Why Diabetes Is Really a Broken Heart Waiting to Happen
- Jan 1
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 2
Dr. David Lee Sheng Tin, author of Master Your Emotions – Transform Your Life, guides professionals and leaders to rise above stress, cultivate emotional intelligence, and live with clarity and purpose through a fusion of ancient and modern wisdom.
Do you personally know someone living with diabetes? A parent, a sibling, a close friend, or even yourself? For so many families, especially across Indo-Caribbean and South Asian communities, diabetes isn’t just a medical condition. It’s an emotional weight. A silent fear. A constant presence shaping how we live, eat, sleep, and hope for tomorrow.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, 1 in 8 people worldwide now live with diabetes[1], and for those with South Indian ancestry, the risk is significantly higher even at a normal weight.[2] Add family history or high blood pressure, and the risk deepens.
Most people with diabetes do not die from diabetes itself. They die from heart disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes. A heart attack or stroke, not high glucose, often claims their life.
Here is the reason: High blood sugar damages arteries from the inside out. Diabetes accelerates atherosclerosis. High blood pressure and high cholesterol cluster around diabetes. Nerve damage hides symptoms.
Stress: The hidden accelerator of heart attacks in diabetics
If glucose is the spark, stress is the gasoline.
Stress hormones spike blood sugar, constrict blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and intensify inflammation. Studies show that relaxation practices including Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduce stress hormones, lower blood pressure, and support cardiovascular resilience.[3]
Your genes are not your destiny
One of the most hopeful scientific breakthroughs of our time is epigenetics: the discovery that lifestyle choices can turn genes on or off. Even if you inherited a predisposition for diabetes or heart disease, you can change how those genes behave. Research shows diet, movement, stress, and emotional patterns shape how genes express themselves.[4] This isn’t wishful thinking. It’s biological empowerment. It means you are not powerless. Your daily choices and thoughts can alter your gene expression.
Ayurveda: Ancient wisdom aligning with modern cardiology
Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old system of natural medicine, offers insights that modern medicine is only beginning to validate. It explains diabetes as:
an imbalance in the doshas ( the fundamental energies that govern the body and mind: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha )
a weakening of digestive fire (Agni)
accumulation of metabolic toxins (ama)
disruption of circulation and metabolic flow
This understanding naturally links diabetes to heart disease centuries before cardiology existed.
Herbs like turmeric, fenugreek, and holy basil show measurable benefits for glucose control and cardiovascular stress.[5] [6] [7] [8] Warm, freshly cooked foods and mindful eating are core Ayurvedic principles optimize digestion and reduce metabolic strain,[9] protecting both blood sugar and the heart.
Why lifestyle change feels so hard (and how to make it easier)
Most people know what they "should" do. The real challenge is doing it consistently. This is why self-awareness and self-mastery are more powerful than willpower.
Self-awareness shows you your emotional triggers, your stress patterns, and the habits you perform on autopilot. Self-mastery helps you interrupt destructive impulses, build healthier routines, make choices that align with your values and rewire emotional and neural patterns. When you integrate both, healthy living becomes less of a battle and more of a natural expression of who you’re becoming.
Without self-awareness, and self-mastery, even the best health advice collapses. With it, transformation becomes easier.
Here is a three-phase transformation activity to assist you.
Phase 1 – Awareness: Track meals, sleep, emotions, stress triggers, and activity for one week.
Phase 2 – Take action: Start with small, sustainable changes: swap a processed food for a whole food. Walk 15 minutes after meals. Set fixed sleep times. Practice TM, yoga, or breathwork.
Phase 3 – Create identity shift: This is where you move beyond behavior change to becoming someone who naturally makes healthy choices. Emotional balance, metabolic health, and self-mastery become your new normal not something you're "working on." Together, these skills support healthier routines and mindful choices that become automatic over time. You move from struggling with willpower to living in alignment with your values, where healthy choices feel natural rather than forced.
Lasting health begins not with a diet, but with awareness. When you cultivate inner clarity, every external choice becomes easier. Your heart listens to your emotions. Your genes respond to your habits. Your future opens. And no matter where you’re starting from, you are far more powerful and far more capable of healing than you’ve ever been told.
David Lee Sheng Tin, Author, Coach, Health/Lifestyle Consultant
Dr. David Lee Sheng Tin bridges ancient wisdom with modern science to unlock human potential from the inside out. As a certified Transcendental Meditation Teacher, integrative health coach, and published author, he guides high-performers and conscious leaders beyond the trap of external achievement into a life of sustainable success and profound inner peace. As the author of Master Your Emotions – Transform Your Life, he inspires others to rise above stress, reconnect with themselves, and create meaningful, fulfilling lives through Self-Mastery.
References & Further Reading:
[1] International Diabetes Federation (IDF). (2024). IDF Diabetes Atlas (11th ed.). Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation.A comprehensive global report outlining diabetes prevalence, risk factors, and regional trends.
[2] Misra, A., & Ganda, O. P. (2007). Migrant Asian Indians: Ethnic diversity, nutritional considerations, and implications for health. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 92(6), 1967–1972.Explores genetic and lifestyle factors contributing to diabetes risk in South Asian populations.
[3] Gupta, R., et al. (2019). Diabetes and cardiovascular disease in South Asians: An emerging epidemic. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 148, 7–15.Examines the heightened cardiometabolic risk among South Asians and the links to heart disease.
[4] Feinberg, A. P. (2018). The key role of epigenetics in human disease prevention and development. Nature, 553(7689), 427–437.A groundbreaking review on how lifestyle and environment influence gene expression.
[5] Schneider, R. H., et al. (2012). Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: Randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 5(6), 750–758.Clinical evidence showing how deep meditation practices improve cardiovascular outcomes.
[6] Zheng, Y., et al. (2017). Turmeric and curcumin in metabolic regulation: A review. Food & Function, 8(2), 833–847.Discusses turmeric’s role in reducing inflammation and supporting metabolic health.
[7] Neelakantan, N., Narayanan, M., de Souza, R. J., & van Dam, R. M. (2014). Effect of fenugreek intake on glycemia: A meta-analysis of clinical trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 100(2), 495–510.Research demonstrating fenugreek’s impact on blood sugar control.
[8] Jamshidi, N., & Cohen, M. M. (2017). The clinical efficacy and safety of Tulsi in humans: A systematic review. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 8(3), 189–193.A review of Tulsi’s therapeutic benefits on glucose, stress, and immunity.
[9] Nagpal, R., & Kaur, A. (2019). Gut microbiota and metabolic health: The role of diet, digestion, and Ayurvedic dietary principles. Journal of Functional Foods, 60, 103–115.Explores how digestion and gut health influence metabolism—aligning closely with Ayurvedic teachings.
