75% of the early deaths in diabetics are related to coronary artery disease.  The mechanisms of arterial disease in diabetic patients appear to be multiple but increased levels of glucose and fructose play havoc with blood vessel walls. A cascading series of adverse events follows the onset of high blood sugar and can only be controlled by reduction of free sugar in the diet and comprehensive diet revision associated with increased exercise. Pathogenic mechanisms include the accumulation of glucose, fructose and sorbitol in tissues and the modification of proteins by glycation.

A great more can be done to limit or prevent the cardiovascular complications of diabetes. Both MDs and patients tend to be complacent in the early stages of the disease and the penalty for neglect is disaster.  In a Canadian study, Ross et al  found that only 30 % of diabetes with hypertension received treatment for the high blood pressure; only 3% with serum cholesterol levels above 6.2 were on a diet or received lipid lowering drugs. They observed that patient compliance with treatment was poor - 90% of diabetics failed to use their medications as prescribed; 70% failed to follow diet guidelines and 50 % with established heart disease dropped out of rehabilitation programs after a year.

Arterial pathogens in the food supply:

• Fat
• Glucose, fructose and sorbitol
• Proteins acting as antigens > immune events
• Homocysteine
• Vitamin Deficiencies
• Prostaglandins and other Cytokines

Clearly, heroic efforts are more that justified to change life-style determinants of the disease early on so that the terrible consequences of neglected diabetes are avoided.

Adverse Consequences of Diabetes

• Heart disease
• Cardiovascular disease is 2 to 4 times more common in people with diabetes.
• Cardiovascular disease is present in 75 percent of diabetes-related deaths.
• Middle-aged people with diabetes have death rates twice as high and heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times as high as middle-aged people without diabetes.
• Stroke
• The risk of stroke is 2.5 times higher in people with diabetes.
• High blood pressure
• Affects 60 to 65 percent of people with diabetes.

Elevated Blood Fats

Some of the vascular disease can be explained as atherosclerosis and attributed to abnormalities in blood fats. A high sugar and  fat in the diet of diabetics is a lethal combination. More than 60 % of non-insulin dependent diabetes have elevated blood fat levels.

Environmed Research Inc. British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1984.
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