Dr. Joel Goldman's Blog

Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body is unable to utilize glucose (a simple sugar).

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As a result, glucose levels in the blood increase. This exposes the blood vessels and surrounding tissues to elevated levels of sugar which have a "corrosive" effect on these structures. After many years of this excess exposure to sugar, the blood vessels and tissues become irreversibly damaged which leads to the long term complications of diabetes such as blindness, kidney failure and amputation of limbs.

In order to prevent the complications of diabetes, it is extremely important to keep the blood sugar level as close to normal as possible.

In a normal person without diabetes, the blood sugar level remains in a very narrow range. This is due to a number of hormones, mainly from the islet cells of the pancreas, which interact to keep the sugar (glucose) levels normal whether one is eating or fasting.

When diabetes develops, the pancreatic islet cells are unable to produce enough insulin to keep the sugar levels normal. As a result, the sugar levels rise to levels which damage many organs of the body leading to the terrible complications of this disease.

A contributing factor in many patients is insulin resistance which prevents the levels of insulin from working properly. As a result, the tissues of the body cannot utilize glucose causing the blood levels of sugar to rise.

To treat diabetes, many medications are available which increase the insulin levels and/or decrease the insulin resistance. These medications generally lower the glucose levels toward the normal range. Unfortunately, none of these medications, including insulin, can prevent sugar levels from rising if sugar is consumed.

Sugar can be consumed by eating or drinking foods with sugar, for example, candy or cake. Fruit contains "natural" sugar which raises the blood sugar levels in a very similar way to "refined" sugar.

Starches such as pastry, bread, rice, potatoes and cereal are very efficiently converted into sugar (glucose) within 30 - 60 minutes after eating. All flour produced from grain (wheat, rye, oats, barley and spelt) or other starches such as potatoes, rice and corn are converted into sugar.

To treat diabetes by keeping glucose levels from rising, it is essential to stay on a "low carbohydrate" diet which is actually a low starch, very low fruit and no sugar diet.