That type 2 diabetes is on the increase in the world is commonly known. It has had an enormous amount of publicity because of the impact it has on the health and well-being of so many people, not to mention the costs associated with caring for people who are afflicted with the disease. Not many people know that this disease is directly related to the pancreas.

The pancreas is a fish-shaped, spongy organ positioned behind the stomach and close to the duodenum, the upper part of the small intestine. It manufactures juices and hormones, including insulin, which control the amount of sugar in the blood. The juices are enzymes that play a vital role in the digestion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in food in the small intestine. It also puts glucagon into the blood stream, which along with insulin, controls the level of glucose. Glucagon has the opposite effect of insulin in that it increases the glucose level in the blood.

• Pancreatitis – an inflammation of the pancreas. This is a very painful disease; attacks usually come on suddenly and last for a short period of time. They usually resolve themselves. They can become chronic, however, and will not resolve themselves, leading to a slow destruction of the pancreas.
• Pancreatic Cancer – cancer cells are found in the pancreas. Chances of coming down with pancreatic cancer increase with age and smokers are two or three times more likely to get it than non-smokers. Diabetics have more pancreatic cancer than non-diabetics.
• Diabetes – both type 1 and type 2. Both forms are lifelong diseases, but type 1 comes on early and does not seem to have any preconditions as type 2 does. Type 2, for instance, seems to occur as a result of unhealthy eating habits and a lack of physical activity.

The best thing a person can do to avoid diseases of the pancreas is to follow a diet made up predominantly of raw foods. For example, type 2 diabetes is directly linked to poor dietary habits. When large amounts of cooked foods that have lost their natural enzymes are pumped into the digestive system, the pancreas works very hard to maintain the balance required, leading over time to the malfunctioning that leads to diabetes as well as to inflammation and eventually possibly cancer of the pancreas, itself.

Raw foods have a natural balance of enzymes, nutrients, and vitamins. Once they are cooked, they lose these valuable qualities, and the digestive system must try to make up for this loss. When the digestive system begins to break down because of the demands being made on it, the diseases that arise from the malfunctioning of the pancreas are likely to occur.

Lloyd Bloomberg, 66, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of 2005 and was given two months to live. Surgery was not considered because he is diabetic and has heart problems. Chemotherapy was also ruled out. His stepdaughter, Ann Pringle Burnell, found a clinic in New York run by Dr. Nicholas Gonzales, who treats pancreatic cancer patients metabolically through nutrition, detoxification, and pancreatic enzymes.

By TTS Cofounder Botanical Chef Omid Jaffari