Conquering Diabetes by Attaining Balance

As of 2010, 25.8 million people—8.3 percent of the population—have diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This doesn’t surprise Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum, director of Feed Your Mind Wellness, in Highland Park. She states, “We’re facing a severe health crisis, as the pandemic referred to as ‘diabesity’ is increasing at an alarming rate.”

Diabesity refers to the continuum of abnormal biology that ranges from mild abdominal obesity to insulin resistance and full-blown Type 2 diabetes. “These are downstream symptoms resulting from problems associated with diet and lifestyle, such as processed foods, sugar, gluten, environmental toxins, stress and lack of exercise, interacting with one’s unique genetic susceptibilities,” Scheinbaum explains.

One of the positive aspects Scheinbaum sees on a daily basis is the ability to bring our bodies back into balance. In fact, it’s the basic principle of functional medicine and the crux of her work. Scheinbaum elaborates that functional medicine addresses the root causes of chronic illness, such as inflammation and oxidative stress, through diet and lifestyle change.

According to her, “The interventions to reverse these conditions are simple and involve eliminating what’s sending the body out of balance and adding what can bring the body back into balance.”

Scheinbaum’s interest in getting our bodies back into balance came about almost by accident. Her first career as a special education teacher led her to use relaxation techniques with both students and teachers. But her moment of discovery came when she began suffering from panic attacks and realized she could stop them using the mind-body techniques that she was studying in an elective course that was part of her doctoral program in clinical psychology.

“This was definitely an ‘Aha!’ moment [for me], as I knew I wanted to teach others how to achieve a calm state without medication,” she says. That discovery led her to biofeedback, a technique that trains people to improve their health by controlling bodily processes that normally occur involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension and skin temperature, using modern technology.

“Biofeedback means getting information back about the body,” says Scheinbaum. “Because we’re using computerized software and sensors that detect physiological processes such as breathing patterns or heart rate variability, it’s a high-tech way to learn to relax. Self-regulation implies that we have the ability to bring the body into balance as we change our thoughts, interpretations and mental images. One of my favorite sayings is, ‘What’s real in the mind is real in the body.’”

Thirty-five years later, in 2009, Scheinbaum experienced her second “Aha!” moment with the discovery of functional medicine, and is one of the few psychologists working toward certification in this modality.

Achieving balance really is at the core of Scheinbaum’s work. Her latest book, How to Give Clients the Skills to Stop Panic Attacks, addresses the importance of food as medicine, meaningful engagement and the need for attaining a more balanced life.

Scheinbaum’s expertise extends further than advocating a balanced life. She is also creating a group program based on a New York Times bestseller, The Blood Sugar Solution, by Dr. Mark Hyman.

“Dr. Hyman granted me permission to create a group program based on the book,” she notes. “Classes have started in Highland Park and Skokie, and more will be forming. Based on functional medicine, the program is tailored to meet the needs of those who fall anywhere along the continuum from mildly elevated blood glucose levels or abdominal obesity, to metabolic syndrome, to Type 2 diabetes.

“I will be gathering data, such as lab test results, to study the effectiveness of the program. Unlike traditional diabetes education groups, our goal is prevention or disease reversal, not disease management. This is a very exciting concept. By targeting underlying metabolic processes, namely inflammation and oxidative stress, with intensive diet and lifestyle changes, the body heals itself. Psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety also get better.”

For those interested in learning more about living a sustainable and holistic lifestyle, Scheinbaum is hosting an event with Hyman—Emerging Approaches to Combatting Chronic Illness: Getting Healthy Within Your Community, at 1 p.m., October 21, at the DoubleTree Hotel, in Skokie.

Sandra Scheinbaum, Ph.D., is the owner of Feed Your Mind Wellness, located at 1732 First St., in Highland Park. For more information, call 847-604-2752 or visit FeedYourMindWellness.com.

Megy Karydes is a professional writer who is always on the hunt for great stories. Find her at KarydesConsulting.com.