As a diabetic, one of the biggest tools at your disposal for managing, controlling or even reversing diabetes is your diet. The problem is there is so much confusion and misinformation about diet in general and about the best diet for diabetes in particular. The official recommendations all over the world echo the same, almost meaningless advice for diabetics – eat a healthy, balanced diet. There is a strong connection between ketogenic diet and diabetes healthy eating.

<h2>What exactly is a healthy, balanced diet?</h2>

According to the general consensus, a healthy balanced diet is low in saturated fat, moderate in sugar and includes whole grains, lean protein, cereal, fruit, vegetables and healthy fats like sunflower oil. Apparently a diabetic does not have to have a special diet that is different from the rest of the family.

There are meal plans for diabetics that include a bowl of cereal with skim milk or wholegrain toast and jam for breakfast, pasta or chicken sandwich for lunch and roast chicken(skin removed) with potatoes and veg or salmon and noodles for dinner. If we break this down, the recommendations amount to eating carbs for breakfast lunch and dinner.

The strange thing is that everyone readily admits that “dietary carbohydrate is the major determinant of postprandial glucose levels.”[^1] This is from the ADA but across the pond, Diabetes UK says much the same: “The amount of carbohydrates you eat has the biggest effect on your blood glucose levels after eating.”[^2] Nevertheless, they all tell you to go ahead and eat them anyway because they are important.

<h2>The carbohydrate and insulin myths in diabetes</h2>

Carbohydrates are not an important part of your diet, there is no RDA (recommended daily allowance) for carbohydrates and they are not an essential nutrient. Carbs are, however, the cheapest and most abundant foods available and the most heavily advertised. Every processed food that you can buy is a carbohydrate – either because it is sugar or the primary ingredient is sugar, or corn or wheat or a combination of all three. If you are a diabetic, they are the foods to avoid.

Diabetics are, by default, carbohydrate intolerant. The extent to which a diabetic can tolerate carbs depends on the individual but according to Peter Attia, M.D., somewhere between 30 and 40% of us, “appear to be quite insulin resistant until nearly the last gram of sugar and most carbohydrates are removed from their diets.”[^3] Between 10 and 20% “seem resistant to carbohydrates and maintain exquisite insulin sensitivity, almost independent of diet” and the rest of the population lie somewhere in between these two extremes.

The more carbs you eat, the more insulin your pancreas needs to pump out to counter the rise in blood sugar, leading to hyperinsulinemia or excess insulin in the blood. Most people assume that insulin’s job is just to lower blood sugar but that is a distant second to its primary role as a storage hormone for excess nutrients. In other words, without a lot of insulin in your body, you can’t store fat and you can’t burn body fat unless you decrease your insulin levels. Eating a carbohydrate-rich diet when you are diabetic and then using drugs like insulin to cover the high blood sugar after-effect simply makes no sense.

In fact, before insulin, Glucophage, metformin and other diabetes drugs arrived on the scene, carbohydrate restriction was the only treatment. Westmen and Vernon published an article in 2008 entitled Has carbohydrate-restriction been forgotten as a treatment for diabetes mellitus?[^4] They refer to a respected internal medicine textbook from 1923 where the dietary advice for diabetics was “75% fat, 17% protein, 6% alcohol and only 2% carbohydrate.”

From 2%, the carbohydrate portion slowly crept up to 40% by 1940 and in 2008, it was a whopping 50-60%. Is it any wonder that the incidence of diabetes has sky rocketed? The CDC estimates that by 2050, a third of adults could have diabetes. In the same paper, the authors also point out: “Carbohydrate-restriction makes pathophysiological sense because type 2 diabetes is, in essence, a case of carbohydrate intolerance.”

