Participants: Don Mackintosh (Host), Victor E. Herry
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000192
00:49 Hello and welcome to Health for a Lifetime.
00:51 I'm your host Don Mackintosh. 00:52 We're glad that you've joined us. 00:54 Today we're talking about a very important subject. 00:57 Many Americans are struggling with a disease called diabetes. 01:01 Perhaps you yourself struggle with this. 01:03 I'm sure that if you don't you know someone that does. 01:06 Today we're going to be joined with someone who is really an 01:10 expert in dealing with this. 01:11 He is a specialist in internal medicine. 01:14 His name is Dr. Victor Herry. 01:16 He's from the Washington, D.C. area where he practices 01:19 and has done so for over 20 years. 01:23 Dr. Herry, we're glad you're with us today. 01:25 Thank you. 01:26 You know, diabetes is something that many people 01:31 have heard about. 01:33 There may be someone out there that doesn't know 01:34 what diabetes is. 01:36 What is it exactly? 01:37 Diabetes actually is a group of disorders in the body resulting 01:46 in elevated blood sugar in the blood stream. 01:50 Underlying all of this is maybe a defect in the pancreas. 01:59 The pancreas is that organ lies right below the stomach and 02:02 that produces insulin. 02:04 In some people the insulin production is not enough 02:09 or absent. 02:11 In some people the insulin production is adequate but the 02:16 body is not accepting the insulin to push the sugar 02:19 into the blood cell. 02:20 The blood sugar remains in the blood stream. 02:23 It causes an elevation of blood sugar and so it is called 02:26 diabetes or hyperglycemia - elevated blood sugar. 02:31 They talk about two types of diabetes - type 1, type 2 02:36 What's the difference between those? 02:37 There are two types. 02:41 Type 1 is sometimes referred to as juvenile onset diabetes. 02:46 That has to do with the death of the cells in the pancreas 02:52 that produces insulin - the absence of those cells. 02:55 It is an autoimmune cell. 02:58 The body destroys those cells, the beta cells of the pancreas. 03:03 so that young person does not produce insulin. 03:07 That usually is from birth or it can happen at any time. 03:12 Anytime from the age 1 to age 18 before the person is an adult. 03:19 Now, you say the body attacks itself. 03:22 Why does it happen? 03:24 Do they know why it happens? 03:25 Why it happens we're not sure. 03:27 It's just autoimmune and that happens with many other 03:30 kinds of diseases. 03:31 The basis of it we're not quite sure why it happens. 03:35 Then there is the type 2. 03:38 The type 2 used to be called adult onset diabetes. 03:42 However, because now it is found in children it is called type 2 03:49 and not adult onset anymore. 03:51 The reason for that is because of changing in life style. 03:56 We find that we have young children who are markedly 04:00 overweight who do not exercise and as a result of that the 04:04 sugar in the blood stream becomes so high that they 04:08 develop diabetes. 04:10 So its changed from being adult onset to type 2 and that's 04:14 really a warning shot. 04:16 That makes this program even more important. 04:18 That's right because children have type 2 diabetes now. 04:21 So what are the symptoms of diabetes? 04:23 How can I know I have it? 04:25 There could be multiple symptoms. 04:29 One of the things one must remember is that if you have 04:34 a family history of diabetes 04:35 then one is to look for diabetes. 04:39 Some of the things like increased thirst. 04:42 One finds that one wants to drink water. 04:45 They're thirsty all the time. 04:46 Increased thirst is an indication. 04:48 Or one goes to the restroom a lot to pass water. 04:53 That too is an indication that there is diabetes. 04:58 So increased thirst, increased running to the bathroom 05:05 to pass water. 05:06 Increased eating, eating a lot, that may be an indication 05:10 that there is diabetes. 05:11 So those are some of the symptoms that one would find 05:14 that might indicate and of course there's a family history 05:18 that that person has diabetes. 05:20 But the only way you can know is to check the numbers. 05:22 Got to check the numbers - so what are normal numbers 05:28 when you get them checked? 05:30 Before one eats, if one is in a fasting state, that is you have 05:36 not eaten before midnight, and early in the morning, let's say 05:40 6:00, you're going to check your blood sugar. 05:43 If your blood sugar is greater than 110 it indicates that 05:49 you may be diabetic. 05:52 Your body is not handling sugar properly. 05:55 That's a different number than when I went to nursing school. 05:59 A number of years ago they said 120. 