Having high levels of insulin can cause problems. Therefore, certain group of medications should be avoided, especially the Sulfonylurea group of medicine as they can activate more insulin in the body. Insulin is similar to growth factor, which can return to suppress the growth of hormones and cause the body to deteriorate faster. Thus, during the first phase of the disease, the medicines that can increase the sensitivity to the insulin, like Metformin, should be used. The diabetic patients should check the insulin and C-peptide level to assess the stage of the disease. For the kidneys, urine samples should be collected for 24 hours to look at the micro-albumin level at intervals. For diabetic sufferers of more than 5 years, micro-albumin levels should be checked every 3-6 months to assess the condition of the kidneys. This test is relatively more sensitive than the renal function test from the blood. For the eyes, the visual field and the iris should be checked regularly too.

     Many diabetic patients never paid attention to the above mentioned diagnostic results apart from the blood test once a month or the Hb1AC test done in every 3 months. Doctor would normally ask patients to do a finger prick test to check the blood sugar levels every day to assess the efficiency of diet control and drug titration. Apart from the diagnostics, there are methods and nutrient intakes that can slow down the cell destruction process of the sugar. However, there is no modern medicine that can slow down the deterioration creating a sense of hopelessness. Let’s be honest, results do not mean anything if patients do not change their lifestyle and start looking after themselves.

Destruction Mechanism from Diabetes

      When looking into the mechanism of action of diabetes, we found that there are two key destructive mechanisms: 

(1)Advance Glycation End Products (AGEs)  

This happens in cell membranes, such as cells of blood vessels in the eye, heart and kidney. When these toxins bind with cell walls, it stimulates the production of other chemicals in the process of inflammation outside the cell. Once they react with fats, it would turn into Glycotoxins.

(2)Advance Lipoxidation End Products (ALEs) 

ALEs derived from lipid peroxidation- reactive carbonyl species (RCS) are binders of Receptor of Advance Glycation End Product (RAGE). This affinity depends on the reduction of the basicity of the target amino acid and on the acid reaction surrounding the amino acidic target which can damage or be hazardous to the body.

We can slow down the deterioration through Glycation by using anti-oxidants and anti-glycation agents that can be found in nutrients more than in medicaments. It has been observed that a sizable number of Thai medical professionals and diabetic sufferers do not believe in benefits of anti-oxidants. My sincere advice to these group of people is to have a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of the destructive process of diabetes.

Foods to eat to avoid glycation and glycotoxin

      A very important fact that everyone should know is that foods with high fat and high protein will have higher glycotoxin than grains by 30 times and 12 times, respectively. 

     The key to the creation of glycotoxin is temperature. It can affect food with high protein and fat, such as meat, seafood and food with high fructose. When heated, there will be a large amount of toxins in these foods. Avoid cooking methods that uses high heat, such as roasting, frying, and grilling is actually not recommended. Cooking methods that uses lower heat, such as boiling and steaming or methods that use the lowest heat for a long time, such as stewing or simmering are the best alternatives. Remember, the heat that makes the surface of the food turn brown is the reaction process of the sugar molecule in the food with the fat and protein that causes the glycotoxin.