Feature: Interview with Dr Owusu Bempah on his diabetes breakthrough discovery

Diabetes has become one of the deadly and prevalent diseases in the world. Several lives have been lost through this disease in all parts of the world.

In Ghana, according to the Ghana Diabetes Association about “4 million people suffer from diabetes and out of that 3.7 million die annually”.

In order to reduce the number of people who contract the disease, on November 4 every year Ghana joins the rest of the world to mark World Diabetes Day. The day is used to create awareness on the disease and people also undergo health screening to check their statuses.

Experts also educate the public on the dangers related to the disease and how to be safe.

Here is a playback of excerpts from an interview with Dr. Bempah, one of Ghana's renowned scientist.

Below are excerpts from the interview

CA. Congratulations doctor. I hope you had a successful conference.

Dr Bempah: Thank you. The congress was a medical conference, mainly for medical doctors. As you know, I am not a medical doctor but a research scientist who has discovered a product of interest to doctors and their patients. Yes, it was good to participate and my paper was received well.

CA. Now, my interest is in how your discovery will help people who are now suffering from diabetes. Many are suffering. Some can’t even walk. Some get amputated and those who cannot afford the cost of amputation die of their sores. Dialysis is costly in Ghana, but how to manage kidney failure. Some people with diabetes go blind. Can your discovery help any of these people?

Dr Bempah. The disability suffered by these people is bad enough. But they are also unable to fully participate in economic activities to support themselves. So they and their loved ones suffer double jeopardy.

I believe what our people need is education. There are two sets of diabetes complications. The one based on glucose concentration in the blood plasma (short term) and the other, long-term, chronic complications, as I have discovered, is based on polyuria.

The short-term complications depend on blood plasma glucose concentration: too much or too low; and you are in trouble. For example, eating plantain and plantain products quickly raises the level of glucose in your blood plasma and can result in the patient fainting or going into a coma (hyper) shortly after. Meals like mash plantain (eto), boiled plantain (apesie), mushed ripe plantain, plantain fufu, all fall into this category. So if at all possible, diabetes patients must avoid eating plantain and banana.

CA. You mean plantain is not good for diabetes patients? But the doctors say the opposite. They say we must eat only plantain.

Dr Bempah: Banana and plantain contain enzymes that convert carbohydrate to glucose. These add to the body’s own enzymes to hasten the conversion of carbohydrate to glucose. Quick carbohydrate-glucose conversion is bad for the diabetic. Besides, people must use their common sense. If you eat plantain or kelewele and end up in hospital or your sugar level shoots up the next day, you must advise yourself; no matter what anyone says.

Low plasma blood glucose concentration also causes fainting or coma (hypo). For Ghanaians, the most frequent cause is fasting: as a religious obligation or during bereavement.

Then, there is the long-term chronic diabetes complications which usually occur after a period of time (5 - 40 years) of diagnosis.

My discovery is about the long-term chronic diabetes complications and not about diabetes. That is, I have no cure for diabetes mellitus or diabetes insipidus. I have discovered the cause of diabetes complications and treatment to cure and prevent their manifestation.

CA. OK If you have not discovered the cure for diabetes, but know the cause of diabetes complications and how to treat them, are you saying the complications can be cured even as the patient continues to suffer from diabetes?

Dr Bempah: Precisely. The tablets I have formulated and made cure all early symptoms of long-term chronic diabetes complications and prevent further manifestation if used continuously. Sores on any part of the body, including the gum, are healed; blurred vision is restored to normal; chronic swollen feet and ankles (symptoms for kidney failure) stop. “Burning feet syndrome”, numbness in feet, leg and thighs stop; the pains you feel when you wake up in bed but stop a few minutes after you get out of bed are also cured. In fact, the therapy cures all perceived symptoms, including erectile dysfunction. It is recommended that the patient take the tablets alongside the medications prescribed for controlling the blood sugar level.

CA. You mean the same one tablet cures all these symptoms. Wow!

Dr Bempah.Yes. It is logical, isn’t it? If polyuria causes these different organs to fail, then having understood how polyuria causes tissue damage and designed the therapy that cures one symptom in any one organ; the same therapy must cure all symptoms of diabetes complications in all organs. This has been demonstrated in an Open Trial over seven years.

CA. Is the tablet available in Ghana?

Dr Bempah:Yes, It is registered with GFDA and available through our agent in Ghana.

CA. How can you be reached if people need to contact you for further information and advice?

Dr Bempah:through my email: kb436@outlook.com