by Barry Keate

For several years I’ve been hearing discussions about a connection between sugar metabolism disorders, such as Diabetes, and tinnitus. A detailed study from the Federal University of Rio Grande School of Medicine, in Brazil, has brought this dietary connection into sharp focus. It is published in the current issue of the International Tinnitus Journal, Volume 10, Number 1, 2004.

A complete discussion of the metabolic disorders that lead to Diabetes is beyond my expertise and is still being researched and debated by scientists. I have therefore simplified the study and distilled it into something useful for myself and hopefully the readers of this newsletter.

The inner ear, like the brain, is totally without energy reserves. Its metabolism depends directly on the supply of oxygen and sugar (glucose) from the blood supply. Alterations in glucose metabolism therefore have great potential for disturbing the workings of the inner ear. The researchers referenced previous studies showing that between 84 and 92% of tinnitus patients were shown to have a metabolic disorder called hyperinsulinemia.

Hyperinsulinemia is an elevation of insulin levels in the bloodstream. It is a direct consequence of a metabolic disorder known as Insulin Resistance. This is characterized by a reduced biological response to insulin at the cellular level. Insulin becomes less effective in transferring glucose from the bloodstream to the cells. The pancreas then produces more insulin in order to lower blood glucose levels and insulin levels increase. Hyperinsulinemia is known to be related to hypoglycemia and, as it progresses, leads eventually to Type II Diabetes.

There are three standard tests to determine hyperinsulinemia. They all involve having the patient drink 100 mg of pure glucose in a water solution then monitoring blood insulin levels over a period of time. The first test is fasting insulinemia, the second is a two hour test and the third is a five hour test which measures and averages insulin levels every hour. The fasting insulinemia test has been shown to only have an accuracy of 10% for diagnosing hyperinsulinemia. The two hour test has an accuracy of 89% and the five hour test has an accuracy of 99% in diagnosing this metabolic disorder.

Hyperinsulinemia and Type II Diabetes can most often be controlled through diet and exercise. This fact led the researchers to embark on a clinical trial to find if dietary control of hyperinsulinemia would have an affect on the patient’s tinnitus.

They enrolled 80 tinnitus patients who were also diagnosed with hyperinsulinemia into the study. They placed the 80 patients on a minimum 2 year diet designed to restore insulin to normal levels. Patients were asked to eat every three hours to prevent hypoglycemia; to avoid refined sugar and simple carbohydrates; to restrict their intake of fatty foods, especially saturated or hydrogenated fats; to take no more than 2 cups of coffee per day, limit intake of alcoholic beverages and drink four to six glasses of water per day.

The end results of this study are quite remarkable. The researches found that, of the 80 patients enrolled, 59 had followed the diet for the minimum of two years and 21 had not. In the patients that followed the diet, improvement of tinnitus was 5 times greater than in those who did not follow it. Specifically, of those who adhered to the diet, 24% had no improvement, 22% had some improvement, 39% had significant improvement and 15% had resolution of their tinnitus; it completely disappeared. Over 50% of the patients who adhered to the diet had significant improvement or complete resolution.

Of those who did not adhere to the diet, 86% had no improvement, 0% had some improvement, 14% had significant improvement and 0% had resolution. Overall, of those who adhered to the diet, 76% had improvement ranging from moderate to complete elimination, while in those who did not adhere, 14% had improvement.

The researchers continued to state that carbohydrate disorders are one of the probable causes of Meniere’s disease as well as tinnitus. They said that while tinnitus can be managed with diet and exercise, dizziness is the symptom that diminishes the most with metabolic control.

They conclude by urging physicians who treat tinnitus patients, to give them a thorough investigation for metabolic disorders, using the 5 hour glycemic and insulinemic curves, and to urge their patients who have these disorders to adjust their diet and lifestyles to manage insulin levels, thereby reducing tinnitus and Meniere’s disease symptoms.

