Honey Has Anti-Diabetic Effect, Contains Oligosaccharides

Already recommended for Type 1 Diabetics, Honey is good food and good medicine! Oligosaccharides, simple sugars found in honey, are also good for the healthy flora in our intestines...

Oligosaccharides Might Contribute to the Antidiabetic Effect of Honey: A Review of the Literature

Molecules, 2011 Dec 28;17(1):248-66 

Evidence shows that honey improves glycemic control in diabetes mellitus. Besides its hypoglycemic effect, studies indicate that honey ameliorates lipid abnormalities in rats and humans with diabetes. The majority of these studies do not examine the mechanisms by which honey ameliorates glycemic and/or lipid derangements.

The gut microbiota is now recognized for its ability to increase energy harvest from the diet and alter lipid metabolism of the host. Recently available data implicate a causal role of these gut microbes in the pathophysiology of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus.

In this review, we present some of the latest findings linking gut microbiota to pathogenesis of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus. The review also underlines data that demonstrate the beneficial effects of oligosaccharides on various abnormalities commonly associated with these disorders.

Based on the similarities of some of these findings with those of honey, together with the evidence that honey contains oligosaccharides, we hypothesize that oligosaccharides present in honey might contribute to the antidiabetic and other health-related beneficial effects of honey.

We anticipate that the possibility of oligosaccharides in honey contributing to the antidiabetic and other health-related effects of honey will stimulate a renewed research interest in this field...

Honey Recommended over Sugar for Type 1 Diabetic Patients

Anectdotally accepted for years, now encouraging confirmation that honey is better than sugar -  even for diabetics...

Honey and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Source: Type 1 Diabetes - Complications, Pathogenesis, and Alternative Treatments

InTech Open, November 2011 

Aim of the Study

The aim of this work was to compare the effects of honey, sucrose and glucose on plasma glucose and C-peptide levels in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is by far the most common metabolic and endocrinal disease in children (Peters & Schriger, 1997). The major dietary component responsible for fluctuations in blood glucose levels is carbohydrate. The amount, source (Jenkins et al., 1981; Gannon et al., 1989) and type (Brand et al., 1985) of carbohydrate appear to have profound influence on postprandial glucose levels. The chronic hyperglycemia of diabetes is associated with long-term damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs especially the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels (American Diabetes Association, 2001)...

Honey is the substance made when the nectar and sweet deposits from plants are gathered, modified and stored in the honeycomb by honey bees. It is composed primarily of the sugars glucose and fructose; its third greatest component is water. Honey also contains numerous other types of sugars, as well as acids, proteins and minerals (White et al., 1962; White, 1980; White, 1975). The water content of honey ranges between 15 to 20% (average 17.2%). Glucose and fructose, the major constituents of honey, account for about 85% of the honey solids...

C-peptide is considered to be a good marker of insulin secretion and has no biologic activity of its own (Ido et al., 1997). Measurement of C-peptide, however, provides a fully validated means of quantifying endogenous insulin secretion. C-peptide is co-secreted with insulin by the pancreatic cells as a by-product of the enzymatic cleavage of proinsulin to insulin. Consequently, serum C-peptide level can be used as a true indicator of any change in the insulin level, which is the main determinant of plasma glucose level... 

Conclusions and recommendations

1. Honey has a lower glycemic and peak incremental indices compared to glucose and sucrose in both type 1 diabetic patients and non-diabetics. Therefore, we recommend using honey as a sugar substitute in type 1 diabetic patients.

2. In spite of its significantly lower glycemic and peak incremental indices, honey caused significant post-prandial rise of plasma C-peptide levels when compared to glucose and sucrose in non-diabetics; indicating that honey may have a direct stimulatory effect on the healthy beta cells of pancreas. On the other hand, C-peptide levels were not significantly elevated after honey ingestion when compared with either glucose or sucrose in type 1 diabetic patients. Whether or not ingestion of honey in larger doses or/and for an extended period of time would have a significant positive effect on the diseased beta cells, needs further studies.

