Ayurveda and Diabetes

Ayurveda medicine focuses on balance of body, mind, and consciousness and is based on the idea that disease is due to imbalance. These ideas made me think about what it really means to be balanced. In my biochemistry class, we stressed that the body is constantly trying to maintain homeostasis and is never at equilibrium. The body is an open system and takes in nutrients, releases waste, and uses and releases energy. Everything in the body is constantly flowing, yet there is a balance. We often mistake balance for equality, but in the body, things are not necessarily equal. For a healthy individual, things are in balance and there is the right amount of each specific thing  (nutrients, minerals, proteins, elements, etc.). However, in unhealthy individuals, there are often imbalances in these things, and an imbalance in one thing can offset our entire metabolic pathway. This can have a wide range of effects throughout the body.

One example of a disease caused by an imbalance in the body is diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition related to how the body produces or processes insulin. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the β-cells of the pancreas are damaged and cannot produce insulin properly. Those affected by Type 1 require insulin shots. Type 2 diabetes is related to an unhealthy lifestyle (unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity) which leads to cells in the body not responding to insulin in the way they should. 

Insulin is an important hormone that regulates blood glucose. When the body isn’t producing insulin or is not responding to insulin properly, it can create imbalances in the level of glucose in the blood. Glucose plays a huge role in many metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis and glycogenesis. The reactions of these metabolic pathways are interwoven with reactions of other pathways. These reactions occur at the cellular level and have great effects on all the organ systems of the body. Those affected by diabetes often have many other health issues, including heart disease, diabetic neuropathy, chronic kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, gum disease, and diabetic retinopathy. 

My father is an ophthalmologist who specializes in the retina, and many of his patients suffer from diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. He explained to me that when there are high concentrations of sugar in the blood, it damages the endothelial cells and pericytes in the small and medium blood vessels of the eye. When these vessels are damaged, it leads to ischemia in the local tissues. To compensate for this ischemia, angiogenesis occurs. However, the new blood vessels are very fragile and incompetent, which leads to blood and exudates leaking in the retina which causes impaired vision. This is only one example of the many effects of diabetes that can be life-changing, and it, unfortunately, affects more people than we realize. 

Throughout the world, 537 million adults (1 in 10) are living with diabetes. It is predicted that by 2030, this number will rise to 643 million. In 2021, 6.7 million deaths were attributed to diabetes, which is 1 person every 5 seconds. (Diabetes Atlas) Diabetes is becoming an increasing problem and threatening the lives of people all over the world. And not only are cases rising, but the medical costs of diabetes are on the rise as well. The ADA estimates that the cost of diagnosed diabetes was about $327 billion in 2017 compared to $245 billion in 2012. On average, an individual with diabetes pays over two times as much on medical bills than an individual without diabetes. (ADA) With the increasing prevalence of diabetes, it is clear that changes need to be made. 

Most cases of diabetes are preventable. In the United States, 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, which can be prevented through lifestyle changes. These lifestyle changes include a healthier diet and more physical activity. Physical activity not only helps prevent diabetes but also other diseases and disorders, such as heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, and even cancer. Exercise has so many benefits to our metabolism and our cardiovascular health as well as our musculoskeletal system. It also has benefits to our brain and mental health. Even though there are so many reasons to exercise, only 23.2% of adults meet the physical activity guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity (CDC). 

Exercise, along with a healthy diet, is an important part of the ayurvedic approach to diabetes treatment. In one clinical study, a 40-year-old man with elevated blood sugar entered an Ayurveda treatment center. He presented with lethargy, numbness in his feet, blurred vision, and difficulty concentrating. Before entering the treatment center, he had done a hemoglobin A1c test (HbA1c). This test helps practitioners to understand the average blood sugar levels of their patients over the previous 3 months by testing the amount of glucose bound to their blood’s hemoglobin. A normal level is below 5.7, a prediabetic level is between 5.7 and 6.4, and a diabetic level is 6.5 and higher. The man presenting to the Ayurveda treatment center had a HbA1c of 11.2 and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. At the treatment center, the practitioners created him an individualized diet and exercise plan and prescribed him herbal medicines. After 1 month of these lifestyle changes, his HbA1c reduced to 8.4, and after 9 months, it had dropped to 5.7. He reported that he was jogging 4 days of the week and was cutting out snacking and screen time which led him to have more energy and better sleep. He stated that he hadn’t taken any drastic measures to improve his health but strictly followed a healthier diet and lifestyle. (Gorden et al., 2019)

While there are some aspects of Ayurveda and some Ayurveda therapies that I don’t really believe or fully understand, I think the overall concept of making sure there is balance in our bodies and our minds is so important. I have noticed drastic differences in my own life when I am striving to be balanced versus when I am not. I play college basketball, so exercising has never been a big issue for me. However, I have struggled with eating healthy and eating enough food. Some days, I am so busy that I forget to make time for food. I have noticed on those days, I have less energy, feel more emotional, and don’t sleep well. I’ve also experienced imbalances in my mental health when I don’t make time for myself to recover and to enjoy myself. It causes a lot of stress and mental exhaustion. 

I believe that it would be very beneficial to better educate people on how to create balance in their own lives. Balance is different for everyone, but it is not any less important. By teaching people the Ayurveda way of balance, I truly believe we can help stop the rise of diabetes and other preventable diseases.

Works Cited

ADA. “The Cost of Diabetes | ADA.” American Diabetes Association, https://diabetes.org/about-us/statistics/cost-diabetes. Accessed 23 September 2022.

CDC. “FastStats - Exercise or Physical Activity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/exercise.htm. Accessed 23 September 2022.

Diabetes Atlas. “IDF Diabetes Atlas.” World Diabetes Day | Access to Diabetes Care: If Not Now, When?, https://diabetesatlas.org/. Accessed 23 September 2022.

Gordon A, Buch Z, Baute V, Coeytaux R. Use of Ayurveda in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Glob Adv Health Med. 2019 Aug 7;8:2164956119861094. doi: 10.1177/2164956119861094. PMID: 31431828; PMCID: PMC6686320.

Hannibal KE, Bishop MD. Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: a psychoneuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation. Phys Ther. 2014 Dec;94(12):1816-25. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20130597. Epub 2014 Jul 17. PMID: 25035267; PMCID: PMC4263906.