It’s well established that the presence of diabetes increases the risk of certain cardiovascular events. The goal in working with a Naturopath is to reduce these risk factors, so do not worry!

Vascular Complications in Diabetics

Diabetes is associated with atherosclerosis, neuropathy, and retinopathy. The key here – is that these risk factors can be managed, and we can minimize the associated risk with the proper dietary and nutraceutical intervention.

How the Blood Vessels are Harmed

In diabetics, various mechanisms have been identified in how the blood vessels are harmed in diabetics. They are [4]:

• ↑ advanced glycation end products
• ↑ reactive oxygen species
• ↑ angiotensin II
• ↑ NFkB activity
• ↑ inflammatory cytokines
• ↑ leukocyte adhesion
• ↑ protein kinase C activity

Basically – in diabetes, there many factors which tend to make the inside of the blood vessel more prone to inflammation and oxidation and accelerate the accumulation of plaques.

How does this affect you? Well, when we think about herbs, vitamins and minerals – we look at ones who specifically have beneficial effects on the above mechanism. For example, if we can identify something that will lower NFkB, we can use that to protect the blood vessels. This is the targeted approach when you see a naturopath.

How Do We Protect the Blood Vessels?

Researchers have identified various protective factors. They include:

• Anti-inflammatory factors
• Anti-oxidant enzymes
• Insulin
• Platelet derived growth factor
• Vascular endothelial growth factor
• Activated protein C (APC)

Once again – these are the aspects we look into when looking for natural interventions for diabetics. We look for vitamins, minerals and herbs which will have a beneficial role on these specific mechanisms.

Book in at Absolute Health and Wellness

Managing diabetes and optimizing your blood vessel health is something we can address through naturopathy at Absolute Health and Wellness.