Help for Autoimmune (Type-1) Diabetes

By Milton G. Crane, M.D. and Barbara G. Crane, R.D. of Weimar Institute

Helping Prevent Type-1 (Insulin-dependent Diabetes):

Physicians desire to help their patients and friends avoid getting some chronic ailment like diabetes or hypertension. Recent reports indicate that populations who have a high intake of cow milk are at greater risk of developing type-1, diabetes mellitus.¹ This type, called “juvenile" or “brittle," usually occurs in children, but it can begin at any age. It is an autoimmune and genetically related ailment.

A first important point is this. Our Creator designed animals so that their babies get immune globulins from their mother's milk to ward off infections. These protein immune molecules enter the baby's blood stream through non-selective openings in the small intestines.² As a result, problems can arise, if the child obtains milk protein from any source other than its own mother.

Two major serious problems can develop. First, some of this cow protein can become part of the cell wall component known as “glycosaminoglycans" during infancy. This increases the risk that that person will have earlier onset of atherosclerosis with plugged-up arteries from cholesterol material when they are adults.

The second problem has to do with type-1 diabetes. The development of this autoimmune diabetes seems to occur in this way. Some children inherit genes that make proteins for the walls of their beta cells that closely resemble cow protein. If such a person eats and absorbs cow globulin proteins which resemble those in the walls of their beta cells, they bear the risk of getting diabetes. You see, their immune cells face a dilemma. It they build up immune chemicals (antibodies) to remove the cow milk protein from the body, these same antibodies would also attack the beta cells of the pancreas, and knock out insulin production.³

Another aspect of this problem is related to an enzyme called “xanthine oxidase." This enzyme is associated with the cells that line the arteries, called “endothelial cells." Xanthine oxidase can generate destructive oxygen derivatives that can damage the surrounding tissue. In the case of the islet cells, it can exert a toxic effect against the beta cells so that they do not function property. This damage can occur by the immune cells or as a result of episodes of inadequate blood circulation, so that certain tissues deteriorate.⁴ Oster^5,6 mustered evidence that in the process of homogenization, the natural protein-coated fat globules in the milk are broken up into smaller fat (liposomes) particles, with the protein and a toxic enzyme, xanthine oxidase, imbedded in the liposomes. These liposome particles then find their way into the lining of the arteries and in the heart muscle. There, the xanthine oxidase can damage tissues.

What is to be done? Keep the infant or child off cow milk protein, especially those who have inherited a genetic tendency to diabetes from one or both parents,. All foods containing milk protein, milk, skim milk, whey, milk solids, and sodium caseinate should be carefully eliminated from the diet. This would be advisable for adults as well. The child's own mother's milk is the safest food. It is known that cow milk proteins can be absorbed by the mother from her food, circulate in her body, and pass out via her breast into the baby. This can cause colic in the baby.⁷ Whether or not this may cause type-1 diabetes in the baby is not known. Mothers, who cannot breast feed, should seek an alternate “milk" made from almonds, or brown rice or cooked whole soybean for the child.

It should be recognized that some persons may absorb soybean peptides and be allergic to these.⁸ Whether or not soy protein can precipitate type-1 diabetes is not known. If soymilk is to be used, two important points should be remembered. It has been found that whole soybean and soy flours contain considerable isoflavone phytoestrogens, like genistein and daidzein, along with three other natural chemicals that are strong anticancer agents. However, about 90% of the phytoestrogens is lost in the refining of the soybean into soy protein concentrates or soy protein isolates.^9,10 Furthermore, we cannot recommend powdered soybean milks or any soybean milks that have added oil because they raise lipoprotein(a), a compound that interferes with good artery health.¹¹ Boiling the milk for 15-20 minutes “denatures" the protein and changes it so that a much smaller amount of it would be absorbed through the lining of the intestines .¹² However, it cannot be recommended in persons highly susceptible to develop diabetes. One author has written that if milk is to be used at all, it should come from healthy cows and be thoroughly sterilized by boiling.¹³ We would add that total vegetarians should plan to get the vitamin B-12 from a supplement when they give up milk.¹⁴

Niacinamide Might Help Prevent Type-l Diabetes:

Recently, it has been reported that type-1 diabetes can be prevented from occurring in children by niacinamide, an amide of nicotinic acid, a vitamin (B-3).¹⁵ Other authors¹⁶ have reported that niacinamide can reverse the manifestations of type-1 diabetes that have just been recently diagnosed. This is good news. Let us say a number of the blood relatives on the father or mother's side have diabetes. Most of the young children in the family can be kept from developing type-1 diabetes by a daily preventive dose of niacinamide to the children.

