Posted on 11/25/2008 2:33:47 PM PST by fightinJAG
According to researchers in the U.S. the loss of potassium experienced from taking blood pressure drugs may explain higher risk of adult diabetes. The researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say they have discovered that a drop in blood potassium levels caused by diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure, could be the reason why people on those drugs are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
It seems that while the drugs help to accelerate the loss of fluids they also deplete important chemicals, including potassium and those prescribed them are generally advised to eat bananas and other potassium-rich foods to counteract this effect.
Lead researcher Dr. Tariq Shafi from the Department of Nephrology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine says previous research has shown that when patients take diuretic thiazides, potassium levels drop and the risk of diabetes climbs to 50% and now they have concrete information for the first time connecting the factors.
Dr. Shafi says thiazides, such as chlorthalidone, are an inexpensive and highly effective way to treat high blood pressure and have been used widely for decades, but their association with diabetes has forced many hypertension suffers to use other medications that can be several times as expensive.
According to Dr. Shafi the study shows that as long as physicians monitor and regulate potassium levels, thiazides can be used safely, saving patients thousands of dollars a year and could be as simple as increasing the consumption of potassium-rich foods such as bananas and oranges and/or reducing salt intake, both of which will keep potassium from dropping.
(Excerpt) Read more at news-medical.net ...
ping!
You know, this reminds of a friend that just moved to Abu Dhabi. Her son was ADD. A severe case by her words.
She took him to the doctor over there. He didn’t even mention ADD. Diagnosed him with a magnesium deficit and prescribed double magnesium pills everyday. He is doing great.
Most doctors only sell drugs for a living. Looking for chemical/mineral imbalances take too much time.
...hopefully within six years.
That's my schedule.
But I am studying this stuff,
so I know it...you know, like...
...chinch bugs. You know...
...manganese. A lot of people
don't even know what that is.
Oh not manganese, magnesium, way different.
Part of me thinks.....Nationalized healthcare will mean a HEALTHIER America.....Just sayin’
Lets-see, type 2 diabetes is a broken hormonal response to carbohydrates (usually caused by a high carbohydrate diet). People taking diuretics eat lots of bananas and oranges (very high in carbohydrates as well as potassium) ergo the diabetes they develop is caused by potassium depletion????
Btw- just keep a box of Epsom Salts on the sill of the tub and get into the habit of rubbing a handful all over towards the end of a shower, you love the feeling and balance you minerals at the same time.
First entered our vocabulary from the tiny Hamlet of Epsom, England (ironically near Bath, England, that's how that word got there, too).
Epsom is really Magnesium sulfate
T2 diabetes is multi-factorial. A med school prof turned an entire class of students into temporary T2 diabetics by making them each drink a quart of salad oil (circa 1920). NOD rats (non obese diabetic) can be prevented from becoming diabetic by dosing with vitamin D3.
Dissolve epsom salts in water and drink the solution.
You won’t be constipated for quite a spell thereafter.
can you elaborate on the epsom salts I’ve never heard anything like that.
Thanks
Hmmm! ping
interesting. a friend has a child with only moderate adhd. may suggest an increase in magnesium. can’t hurt, right?
as for the high blood pressure, i am on meds for it. doc asks for regular bloodwork...so this ought to be monitored.
People taking diuretics should not assume that they need the extra potassium. My bp medicine specifically states to NOT use lite-salt (potassium based) because mine RETAINS potassium, but ditches the sodium....you mileage may vary, but everyone should read their own medication’s packaging and behave accordingly.
Every farmer keeps Epsom salts around....just as handy as duct tape!
I was taking a drug called Toprol XL for HT. Never had a diabetic brush in my life. After a year on Toprol, doc tells me I’m Type II.
I start researching Toprol and find out it is very well correlated with new cases of diabetes. One study was of over 10,000 people. Yet docs pooh-poohed the connection.
I switched meds and am now waiting to see what’s going on with the other issue.
Depends on which drug you’re talking about. Some blood pressure drugs actually increase potassium levels.
I don’t think most people get diabetes by drinking quarts of salad oil. Feeding people fat does seem an odd way to produce an abnormal insulin response. I wonder what the mechanism for that would be? Anyway I wonder if researchers controlled for high carbohydrate diets when looking at the correlation between potassium levels and diabetes.
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