[Canada’s Healthy Living Guide] “Herbal Hope For Over A Million Canadian Diabetics”

BY BETH POTTER – CANADA’S HEALTHY LIVING GUIDE (Nov/Dec 1998)

Recent research from the University of Calgary shows promising natural treatment for Canada’s 1.35 million Type II diabetes suffers.
Extensive research on over eight hundred herbs known to lower blood sugar levels, by some of the world’s most prominent physicians in the field of diabetes, has produced a non-toxic therapy now available throughout Canada. Researchers have determined that a combination of three different herbal blends, as found in the product eleotin®, increases the amount of insulin secretion, improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin, and strengthens the health of the pancreas. It is believed that this treatment’s effectiveness is based on the synergy of the herbs, maintaining sugar levels naturally and without adverse side effects.

“Two weeks after taking eleotin®,
I felt as if I was walking on air.
My blood glucose level eventually dropped from 20 to 4.6″
– S. Lucan

In one study, ten severely diabetic subjects were administered this herbal combination for four to eight months. All subjects reported a substantial decrease in the blood glucose level. Seven of the ten subjects’ blood glucose levels were reduced to near normal levels and no longer required insulin treatments.
Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the body is unable to process sugar into the energy its cells need to survive and grow. There are two types of diabetes: Type I where little or no insulin is produced; and Type II where insulin is produced but not in sufficient quantities to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. Ninety percent of diabetics are Type II.
The two primary risk factors associated with Type II are weight and age. Eighty percent of the Type II diabetics are overweight; with the increase in the world’s aging populating, it is predicted that the number of Type II diabetics will increase from approximately 100 million today to 220 million by the year 2010.
Acute symptoms associated with sustained high blood glucose levels are thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss. Years of high or uncontrolled blood glucose levels can produce severe long-term complications such as arteriosclerosis, fungal infections, diabetes-related retinopathy (most common cause of blindness in the Western world), kidney disease and sensory and motor nerve damage.
The most common conventional treatment for Type II diabetes includes diet and nutrition management, exercise, oral hypoglycemic drugs and/or insulin. In many cases, diet and exercise will significantly control blood glucose levels but for those who need the drugs, the effect is only temporary and can have some serious side effects such as increased risk of cardiac problems, gastrointestinal disturbances, hypoglycemia, metabolic changes, and skin disorders.
This herbal remedy is free of side effects and can be used in combination with existing drug therapy. As with any remedy, the best results are seen when it is in conjunction with a well-balanced diet of low fat, high fiber foods, regular exercise and abstention from alcohol.
Beth Potter is a nutrition researcher and regular feature writer. For more information on Eleotin ®
call 1-604-247-2100. or email info@eastwoodcos.com

[Alberta Report] “A University of Calgary treatment helps most Type 2 diabetics”

BY MIKE BYFIELD – ALBERTA REPORT (August 24, 1998)

 

ELEOTIN®, a herbal remedy developed at the University of Calgary, offers dramatically improved control of blood glucose levels for most Type II diabetics, its promoters say. “We did the original laboratory work,” says Giwon Yoon, who chairs the U of C’s diabetes research centre. “This remedy will restore near normalcy for 70% of Type II diabetics if it is employed within six months of onset in an adult subject.”

 

ELEOTIN® is manufactured by Eastwood Bio-Medical Research Inc. Youngsoo Kim, CEO of the Vancouver-based firm, was an assistant finance professor at the University of Alberta between 1987 and 1991. He says ELEOTIN®, taken as a tea, has been in development for 19 years. “Progress was hampered by the extreme difficulty in locating a reliable supply for two herbs of the 12 that we use,” Mr. Kim comments. “Only 10 to 20 boxes per month could be produced for four years. Then last year we secured a supply source capable of sustaining monthly production at 5,000 to 6,000 boxes. A patient uses one bo every one to two months.”

 

Dr. Yoon is known for having identified a virus that causes Type I diabetes in laboratory animals. In this condition, the body’s immune system destroys the pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin. Type I sufferers, who cannot survive without insulin injections, account for 5% to 10% of all diabetics. The remainder are Type II, characterized by insulin resistance, inadequate insulin secretion or unhealthy insulin receptors. There are at least 90 million Type II diabetics in North America.

 

ELEOTIN® employs what Dr. Yoon calls a combination approach, incorporating three herbal mixtures. “Used in isolation, a single pharmaceutical substance must often be administered in a strength that has toxic side effects,” the scientist explains.  “By combining other ingredients capable of enhancing the desired effect, dosage and hence toxicity can sometimes be reduced. That is one reason for the success of this medicine.” Among other benefits, the treatment often restores normal beta cell activity.

 

Eastwood, a private company, charges US$300 per box. “The price is reasonable considering the medical benefits and limited supply,” Mr. Kim comments. Dr. Yoon says most Type II diabetics who have suffered for three to five years will respond favourably if they take ELEOTIN® for eight to 12 months. Eastwood reports that it commissioned a promising pilot test with 1,300 patients. “Very few herbal medicines have been subjected to scientific verification,” Mr. Kim says.  “ELEOTIN® has.” University Technologies International Inc., the U of C’s commercial licensing arm, announced this month that it has license the herbal treatment to Eastwood. Dr. Yoon says work is ongoing to locate precisely the right soil and climate conditions to grow the two rare plants in greater supply.

[Peace River Block News] “Alternative Diabetes Treatment in Use Locally”

BY JAMIE DIROM – PEACE RIVER BLOCK NEWS (June 19, 1998)

 

A local woman using an alternative to traditional diabetes treatments says she’s seen impressive results since she started using it.