High insulin, whatever the source, is not benign. Dr. Ron Rosedale thinks hyperinsulinemia, caused by the high carbohydrate diet endorsed by everyone from the ADA to nutritionists and the American Heart Association, “may be the chemical mediator of all of the degenerative diseases of aging. It may be the leading killer in our society.”[^5]

<h2>Ketogenic Diet: Foods that are Good for Diabetics</h2>

Given all this information, it’s clear that the best diet for a diabetic is high fat, moderate protein and low to very low carbohydrate. This is also known as a ketogenic diet, where you eat in such a way to switch over from burning sugar to burning fat. In the absence of sugar from carbs, your body is perfectly capable of producing and using ketone bodies from fat to use as fuel. When the switch is made, you are said to be in ketosis (not to be confused with ketoacidosis, which is an altogether different and dangerous condition).

It takes time, anywhere from a couple of weeks to months, to adapt to a ketogenic diet and cutting out carbohydrates tends to make most people feel horrible at first. However, common sense and logic tells us that what people ate at the beginning of the 20th century when diabetes, heart disease and obesity were the exception rather than the norm, would be a better bet than what people consider to be healthy food now. In those days, people were not afraid of saturated fat, butter and eggs, and cholesterol was not a dirty word.

Replace trans fats and industrial polyunsaturated fats (like canola, corn and sunflower oil and the margarines made from them) with traditional good fats like:

The only carbs you eat should be in vegetable form, preferably the ones that grow above ground:

Stay away from potatoes, corn and peas and go easy on the starchier butternut, turnips, sweet potatoes and carrots, avoiding them completely in the beginning.

<li>Fatty fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon</li>

<li>Meat (beef, chicken, lamb, venison etc.)</li>

<li><a href="https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/suppl_1/S48">Nutrition Recommendations And Interventions For Diabetes: A Position Statement Of The American Diabetes Association</a>. Diabetes Care 30.Supplement 1 (2006): S48-S65. Web. 1 Apr. 2017.</li>

<li><a href="https://www.diabetes.org.uk/">Diabetes UK - Know Diabetes Fight Diabetes</a>. Diabetes UK. N.p., 2017. Web. 1 Apr. 2017.</li>

<li><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/if-low-carb-eating-is-so-effective-why-are-people-still-overweight/">If Low Carb Eating Is So Effective, Why Are People Still Overweight?</a> -". Eatingacademy.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 1 Apr. 2017.</li>

<li>Westman, Eric C, and Mary C Vernon. "<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2315645/">Has Carbohydrate-Restriction Been Forgotten As A Treatment For Diabetes Mellitus? A Perspective On The ACCORD Study Design</a>". Nutrition & Metabolism 5.1 (2008): 10. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.drrosedale.com/resources/pdf/Burn%20Fat,%20Not%20Sugar%20to%20lose%20weight.pdf">Obesity. Cannot Ignore Insulin. It’S There To Tell That Fat Where To Go, And How To Get There</a>.". Ron Rosedale, M.D.. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.</li>

As a diabetic, one of the biggest tools at your disposal for managing, controlling or even reversing diabetes is your diet.

Ketogenic Diet and Diabetes Healthy Eating

The conventional medical view of type 2 diabetes is strikingly similar to that of type 1–a chronic progressive disease that needs to be managed with medication. The cheery news from WebMD is: “There is no cure for diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can, however, be controlled with weight management, nutrition, and exercise. Unfortunately, type 2 diabetes tends to progress, and diabetes medications are often needed.” In stark contrast to this dismal news, there a number of studies and a wealth of anecdotal evidence supporting the notion that eating less can reverse or cure type 2 diabetes. Bariatric surgery, calorie restriction, a <a href="/ketogenic-diet-and-diabetes-healthy-eating/">ketogenic diet</a> and fasting can all either reverse or, at the very least, drastically improve type 2 diabetes.