Michael Seidman, MD, noted tinnitus authority, has long advocated regular exercise and diet restrictions for those people with tinnitus. Dr. Seidman states, “It is imperative that people with tinnitus adhere to an excellent diet based on all food groups and that they reduce or eliminate their use of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, fatty foods, salt and simple sugars (such as refined carbohydrates)”. Dr. Seidman also endorses the use of Arches Tinnitus Formulas for the reduction of tinnitus symptoms recognizing that a "multi-modality” approach is very effective.

So, put away the pastries, limit white bread, forego the ice cream and go for a walk. Eat more vegetables and fruits and avoid as much as possible processed foods which are often high in fat and salt. If you have a particularly disturbing case of tinnitus, consult with your doctor about possible metabolic disturbances and a specific diet that can help. And remember Arches Tinnitus Formulas have been clinically proven to reduce tinnitus for most people and can significantly reduce neurological and cardiovascular damage caused by diabetes-related metabolic disorders.

Diet

We are now going to offer some specifics for low glycemic diets and some other products that can help reduce insulin resistance and the propensity towards Type II Diabetes. While we won’t be discussing much about tinnitus in this section, please keep in mind that hyperinsulinemia has been found to be a significant factor in cochlear health and reducing excess insulin can very effectively lower tinnitus symptoms.

Those afflicted with Type I Diabetes do not produce enough insulin. For these individuals, supplemental insulin is a lifesaving therapy. We often associate insulin with healthy hormones but insulin has an insidious dark side.

As normal aging and poor diet deprive cells of insulin sensitivity, many people’s pancreas produce excess insulin to force serum glucose into cells. For instance, in a normal person one unit of insulin might be needed to help 10 mg of glucose go into a cell group. In hyperinsulinemia, ten units of insulin might be needed to get the same 10 mg of glucose into the cell group. This excessive insulin production is a contributing cause to a host of degenerative disorders, including heart disease and cancer.

The most immediate and noticeable effect of excess insulin production is unwanted weight gain. Insulin drives fat into cells, prevents fat from being released and makes people chronically hungry. This results in a vicious cycle in which overeating causes more and more body fat to accumulate, which in turn causes greater amounts of insulin to be secreted, which then makes us continually hungry.

Numerous published studies reveal that excess serum insulin is a major health problem. It promotes hypertension, harms the kidneys and vascular system, increases the risk of certain cancer progressions and may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

One effective way of reducing insulin production is to eat a diet consisting of foods low on the glycemic index and glycemic load charts. The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effects on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly have the highest glycemic index. Those that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have the lowest index.

The glycemic load chart goes a step further in providing a measure of total glycemic response to a food. It factors the glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrates per serving of that particular food.

Foods that have a glycemic index reading of over 70 combined with a glycemic load reading of over 20 means that they release sugar rapidly into the bloodstream and have a high carbohydrate content per serving. These foods should be avoided. A food such as a carrot having a glycemic index of 71 (bad) but a glycemic load index of 3.8 (very good) is perfectly acceptable. Below is a short list of high glycemic index/load foods vs. low glycemic index/load foods:

You can find lists of the glycemic index for foods by searching on the internet. It’s a little more difficult to find lists that incorporate the total glycemic load, which may be more important. One of the best I’ve found can be viewed HERE.

Reducing high glycemic foods is the best way to reduce insulin production. However (and here we get into the meat of what this article is about), there are other techniques that can also provide significant support in lowering insulin, losing weight and reducing tinnitus. There are ways to reduce the rapid sugar release into the bloodstream, even if high glycemic foods are eaten.

Scientific studies have consistently shown the ability of water soluble fiber to inhibit carbohydrate absorption, reduce cholesterol and LDL and induce weight loss. When taken before meals, the fiber binds with water in the stomach and small intestine to form a gelatinous, viscous mass that slows the absorption of sugars. The net effect is a reduction in the number of absorbed calories, reduced insulin production and the inducement of a feeling of fullness.