 

Sadie Lukan started using ELEOTIN®, a herbal treatment for type two diabetes, about three weeks ago. Since then, her general health has improved, and her blood sugar level has dropped. Local businessman, Soo Cho, who distributes ELEOTIN® in Dawson Creek, and he says he’s thrilled with Lukan’s progress.

 

“I take my glucose tests four times a day,” Lukan says. “I’m really pleased.”

 

“The first time I saw a 4.5 (blood sugar level), I called him up and said ‘I feel like flying! It’s working!’”  While she says it’s worth it, the treatment isn’t inexpensive, and it’s also not the easiest to use. Unlike conventional medicines, it comes in a powdered form, which can be prepared as a tea or eaten.

 

“It’s pretty gritty,” Lukan says, “It doesn’t dissolve very well. I’m getting used to it now. The first week was pretty rough.”  Lukan says she might not have continued the treatment if she hadn’t started seeing results. “I’m a person with very little patience,” she says. “For me, it’s working, and I’m really pleased with results,” Lukan says. ” But when my sugars go up, I don’t feel nauseated lightheaded or dizzy now – before I did.”

 

It cost approximately $430 for a month’s supply of ELEOTIN®. For people suffering from less severe cases of diabetes, that cost may be considerably less – as low as $230, Cho says.

 

But for Lukan, it’s worth it. “You’re not going to enjoy your $400 if you’re laying in bed sick,” she says.

 

Cho’s wife introduced him to ELEOTIN®, at a time wen he says he didn’t know very much about diabetes. Since then, he’s learned about diabetes and he wants people who suffer from the disease to have an alternative – the profit motive is secondary, he says.

 

“This is a herbal food that works better than chemical medicine,” Cho says. It’s not entirely certain why ELEOTIN® works, or why it takes some people longer to see positive results from the treatment. Diabetics who start treatment with ELEOTIN® are recommended to continue taking their conventional medication until they start seeing results, which can take as long as three months for someone with a mild case or even longer for someone with a more serious case of the disease.

 

Denise Thomson, services coordinator for the Canadian Diabetes Association in Edmonton, says the association steers clear of herbal remedies for diabetics. ” So much of it is sort of faddish,” Thomson says. “It sort of takes off and it never really gets checked out.”

 

Anita Hyde-Williams, a pharmacist at the Wetaskiwin Health Centre agrees, and says people should exercise caution whenever taking a herbal treatment. “They’re not free of side effects,” she says, “They can interact with prescription medications.”

 

“Some of the most potent drugs have come from herbs,” Hyde Williams says.

 

Dr. Youngsoo Kim, CEO of Eastwood Biomedical Research, the company responsible for ELEOTIN®, makes no bones about it- the company doesn’t know everything about ELEOTIN®. “There are certain things we still don’t know,” Kims says.  “We don’t claim to understand fully.  “But what we know is still remarkable.”  Currently there are no know side effects to ELEOTIN®, Kims says, except for what he calls “positive side effects.” The general health of ELEOTIN® users improves, Kim says, but the most frequent testimony he hears is one that might make producers of Viagra little uneasy.

 

“The most frequent heard testimony is their sexual virility (improves),” Kim says, laughing. “We didn’t intend that!”

[BC Biotchnology Alliance] “Eastwood Bio-Medical Research Inc.”

Vancouver, August, 1998: Eastwood Bio-Medical Research Inc. (EBMR), a Canadian company has recently developed a new herbal treatment for safely controlling blood glucose levels. After numerous years of research and animal and human tests, EBMR has managed to produce a unique blend of herbs known as ELEOTIN®, (pronounced elly-o-tin). Company spokesperson Louis Picco said EBMR sees ELEOTIN® as helping to provide a solution to the global problem of diabetes affecting over 100 million people worldwide.

Initially developed at the University of Calgary, ELEOTIN® produced consistent results from both animal and human trials. In human tests, most users have experienced significant reductions in blood sugar levels. For example, one test showed an average decrease in blood glucose levels of 59% (from 405 to 164 mmol/L). The same study also revealed that seventy percent of the usersí sugar levels decreased to near normal levels. In addition, tests have shown that ELEOTIN®’s positive effects on blood glucose levels are present even 3 months after users discontinue drinking the herbal tea.

Unlike existing treatments that have only one or two modes of action, ELEOTIN® has a Combination Approach. This Combination Approach consists of three different herbal blends that increase the amount of insulin secretion, improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin, and strengthen the health of the pancreas. EBMR believes that this combination of herbs produces a synergistic effect that helps the body to maintain sugar levels naturally and without adverse side effects. ELEOTIN®’s scientific development and testing distinguish it from other types of herbal remedies. Since it is marketed as a dietary supplement, users do not require a prescription.

Due to the difficulty in securing the rare wild herbs that are free from toxic chemicals and pesticides, ELEOTIN® carries a price reflective of the quality and efficacy of the product. For a reduction in blood glucose levels and an improvement in health, users have shown they are willing to pay for a product that works.

Backing up ELEOTIN®’s scientific trials results are the testimonials from satisfied users. Preliminary users have been very pleased with this new product. They have reported that the complications they had prior to using ELEOTIN® have been eliminated or substantially relieved. One user said “my blood glucose level dropped down to 83 [from around 360 mmol/L]. My complexion was brighter, smoother than ever before. I felt as if I was walking on the air”

With its unique Combination Approach and scientific development and testing, ELEOTIN® is the natural choice for glucose control.