The common thread among these four interventions is the consumption of less food. Fasting is loosely defined as abstinence from food and bariatric surgery amounts to a surgically induced fast because you just can’t eat a lot after having your stomach partitioned. A meta-analysis of 621 studies involving 135,246 patients to determine the impact of bariatric surgery on type 2 diabetes found that, “Overall, 78.1% of diabetic patients had complete resolution, and diabetes was improved or resolved in 86.6% of patients.”[^1]

As impressive as these statistics are, there is nothing magical about bariatric surgery. As glucose metabolism returns to normal surprisingly fast, long before any significant weight loss, it was assumed that the surgery somehow affected incretin hormone secretion. However, the real magic lies elsewhere. In a paper from 2013, Type 2 Diabetes Etiology and reversibility, the author points to the obvious but overlooked fact: “the major change that follows bariatric surgery: an acute, profound decrease in calorie intake.”[^2]

Fasting is not some new-fangled craze, it’s the oldest therapy on the planet. It works because we are biologically primed for it. Our distant ancestors did not fast voluntarily, they basically starved on a regular basis. It’s well known that we come from a long line of predecessors who were habitually faced with either feast or famine, so it stands to reason that man has developed very efficient mechanisms to deal with both.

Digestion has evolved to take priority over everything else in the body because food was once very scarce and high calorie food even scarcer. We now live in an age where there are no lean times and are surrounded by high calorie, processed and addictive food. Our bodies are simply not equipped for this and the result is epidemic rates of heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

When you give your digestion a complete rest, a complex cascade of events take place. Simply put, your body can divert the substantial energy required for digestion to cleansing and repair work instead. The upshot is an increase in sensitivity to hormones like ghrelin, leptin and insulin, and a decrease in inflammation and oxidative stress. Over time, digestion and nutrient absorption improve, the immune system works better, taste and smell sharpen and cravings for sugar and carbohydrates disappear. In other words, fasting is like fine tuning your body and allowing it to self-repair, whilst constant eating downgrades this process.

Long fasts are difficult to maintain and could be dangerous without supervision from an expert but intermittent fasting is relatively easy to do. You can skip breakfast first thing in the morning and only eat within an eight-hour period. This leaves a full 16 hours of fasting, including the eight hours you are asleep. Some people fast every other day or on two non-consecutive days a week. They might only drink water on fasting days or just eat less by cutting their normal intake by half.

The one important caveat is that when you do eat, it needs to be <a href="/en/ketogenic-diet-and-diabetes-healthy-eating/">good quality, nutrient-dense food</a>.

<li> Buchwald, Henry et al. "<a href="https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(08)01064-4/fulltext">Weight And Type 2 Diabetes After Bariatric Surgery: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis</a>". N.p., 2017. Print</li>

<li>Taylor, R. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609491/">Type 2 Diabetes: Etiology And Reversibility</a>. Diabetes Care 36.4 (2013): 1047-1055. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.</li>

The conventional medical view of type 2 diabetes is strikingly similar to that of type 1–a chronic progressive disease that needs to be managed with medication.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s production or response to insulin is significantly impaired. This impairment, results in high levels of blood glucose which can lead to serious health problems like heart disease or stroke and can also cause damage to your organs or nerves. Over the last decade, research has linked diabetes to another potential health problem or complication – hearing loss.

<h2>The link between Diabetes and Hearing Loss</h2>

Since the 1960’s, scientists and medical professionals have been debating the link between diabetes and hearing loss. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the 21st century that research could show a direct link between the two. According to a 2008 study[^1], published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the June edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, people with diabetes were twice as likely to suffer from hearing loss compared to adults who did not have the disease. This study was done on adults from the ages of 20 to 69, with most of the diagnosed diabetics suffering from Type 2 diabetes.

In 2013, another study [^2]reinforced this direct link between diabetes and hearing loss. In fact, this study confirmed the concluded 2008 research that diabetics were twice more likely to suffer from hearing loss than those who are non-diabetic. It also stated that this higher prevalence of hearing loss “was consistent regardless of age.”

Unfortunately, hearing loss isn’t just exclusive to those with diabetes, it has also been linked to those with prediabetes (higher than normal blood sugar level) as well. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA)[^3], of the 86 million adults who have been diagnosed with prediabetes, the rate of hearing loss is “30 percent higher than in those with normal blood glucose.”