The problem until now has been that the large quantity of fiber required to produce a meaningful effect has resulted in poor compliance, primarily because of upper and lower gastrointestinal discomfort. In the early 1990s, scientists at the University of Toronto began to investigate a novel class of viscous fibers in order to identify a low dose blend that would be effective in reducing blood glucose, insulin, cholesterol and LDL levels.

The main water soluble fibers are Psyllium (found in Metamucil and other fiber products), Xanthan, Guar and Glucomannan. The viscosity, or gelling property, of these fibers is: Psyllium, 6; Xanthan, 12; Guar, 17; Glucomannan, 41.

As seen above, glucomannan posses the highest viscosity of all known soluble fibers. Four to five grams of glucomannan mixed with fluid or food can slow carbohydrate absorption and dampen the ensuing insulin spike by up to 50%.

The reason glucomannan has fallen by the wayside is that in the 1980s, programs promoting quick weight loss advertised it as a supplement that could magically make fat people thin. The Federal Trade Commission stepped in and aggressively attacked those who were making exaggerated fat loss claims. The resultant negative reports by the press caused glucomannan to be viewed by the public as a worthless supplement.

Clinical studies, however, are quite impressive. Although glucomannan does not magically make fat people thin, a double blind trial showed that compared to placebo, obese subjects taking one gram of glucomannan before each meal lost 5.5 pounds after only eight weeks. The subjects did not change eating or exercise patterns. Total cholesterol was reduced by 21.7 mg/dL and LDL was reduced by 15 mg/dL.

Building on the basis of glucomannan, University of Toronto scientists led by Vladimir Vuksan, PhD, combined it with two other fibers to increase the viscosity of the original glucomannan by 2.5 to 5 times. A mulberry concentrate was also added to enhance the glycemic control and cholesterol lowering effects. The superior viscosity of this fiber blend enables much smaller quantities to be taken. The fiber blend’s trade name is PGX®, which stands for “polyglycoplex.”

At the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association, last spring, the results of two clinical studies using the PGX fiber were presented. The first study reported on the effects of taking 3 grams of the fiber blend followed by a huge 50 gram acute glucose challenge. Those taking the fiber blend had a 65% reduction in glucose elevation.

The second study was performed over a three week period. Study participants took three grams of the fiber blend three times a day before meals. After three weeks, there was a 23% reduction in after meal glucose, a 40% reduction in after meal insulin release, and a 55.9% improvement in insulin sensitivity. In addition, this fiber blend reduced body fat by 2.8% from baseline after only three weeks.

As a result of these findings, a large, longer term clinical study has been initiated to further evaluate this unique fiber blend’s effects on weight loss and overall health.

In the meantime, the Life Extension Foundation recommends that people seeking to lose weight and reduce hyperinsulinemia consume the following:

Please remember; the primary reason we are publishing this information is because it has been shown that a reduction in excess insulin in the bloodstream leads to an improvement in tinnitus in 76% of people. The reduction can vary from moderate to completely resolved.

Please keep in mind that the use of PGX fiber does not replace or circumvent the need for exercise or eating a healthy diet, low in saturated fats, sugar, and highly processed foods.

Warning: Drink at least 4 oz of water per capsule when taking this product. Taking this product without adequate fluid may cause it to swell and block your throat or esophagus and may cause choking. Do not take this product if you have difficulty in swallowing. If you experience chest pain, vomiting, or difficulty in swallowing or breathing after taking this product, seek immediate medical attention.

Arches Tinnitus Formulas has also been shown to be very helpful for most people with tinnitus. The combination of Arches Tinnitus Formulas, a healthy diet with plenty of exercise, and the use of PGX fiber before meals can provide significant relief for the great majority of tinnitus sufferers. This combination will also result in a longer, healthier life.

PGX fiber is available through the Life Extension Foundation and they provide a lot of detailed information about it. You can find the product HERE.