Diabetes is approaching epidemic levels in the United States and much of the developed world. The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than 22 million people in the United States alone were diagnosed with diabetes last year and that this number is steadily rising. Just 5-10% of people with diabetes have Type I, believed to be caused by an inherited defect in the pancreas which causes the organ to produce insufficient quantities of insulin. The vast majority of people with diabetes have Type 2, classified as a preventable illness due to its strong ties to lifestyle, diet, and exercise.
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes or the condition known as “prediabetes”, elevated sugar levels that are the hallmark of diabetes need to be addressed before serious complications can develop. Many people with elevated blood sugar levels want to know, “Is insulin right for me?” and whether there are proven alternatives to taking medicinal insulin.
Insulin Resistance
Consuming certain foods and drinks leads to a natural process by which the amount of sugars in the blood become elevated. Under healthy circumstances, any excess sugars in the blood are “eaten” or scrubbed from the blood by insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. Diabetes is a disease with many negative outcomes but is effectively a simple equation – the amount of sugar in the blood is higher than the body’s ability to process it.
The CDC and other world health organizations recognize that insulin resistance is the first step towards developing diabetes. With insulin resistance, the body’s ability to use naturally-produced insulin to lower blood sugar levels becomes increasingly ineffective over time. It is thought consistently eating diets rich in certain substances raise blood sugar levels too high and thus overtax the pancreas’s ability to produce enough insulin.
Over time, the insulin that is produced becomes less and less effective, leading to chronically elevated blood sugar levels. Consistently high levels of blood sugar is a condition known as “prediabetes”, the last step on the path towards developing full-blown Type 2 diabetes.
A simple blood test can tell you your blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar levels are higher than the healthy range, this may be a strong indicator that you are developing insulin resistance. Consult with a doctor right away if you have high blood sugar levels. The best known cure is prevention – taking steps to address the problem before it becomes Type 2 diabetes.
Is Insulin Right for You?
If your doctor has officially diagnosed you with Type 2 diabetes, there are a number of steps you can take to manage and treat your condition. Popular misconceptions about diabetes lead to many people thinking that they must take insulin if they have diabetes. In fact, only about 14% of diabetes sufferers use insulin and 13% combine insulin and oral medications. The majority of people with diabetes – 57% – rely on oral medication only while 16% manage their blood sugar levels strictly by diet and exercise.
The benefit of taking medicinal insulin is that it is thought to supplement the body’s natural production of insulin, giving the body an extra boost that it needs in order to reduce blood sugar levels. Only your doctor or a trained medical professional can give expert counsel on whether or not insulin therapy is the best course of treatment for treating your diabetes. Many experts, however, recognize that since Type 2 diabetes is principally caused by deficiencies in diet and lifestyle, taking pro-active healthy steps in nutrition and increased mobility should always be attempted first before attempting to ameliorate the problem with medicinal insulin.
Research has effectively concluded that several forms human analogue synthesized insulin have now proven effective in reducing blood sugar levels in people with confirmed cases of diabetes. The benefits of taking insulin to treat diabetes is that it can be adjusted to dietary intake and can be used in conjunction with other diabetes medications. The downside to insulin is that it may require several injections a day and anyone who is dependent on therapeutic insulin must carry it with them with them everywhere they go.
Medicinal insulin is produced by either extracting insulin from animals or by synthesizing human insulin in a laboratory. Some people object on ethical grounds to taking insulin extracted from animals. Approximately 2% of people who have tried insulin have demonstrated an allergy to the product as a reaction to the preservatives used in medicinal insulin, including zinc, meta-cresol, and protamine.
As with all serious illnesses, consult with your doctor before beginning any course of treatment for diabetes.
Injected Insulin, the Insulin Pump, Insulin Pen and Inhaled Insulin
Due to the way the body breaks down foods in the gastrointestinal tract, taking insulin orally is not feasible. People who suffer from diabetes can inject insulin under the skin using a needle, infuse insulin under the skin via an insulin pump, inject insulin with a special “pen” or, in some cases, inhale insulin using a special device.
Synthesized human analogue insulin is sold by a number of brand names, including Apidra, Humulin, Novolin, Novolog, Relion, Humalog, Actrapid, Lantus, and NovoRapid. All are designed to lower blood sugar levels but some are designed to be fast-acting while others are designed for longer-term release of insulin into the blood.
Determining dosages is an extremely complicated endeavor due to the different ways in which food is broken down and digested in the body. Administering the right dosage of insulin requires expert medical counsel and experience in monitoring blood sugar levels and responding accordingly with the right dose of insulin.
Other Medications for Managing Diabetes
Although administering insulin from an exterior source is the oldest and most well-understood treatment for diabetes, there are now a number of pharmaceutical medications available for managing and controlling Type 2 diabetes.
One medication, officially called Metformin but sold under a variety of trade names such as Glucophage, Obimet, and Dianben, is a popular alternative to insulin in treating Type 2 diabetes. Although there are some known side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain, Metformin has been shown to be effective in managing diabetes by causing the liver to decrease glucose (sugar) production.
The following medications differ from insulin because they can be taken orally in tablet form. All of them are now officially recommended by the American Diabetes Association as a first-line treatment for treating both prediabetes (elevated blood sugar levels not high enough to be full-blown diabetes) as well as Type 2 diabetes.
Glimepiride, sold under a number of different names such as Amaryl, Diabeta, Micronase, Glucotrol and Glynase, works by stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin. Can be taken right after eating or used in slow-release forms for longer lasting protection.
Repaglinide, also sold under the names Prandin and Starlin, are similarly designed to rapidly reduce blood sugar levels by stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin. Usually taken right after a meal.
Thiazolidinediones Pioglitazone, usually abbreviated as TZD but also sold under the brand name Actos is a different class of medication that works to open up muscle cells so that they absorb more glucose (sugar) in the blood while also dampening the liver’s ability to produce glucose.
Sitagliptin, sold under the brand names Januvia, Onglyza, and Tradjenta, is designed to boost Metformin’s ability to restrict the liver’s production of glucose. This class of medications is designed to be taken just once a day.
A new class of drugs to treat diabetes are known as alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. Sold under the names Precose and Glyset, they work by delaying and slowing down the body’s process of digesting carbohydrates.
Bile Acid Sequestrants, often sold under the brand name Welchol, were originally designed to treat high cholesterol but were shown to have a beneficial side effect of reducing glucose production in the liver. Usually taken in combination with other diabetes medications.
In addition to the above classes of medications, several “combination” medications have been designed to reduce the number of pills a person with diabetes has to take during the day. These are sold under a variety of trade names, including Actoplus Met, Glucovance, Janumet, Metaglip, Kombiglyze, Prandimet and Duetact. Because these combination pills are very powerful, they can lead to incidences of hypoglycemia or blood sugar levels that are too low.
Always consult with a physician about the correct dosage to take of any medication.