<h2>How does diabetes cause hearing loss?</h2>

Diabetes impairs or prevents the transportation of glucose or insulin through the blood vessels and into the cells that need energy. Without enough insulin, the body has a difficult time transporting the glucose from the blood vessels to the cells.

According to Diabetes.co.uk[^4], over long periods of time, high levels of blood glucose can lead to serious damaging of blood vessels like arteries, capillaries and veins.

Like the eyes and kidneys, the inner ear has numerous small blood vessels that can become damaged over time due to a prolonged accumulation of high blood glucose levels. This damage to the blood vessels within the inner ear is one potential cause for diabetic related hearing loss.

Another complication of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy, a family of nerve disorders that result in some form of nerve damage. According to the NIDDK[^5], roughly 60 to 70 percent of diabetics suffer from neuropathy. Scientists and researchers are starting to believe that this neuropathy can lead to damage of the auditory nerves within the ear; thus causing hearing loss.

More research is needed to provide a definitive cause for hearing loss in diabetics. As of now, damage to inn ear blood vessels and auditory nerve damage are the leading theories on hearing loss in diabetics.

Symptoms of hearing loss in diabetics are more clearly understood than the causes. If you are suffering from any of the following, and are diabetic, then you should consult with your doctor for a proper diagnosis:

<li>If turning up the TV, radio or phone to hear the sounds or voices is so loud that other people nearby start complaining.</li>

<li>Constantly having to ask others to repeat what they say.</li>

<li>Thinking that others are mumbling, whispering or talking softly when they really aren’t.</li>

<li>Have hearing difficulties when in noisy or loud places.</li>

Keep in mind, just because you are having hearing difficulties doesn’t mean you are experiencing a diabetic related hearing loss. There could be numerous other causes for your hearing impairment like a buildup of fluid, an ear infection, allergies, a perforated eardrum and earwax. It’s important to see your doctor for further evaluation and diagnosis.

If you suspect hearing impairment, a doctor will perform tests to determine if you are one of the near 50 million people who suffer from some form of hearing loss. Your health history will be taken into immediate consideration especially if you have diabetes. A physical examination of your ears will be done to see if there’s any infection, fluid buildup or an obvious blockage. Additional hearing tests like a tuning fork or an audiometer can be done to see if there’s any damage to the middle or inner ear. Further evaluation may be necessary with an ear specialist.

Depending on the cause of your hearing loss, there are several different methods of treatment: antibiotics, removal of any blockage or earwax, hearing aids, surgery or implants.

Some forms of hearing loss may even be temporary and individuals are able to recover from them. Unfortunately, diabetics have a lower rate of recovery from temporary hearing loss than non-diabetics, according to a study published in 2015[^6].

<h2>Preventing Hearing Loss in Diabetics</h2>

Diabetics are recommended to have their hearing checked every year. Early detection of hearing impairments may be the difference between recovery and hearing loss. It’s also recommended that diabetics continue to closely monitor their blood sugar levels. As mentioned, high levels of blood glucose can lead to blood vessel damage within the inner ear and other parts of the body.

Diabetics are also encouraged to manage their weight, reduce high blood pressure and closely follow any prescribed medication, diet or exercise program.

Although the cause of hearing loss in diabetics still requires more research, it’s a potential complication that can no longer go unnoticed. Diabetics need to closely monitor their hearing as they do numerous other important health factors. Additionally, diabetes requires a more dedicated approach to living a healthier lifestyle. This dedication to a healthier you can go a long way in preventing potential future complications like hearing loss.

<li> <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/hearing-loss-common-people-diabetes">Hearing Loss Is Common In People With Diabetes</a>. National Institutes of Health (NIH). N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.</li>

<li>Horikawa C, et al. "<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23150692/">Diabetes And Risk Of Hearing Impairment In Adults: A Meta-Analysis.</a> - Pubmed - NCBI". Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.</li>

<li><a href="https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-and-hearing-loss">Diabetes And Hearing Loss</a>". American Diabetes Association. N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017. <a href="https://www.diabetes.co.uk/body/blood-vessels.html">Blood Vessels</a>". Diabetes.co.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.</li>

<li>Information, Health et al. "Nerve Damage (Diabetic Neuropathies) | NIDDK".National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.</li>

<li> Dass Arjun, Kapoor Ravi. "<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4639688/">Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss; Prognostic Factors</a>". PubMed Central (PMC). N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.</li>

Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s production or response to insulin is significantly impaired.

