Type Two Diabetes is a reversible condition. If you decide that you are willing to change your diet, exercise and take the vitamin therapies that are required to properly balance the changes in your body, working with a Functional Medicine Clinical Nutritionist, you can overcome this diagnosis.
Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. This high blood sugar produces the classical symptoms of frequent urination, increased thirst and increased hunger.
Many patients who I work with, who are type two diabetic, have been mis-informed about their ability to control the disease. Often they are placed on a medication and then sent to a dietitian who trains them on how many calories of sugar they need to consume to stop the medication from dropping their sugars to a very risky low level. I disagree with this approach to treating disease. Taking a drug and then eating more than usual to stop the drug from damaging your body seems like the way to sustain a disease process. The truth is most of the patients who I work with to reverse diabetes have an underlying inflammatory condition that needs addressed first.
The Functional Medicine Clinical Nutrition approach to diabetes will remove the need for the medication by repairing the damage to your body by modifying the diet first. It is important to re-iterate, if you want to eat junk food all day and just take a pill so you can sustain your current state of disease, do not come to my office for care.
If you are interested in reversal of type two diabetes, coupled with diet modification there are usually a number of functional problems that often need to be addressed. In working with a Functional Medicine, Clinical Nutritionist you will hear the word “functional” quite a bit. What we are referring to is that not all problems show up in your blood work, and there may be a more subtle change in your system that is not bad enough to raise the red flags for your medical doctor. Correcting Diabetes with nutrition is a perfect example:
If we are able to identify where the challenges in your blood sugar metabolism come from, we can correct the symptom of diabetes all together. The changes and reversal of your disease will be confirmed in the blood work and by successful removal of your need for medications. This coupled with weight loss, increased energy and a sense of well being can be achieved if you are working with an experienced Functional Medicine Clinical Nutritionist.
It is important to note that when your medical history and health related goals are explored, your consultations are held directly with Dr. Shaw, not an untrained individual, a staff member, a questionnaire or a computer program. You will not be signing up for a “program” and paying money up front for services not yet rendered. Your health care journey in our office is unique to your specific needs.
I look forward to working with you directly to identify the source of your blood sugar issues.— Dr. Conan Shaw Functional Medicine, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Pittsburgh PA