The new threat

I had a rather startling encounter with an old classmate who was a former professional, national and varsity player. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, but it was common for me to see old schoolmates who had put on a paunch by being sedentary. I really didn’t expect this to apply to this particular friend, because he had always been in shape, and even the last time we played together in our alumni league, he was still tough, almost as good as he was as a point guard for two different teams in the PBA. I wasn’t even surprised at his retreating hairline, usual for most of us pushing 40.

What shocked me, though, was how thin and gaunt he looked. Initially, he wasn’t sure to give me the reason or not; he simply confirmed that he had been working out every day, which I found extreme, even for him.

"And I’m also diabetic now," he admitted curtly. I was shocked.

He reminded me of the cautionary tale of an old friend, the wife of my very first cameraman when I became a television correspondent. She was a gregarious, cheerful sort, always smiling and friendly. If you were a friend of her husband, you were her friend, as well. No questions asked.

One day, she stubbed the second toe on her right foot, opening up a small wound. Being diabetic, she knew it would take a while before the wound would heal. But in a matter of months, the cut had become gangrenous, and started eating away at her flesh. The toe was consequently amputated. Unfortunately, the infection had made its way up her leg. Soon, that limb had to go, as well. It was as if a cannibal had decided to make her his staple diet. She started feeling a bit better after the amputation. But then, she slowly deteriorated. Gradually, the poison in her blood weakened her to the point that she died. All that from the combination of a small cut, and a research is starting to show surprising numbers of adult-onset diabetes. Part of it is hereditary, for certain. But the greater percentage is due to the lifestyle and eating habits we have developed over the past twenty years or so. We are filling our bodies with compound sugars and processed meats which heavily tax our systems.

What is diabetes? Basically, diabetes is a condition wherein there is too much sugar in the blood, which may accumulate over the years. There is also a hindrance to our breaking down the sugar in our blood for use by the body.

In the more common Type 2 diabetes, the insulin the body produces is less effective. This is more common in people over 30 years old, but is starting to emerge more often among children. Healthy eating and physical activity are musts in controlling Type 2 diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Institute, symptoms include thirst, excessive urination, weight loss, blurred vision, tiredness and infections.

Fortunately, practitioners of ayurvedic (Sanskrit for "knowledge of life") medicine in India have been cooperating with Western medical practitioners to solve the riddle of diabetes since the 1600s. The latest breakthrough would be formulas like the herbal supplement Cogent db+, which has undergone extensive clinical evaluation by endocrinologists and physicians in India. A team of medical scientists and physicians in Malaysia was published by The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2002.

In the study, 60 people ranging in age from 30 to 70 were divided into two groups. For three months, one group took the conventional blood-glucose lowering medications plus the equivalent of four tablets of Cogent db+, twice a day, after meals. The control group took only conventional medication. It was clear that the supplement lowered blood-glucose levels both during fasting and after meals, and helped improve kidney and liver functions. This is considered a major breakthrough for alternative medicines once sneered upon by the established medical community.

To reinforce the study, four animal experimentation studies have been published by various prestigious medical journals. The published findings showed that Cogent db+ lowered blood glucose levels, showed anti-inflammatory properties, reversed cell death and tissue damage, and cleaned the blood.

In the Philippines, Cogent db+ is distributed by Davenben Enterprises, at Jollibee Plaza, Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig. They may be reached through telephone numbers 638-8379 or 638-8573.

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Catch the PBA Fiesta Conference Finals on this week’s episode of The Basketball Show on ABC 5 at 3:00 p.m. On next week’s show, our exclusive report from the adidas Superstar Camp in Georgia, and interviews with Philadelphia 76ers guard Eric Snow and 16-year NBA coach George Karl. Learn about the three Chinese players who were sent to the camp for the 200 best high school basketball players in the United States.