Ayurveda is an ancient Hindi healing system originating in India, where it is still widely practiced. In the west, Ayurveda is gaining in popularity but many people still regard it as an unscientific and thoroughly ‘woo-woo’ alternative medicine that relies on the placebo effect, much in the same way they view homeopathy. The WHO (World Health Organization), however, recognizes it as a legitimate form of medicine.

Ayurveda, much like TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) developed over thousands of years of observation and insight. The name itself is made up of two Sanskrit words, ayu (mind, body and soul or life) and veda (which encompasses everything from wisdom to knowledge, sacred knowledge, vision and science). Thus Ayurveda translates into “the science of life” or “the sacred knowledge of life”.

Unlike conventional medicine, Ayurveda focuses more on the patient with the disease than on the disease itself[^1]. Not surprisingly, the treatments prescribed will be very different. If you go to a doctor trained in allopathic medicine and he diagnoses you with diabetes type 2, the predictable treatment options are various drugs to either control your blood sugar or increase insulin.

Your doctor might also send you to a dietician who will teach you about counting carbs and keeping a log book so you know how much you have eaten and can therefore calculate how much insulin you need to ‘cover’ the expected surge in blood sugar.

An Ayurvedic practitioner, on the other hand, will look at you as an individual but he will also consider things like the social and economic aspects too. He will look at nature–how you fit into it and what your relationship is with the natural world. In other words, the whole picture, not just the disease itself. It is about the promotion of balance and health rather than the eradication of disease.

He will consider your state of health from a physical, mental, psychological and spiritual point of view, based on your constitution. In Ayurveda, this is based on the three "doshas", which can be roughly translated as energies. They are named Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Every one of us has a unique proportion of these energies and usually manifest one, sometimes two, as dominant. When a dosha is unbalanced, disease results and Ayurveda seeks to correct that.

Conventional medicine looks at diabetes 2 as a life-long condition that needs to be ‘managed’ with drugs. If you get the disease, bad luck or genetics are to blame and there isn’t much you can do about it. Ayurvedic medicine for diabetes looks at it as an imbalance or disease that can be addressed by including things like massage, yoga, exercise, meditation, detoxification, herbal remedies and specific changes in diet and lifestyle tailored for you.

<h2>The mind/body connection, stress and diabetes</h2>

The mind/body connection underpins the whole premise of Ayurveda. According to Deepak Chopra, “The two main guiding principles of Ayurveda are 1) the mind and the body are inextricably connected, and 2) nothing has more power to heal and transform the body than the mind.”

When you are stressed, your adrenals pump out the hormone cortisol. In caveman times, this was really useful in the short term because it ramped up his blood sugar to supply energy to his larger muscle groups, giving him the energy to either fight the tiger or take flight. Either way, the physical exertion involved helped to dissipate the build-up of stress hormones and allow everything to return to normal.

Unfortunately, today our stressors often come in the form of heavy traffic, unreasonable bosses and any number of other frustrations that leave us stewing and chewing in the long term instead. This means that the cortisol is left coursing through our veins and if this happens on a regular basis, it leads to a slew of nasty consequences, increased blood sugar levels being just one.

As an elevated cortisol level is designed for an emergency response, when it is a near-constant state of affairs, you can expect trouble. It supresses the immune system, causes cravings for high-calorie food, pushes up your blood pressure, interferes with hormonal balance, compromises digestion and assimilation of nutrients, and obviously contributes to the development of diabetes and other chronic conditions.

If you are stressed and develop diabetes, you can understand how throwing drugs at the problem is not going to help you very much and how engaging your mind and your body through mindfulness, meditation, yoga and exercise makes much more sense.

