Author Archive
Stress and Pregnenolone Steal
Posted by: | CommentsWe are a stressed out society, we don’t relax enough, and we are running our bodies into the ground. Sometimes those effects are obvious to us, sometimes they are not, and other times, we just don’t care. Lets examine one small facet of hormones and see the effects upon our bodies.
Cholesterol(which is very important to survival) is converted into Pregnenolone. (Pregnenolone is pretty much a super hormone, from which all steroid hormones are derived.) From this point the body has a couple of choices, first is to convert it to Progesterone, which leads to Cortisol(think stress hormone). Second is to convert it to DHEA, which leads to Androstenedione, which in turn goes to Estrone, Estradiol, Estriol and Testosterone. The body is very intuitive and realizes that if the body is under stress it needs more Cortisol, the stress hormone. The side effect of this is that it will diminish the DHEA production, which effectively ends sex hormone production. The other side effect of this is the suppressive nature of Cortisol on insulin receptors on our cells, which tells the body to secrete more insulin(think insulin resistance—>Diabetes). This results in hyperinsulinemia and you get the negative effects of insulin from this. Eventually though the Cortisol production will drop from adrenal exhaustion. Then we lose the effect of Cortisol to return low blood sugar levels back to normal which will result in hypoglycemia. Think about your stress and your symptoms and see where you fit in this puzzle.
Dr Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Patient Has Found Life and Energy After Battling Diabetes
Posted by: | CommentsListen as Gwen tells about her battle with Diabetes and where she is at now. She has new found energy and life again and has opened the eyes of her children. Check back for more on her as she continues her journey to non-diabetic status.
Type 2 Diabetes Diary of Dr. Malay’s Patient, Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsWatch this second video for the journey of Joe Guzman. Visit again and watch future episodes as he regains his life. Enjoy!
Type 2 Diabetes Diary of Dr. Malay’s Patient
Posted by: | CommentsWatch this first video for the journey of Joe Guzman. Visit again and watch future episodes as he regains his life. Enjoy!
Intense Treatment Hopes for Diabetics Dashed
Posted by: | CommentsA recent study has found that type II diabetics that are taking additional drugs to lower blood pressure and fats saw no decrease in heart disease.
“Adding drugs to drive blood pressure and blood-fats lower than current targets did not prevent heart problems, and in some cases caused harmful side effects.”
You can read the article here.
The study reveals that the fat and cholesterol lowering drugs had no effect on lower heart disease. Important finding in this group was that though men saw a slight bump, women actually got worse. Lets read that again, taking cholesterol lowering drugs increased the rate of heart attacks in diabetic women. Now would be a good time to talk with your doctor and evaluate that statin drug you are taking.
The blood pressure lowering drugs revealed roughly the same results, which means no decrease in heart disease. The only ray of light in the study was that strokes saw a slight decrease with the blood pressure lowering medications. So you have to ask your doctor and yourself, are these drugs helping?
Probably the most disturbing fact of the whole study: The intense blood sugar lowering medications were stopped three years into the study when they noticed that heart disease was INCREASING and not decreasing.
The best alternative for diabetics is to get to the bottom of the problem and see why they have diabetes, and ask why are they just treating symptoms.
Dr Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Type 2 Diabetes Case Study and Testimonial – Part 2 of 2
Posted by: | CommentsThis is part two in the series of videos covering the case for Ruth Crowley. Visit the previous post to refresh where she was when she started, and then listen to where she is at now. Her blood sugar has dropped over 100 points as of this video. Enjoy!
Dr. Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Type 2 Diabetes Case Study and Testimonial – Part 1 of 2
Posted by: | CommentsThis is part 1 in the journey of Ruth Crowley as she enters our Diabetes program. Follow along with us monthly as she updates her status. Part 2, which is after just three weeks will be posted next week. Listen to her frustration in this video and then watch future episodes as she moves through the program.