Propolis Protects Liver From Diabetes-Induced Damage

The importance of Propolis is its capacity to be complementary, enhancing the effects of antibiotics and other medication, while at the same time healing damaged tissue.

Protective effects of Chineseand Brazilian propolis treatment against hepatorenal lesion in diabetic rats
College of AnimalSciences, Zhejiang University; Hum Exp Toxicol Sept 2011 vol. 30

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus promoted an overproduction of freeradicals and an increased incidence of both diabetic nephropathy and liverdisease. In this report, we evaluated the effects of Chinese and Brazilianpropolis on streptozotocin-induced hepatorenal injury in rats.

The results demonstrated that Chinese propolis-treatedrats had a 7.4% reduction in the glycated hemoglobin (HbAlc) level comparedwith untreated diabetic rats. Additionally, Chinese propolis induced anincrease in the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) level significantly whileBrazilian propolis raised serum SOD and reduced level of malonaldehyde (MDA)and nitric synthetase (NOS). Of the measurable decrease in serum alanine transaminase(ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and microalbuminuria demonstrated thepropolis-mediated improvement of hepatorenal function, which was furtherconfirmed by histological examination.

We also observed that Chinese and Brazilian propolisincreased hepatorenal glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) level and inhibited MDAproduction significantly. These results suggested that propolis may preventhepatorenal injury by inhibiting lipid peroxidation and enhancing theactivities of antioxidant enzymes.

Propolis Can Control Blood Glucose, Improve Insulin Sensitivity

Propolis, along with the other products from the beehive, have remarkable promise for the human condition...

Effects of Encapsulated Propolis on Blood Glycemic Control, Lipid Metabolism, and Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Rats
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2012;2012:981896

The present study investigates the encapsulated propolis on blood glycemic control, lipid metabolism, and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats.

The animal characteristics and biological assays of body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting serum insulin (FINS), insulin act index (IAI), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured and euglycemic hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp technique were used to determine these effects.

Our findings show that oral administration of encapsulated propolis can significantly inhibit the increasing of FBG and TG in T2DM rats and can improve IAI and M value in euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp experiment. There was no significant effects on body weight, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C in T2DM rats treated with encapsulated propolis.

In conclusion, the results indicate that encapsulated propolis can control blood glucose, modulate lipid metabolism, and improve the insulin sensitivity in T2DM rats.

Cinnamon for Diabetes: New Survey Shows CAM Used with Diabetes Mellitus

Incidence of diabetes is on the rise. Though at this time there is no known cure, the World Health Organization recommends several lifestyle modifications that may help prevent onset of Type II Diabetes, including healthy diet, regular exercise, maintaining normal body weight, and avoiding tobacco use.

For those managing Type I and Type II Diabetes, a 2011 survey by the Diabetes Center of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism shows patients with Diabetes Mellitus are using Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) as a support with conventional health care.

Of the almost 200 diabetes patients surveyed, 34% of Type I Diabetics and 31% of Type II Diabetics reported using CAM supplements. In addition, 56% of Type I Diabetics and 76% of Type II Diabetics who reported using biologically based supplements said they used them daily with conventional health care and prescribed therapies. Nutritional supplements, herbal medicines, and cinnamon were the most frequently reported CAM supplements used.

If you love cinnamon as many of us do, you'd be interested to know the common culinary spice is currently being researched as a useful supplement with Type II Diabetes. It is thought that cinnamon may lower blood sugar by decreasing insulin resistance; in those with Type II Diabetes, insulin, the hormone which lowers blood sugar, does not work efficiently which causes higher blood sugar levels. Further studies are needed, however, to determine the long-term effects of cinnamon on diabetes.