It’s interesting to note that some Ayurvedic herbs and plants used for diabetes treatment are adaptogens–meaning that they help us to deal with stress by balancing the body. (In Ayurveda, a loosely related term is Rasayana, which refers to a food or activity which contributes to overall health, well-being and longevity.)

One of these herbs is ashwagandha, which helps to reduce chronic stress by teaching your body to adapt to anxiety because it regulates neurotransmitters like cortisol and serotonin. Another is Pterocarpus marsupium, aka Indian Kino Tree [^2]. It is an immunomodulator that relieves stress and lowers blood sugar but is also multipurpose. The various parts of the plant have been used for centuries to treat things like inflammation, cuts, bruises, diarrhea, vitiligo, eczema, psoriasis, asthma, bronchitis, fever, boils and obesity, in addition to diabetes.

A very important herb in Ayurveda is Tulsi or Holy Basil Leaf, also known as an anti-aging elixir. Besides its use in regulating blood sugar, it is a calming herb used for a number of other things like enhancing meditation and immunity, improving digestion, supporting bones and joints, and contributing to overall health and well-being.

As wonderful as it is that Ayurveda is becoming more accepted in the west, the danger is that it is often diluted by adapting it to our magic bullet, one-size-fits-all mentality. Taking a preparation labelled “Ayurvedic” means nothing if you do not use it in conjunction with the other methods prescribed. Ayurveda is a complete system, a way of life and not just an isolated remedy.

[1]:<a href="https://chopra.com/articles/ask-dr-sheila-what-is-ayurveda#sm.00001djuwltkpyet9sidzt0ra9bsx">What Is Ayurveda?</a>. The Chopra Center. N.p., 2017. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. [2]:<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332697158_INDIAN_KINO_TREE_PTEROCARPUS_MARSUPIUM_ROXB_BIOGRAPHY_OF_EXCELLENT_TIMBER_TREE_SPECIES">Bijasal (Pterocarpus Marsupium Roxb.) – Indian Kino Tree</a>. Regional Plant Resource Centre. N.p., 2017. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Ayurveda is an ancient Hindi healing system originating in India, where it is still widely practiced.

Ayurvedic Medicine for Diabetes - Benefits and Warnings

Most of us are familiar with intense exercising or vigorously participating in a physical activity where our muscles begin to fatigue and a burning sensation sets in. This ‘burning’ signals a buildup of lactic acid in our muscles. The accumulation of this lactic acid is a normal and healthy process, however, there are some cases where high levels of a lactic acid in the bloodstream (lactic acidosis) can be dangerous to your health and even life threatening. Although the percentage is very small, recent studies[^1] have linked lactic acidosis as a potential side effect or complication of diabetes.

When we exercise, our bodies use sugar (glucose) as a source of fuel to produce energy for the muscles. During this process, our muscles require more oxygen to deal with the increased workload from exercising. When our muscles can’t get enough oxygen to meet the increased demands, a substance called lactate is produced.

Lactate (lactic acid) is a natural defense mechanism designed to allow the muscles to continue to breakdown the sugar (glucose) for energy. Unfortunately, this is only a short term solution kind of like running on fumes when your car is out of gas. Without enough oxygen, the lactic acid can build up and spill into the blood stream. In extreme cases, like lactic acidosis, there is potential for serious health problems.

<h2>Is Lactic Acid a Good Thing or Bad Thing?</h2>

Contrary to what some believe, lactic acid is a good thing as it efficiently provides a short term source of fuel for energy. Moreover, it can also be used as a signal to indicate that our bodies are performing near maximum limitations.

For athletes, they train to push the limits of lactic acid buildup and to improve their athletic performance during high levels of lactic acid. For the rest of us, especially diabetics, it’s best to stick with ‘the burn’ as an indicator to slow down, rest and catch your breath.

According to MedlinePlus [^2], lactic acidosis is when the lactic acid builds up in the bloodstream faster than it can be removed. In addition to vigorous exercise or strenuous physical activities, lactic acidosis can also be caused by various diseases like AIDS or cancer and by impairments or damage to your liver and kidneys.

