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ALTERNATIVE
THERAPIES The Alternative Therapies workshop grabbed my attention as I am into everything alternative. This particular session was led by Renee Bufton, a qualified naturopath. I thought for a moment about the word "naturopath" and I realised it means "natural disease" - hmmmm! But of course naturopathy is about the natural TREATMENT of disease....although if you ever said your naturopath TREATED your diabetes, the lawyers would have a field day ... The official line is that natural methods assist in the management of diabetes. The reason for this is fairly obvious: none of the alternative methods can completely or consistently eliminate the need for insulin. Renee talked about a couple of herbs in particular that can be helpful. The first one was an alternative sweetener called Stevia, from the small leafy plant Stevia Rebaudiana. This little plant produces leaves that taste incredibly sweet but don't have any carbo content whatsoever. So it's a genuine natural version of the artificial sweeteners we are all familiar with, and has no adverse side effects. You can use the leaves in cooking, or you can buy Stevia powder from a health food shop and use it like sugar (although the powder is 200 times sweeter than sugar!) I grow Stevia at home and have used the leaves in cooking - very nice. More info on this herb can be found at : http://www.stevianow.com, or talk to your local nursery about getting a plant. The second one was Gymnema, from the woody climbing plant Gymnema sylvestre. This is an ancient Indian treatment used in Ayurvedic medicine. Apparently, it turns off sugar cravings, and reduces absorption of sugar from the intestine. From what I've seen of a quick scan of the internet, this herb warrants a more detailed looking into. We had a lively discussion about natural methods in general including discussion of the most basic natural method of all - a healthy diet of fresh foods and exercise. We also talked a bit about the recall of Pan Pharmaceuticals - Renee explained that the herbs used in naturopathic treatment are quite different from the manufactured supplements that you buy in a chemist, and therefore were not affected by the recall. Overall I thought it was a good session. It reminded me that I need to do some more research into this whole area. Sean, Melbourne P.S. Renee Bufton is happy to be contacted on 0402 307 370 or 03 9379 8047 (BH) if anyone has any further queries about naturopathy and diabetes. |