>>Read the full-text review of "Use of complementary and alternative medicine supplements in patients with diabetes mellitus" by the American Botanical Council online here

>> If you'd like to learn more about holistic nutrition to support optimal health and wellness, visit ACHSedu and click on Holistic Medicine, community wellness events, and News and Events for more information

*This information has not been reviewed by the FDA and is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. Before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine, consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor.

Doctor show MMR vaccination is unsafe for children - looses his license

I have just finished reading Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s book: Callous Disregard.

For many years we have been opposed to using vaccinations, due to our own experience with our oldest son CJ. He became very ill following the DTP vaccination.

Personally I have done MANY hours of reading stretching over 15 years on the subject of vaccinations’s pros and cons. 

What I have learned about vaccinations with certainty are as follows:

1. Vaccinations DO CAUSE adverse effects in children, some short lived some permanent- this is no longer debatable. What is still unsure, is the physical body count.
2. Anybody trying to show scientifically that there is a link between vaccinations and Autism, juvenile diabetes, inflammatory bowl disorders, cancer etc, will be ostracized.
3. The efficacy of the so called “herd immunity” to diseases is flakey, as there has been epidemic outbreaks in fully vaccinated communities.
4. There is very little to no political will to encourage vaccine safety research, rather the opposite. No REAL study has been run on vaccinated children v.s. unvaccinated children - the ‘authorities’ deem this ‘unethical’
5. Doctors and clinic nurses intimidate parents that question the safety or efficacy of vaccinations with FEAR of being irresponsible.
6. Most parents still think that their doctor and nurse has their best interest at heart with vaccinating their young.
7. Most parents of autistic children, that I have consulted, admit that they will never have any child of theirs vaccinated ever again, and that they wish they could turn back the clock…

All this and more, is what Dr Wakefield discovered. I knew many of these things from my own research, but here is a story of a man that lived all of it.

He simply published his findings and because of standing up on behalf of vaccine damaged patients - lost his license to practice medicine. He did what you are hoping your doctor would do, if you took a sick child to him, find the cause of his/her illness.

He is now accused of Scientific Fraud, believe it or not. In Callous Disregard, he gives a detailed description of events as they unfolded, from the first time he saw sick children, how he and his colleagues diagnosed and helped the children to where he is today, in the USA, discredited, alienated from his own country and his career destroyed!

If you ever doubted that there are bigger powers at play and that vaccinations may be unsafe then I want to encourage you to get his book. The book is so well written, it reads like a horror story from Hollywood - I simply could not put it down. DO NOT believe the media… before you have read this book yourself!

I believe that history will indeed be very kind to Dr. Wakefield, and that in the end the truth will be known. 
Below is an interview that Dr. Mercola had with Dr. Wakefield.

In a previous post I have an interview of Dr. Mercola and Dr. Palevsky - this is the perspective of two doctors that no longer vaccinate, because they see the damage it does to our children...

Are you dangerously obedient?

This may seem like a strange question, as we are always taught to be obedient to authority.
It has been a longstanding question in my mind, why some people would accept the truth about their health, take action and heal themselves; where as other people would hear the truth, understand it but then go back to the doctor for continued unfruitful treatments.

The Milgram experiments from the early 1960's are classic (but shocking) studies that demonstrated the "sheeple-ness" of people everywhere. In the experiments -- which have been replicated numerous times across multiple cultures, races and age ranges -- subjects willingly engaged in administering extremely painful electric shocks to other human beings for no reason other than the fact they were ordered to do so by an apparent authority figure.

These studies have long demonstrated the "do what I'm told" mentality of approximately 70 percent of the population. Only 30 percent of the study subjects refused to torture fellow human beings when so ordered.

Now, this famous study has been replicated at Santa Clara University in California. It's important to understand that in none of these studies were humans actually being tortured or given electric shocks, but the study subjects believed they were administering such torture because the apparent recipients of the electric shocks were actors who screamed in pain to coincide with the apparent delivery of the electric shocks.