06:01 But it is now even going down. 06:04 As a matter of fact they're now thinking of putting it 06:06 down to 100. 06:07 So 100 to 110 fasting blood sugar in the morning. 06:13 Now, 2 hours after a normal meal if your blood sugar is greater 06:19 than 140 and even greater than 200 then the indications are 06:27 that you are diabetic. 06:29 So 2 hours after eating. 06:32 We call that post prandial. 06:34 You actually draw the blood right then? 06:36 Yes, draw the blood 2 hours after one eats. 06:39 The only way you can really know then is by those tests? 06:42 Yes, because what happens is there are many people who 06:46 have had observations of themselves. 06:49 For instance, patients would come and say, "I've been loosing 06:52 a lot of weight and I notice I've been running to the 06:55 bathroom. " 06:56 Weight loss, running to the bathroom frequently, I've been 06:58 hungry all the time, I've been drinking a lot of water - those 07:03 are indications but even then, even before that state comes, 07:08 if there's a family history one should annually check to make 07:14 sure that there is no indication that the blood sugar 07:17 is running high. 07:18 So we've talked about what it is, type 1 and type 2. 07:22 We've talked about some symptoms. 07:23 You also have down, what are the causes? 07:28 What causes diabetes? 07:33 First of all I mentioned that diabetes can be genetic. 07:37 So that through the genes. 07:42 However, the environment is very important both the internal 07:45 and the external environment. 07:47 What do I mean by that? 07:48 Now a person who is over weight is subject to diabetes. 07:54 So one cause of diabetes is obesity. 07:57 If we notice that we are becoming heavier and heavier 08:02 every day because we eat and we do not exercise. 08:06 Ok, so lack of exercise. 08:08 That's one cause. 08:10 Another cause of diabetes, as I mentioned, increased weight, 08:15 obesity, lack of exercise, bad habits of eating, eating foods 08:25 high in carbohydrates, overwhelming the body so that 08:31 the body cannot handle those. 08:32 Foods high in carbohydrates would be like potatoes, rice, 08:37 pasta. 08:38 I'm not saying that they are not good, I'm saying if you 08:40 eat too much of them the body is overloaded with the sugar 08:45 and glucose so your body cannot handle it. 08:47 So you've got to watch that. 08:49 We hear about the glycemic index of foods. 08:53 So you're saying foods high in the glycemic index? 08:56 No, I'm glad you mentioned glycemic index - that's correct. 09:01 We also have carbohydrates in almost everything we eat. 09:06 However, the natural complex carbohydrates are broken down 09:11 very easily. 09:12 Whereas, the ones that I have mentioned in the refined foods 09:15 tend to go through the body very slowly and as a result 09:19 converted to glucose into the blood stream which the body 09:25 cannot handle. 09:26 As a result these individuals develop diabetes. 09:30 The complex carbohydrates are broken down slower and these 09:35 processed foods are broken down faster? 09:37 The natural foods are broken down faster, yes. 09:42 And that causes it just to spike? 09:45 Spike in the blood stream. 09:47 So who is it that is really developing diabetes? 09:52 You've mentioned that it's happening with younger people 09:54 now, but what are the at risk populations? 09:58 The at risk populations people are the black Americans. 10:02 They are at risk for diabetes. 10:07 Why is it that they have such a risk? 10:09 It's probably both genetic and lifestyle. 10:12 There are certain areas of the United States, for instance 10:16 in the South East where that population diabetes is very, 10:21 very high in that African American population. 10:24 The lifestyle there in terms of what people eat and in many 10:31 cases lack of exercise activity resulting in a high incidence 10:36 of diabetes. 10:37 So tell me specifically what are they eating? 10:39 Foods that are high in carbohydrates, fat, foods that 10:47 produce high cholesterol and as a result you have increased 10:51 size and result in diabetes. 10:55 Those are the components of the foods but give me some 10:57 dishes, what are the names? 10:58 Rice, pasta, potatoes, ham hocks, all of those. 11:09 Ok, all of those different things. 11:10 People are going to go, "Oh, no!" because they are 11:14 very tasty foods. 11:16 Ok, Black Americans and who else are at risk populations? 11:20 The elderly. 11:22 As you age you tend to loose some of your beta cells 11:28 and as a result if your diet is improper then you are at risk. 11:32 Just getting older? 11:34 Yes. 11:36 The elderly Americans, the Black Americans, any others? 11:40 Those who don't exercise. 