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From:	Raine (trimet.216.25.210.38.trimet.org)
Subject:	Would it help you to know that the animal source of insulin is human & bacterial?
Date:	August 11, 2006 at 8:00 am PST

In Reply to: Do I HAVE to take insulin? posted by Jill Monroe on August 11, 2006 at 12:24 am:

Are you a type 1 diabetic or a type 2? (Or one of the atypical types?)

If you are a type 1, then you have to take insulin or you are choosing death. If you are a type 2 and your physician has suggested insulin as a control measure then you may have additional options. You may not, though.

Insulin is, however, a very natural control for diabetes. It is so safe that it is, generally, the only medication used for pregnant diabetics.

Quoting from the page linked below "Almost all insulin is now human insulin, and within a few years all commercial insulin will be made from human, rather than animal, sources. In fact, "human insulin" does not come from human beings - rather, it is "synthetic insulin" manufactured from DNA sources, in a laboratory. This synthetic insulin is almost identical to the hormone produced by the human pancreas." I don't know the source of this info and am not sure of its validity.

If this is so, then you may just need to do your research and find out which beef & pork sources of insulin to avoid.

If you're a type 2 and wish to avoid insulin use, then you have to work DA** HARD every day to do so. You must exercise every day. You must lose weight. You must eat a controlled diet. I suggest Dr. McDougall's book Maximum Weight Loss. I believe a low-fat vegan diet is best for this. Although I was reading the book Defeating Diabetes by author Davis (and at least one more author), and there are fabulous suggestions in there.

If your physician has suggested insulin use, you should consider this very seriously. It would not have been suggested lightly. My grandmother has encouraged me to not fear going on insulin. (Note: many type 2s end up using insulin as part of their management strategy at some point in their lives.) She has found that it has greatly improved her control.

If you begin use of insulin, and are a type 2, if you have issues with overeating, you must be very careful not to return to habits of gluttony, since you can now control your blood sugar numbers by adjusting the insulin dose. If you do this, you will gain weight, you may reinforce bad eating habits, and you might worsen your disease. Continue to be careful.

I'm sorry that there are no easy answers to the question that you posed. You could post more details about your situation, if you wish for more comments.

Hang in there.

Raine

• Insulin Info