There has been an alarming rise in the incidence of diabetes and other lifestyle disorders in India during the last decade, thanks to drastic lifestyle changes and stress. Among the various treatment options, integrative medicine has emerged as a safe choice.
Integrative medicine combines modern and alternative systems of medicine, with a focus on wellness and health rather than mere treatment of symptoms. The treatment modalities are designed after proper diagnosis to mitigate, control or reverse a problem based on standardised processes and evidences.
The fundamental principle of integrative medicine is that it integrates the strength of all systems of medicine and reduces the ill-effects of excessive medication. This style of treatment considers both the patient and practitioner as equal partners in the healing process.
Appropriate use of both conventional and alternative methods facilitates the body’s natural healing process. For diabetes reversal programme under integrative medicine, both allopath doctor and alternative doctors work functionally together by screening, treating the root cause by lifestyle modification, evaluating, monitoring and tapering down the medication gradually, with a regular follow-up programme.
The interventions under integrative medicine include screening, diet corrections, diabetic yoga therapy, ayurveda and naturopathy external treatment to stimulate pancreas, insulin secretions, evaluation and gradually reducing the dosage of medication, all under the guidance of team of doctors, guided by a diabetologist.
Diabetic reversal is usually a 60-90 day programme and its cost is much lesser when compared to the lifelong treatment with various drugs and treatment of complications due to uncontrolled diabetes. The real advantage here is protecting health and life from ill effects of long-term medication, preventing the risk of damage of the major organs, leading to increased risk of mortality, and risk of spending huge amounts of money later in life.
Integrative medicine’s long-lasting benefit is that the patients get a detailed picture of what diabetes is and the technique used to reverse the process. In such a scenario, patients are thoroughly guided by doctors and therapists on a daily basis for making the changes without affecting their routine too much. Within a few days of following the recommendations, patients see and feel a significant change in their sugar levels as well as cognitive symptoms.
(The author is diabetologist, WellBeeing Health Centre, Bengaluru)
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