The true "subjects" of the study were actually the people recruited to administer the electric shocks. But as is common in many psychological experiments, they were told they were simply taking part in the study of the other person (the person being shocked), and they had to administer electric shocks to that person if they answered questions incorrectly. Meanwhile, the study "enforcer" (one of the true researchers running the whole thing) would command the administration of such electric shocks at increasingly painful levels, starting at low voltage and increasing the voltage well beyond 150 volts (which can be lethal).

There's another fascinating element to all this: Virtually everyone thinks they would never administer the electric shocks if they took part in the Milgram experiments. But when faced with the aggressive verbal demands of the researcher, they give in and punch the shock button anyway. The study reveals that only 30% of people, from all walks of life, would not administer the torture and that 70% would!

In my experience, this is exactly what happens when people visit me for a health consultation. I would explain to them, in understandable logic, why un-natural medicine fails massively at curing their diseased body, yet once they have been verbally abused and overwhelmed with scientific sounding medical jargon, they revert back to the “obedient state”, of cause much to their own determent and often physical demise.

I often hear:
“Thanks for explaining everything so simple, but I will have to ask my doctor’s permission to use these (food-supplements)”

You can show people the “Sceintific medical studies” on the ineffectiveness of for instance Statins (Cholesterol lowering medicine) versus Omega 3 Oils, but they will still want their doctor to OK it. The doctor of cause does not get a kick back from prescribing omega 3 oils, thus making it very difficult for him to understand the dangers of using chemical “medicine”.

You may think that you are not that stupid, and would never make such a foolish decision, well, have you considered the following:

Your doctor will tell you that using the contraceptive pill, IUD, Hormone Replacement Therapy or sterilization is 100% safe.
Yet, when confronted with facts like, it causes breast cancer, cervical cancer, endometriosis, weight gain, loss of libido, strokes, heart failure and the rest, do you stop using it? (When asked about these, your trustworthy doctor obviously denounce these as negligible)

Your doctor, clinic sister, school, and friends will tell you that vaccinating your child against “dangerous” diseases is 100% safe.
When confronted with the facts about the diseases it causes like, autism, juvenile diabetes, childhood cancers and the like, would you administering it? (When asked about these, your trustworthy doctor obviously denounce these as negligible, although we have an epidemic of these diseases on hand)

When you develop cancer (with modern life style, your chances could be as high as 1 in 4), your doctor will claim that chemo therapy, radiation and surgery is the only way out, and is 50% effective.
When confronted with the true facts behind how the pharmaceutical industry mix and match statistics to conjure up the wonderful effectiveness about the suggested chemo therapy, and that in actual fact it’s less than 4% effective, would you consider the natural alternative with no side effects? Or would you somehow convince yourself that it’s a matter of life and death, and that your doctor has your best interest at heart, and therefore his treatment must work?

These are just a few examples of how we become mindlessly obedient to the authorities in white coats with stethoscopes around the neck speaking a secret language that ordinary people do not comprehend.

Case in point: A lady phones me in a terrible state. She has been sick for years with lung problems, the medical fraternity could not find out what was wrong. After years she went to a new doctor that was able to diagnose her illness (that’s the good news) for which there is no cure! The disease was “diagnosed” as ‘Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis’. The funny part is that ‘idiopathic’ means “we have no idea what causes” your lung to grow extra fibre!! But it is diagnosed, sounds very scientific and means absolutely nothing.

When something goes wrong next time, will you be one of the mindlessly obedient 70%, or will you do some mindful research of your own, and draw your own logical conclusion and be part of the 30%?
You can read more about the Milgram Experiments here.

The Balancing act

I have found that there are a few basics in life. Do this right and a lot of things tend to work. Do them wrong, and life turns into a disaster. You know you should do it, in fact most people know they should do this right, yet often fail to. Just think of some of them like, driving too fast, drink lots of water, avoid too much coffee, don’t eat lots of sugar, exercise regularly, make that phone call you have been putting off for so long, pay your tax. The list goes on and on, and on. You KNOW you should do it, but it’s like your brain is programmed to not respond.

