Sorry, But These Things Will Not Cure Diabetes

Sorry, But These Things Will Not Cure Diabetes

As editor of ASweetLife, the Diabetes Magazine, one of my jobs is to block the barrage of comments we receive from people claiming to have cured their own diabetes with a home remedy, or those espousing the instantaneously successful treatment of a doctor whose name appears to be an amalgamation of Latin suffixes. Daily, I delete suspicious comments, things along the lines of a man who claims a donut a day keeps diabetes away, which he can prove because he has been eating a donut a day for the past 52 years and does not have diabetes. He can also sell you donut extract for $4.99 per drop, if you want to avoid all those donut calories. It might be sold on Goop, but I have not checked.

If we get a message proclaiming a one-pill-cures-all-diseases from a devotee of someone with a name like Dr. Abiliusesco, who is only reachable by clicking HERE on this very safe link, it gets marked as spam. But as I bid adios to the snake oils, I do so not only with the satisfaction of obstructing the swindlers and scoundrels, but with a tinge of regret. I grew up with a mother who had an incurable disease. Over the duration of her illness, which progressively worsened, we tried to cure my mother with everything from experimental surgery to bee venom to acupuncture. Though only a young child, I understood we were fighting a battle that was already lost. Those scarce moments of hope, however, that perhaps a charlatan’s newest injection would give way to even the slightest improvement, were glorious. What I’m trying to convey is not that I believe in tossing aside scientific facts and reason, but having worn the shoes of desperation, I feel tremendous compassion for the desolate, and I don’t enjoy being the one to mark hope as spam. Luckily, it’s not all on me. The FDA monitors companies claiming to cure diseases, and a few days ago it issued 14 warning letters and four online advisory letters to companies illegally selling more than 65 products that claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, mitigate or cure cancer.

Last May the FDA issued a consumer update warning for people with diabetes to beware of illegally marketed diabetes products.  The statement said, “As the number of people diagnosed with diabetes continues to grow, illegally marketed products promising to prevent, treat, and even cure diabetes are flooding the marketplace.”

For anyone with type 1 diabetes even the slightest suggestion that there is a cure or a way to live without insulin should elicit an immediate red flag. Or more like a thousand red flags. Yet, the internet abounds with individuals who will attest to curing their type 1 diabetes with diet and supplements. For example, Michelle, a blogger, claimed to have cured herself with the paleo diet. If that doesn’t raise your eyebrows, the dubious comment below the post thanking Dr. Gaga for casting a lucky spell should do the trick. A year later Michelle shared a post called “I’m back on insulin and I quit the paleo-diet.” Chances are Michelle experienced a diabetes honeymoon period, where the pancreas starts working again—though not perfectly—after diagnosis. ASweetLife contributor Katie Bacon explains, “The theory, in layman’s terms, is that the hard-working pancreas has given up the ghost, but then revives a bit after getting the rest that outside insulin injections provide honeymoon phase.” A low carb diet, that puts less stress on the pancreas, may help extend a diabetes honeymoon. However,  anyone who publicly claims she’s cured type 1 diabetes with diet and understands that, in fact, she has not, has the responsibility to remove misleading posts, titles, or information.  To suggest that a person with type 1 diabetes can live without insulin is not only to give false hope, but it may put a person’s life in danger.

It’s not only personal blogs, that dole out purported cures. A website called GreenMedinfo, founded by Sayer Ji, published an article that says type 1 diabetes is a ‘so-called incurable disease’ whose cure may be in your kitchen cupboard. GreenMedinfo has an endorsement from  Dr. David Perlmutter, author of the best selling book, Grain Brain. Dr. Perlmutter calls GreenMedinfo, “An incredibly rich venue of leading-edge scientific, user-friendly, health empowering information.” GreenMedinfo also charges for membership. But the article that suggests a flaxseed treatment cure is free! Other ‘natural’ substances that may help cure type 1 diabetes, include avocado extract, chard extract, and… wait for it… honey!  To each her own, but I’ll take a grain brain over a honeyed pancreas any day. And the GreenMedinfo cure-related theory that involves kitchen cupboard remedies is hinged on their ability to regenerate beta cells. Fortunately, there are scientists who’ve looked beyond the kitchen and into the lab. And the challenge of creating insulin-secreting beta cells has, for the most part, been met. What remains to be solved is the problem of the autoimmune attack on beta cells, whether they be the original cells or the tumeric-regenerated ones.

Hopefully, there will be a diabetes cure one day very soon, but until someone other than Mr. Ji, Dr. Perlmutter, and bloggers (understandably) desperate to rid themselves of a chronic illness that requires constant attention, I’m going to side with the Mayo Clinic. “There are no treatments — alternative or conventional — that can cure diabetes, so it’s critical that people who are receiving insulin therapy for diabetes don’t stop using insulin unless directed to do so by their physicians.”

