Pescara University, Chieti, Italy, it was found that 90% of those studied (who suffered from leg and feet ulcers due to diabetes) experience complete healing using both oral (150 mg) pycnogenol and powdered pycnogenol applied topically to the ulcers.

Here is 150 mg Pycnogenol from our affiliate program with Swanson’s. We’ve not been able to locate a powder form, but nobody said you can’t open the capsules and apply that. However, we’ve always recommended Ron Salley’s Healon PF. You get your money back if it doesn’t work for you.

Curing Diabetes

To “cure” diabetes, we have to keep our blood sugar from spiking (must read!), and perhaps do some intermittent fasting, and we have to up our Vitamin D3 levels.

In July of 2019, the European Journal of Endocrinology published a study that showed megadoses (5,000 IU of Vitamin D3) improved insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in those people with type two diabetes and pre-diabetes. Didn’t do a damn thing (as far as insulin sensitivity) in healthy individuals. [Ref]

Now this is very important, for two reasons:

1. Previous studies just didn’t show a relationship between vitamin D and diabetes (hundreds if not tens of hundreds of different methodologies) and
2. Low vitamin D levels are epidemic (if we’re allowed to use that word here) in the world.

So Now We Have a Complete Package

And we will sum it up for you in a list.

1. Get up off your ass and do something. Go for a walk, bike, stretch. Do something.
2. Keep your blood sugar from spiking.
3. Intermittent fasting.
4. Take L-Carnosine with your meals.
5. And make sure you take a good Vitamin D3 daily (5,000 IU).

Now go be well.