We have been told that having fruit or a combination of fruit, yogurt and muesli or a smoothy or shake for breakfast is what gives you a healthy start to your day. The reason for this, it is explained, is that this kind of breakfast is what is needed to cleanse your system early in the morning or to start the day healthy. This sounds logical and wonderful, until you look closer.

Looking at it purely from a scientific physiological point of view, the reality is a little less favourable than you may think. If you have a breakfast like fruit and yogurt and maybe muesli added or a slice of toast or shake or a cereal the following happens. As these foods are very easy for the body to digest (this being touted as the big benefit of eating such a breakfast) you find that as a result, the blood glucose level spikes a few minutes after eating breakfast. The body notices this and act appropriately by secreting insulin, created to facilitate the transfer of glucose from the blood into the tissue cells, like the muscles, brain etc.

But because there is a fast rising in the blood glucose level (due to the rapid conversion of the simple sugars in your breakfast to glucose) the body secretes too much insulin into the blood, creating a rapid outflow of blood glucose into the tissue cells, resulting in a very low blood glucose level soon after you ate.
In reality you go from a low blood sugar, feeling low, to a very high blood sugar level, a feeling of being on to of the world, only to find yourself with a very low blood sugar level a few minutes later and a feeling of the world being on top of you again.

For a child going to school this means eating breakfast at say, 07:00, rushing off to school hitting a sugar high just before school starts bouncing with energy, and sometimes bouncing off the walls. But then, an hour after breakfast comes the down where the blood sugar drops very low and the child has absolutely no control over his brain. They want to fall asleep, and have NO concentration ability (now in the classroom). They struggle through the first few classes, to break time, to get to the tuck shop! After the sugar load from the tuck shop the cycle starts again and again resulting in endless mood swings, bringing on, bad behaviour and bad marks. And then Ritalin follows…

The same is true for any adult. The only difference is that we adults have free access to ‘snacks’ like coffee, tea, biscuits more fruit sweets or soft drinks. As a result we eat far more than we should, resulting in growing sideways instead of upwards and in severe cases, antidepressants, anxiety tablets and the like. In ongoing cases this constant oscillation of blood sugar results in diabetes, and for that we take even more insulin!

All this happens due to eating the incorrect kind of breakfast! The cure is so simple, yet only an elected few choose to follow it. No, the remedy is NOT to eat six small meals. You do not even have time to prepare one decent meal, breakfast, let alone six! You will either be preparing food or consuming it for the whole day. No one has this kind of time at hand, anyway most people I have consulted don’t.

The remedy is to have a breakfast comprising of an animal protein and a complex carbohydrate.
This means having your oats WITH an egg, or your slice of 100% rye/spelt toast WITH one or two eggs or mince or sardines or tuna or beef sausage or the like (and no pork or bacon). NO, not seeds and nuts, these could be snacks, but certainly NOT breakfast.
Yes, you may eat lots of eggs as the people who told you that eggs are bad for your cholesterol, lied, like the people who told you butter is bad and margarine is good, and that eating fruit for breakfast is healthy.
Lunch could be something like quinoa or brown rice with chicken, or egg or fish leftovers mixed in with some of your favourite veggies like onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes etc.

If you follow this principle for lunch and supper, you will have a stable blood glucose level and sustained energy throughout the whole day.
The combination of an animal protein and a complex carbohydrate digests much slower, resulting in a slow rise and fall of blood sugar over a long period of time. No sugar spikes and no sugar lows, lots of concentration ability and lots of energy with no mood swings.

Fruit now becomes a snack between meals and not the main meal.

More than often I explain to clients how to balance their blood sugar, only to find that when I see them 5 days later, they have done the exact opposite! I guess it must be one of those things that are simple to understand but difficult to do. So maybe you want to give it a try.

Someone once said: Skill is knowing how to, Knowledge is knowing how to apply that skill, Wisdom is knowing when to apply, and applying it is called: virtue.