In other words, drinking unicorn milk won’t give you diabetes and it also won’t make it go away.  If someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true, then it’s probably a scam. The FDA recommends watching out  for these and similar red flags:

“Lowers your blood sugar naturally!”
“Inexpensive therapy to fight and eliminate type II diabetes!”
“Protects your eyes, kidneys, and blood vessels from damage!”
“Replaces your diabetes medicine!”
“Effective treatment to relieve all symptoms of diabetes!”
“Natural diabetes cure!”

To their list I will add that it’s worth being wary of anything with one or more of  the following words: natural, supplement, extract, miracle, overnight, free, tincture, elixir, healing, cinnamon, okra, bitter gourd, or the phrase, the simple thing pharma doesn’t want you to know about.

The FDA created a video to alert people with diabetes to fraudulent diabetes treatments. Interestingly, at 13 seconds into the clip, the featured person with diabetes hears a beep, which comes from his glucose meter. His meter shows 425, and he appears to have received this reading without the involvement of a drop of blood or a test strip, which brings the word fraudulent to mind… or maybe it’s just one of Dr. Gaga’s spells. Either way, the FDA should quickly investigate.

Jessica Apple
Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)

5 1 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
10 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Sarah Tarriha
Sarah Tarriha
6 years ago

Natural herbs have cured so many illness that drugs and injection cant cure. I’ve seen the great importance of natural herbs and the wonderful work they have done in people’s lives. i read people’s testimonies online on how they were cured of herpes, hiv, diabetics etc by Dr. Ogba Kosu herbal medicine, so i decided to contact the doctor because i know nature has the power to heal anything. I was diagnosed with hiv for the past 7 years but Dr. Ogba Kuso cured me with his herbs and i referred my aunt and her husband to him immediately because… Read more »

Lulu
Lulu
7 years ago

While I totally agree with you 100% and get annoyed at all the crap I have to sift through online, as a research scientist I will not be accepting the opinion of someone who did religious studies and has an MA, as the final say. I’ll be doing my own first hand research, evaluating results and coming to my own conclusions because I was trained and am paid to do that. I would have hoped that the magazine had hired someone with the qualifications and ability to do the same. I was very close to bookmarking this website but not… Read more »

VHM1
VHM1
7 years ago

Insulin is not a cure for diabetes. It is a hormone that may now be manufactured to keep people alive in the case of T1s and even some T2s. The side effects of insulin were not well known initially when it was manufactured and given to the public. The short term immediate idea was to keep people alive. Now, the ‘side effects’ or consequences are well known – T1 is a chronic disease now, something you live with and suffer side effects of being kept alive long term. There is a good read called “Sweet Misery” that chronicles the invention… Read more »

Roni
Roni
7 years ago

I agree that diabetes is too complicated to be cured by an overnight miracle spice or supplement, especially since we know so little about it. However, does insulin cures? What about it’s side effects? Does anybody dare look into or question that? Even if the things in the kitchen won’t cure diabetes, many they can help… why are we so against them yet are willing to inject and take pills containing who knows what? As an exhausted diabetic of a few years, I was at that place where “I can eat whatever I went! Type 1 is not related to… Read more »

Rick Phillips
rick phillips
7 years ago

Wait, you mean the cod liver oil is will not cure me of type 1? What will I do with all the time I gain, while not reading?

VHM1
VHM1
7 years ago

Even Type 2 cannot be CURED by diet, weight loss and movement. Yes, the symptoms of T2 can be ‘sent into remission’ so to speak. Even to the point where medications like Metformin are unneeded. But, if the T2 person falls off of the bandwagon and starts eating carbs again, regains weight, etc. the symptoms will reappear. So I personally believe low-carb is great for T2 and T1 persons. But it is not a cure for either type of diabetes.

There is a difference between a cure and relief of symptoms.

KaD
KaD
7 years ago

I think it depends. If you truly have diabetes because your body isn’t producing insulin, then no, you won’t cure it with diet. Most people have diabetes/ pre-diabetes because of diet, they load up on carbs and sugary foods, and get overweight. Diet WILL cure that kind of diabetes.

jim ogden
jim ogden
7 years ago

i agree that a low carb high fat (lchf) diet cannot cure type 1 diabetes, but there are dozens of people that are no longer type 2 diabetics due to being on a lchf diet. also people who are type 1 diabetics have greatly reduced their insulin dependence due to a lchf diet. there have been recent studies that show that fat is not linked to heart disease or diabetes, but it’s carbs that cause those things. also the federal government announced last year that fat isn’t nearly as bad as they always said it was & that we should… Read more »

James Deland
James Deland
7 years ago

This article is ridiculous. Between the pharma ads on your site, and even sleazy natural ones made to look like real articles with your Outbrain plugin, this is just nothing more than attention seeking behavior.

Greg
Greg
7 years ago

True, Paleo/Primal/Keto/Atkin’s diets (lifestyles) will NOT cure Type 1 Diabetes. But they WILL cure Types II and III, as well as Crohn’s disease, IBS, Obesity and a host of other chronic diseases including some forms of cancer. (Search Dr. Ranjen Chatterjee, Dr. Jason Fung, Dr Mae David, Prof Tim Noakes on Youtube) That is a life-proven (I know several people personally) fact. I can put you in touch with some of them if you decide to have hope in place of despair.