11:42 So that could be young or old. 11:45 We've talked about what it is, the causes, and who develops it. 11:50 What about risk factors? 11:52 Anything different we could add there? 11:54 Now I've mentioned some of the risk factors in diabetes. 11:58 I've mentioned exercise, and I'm coming back to diet, 12:04 coming back to weight gain, and age is a risk factor. 12:11 If you notice we've mentioned genetics as a risk factor. 12:16 Know your genetics. 12:17 If your mother, your father, an aunt or an uncle has diabetes 12:21 it means then that you might be prone to the disease. 12:25 Therefore, you need to take precaution. 12:27 That precaution you need to take, first of all is to check 12:30 with your physician for an annual physical. 12:33 Additionally, you need to be active in your lifestyle. 12:37 You need to exercise. 12:39 What are some of the effects of diabetes? 12:42 In other words, again people say, "Look I got a little more 12:45 sugar in my system, I'm just sweeter than I used to be!" 12:48 What are some of the effects of having high sugar in your blood? 12:54 Here is what high sugar does. 12:56 1. It reduces the oxygen capacity of the blood 13:01 and you need oxygen for clear thinking. 13:03 It increases atherosclerosis - the plaques that build up 13:09 on the vessel sides. 13:10 So diabetes increases that. 13:13 It also increases the risk for heart attack. 13:16 The person who is diabetic is two and a half times more likely 13:22 to get a heart attack than the person who is not. 13:24 It also increases stroke. 13:27 Diabetes also increases stroke. 13:32 So we talked about increased heart attacks, 13:34 increased strokes, and increased heart failure. 13:40 All of those are the consequences. 13:43 Not only that but you notice that in some blindness. 13:47 Because of the fact of the elevated blood sugar 13:52 causes premature growth of additional blood vessels. 13:57 These tiny blood vessels choke off the sight and so 14:03 blindness come as a result of diabetes. 14:06 Increased amputation, loss of limbs because diabetes tend to 14:14 effect the very tiny vessels first. 14:17 The vessels of the eye, the vessels of the extremities, 14:21 the vessels of the kidneys - the tiny vessels - those are 14:26 effected by diabetes. 14:28 That's why in African Americans, for instance, who have a high 14:32 incidence of diabetes there is also high incidence of renal 14:36 failure in African Americans. 14:38 That is because of both diabetes and hypertension. 14:42 When you have the combination of diabetes and hypertension 14:47 it is extremely important that you control your blood pressure 14:52 and that you lower your blood sugar. 14:54 Because any of those can lead to premature death. 14:58 All of these things you have mentioned have to do with the 15:01 smallest capillaries like your eyes, the kidneys, and all these 15:05 different things. 15:06 This really seems to effect, first of all, where the small 15:09 intricate vessels are and just impacting that. 15:14 We're talking with Dr. Victor Herry. 15:16 We're talking about diabetes. 15:17 It's a dangerous disease. 15:19 It's not just something to just say, "Hey, I'm sweeter than 15:21 the day before. " 15:22 We've got to take care of it. 15:23 I think you're going to find real good news when you come 15:27 back in the second half of our program. 15:29 We hope you join us. 15:33 Are you confused about the endless stream of new and often 15:37 contradictory health information? 15:39 With companies trying to sell new drugs? 15:41 Special interest groups paying for studies that spin the facts? 15:44 Where can you find a common sense approach to health? 15:48 One way is to ask for your free copy of Dr. Arnott's 15:51 24 Realistic Ways To Improve Your Health. 15:54 Dr. Timothy Arnott in the Lifestyle Center of America 15:57 produced this helpful booklet of 24 short, practical health 16:00 tips based on: 16:06 For example: 16:17 Find out how to: 16:19 and much more. 16:20 If you're looking for help not hype, then this booklet 16:22 is for you. 16:23 Just log on to: 16:33 Welcome back. 16:34 We're talking with Dr. Victor Herry. 16:35 We're talking about diabetes. 16:36 We've learned that it is a deadly disease 16:39 impacting the small capillaries and vessels of the body. 16:44 We've learned that it's something not to just say, 16:47 "I'm sweet, I've got sweeter blood. " 16:50 It really causes problems. 16:52 We've learned the causes, the risk factors, and as we've 16:55 talked to Dr. Herry, though, we've also started to get a 16:59 glimmer of something we hope to get much brighter in this half 17:03 which is hope and help for you if you have type 2 diabetes, 17:07 isn't that right, Dr. Herry? 