7 Essential Approaches for Comprehensive and Effective Diabetes Management

At the Connecticut Center for Integrative Medicine, diabetes management is about so much more than insulin, though that may be incorporated into a broad-based treatment plan. Our physicians in Stamford bring the best of ancient healing practices and conventional medicine to keep Type 2 diabetes in check so you can lead a healthy, active, and fulfilled life. We are pleased to provide you with the following insights into this common yet highly preventable condition and our approaches to diabetic support and care. 

1: An introduction to diabetes 

Not all diabetes is the same, but all diabetics have insulin-related challenges. This hormone helps blood sugar or glucose enter the body’s cells, where it is then used as energy. 

2: Understanding Type 1 Diabetes and Its Risks

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition whereby the diabetic’s immune system erroneously perceives the cells in the pancreas that make insulin as invaders and turns on them. As these cells are destroyed, little to no insulin is made, which can result in diabetic ketoacidosis. Due to the lack of insulin, ketones or acid builds up in the body. This is a medical emergency. 

3: Understanding Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by an inability to use insulin properly. This is known as insulin resistance, when the muscle, fat, and liver cells resist this essential hormone and, in turn, do not take in enough sugar. Also, your pancreas will eventually not make sufficient insulin to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. 

4: Understanding Gestational Diabetes: Causes and Prevalence

Gestational diabetes is also characterized by insulin resistance but occurs during pregnancy among ~9% of expectant mothers. It’s thought that hormonal changes during pregnancy are to blame for insulin resistance. 

5: Understanding Risk Factors for Diabetes Development

The exact mechanism behind how cells become insulin-resistant and why the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin is not well understood. However, there are well-defined factors that increase your risk of developing diabetes. Generally, many of the habits and behaviors that fuel a healthy body in general help to reduce your risk of developing diabetes. These risks include carrying excess weight, especially in the abdominal area (versus the hips and thighs). A lack of exercise and physical activity not only contributes to weight gain but also inhibits the use of glucose as energy and cells’ sensitivity to insulin. Having a primary blood relative with diabetes and being older than 35 also increases your risk. 

6: Foundational Strategies for Effective Diabetes Management

As integrative providers, we view diabetes management as a pyramid of sorts, with the foundation of proper diabetes management as “identifying and establishing conditions for health.” We strive to put in place healthy nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress, trauma management, and more early on — as soon as a person is diagnosed with diabetes or is still in the prediabetic stage. At this stage, blood glucose levels are elevated but not to the level of diabetes. We can intervene to reduce glucose levels to a normal range, effectively preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes. 

7: Personalized Care through Comprehensive Diagnostics and Treatment Options

The next step up in the “pyramid” is to identify, support, and restore those systems of the body that are vulnerable or damaged. The Connecticut Center for Integrative Medicine prioritizes various diagnostic services to understand your unique body needs better. These include labs and testing to assess for hormones, nutritional deficiencies and imbalances, gut inflammation, environmental risks, and more. The results from these tests can then be applied to inform the development of your one-of-a-kind diabetes management plan. As needed, we may roll everything from nutritional and herbal supplements to homeopathic medicine and acupuncture into your treatment. That’s the beauty of integrative medicine – making the most of all the best in class modalities available. 

Take Charge of Your Health Today

As you can see, keeping your blood sugar levels in check and even reversing diabetes is about more than regularly assessing the amount of sugar in your blood as part of an A1C test and taking insulin. Get the full picture. Request your consultation today. Call (866) 320-6402 to speak with a team member in Stamford, CT.

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