Does the Medical Approach to Diabetes Work?

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in the world. 9.3% of Americans and 6.5% of Canadians suffer from diabetes: that’s 31 million people. There is a lot of agreement about the medical approach to diabetes. But does the approach work? . . . .

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say it doesn’t.

The researchers compared the research published in the top journals between 2006 and 2015 to the recommendations made in the medical guidelines. They included all the meta-analyses and systematic reviews of randomized trials.

What they found was surprising and disturbing. Though most published statements (77%-100%) and guidelines (95%) “unequivocally endorsed” medical glycemic control, the evidence from the actual research the guidelines are supposedly based on found “no significant impact” of the medical approach.

Controlling blood sugar by the medical approach did not significantly improve the risk of complications due to diabetes, including dialysis, kidney transplant, renal death, blindness or neuropathy. As far as the cardiovascular risks associated with diabetes, though there was a 15% improvement in risk of nonfatal heart attack, there was no significant benefit for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality or stroke.

The researchers concluded that there is a great “discordance” between the actual evidence based on research and the recommendations made supposedly based on that research.

Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes [e-pub ahead of print] August 23, 2016,doi: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.116.002901

There is a much more promising method of preventing, managing and even reversing diabetes that includes diet, lifestye, exercise and natural supplements.

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For more on healthy eating for diabetes, see Linda’s newest book, The All-New Vegetarian Passport: a comprehensive health book and cookbook all in one.

For much more on preventing and treating diabetes, see our book, The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.