17:08 That's correct. 17:09 Now I want to emphasis also that world wide there are about 17:12 150 million diabetics according to the 17:16 World Health Organization. 17:18 And what is noticed, too, is that in the developing countries 17:22 there's an increase in the growth of diabetes. 17:26 That means that as these countries become more 17:30 Westernized and change their diet and lifestyle they develop 17:34 diabetes. 17:36 So it's a risk factor to be an American or be in a 17:39 Western country. 17:40 That's right. 17:41 We eat too many bad things. 17:42 And so these underdeveloped countries are now getting a 17:47 burden that they cannot afford. 17:48 So diabetes is a problem world wide. 17:52 You specialize in preventive health. 17:57 You're part of the preventive care network, you and the group 18:01 of physicians there in Washington, D.C. 18:02 While you treat with traditional medicine and 18:06 are very up on that, you want to prevent things like diabetes. 18:11 What can we do to prevent it and what do we do if we have it 18:16 and want to see it reversed? 18:20 If a person is markedly over weight and has developed 18:28 diabetes because of obesity, when that person looses weight 18:32 then we see a reversal in the body's ability to control 18:37 the blood sugar. 18:38 So if one wants to talk about "curing" of diabetes in some 18:43 instances as weight loss... weight loss is the big thing... 18:48 Now in addition to that there is exercise. 18:53 As you exercise the body uses up more sugar. 19:00 Exercise and weight loss become important. 19:06 Now it must also be remembered that when you gain weight 19:10 there are some people who gain weight in different 19:12 parts of the body. 19:13 So if your weight gain is in the trunk area, in the potbelly 19:18 kind of weight gain, where a lot of the fat is concentrated 19:22 around the abdomen. 19:24 Person's of that nature are at high risk for diabetes 19:28 if they're not yet diabetic. 19:30 Because the fat cells tend to inhibit the insulin and as a 19:36 result the insulin cannot do its job in terms of getting the 19:42 blood sugar into the cells. 19:44 It is very important therefore, that we try to loose weight. 19:50 Or not gain weight. 19:52 That can be done by eating properly. 19:54 In terms of prevention, to answer your question 19:58 specifically, then one needs to eat properly. 20:02 Nuts, grains, vegetables, fruits, those are some of the 20:07 things as opposed to the high carbohydrate content - 20:12 white bread as opposed to grain wheat bread, 20:15 white rice as opposed to brown rice, 20:19 or any of those high carbohydrate meals. 20:22 Many times you have people say, "Well, I'm a diabetic because I 20:26 guess I've been eating too much sugar. " 20:28 That's really not the issue? 20:30 It is not the issue. 20:31 The issue is fat you're saying? 20:33 The issue is fat. 20:34 The issue is overloading the body with carbohydrates 20:37 which eventually changes into sugar. 20:39 Because of that there are certain defects in the body 20:44 that results. 20:45 The defects in the body will result in the liver because the 20:50 liver stores sugar in the form of glycogen. 20:55 So the liver has to break down glycogen and as a result of that 20:59 the liver itself, at night when you're sleeping, has to make 21:03 sure that the brain gets enough glucose. 21:05 If you have too much storage of glycogen when the liver 21:09 breaks that down and your body cannot handle that extra sugar 21:12 then of course you have increased sugar 21:14 in your blood stream. 21:15 That's why it's elevated when you get up in the morning. 21:19 In addition to that the muscles not taking up enough of the - 21:24 they can't get enough of the sugar 21:27 because there is a defect there. 21:29 That's why exercise becomes important because as you 21:32 exercise it reduces those receptors and allow them to take 21:36 handle the blood sugar so the blood sugar can go right in. 21:40 So really you just have to be on the move. 21:43 On the move, exercise every day, eat appropriately and properly, 21:49 and please, please do not gain any weight. 21:53 Now you know the typical American... I graduated from 21:56 college, just used myself - I hope I'm not a typical American, 22:00 in some senses, but I think it's pretty easy to gain weight 22:04 just maybe a pound or two a year and then it just kind of 22:07 adds up. 22:08 So you have to be at this from very young to be on top of it. 22:13 That's true. 22:15 Let me give you an example. 22:17 If you were to exercise for 20 minutes, let's say on a 22:21 treadmill, at 3.5 miles per hour. 22:27 You would only burn about 200 calories. 22:29 Wow, that's not very many. 22:32 That's not many calories. 