Followup on Diabetes “Cure”

I recently reported on a “cure” that had been announced by Canadian researchers for Type I Diabetes in mice. Now, Dr. Joseph Mercola goes into some additional detail from a natural health perspective.

Red Hot Chili Peppers May Cure Type 1 Diabetes

“Scientists at a Toronto hospital may have discovered proof that the body’s nervous system helps trigger diabetes. This stunning discovery, which shocked even the researchers who made it, could eventually lead to a near-cure of diabetes. Type I diabetes in particulars long been thought to be incurable. Diabetic mice were injected with injected with capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers, which counteracted the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas. The mice became healthy practically overnight. This goes against the previous conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes is caused solely by the body’s immune system attacking the pancreas. Apparently, the nerves also secrete neuropeptides that are crucial to the proper functioning of the pancreas. The nervous system could also play a role in other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and Crohn’s disease. The researchers have not confirmed their findings in people, but expect results from human studies within a year. However, a treatment may still be years away.

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:

Nearly 75 million Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes, and while only 5 percent have the Type I version, its supposed incurability makes it by far the more challenging form of the illness. So this new research is potentially great news for Type I diabetics. Type 2 diabetes, of course, is already virtually 100 percent curable with natural methods frequently described on my site. This experimental work with capsaicin is an absolutely unexpected discovery that came out of nowhere (except that some Jamaican researchers saw similar results some six years ago). Capsaicin is well-known as a food component with healing properties. While its most common use has been as a component in topical creams for joint pain, it can also be useful for preventing and treating cancer. And like ginkgo, capsaicin is a natural product so the likelihood of serious side effects is very small. This is in stark contrast to the synthetic drug solutions that are developed for chronic illness. I can provide you with insights that will help you sort through the fraud and deception of the drug companies. When you hear or read of some “break though” drug solution for a chronic illness, you can run, don’t walk away from it, because the overwhelming likelihood is that it will cause more harm than benefit. This understanding makes it MUCH easier to view the news. Note that this is true for the beginning of the 21st century. My guess is that this will likely hold true for many more years to come, but science is always advancing and I am certain they will have some radical new developments that will cause a serious refactoring of this principle… The drug companies are notorious for taking natural remedies and making altered, synthetic versions of them that aren’t as good so they can patent them and price them out of reach. However, the good news is that this may end up having nothing to do with the drug companies. Seems like once the protocol is worked out, it may be something the average lay person will be able to implement. I am REALLY excited about this news as it could be life saving for millions of people and the likelihood of any serious complications is virtually non-existent.”

Can you safely add peppers to your diet NOW? Yes. Are there natural herbal preparations that contain capsaicin? Yes. Should you consider taking these supplements? Remember, YOU are the person most responsible for your health!