©2005, Elizabeth Walker, RDH, BS, DC, LAc 

• PLEASE NOTE: All of the first three ingredients listed below are available in one product taken as 2 packets/day (see below for product names)
• 1. Multivitamin/mineral – 6/day w/ meals (see "Please Read First")
• 2. EPA/DHA in a 300/200mg per tablet ratio – 3/day w/ meals
• 3. Nutritional Support for Healthy Insulin Activity & Glucose Levels, including Green Tea catechins,  alpha-lipoic acid, cinnamon, chromium, vanadium, taurine, l-carnosine and other vitamins  and minerals
• Proprietary blend of Iso-Alpha Acids, Acacia Bark and Heartwood extract - 1 tablet with meals 3x/day, acting as selective kinase modulators for healthy insulin function) WARNING: Do no use this kinase modulator if taking anticoagulants.

Please note:  Product names used by Dr. Walker are listed below.

Type 2 Diabetes should on the minds of all dental personnel due to its association with the over-consumption of refined carbohydrates, which is public enemy number one in our quest to prevent tooth decay. Nearly every dentist and hygienist has seen oral evidence of inflammation (gum disease) associated with type 2 diabetes before the client was diagnosed. Diabetes is that common and many people delay going to the doctor to discover the bad news.

       Every client with gum disease should be asked when they last had a fasting glucose test. Nearly every American can recite the levels of every single one of their lipids but are clueless about their glucose. Unfortunately, diabetes is one of the major causes of heart attacks.

       Every time a client is in the dental chair with a diabetes diagnosis, dental personnel should ask more than what medicines they are taking. It is important to ask them their typical fasting glucose levels and their most recent hemoglobin A1C reading. We need to know if their disease is under control because it impacts the success of our periodontal therapy. Every diabetic knows these lab values if their disease is adequately controlled. Excellent control is a blood sugar reading of 80 – 85. Readings over 100 are trouble.

       If clients try to dodge the question, suspect they are probably not in control and at least dig deeper to find out what level of knowledge they have about these readings. Many of these clients finally admit to frequent blood sugar readings around 200. It is important to inform them that every time their blood sugar goes over 180 they are spilling glucose into their kidneys and creating damage that will one day require kidney dialysis. Most clients do not know this and it gives them a lot more incentive to get back to their doctors to get on track. Other serious side effects of uncontrolled diabetes include blindness and amputations, strokes and heart attacks.

       As with tooth decay, many people with diabetes like to abdicate personal responsibility for self-control by blaming their disease on genetics. It is important to clarify this misconception by explaining about the Pima Indians of Arizona, who have the highest genetic tendency for diabetes of any race or culture on our planet.

       In the 1930’s before the Pimas adopted the “good life” dietary and lifestyle habits of most Americans, diabetes was nonexistent in their tribe. Now, just seventy years later, a whopping eighty percent of their population are type 2 diabetic. They did not inherit the disease, they inherited an intolerance for refined carbohydrates, known as insulin resistance. In other words, people do not inherit diabetes, they earn it through inactivity and the over-consumption of sugars, flour products and alcohol.

       Many clients with diabetes (and their doctors) do not know that there are nutritional adjuncts to enhance blood sugar control and improve insulin resistance. It has been known since 1955 that chromium plays a role in improving blood sugar, both hypo and hyperglycemia. Many other nutritional factors have been discovered since that time.

       Most medical doctors were unaware of the role of nutritional factors until the past decade when it became obvious that a diet of excessive refined foods that induced rampant nutritional deficiencies had created an explosion in the rates of Type 2 diabetes among both adults and children.

       The more glucose control a client has and the fewer medications they need, the longer it will take to experience the side effects of diabetes. The damage happens when the fasting blood sugar elevates over 100. Nutrition supplementation should always be a major part of a diabetic’s risk management. Sugar causes multiple nutrient deficiencies and diabetics are always nutrient deficient, especially in trace minerals. Diabetes and obesity are two diseases where people are considered by nutritionists to be "over fed and undernourished."

       The Institute for Functional Medicine in Gig Harbor, WA, the research and development arm for Metagenics vitamin company has been at the forefront of doing clinical studies on nutritional products to support healthy insulin activity and glucose levels. For several years I have used the products they have developed on my diabetic clients with great success. Nutritional supplementation, combined with exercise and a good diet are so beneficial that many of my clients have been able to decrease or eliminate their diabetes meds with the help of their medical doctor.  They recently came out with a comprehensive product for blood sugar control in the "Wellness Essentials" supplement line available from my online store. 

       It stands to reason that better nutritional control of blood sugar will improve the gum disease of our clients, whether or not they have been diagnosed as diabetic. Diabetes does not just instantly happen over night. Encourage your clients to not wait until they have a diagnosis of diabetes to change their poor eating habits and inactivity. Many Americans have no clue what their fasting glucose is yet they can recite every last detail of their lipid profile. This needs to change. There are millions of undiagnosed diabetics who are at great risk of heart attacks, strokes and other very serious side effects.

       Inflammation is very related to diet and nutritional status. Insulin is one of the most inflammatory hormones in the body. It is impossible to heal periodontal disease without decreasing inflammation. Simple sugars also feed bad germs, which makes infection control impossible. Therefore, dental personnel should inquire about eating habits whenever gingivitis and periodontal disease are present.

       For years in my practice, I have used a medical food (available through my online store) to decrease inflammation. This product has also been researched extensively at The Institute for Functional Medicine. It has been extremely rewarding to see inflammatory blood markers such as Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR or sed rate) and CRP (Cardiac Reactive Protein) decrease dramatically when used in combination with Health Coaching to decrease other dietary risk factors.

Some of the risk factors associated with being pre-diabetic are:

• Elevated lipids – triglycerides >200 and HDL <35
• Obesity, especially of the abdomen, where the waistline gets bigger than the hips
• High blood pressure > 145/90
• Coronary artery disease
• Elevations of an inflammatory marker in the blood known as C-Reactive Protein (CRP)

Note that CRP elevations are also associated with Periodontal (Gum) Disease. Treating Periodontal Disease can effectively decrease an elevated CRP and also improve blood sugar control in Diabetics.

       For more than 60 articles regarding the influence of nutrition and lifestyle on diabetes, please go to the vast nutrition database available through the online store.  Click on Conditions and select Diabetes Mellitus. You may also want to research Hypoglycemia, which often preceeds type 2 diabetes.