Lactic acidosis is divided into 2 categories: Type A and Type B.

Type B lactic acidosis is the one that’s been primarily linked to diabetes. In particular, it’s a side effect of medications that are taken to treat Type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms of lactic acidosis may include:

Metforminis a medication prescribed by doctors to control blood sugar in Type 2 diabetics. This prescription drug works by decreasing the amount of sugar absorbed through foods and by reducing the amount of glucose that your liver makes.

Despite being introduced as a drug to replace its unsafe predecessor phenformin, recent studies have now linked metformin<a href="#fn-3" class="footnote-ref">3</a> to incidences of lactic acidosis just like phenformin once did. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates<a href="#fn-4" class="footnote-ref">4</a>&nbsp;that 5 out of every 100,000 diabetics suffer from lactic acidosis due to taking metformin. Although these incidences have occurred in a very small percentage of diabetics, it’s still a risk that all diabetics should be aware of.Metformin has been linked to both Type A and Type B lactic acidosis, but mainly Type B. In situations where diabetics have suffered from Type A lactic acidosis, the causes are believed to have been a combination of metformin and some other illness or disease. In situations where diabetics suffer from Type B lactic acidosis, the causes were due to an accumulation of metformin due to the body’s inability to excrete the medication.

Metformin is typically cleared through the kidneys. So, when the kidneys are functioning at a healthy level, medical issues like lactic acidosis don’t arise. Unfortunately, if you are a diabetic that also suffers from liver or kidney damage/failure then the risks of lactic acidosis rises when taking metformin.

Other risks for metformin caused lactic acidosis are:

It’s recommended that diabetics not take metformin before or after surgeries and if they suffer from congestive heart failure or diseases to the kidneys and liver. Additionally, if you are suffering from the flu or any ailment that causes dehydration or loss of fluids then consult your physician. This can also increase your risk of lactic acidosis from metformin.

One of the main reasons for diabetics to exercise is to control blood glucose levels. For Type 2 diabetics, exercise can help to reduce blood glucose levels and it can also help the body become more sensitive to insulin.

Other reasons for diabetics to exercise are:

<li>More energy</li><li>Improve bone health</li>

A healthy balance of exercise and nutrition can go a long way towards managing your diabetes. Furthermore, it can also help some diabetics to take less medications like metformin.

Before beginning a workout plan or diet, it’s important that you consult your physician. There may be certain restrictions or limitations to your intensity level and duration of physical activities. Additionally, in extreme cases, some diabetics may experience complications during exercising due to issues with lactic acid build up, especially when taking metformin.

Despite the risks of lactic acidosis being small in diabetics, it’s still something that needs to be monitored on a regular basis. Metformin, other diseases, liver and kidney failure or damage, and additional ailments can increase a diabetic’s risk of suffering from this serious condition.

<li>English, P. "<a href="http://dediabetes.com/go/2rzb">Hyperglycaemic Crises And Lactic Acidosis In Diabetes Mellitus</a>". N.p., 2017. Print.</li>

<li><a href="http://dediabetes.com/3pqf">Lactic Acidosis: Medlineplus Medical Encyclopedia</a>. Medlineplus.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.</li>

<li>Bailey, C. J. "<a href="http://dediabetes.com/go/f02n">Biguanides and NIDDM</a>". N.p., 2017. Print.</li>

<li><a href="http://dediabetes.com/go/zmf2">Lactic Acidosis - Diabetes Self-Management</a>. Diabetes Self-Management. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.</li>

Most of us are familiar with intense exercising or vigorously participating in a physical activity where our muscles begin to fatigue and a burning sensation sets in.

Risk of Metformin-Associated Lactic Acidosis

Blog

Ketogenic Diet and Diabetes Healthy Eating

How Fasting can Reverse Diabetes

Diabetes and Hearing Loss

Ayurvedic Medicine for Diabetes - Benefits and Warnings

Risk of Metformin-Associated Lactic Acidosis