3) THE BASIC CAUSES OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
e) The Complexity of Diabetes
Individual responses to type 2 diabetes "treatments" are extraordinarily varied and complex. No two persons with type 2 diabetes will react in exactly the same way. These differences reflect not only the varying physiological and psychological make-up of each individual, but the fact that type 2 diabetes itself probably has many causes, many of which have yet to be discovered. It is important to realize that what works for someone else may not work for someone else with type 2 diabetes. Recognize that diabetes cannot be treated by a single hard and fast set of rules. The results of any treatment will reflect each individual's differing physiology and psychology, remembering that the mind is a powerful element in any disease!
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by at least four conditions, each of which can be present to varying degrees:
1, the body cells develop a resistance to insulin; i.e. so called "insulin resistance"
2, the pancreas stops putting out the required amounts of insulin
3, the liver puts out or stores sugars at improper times
4, the pancreas stops storing a "ready reserve" of insulinThe first two are well known and widely accepted. The remaining conditions are not well known and not well publicized. The "mix" and degree of these variables varies considerably and thus the type 2 diabetes condition varies considerably.
A overly full stomach, whether or not there is any carbohydrates contained in the full stomach, will typically promote two responses in a "normal" individual. The pancreas will start putting out insulin and the liver will start putting out blood sugar. So if a normal person eats a large salad, blood sugar levels will not be affected, the two resulting responses will cancel each other out. In a person with type 2 diabetes, especially if that person is on medication which affects the liver, the two responses may not cancel each other out. A large salad might result in either high or low blood sugar, depending on how the liver and the pancreas react. One result that a diary might show is that an individual with type 2 diabetes needs to avoid large meals no matter what they consist of. Even such benign foods as spinach and lettuce can cause this reaction. On the other hand an individual might be successful with one large well planned meal per day, say fish, spinach and beans. Different people have different reactions.
The amount of "ready reserve" of insulin stored in the pancreas varies from one person with type 2 diabetes to another. The pancreas and the endocrine system produce a multitude of hormones other than insulin which affect the amount of insulin and the amount of sugar in the blood, either directly or indirectly. Each individual's system produces all these enzymes at different amounts and different rates. Researchers have recently determined that there are two types of basic insulin responses. The first is the "fast response" where the pancreas can gear up and start producing insulin very rapidly. The second is the "slow response", where the pancreas gears up much more slowly. So if you consider the amount of ready reserve, the amount of insulin produced, and the speed with which it is produced, the potential variability between individuals is huge.
The liver's role in type 2 diabetes is not well known. About half the body's stores of readily available carbohydrate are in the liver, the other half is stored in the muscle cells themselves. If the liver releases its stored carbohydrate at the wrong time, high blood sugar can result without any apparent dietary reason. When someone with type 2 diabetes has high blood sugar readings even after many hours of fasting and weeks of low carbohydrate meals, the liver in that individual may be converting body protein (i.e. muscle) into blood sugar. This is very undesirable and needs to be controlled with medication.
All of the above factors are not simply determined by genetics or random chance. They are all also apparently affected by the type of food a person eats, how much exercise a person gets, how fat is distributed in the body, medications and many other environmental factors. Now, combine all the factors above and you begin to see how complex the causes of diabetes (and the treatments that work!) can become. This is why it is so important to work with a qualified doctor or other diabetes professional in getting the proper mix of medications and treatments. This is also why it is so important to keep a diary of all food intakes (time eaten, carbohydrates in grams and total calories), all blood sugar readings (reading and time) and all exercise. Only in this way can someone with type 2 diabetes understand the triggers that cause either high or low blood sugar.
Note that there are other affects from diabetes that are not well understood. For instance, a person with type 2 diabetes may deposit large amounts of calcium in the blood vessel walls, for reasons that are unclear. This calcium enhanced "hardening of the arteries" can be an important factor in the heart disease of a person with diabetes, especially as it makes effective treatment much harder.
Current Chapter: THE BASIC CAUSES OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
a) Underlying Mechanism of Type 2 Diabetes
b) Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
c) Tests for Diabetes
d) Insulin Resistance
e) The Complexity of Diabetes
f) Poisoning of Body Protein
g) Diabetes, Protein Poisoning and Cognitive Thinking
h) Protein Poisoning and A1c
i) Well Cooked Meat and Protein Poisoning
j) Beta Cell Death in Type 2 Diabetes
k) The Hypoglycemic Spike Effect
l) The "Dawn Phenomenon"
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