Dr. Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
What is Adrenal Stress Syndrome?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen the body goes through the stress response, which starts with alarm, goes to resistance and ultimately lands in exhaustion, it can ultimately cause an adrenal stress syndrome. This is characterized by several signs and symptoms:
Fatigue
Headaches
Weak immune system
Gastric Ulcer
Bloated feeling
Blurred vision
Irritable before meals
Cannot fall asleep
Cannot stay asleep
Slow starter
Crave sweets, caffeine, nicotine
This list is not complete by any means but does illustrate just how common some of these are and how we likely are experiencing them right now.
So we have let the stress response go on unchecked, now we have created this syndrome, what does that affect?
Primarily, at least where we are concerned, blood sugar, it creates insulin resistance if the cortisol is elevated and it creates hyperinsulinemia, which creates a cascade effect with the blood sugar levels. Also it can be decreased and impair the body’s ability to stabilize blood sugar levels and can create hypoglycemia.
It also has effects on the thyroid gland, pituitary gland, liver detoxification, intestinal tract, the immune system, gastric and duodenal disorders, bone density, depression, insomnia, neurodegenerative disease and cardiovascular disease.
The adrenals are just one area that we evaluate in our office, but as you can tell, they are very important to what is going on in the diabetic condition.
Dr. Charles Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Cortisol, What Is It And Why Do I Care?
Posted by: | CommentsCortisol is a steroid hormone released by the adrenal glands. It is a glucocorticoid and is secreted specifically by the adrenal cortex, or the outer portion of the adrenal gland. It is very important to blood glucose concentration in two ways.
First it increases the liver production of glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. This is important in the body during times of stress or between meals for the body to have energy. The second method is by impairing the utilization of glucose by the peripheral tissues. In other words cortisol has an anti-insulin effect on tissues and impairs the uptake of glucose for energy.
Cortisol is diabetogenic since it raises blood glucose concentrations.
This is why the stress response and the circadian release of cortisol are so very important to diabetics or borderline diabetics. This process if left uncontrolled drives the blood glucose problem in the body. It is one way in which to address diabetes from a functional problem or stand point instead of just addressing the blood sugar.
Dr. Charles Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Does Eating Healthy Cost More?
Posted by: | CommentsSeveral times in the last couple of weeks the topic of eating healthy and costing more has come up with patients. I wanted to examine this with all of you so we have an understanding on a very important part of our overall health picture.
Lets break this discussion down to two types of cost: Time and Money.
Time. This is the hardest for us to handle. Eating a healthy diet requires more time than money. We have to plan meals, grocery shop, prepare meals, clean-up, etc. This is a lot of time. Do we have this time? Can we make this time? The answer to both questions is yes. We cannot put a price on how important our health is to us. By trying to shave time off of this we are killing ourselves, then looking for the miracle drug to lower our cholesterol, blood sugar, increase our thyroid production, and on and on.
You have to determine where you want to spend your time. Do you want to spend the extra 30 to 40 minutes a week making a menu and planning for meals or do you want to spend the tail end of your life at the doctor and in the hospital?
Money. As I counsel patients on healthy eating I have determined that most patients are really unaware of what that means. Theses are people that supposedly were told by their physicians what to eat. One of the key components of this is portion size. Do some foods cost more than others, absolutely. But the key here is, are you eating the right amount? Once you balance out what you are supposed to be eating and in the appropriate portions the cost works itself out.
Again we have to determine where we want to spend our money. Do you want to spend the extra $30 eating healthier foods or do want to spend your retirement savings on multiple medications and hospital bills just to live the extra year.
Is this really what we want? I would have to answer this emphatically, NO. And, yet we seem to keep spiraling this way. The only way to make this change is to be conscious in what you are doing on a daily basis.
Dr. Charles Stafford
If you are suffering from Type 2 Diabetes and need help getting it and keeping it under control, please fill out the form to the right and we can help get you the information you need.
Article by Dr. Charles Stafford, Type 2 Diabetes Professional, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
