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| photo by acidpix |
A guy with a late onset
diabetes story similar to mine emailed a couple of days ago with questions
about a few details of my experiment. He used the term “voodoo” to describe
some of the non-diet/supplement components of my regimen. I like it. It’s
pretty descriptive. It’s one word with some power and mystery-- seems much
sexier than “eastern-medicine inspired” or “holistic” or “mind-body techniques”.
And it’s perfect as a reference to a subject the great majority has no
experience with. As I replied, I realized that I reference my acupuncture,
yoga, and meditation periodically in this blog, but rarely with specifics. At present, I try to do 25 minutes of yoga exercise , 15 minutes of breathing and 15 minute of mediation daily. I often skip a day on weekends. I had weekly acupuncture treatments from January, 2011 until November, 2011 when I changed to a bi-weekly schedule. That was a purely monetary decision. Weekly is preferable.
My science news feeds led
me to kernels of evidence for each of these health and healing practices. Mixed
in with the studies on fish oil, ALA, GABA, zinc, and the rest I found: “Iceman”
Wim Hof, who controlled his immune response with tummo meditation; other
studies suggest plain old mindfulness meditation also positively affects
the immune system; the science for the benefit
of acupuncture is related to its role combatting stress, a primary driver
for diabetes and other chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; yoga
breath and body exercise are tied not only to physical strength and balance,
but to the same kind of non-western energy regulation that acupuncture
addresses. At a minimum, yoga aids in the all-important battle
against stress. My instincts tell me that yoga is also a direct a biofeedback
mechanism for autonomic body functions.
These clues were of
particular interest to me. Improving pancreas function and reducing insulin
resistance are less-dismissed goals by western medicine than actually fixing
the root cause immune attack. A “diet cure” for Type 2’s is actually starting
to gain some credibility. But it’s still all voodoo on the “curing autoimmune” front.
Any pancreas under attack is completely written off by western medicine. Many
avenues of research are trying to figure out how to switch off the attack or
make islet transplants viable, but currently, none seem less quality of life
compromising than the insulin needle or pump.
The cynical answer to why
the voodoo solutions aren’t researched more and publicized is that it’s not
patentable. If most research originates from corporate interests, the only voodoo
reporting we’ll get is at this kind of personal, anecdotal level.
___
Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle
___
Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle
Hallo Russell.
ReplyDeleteYou say stress is main cause of autoimmune diseases. I have never seen any strong data which confirm this claim. My personal experiences CAN support this but I think its not enough. I'm very interested in this topic because I also have LADA. Can you tell me where did you find this?
I believe in meditatation, good rest and good sleep, but is it enough to avoid these diseases? What about gut flora?
Sly
Hi Sly,
DeleteIt's a great question. I don't mean to give stress control any more credit then diet, supplements, & activity. I'm thinking it takes all 4 equally. If it was any one thing, more people would've stumbled upon the solution. Getting the gut flora and mitochondria healthy by cutting out processed food is huge. I was amazed by Dr Wahls TEDx talk.
“TEDxIowaCity - Dr. Terry Wahls - Minding Your Mitochondria, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc&list=HL1323189656&feature=mh_lolz
The western evidence linking stress is scattered, but it's there, like this:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/si-spa012110.php
But it's role as a suspect was pointed out to me first by my eastern medicine experts. And then there's my anecdotal evidence. My tracking shows that my blood sugar trended along with my chronic stress levels. So there's some western evidence, pretty solid eastern practice, personal observation, and some hunch and instinct behind why I give managing stress a co-star role. Others have controlled blood sugar, but there's something in what I'm doing that stopped the attack on the Betas. I'm sure the combination of acupuncture, meditation, and yoga to control stress is involved. It also probably helped that I got laid off last November from the job that probably triggered the LADA in the first place.
Sorry so long-winded. Please feel free to followup.
Russell