Niacinamide is readily available without prescription and does not cause flushing or dilatation of the blood vessels. The effective dose to prevent the development of diabetes has been found to be 12.5 milligrams of niacinamide per pound of body weight daily. Children would take 100-200 milligrams a day and an adult would take 1500 and 2000 milligrams a day. The cost would be about $14 a year for a high-risk child or $60 a year for a newly diagnosed adult.

Natural Food to Alleviate Diabetes:

The guava fruit, as has been found by workers in Taiwan helps to control the high blood sugar in diabetics.¹⁷ As little as three ounces of guava juice lowered the average fasting blood sugar from 214 down to 165 mg%, and the effect lasted for up to three hours. It not only lowered the blood pressure, it lowered the total cholesterol and triglycerides, while it tended to raise the HDL form of cholesterol.¹⁸

The benefits of the guava have not been well publicized in this country or elsewhere. Perhaps with this information, it may become a more commonplace fruit to eat.

The Debate About the Dangers of the Low Fat, High Carbohydrate Diet:

Some physicians may caution their patients not to go on a low fat diet because it will raise the level of the plasma fats, called triglycerides. Reaven and associates¹⁹ have voiced concern against the use of a low fat, high carbohydrate diet for the treatment of diabetes. We would agree that the usual low fat, high carbohydrate diet would raise the triglycerides in some individuals. But let us consider this further.

The usual high carbohydrate diet that is prescribed for diabetics contains a high percentage of simple sugars. The Pritikin group reported a number of years ago, and we have confirmed these observations, that diabetics and other individuals may develop an elevated triglycerides on the total vegetarian diet. In nearly every instance, though, this can be managed by having the person avoid eating free sugar, dried fruits, such as raisins, figs, etc., and the high sweet fruits, such as cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches. When we place our patients on a diet which contains approximately 65-75% of the calories from carbohydrate, we watch their triglyceride values. Those who have elevated levels of triglycerides, are advised to select the high starch foods, such as the whole grains, legumes, and select only the low carbohydrate raw fruit and vegetables and avoid dried, cooked, canned fruit. When this is done, in combination with exercise, the cholesterol and triglycerides generally decrease and the HDL cholesterol increases quite nicely. Some may need a chromium supplement, like chromium-GTF or ChromeMate, to assist this. Over a period of time, the risk ratio (cholesterol/HDL) declines to below 3.5 ratio.

The explanation, according to present evidence, appears to be this. The simple carbohydrates are absorbed rapidly from the small intestines and go directly to the liver. The liver immediately converts these into glycogen or triglycerides to keep the glucose level reasonably normal. The triglycerides that are made are either saturated or monosaturated fats. None are made into polyunsaturated fats.

The polyunsaturated fats must be obtained from the whole plant food. This is easily managed on a vegetarian diet, since 20 to 60% of the fat calories in plant foods are the polyunsaturated fats. For example, in the whole, dry soybean, 50% of the total fat occurs as the omega-6, and 8% occurs as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fat. It is fascinating that oils in the raw, green soybean and the soybean sprout are just the reverse. Approximately 47% of their total fat occurs as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fat and 6-9% as the omega-6.²⁰

Most of the natural grains, greens, fruit and vegetables contain relatively little oil, but generally speaking, half or more of the oil that is present is the much-needed polyunsaturated fat. Only about 1 to 10 percent of the oil in meat, milk, or eggs is polyunsaturated oil. This means that the total vegetarian diet has an advantage in that much less total fat is needed, because the essential oils occupy a much higher percentage of the total available fats.²⁰

One word of caution is necessary. It is best to get these good polyunsaturated fats in their natural state - still in the food as grown - insofar as possible. This is to avoid oxygenation of the double bonds of those good oils. You see, oxygenation of the fats produces toxic radicals. The cells dare not ingest or try to use oxy-radicals of fat. These would damage the cell structure and upset the chemistry. ^21,22

References:

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19. Coulston AM, CB Hollenbeck, AL Swislocki, and GM Reaven: Persistence of hypertriglyceridemic effect of low-fat high carbohydrate diets in NIIDM patients. Diabetes Care 1989; 12:94-101.
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22. Blankenship JW, CM Van Gent. Et al: Oxysterol incorporation into the aorta resulting in elastin compositional changes. Lipids 1991;26:381-384.

Copyright © 1995-2002 Milton G. Crane, M.D. and Barbara G. Crane, R.D., Weimar Institute, Weimar, CA 95736. All rights Reserved.