22:34 That's only a sliver of cake. 22:36 Or less than a glass of ice cream. 22:39 It shows you that diet is important in that aspect. 22:46 You said 20 minutes at 3.5 miles an hour you only burn a little 22:51 over 200 calories. 22:53 That's like one M&M. 22:54 So it's important to recognize what you put in. 23:01 If your lifestyle is sedentary it means that your caloric 23:08 intake must match your lifestyle. 23:10 I'm sure you find patients that are well down the road. 23:13 They are in so much trouble that it's very hard for them to 23:16 even exercise. 23:18 What do you do with a person like that? 23:20 Everyone can exercise but you need medication. 23:24 Medication is important. 23:26 The medications are oral medications that can be used 23:32 for the treatment of diabetes. 23:34 Or there is insulin and multiple forms of insulin today to treat 23:38 diabetes. 23:39 In the type 1 diabetic, of course, insulin is all 23:43 important because that's all they can use. 23:44 In the type 2 diabetic you can use oral agents or pills so that 23:54 those pills help to reduce the sugar. 23:57 But you have to help it by exercising 24:00 however little you can every day. 24:03 You have to move, walk, swim, whatever form of exercise 24:08 you can use. 24:09 Because that helps to lower blood sugar. 24:11 I've interviewed other people and some of these 24:14 lifestyle programs. 24:15 Once you start exercising a lot of people can actually 24:19 go off those pills. 24:21 Why is it that they are able to go off those pills 24:24 after they start exercising? 24:25 When you exercise you burn up a lot of glucose - that's one. 24:31 Two - you loose fat. 24:33 By loosing fat, by loosing weight, then the body's 24:38 consumption of glucose drops. 24:42 The body's consumption of insulin drops. 24:44 Not only that but physiologically 24:47 the receptors, there are some 24:49 on the cells of the body that are receptors, and those 24:54 receptors are better able to take insulin and that brings 25:00 sugar into the cells. 25:02 So the fat gets out of the way, the receptors become available 25:07 and then the insulin can do its work getting the sugar 25:10 into the blood cell. 25:11 True or false from listening to this? 25:13 If you're on insulin you're in worse shape than if you're just 25:16 taking a pill? 25:17 I would not say that. 25:20 That's not the right way to put it. 25:23 But if your insulin is only one form of treatment. 25:27 Because we have many different agents today some physicians 25:33 choose to exhaust the agents before using insulin. 25:36 Some physicians, however, use insulin very 25:41 early in the treatments. 25:42 So it depends upon choice. 25:43 However, it means we have the kind of ometarian we need 25:49 to treat the disease. 25:50 But even though we have that there is an 25:54 increase in diabetes. 25:56 The increase is due to lifestyle and I want to emphasize that. 26:02 Lifestyle - lack of exercise, weight gain, not eating the 26:08 right things, or eating too much. 26:13 Your patient come in, you show them what to eat, and how to 26:17 exercise and you give them medicine if they need help 26:20 the short term. 26:21 But you try to get them off that if possible. 26:23 That's correct. 26:24 Now you see a lot of people with this? 26:28 You said it was a high risk population in terms of 26:30 African American as well. 26:32 Any closing thought you would have 26:35 on the treatment of diabetes? 26:37 Yes, because diabetes is such a heavy burden on the health care 26:42 industry it is extremely important that if there's a 26:49 family history of diabetes that you incorporate into your 26:52 lifestyle those things that can prevent you from getting 26:56 the disease. 26:57 If you have the disease you must remember the negative 27:03 effect of the disease on the human body, the increased risk 27:07 of heart attacks, the increased risk of strokes, the increased 27:11 risk of loosing your limbs, the increased risk of blindness, 27:15 and because of all of these it is extremely important to get 27:19 that sugar number down below 100 or 110 in the morning. 27:27 And 2 hours after you eat so that exercise becomes important. 27:31 Eating the right things become important. 27:33 So it all goes back to what do I eat. 27:36 As you eat, so you are. 27:38 You are what you eat. 27:40 We've been talking with Dr. Victor Herry. 27:43 We've heard bad news today about diabetes and what it 27:46 can do to you but we've also heard some good news 27:50 and that is you can start to address it, even perhaps 27:54 reverse parts of it or all of it with God's help. 27:58 We're glad you've joined us for Health for a Lifetime. |
Revised 2014-12-17