Alternative Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes?

There are some natural supplements that have benefits for type 1 diabetes.

They are:

Alpha lipoic acid

B complex

Chromium

Fenugreek

Fiber and Flax seed oil

Garlic

Magnesium

There may be others but this will get you started.

Here is a website that will give you more information on the benefits of these supplements.

Good luck to you.

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The problem with Type 1 Diabetes is that your pancreas produces NO insulin. Therefore, that hormone MUST be replaced -- or you die.

Islet transplants are, at present, experimental. They have NOT been approved for general use.

There is also some research using stem cell transplants, but this is only being experimented with in animals (rats) at the present time.

Another option is a pancreas transplant. the problem with this is that the survival rate is only about 50%. In other words, 50% of pancreas transplant patients die within 5 years. Doctors are VERY hesitant to recommend this option.

And of course, insulin is destroyed by stomach acids, so there are no "insulin pills" -- insulin can be take ONLY by injection.

Right now, your best advice is to "hunker down for the long haul". There is not much news along the lines of NEW therapies being available soon. 10, 15, 20 years out -- maybe. but right now, no.

This is an article I found interesting on stem cell transplantation.

I also read somewhere they were trying to transplant beta cells into the pancreas.

I think it will be a long time before there are any good cures for diabetes that are not more of a risk for the patient than living with the diabetes and taking care of yourself to the very best of your ability.

In my personal case I am probably healthier since finding out I was diabetic. I have stopped most sugar and all carbonated drinks. I did not even know what a carbohydrate was!!

Best of Luck!

I'm type 2 insulin dependent. The last

time I checked, there were several very

promising research programs in

progress. One involved injection of

insulin producing cells in the body.

Another is a pancreatic transplant

which has already been done

successfully in Europe.

Both of these sound promising

although I don't see much advantage

in the transplant approach. It appears

to be a tradeoff between insulin

injections on the one hand and anti

rejection drugs on the other.

Look the American Diabetes Association

up on the internet. Also, set up an RSS

feed to your computer for diabetic

advances.

Good luck

I am writing to tell you what an incredible impact these methods had on my life! I have had type 2 diabetes for 27 years. For me, the worst part of this horrible disease is the severe pain I constantly get in my feet. The pain is so bad that I avoid standing and walking as much as possible. I've got to tell you that within the first month, my feet stopped hurting altogether and I can now walk totally pain free.

Believe it or not, I even danced at my niece's wedding last month, something I have not done in a many years. I've been following the book for six months now and my blood sugar is well within normal range. I feel great!

I recommend you use the Type 2 Diabetes Destroyer to naturally reverse your diabetes.

The transplants are a complete last resort.

You will have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life, which are far, far worse.

Your immune system will be a mess, you could die from a cold, you could never have alcohol again.

The drugs increase your risk of tumours, cancer. They also reduce your white count significantly, hypertention, anemia, high blood cholesterol.

Plus, those are the GOOD side effects. Rejection will leave you exactly where you started, with the risk of surgery.

It's a complete last ditch attempt when yu are on death's door.

If you're anywhere near healthy, it's not worth it.

My friend has a transplant, and I can tell you, i'd really, honestly, 100% always have diabetes rather than the troubles she has.

Eventually, they hope tyo be able to grow new cells from our own. Now that would be worth it !

But, there isn't any realistic alternative to insulin. We need insulin forever, and injections / pump are the easiest way to get it.

Unfortunately the only treatment for Type 1 is insulin. Yes there are ways to help manage it by adding other tricks to your diet, routine or supplements, but that goes IN HAND with insulin.

I have a co-worker who had the transplant, but is having several issues because of it. For one he is on meds to keep his body from rejecting the new organs and attacking itself. Another is that the transplant does not completely cure the situation and there are small flaws to which he must still follow a proper diet. Not as strict as before, but its not exactly like going back to the days before being diagnosed with diabetes.

From what I understand there are "eligibility" rules for being a candidate. You have to in fact be in extremely poor health ironically and it is done only if absolutely necessary. Prior to the transplant he had kidney failure. The procedure for him included kidneys and the pancreas.

www.jdrf.org has a lot of information about current research and where it's headed. There is even some information in participating in clinical trials.

State of the art right now is an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor. The CGM, while not accurate enough to replace a glucose meter, provides information about spikes and trends of highs and lows. It is a useful tool to help manage your blood sugar.

Hopefully scientists will be able to unlock the secrets of stem cells soon. There's also hope of an "artificial pancreas" which is a combination glucose monitor-insulin pump system, but even that seems to be years away.