Heed these three warnings to help you lock down your blood sugar level
If you’re at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, there are three warnings to obey if you want to steer clear of a diagnosis.
And if you’re already diagnosed with type 2, these warnings can really help to regulate your blood sugar.
All three of the warnings I’m sharing with you today concern hundreds of widely-used, yet highly dangerous drugs — both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC).
Any one of these drugs could disrupt your best efforts to control your blood sugar. But as you’ll see, some of these drugs are so common that hundreds of thousands of people are likely taking all three at once.
This could be interfering with your blood sugar readings
The first drug I’m going to tell you about today doesn’t affect your blood sugar, but it produces an effect that can severely impact your diabetes self-care.
The drug is acetaminophen (more commonly known as Tylenol®) which isn’t only one of the most widely used pain relievers on the market, it’s also included as a side ingredient in hundreds of products, from cold and flu medications to sinus treatments to sleep aids.
In 2009, researchers first came across an unusual phenomenon: Acetaminophen appeared to prompt false high blood sugar scores. This was later confirmed, although scientists have yet to figure out why this happens. And for people who monitor their blood sugar, this can cause some real issues.
In Dr. Marc Micozzi’s Integrative Protocol for Defeating Diabetes, he calls out acetaminophen for its “poor safety and effectiveness,” adding, “It’s popularity remains a mystery to me. Never take it, under any circumstances.”
But as bad as acetaminophen is, it pales in comparison to the effects two entire classes of drugs have on blood sugar…
The dangers of rampant over-prescribing
The second warning you should heed deals with a class of drugs that, sooner or later, just about everyone ends up taking…
I’m talking about antibiotics. But before I reveal the effect they can have on your blood sugar management, you should first know that many doctors prescribe antibiotics unnecessarily — and your doctor might be one of them.
Dr. Micozzi explains, “A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that one in three antibiotic prescriptions are completely unnecessary. Most of these prescriptions are for respiratory infections caused by viruses — which don’t respond to antibiotics. These infections include common colds, viral sore throats, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections.”
And the unfortunate upshot of this massive overprescribing could contribute to the type 2 diabetes “epidemic.”
Dr. Micozzi cites a study where researchers compared the medical records of more than 170,000 adults with type 2 diabetes to a group of 1.3 million people without the disease.
Two key results were shocking…
- Those who had developed diabetes had been subscribed substantially more antibiotics.
- Those who had five or more prescriptions for antibiotics were about 50 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who only had one or two prescriptions.
Dr. Micozzi believes that antibiotics boost diabetes risk in three ways:
- They harm beneficial gut bacteria, which may impair the body’s ability to metabolize sugar.
- They interfere with the action of metformin — the remarkably safe and effective type 2 diabetes drug.
- They can cause obesity — a major risk factor for type 2.
Dr. Micozzi’s word of caution here is predictable: “If you’re prescribed an antibiotic, make sure you really need it.”
More harm than good from this blockbuster drug class
Another very popular class of drugs that can wreak havoc on blood sugar is cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Doctors write more than 230 million statin prescriptions each year. The result: More than 40 million Americans take a statin. And that includes more than half of all diabetic patients.
In Dr. Micozzi’s view, this is a “travesty.” He explains why: “We now know that statin drugs don’t improve heart disease rates. Furthermore, they don’t improve death rates from heart disease, the supposed ultimate goal of these drugs.
“And now, we also know that statins increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”
Dr. Micozzi cites a six-year study of 25,000 participants. Researchers found that statin users had an astounding 87 percent higher risk of developing new-onset type 2 diabetes!
Other research shows that statin drugs actually poison your mitochondria (the energy powerhouses of each cell), which disrupts metabolism.
Dr. Micozzi breaks down the process: “Sugar in the blood enters each and every cell in your body — where the mitochondria burn it to generate energy. When mitochondria don’t work well to burn sugars, the sugars may back up in the blood, contributing to high blood sugar (and low energy).”
And the saddest irony is that many doctors prescribe statins to their type 2 patients — even those with normal cholesterol — in the blind-faith belief that the drugs magically prevent heart disease.
The main takeaway here: If you’re working hard to manage your blood sugar, tell your doctor about your concerns, especially if statins or antibiotics are prescribed.
It’s truly terrifying how quick today’s doctors are to pick up the prescription pad before recommending a safer, natural treatment approach. Unfortunately, these aren’t the only drugs that can throw blood sugar out of whack…
Fortunately, Dr. Micozzi has already done the hard work for you. He’s detailed all the other medications you should avoid, as well as several other types of interventions to help prevent, manage, or reverse type 2 diabetes.
You can find it all in his Integrative Protocol for Defeating Diabetes, which contains a wealth of insights based on diet, natural supplementation, lifestyle interventions, exercise, medical screenings, and much more.
Click here for a comprehensive overview of this indispensable protocol, or to get started right away.
SOURCES
“Acetaminophen Can Affect Meter and CGM Readings” Insulin Nation, 9/22/15. (insulinnation.com/treatment/acetaminophen-can-affect-meter-cgm-readings/#)
“With Aging Comes More Antibiotics for Respiratory Conditions” MedPage Today, 1/30/18. (medpagetoday.com/primarycare/uritheflu/70852?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2018-01-31&eun=g1217945d0r&pos=0&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202018-01-31&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days)