Jan. 31, 2007
Super Bowl Party and a Diet
Well, this will be the year of all years for a Super Bowl party for our family. We both grew up in northern Indiana, and were huge Bear fans. In our high school years the Colts came to Indy and we started going to Colts games too. So, for us no mater who wins we are happy! There for our party is more about the snacks ! If you have been reading my blog you will know my dh and I have successfully reversed his diabetes to the point his blood work was so good he was not able to continue in his drug study program any more. The best part is we both have lost a lot of weight and feel wonderful. It's all about eating the right foods. With that in mind I came across a recipe from the Diabetes Center on http://www.everydayhealth.com/publicsite/index.aspx?puid=3342170E-DB3E-4939-B49B-AF965FF7DDAE&IsP=18825&ct=Diabetes and I thought I would share. We have found that Snyder's makes a no saturated or trans fat taco chip so we will treat our selves to a few of those for our party with this dip.
Black Bean Salsa |
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Reproduced with permission from "ADA Cookbooks" |
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Jan. 19, 2007
How we lost our weight
I have had several people comment what a drastic difference they can see in my husband and my weight loss. The next thing they say is how did you do it? I tell them to stop by my blog and look under my diet articles. I am adding to my side bar a link to a book that really helped me change our eating lifestyle. It's called REVERSING DIABETES, by Julian Whitaker, MD. My husband was a diabetic taking part in clinical studies for new drugs. He was not getting better, matter of fact he was worsening. So, I took matters in my own hands and changed the way we eat. It's about choosing whole foods, lots of high fiber carbs, fresh fruit and vegetables and just a little meat. My husband has lost over 30 lbs and as a benefit I have gone from a size 8 to a 4. We have been eating differently since September and can't imagine going back to the way we felt physically, no more sluggish feelings, our get up and go is in full gear now. 
Oh, and by the way, my husband was dismissed from the clinical drug studies because he no longer had the blood work of a diabetic.
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Oct. 21, 2006
diet - recovery from type 3 diabetes
Well, it's been a while since I've reported in on our diet. I am pleased to say our new lifestyle of buying and eating whole foods is making a vast difference. My husband and I both are going to buy new jeans this week. We can pull off our old jeans easily without unbuttoning them, another week and we might loose them while walking. 
We have not monitored my husbands sugar levels because he is out of $80 testing strips but we can tell by absence of symptoms that he is doing much better. He has been sleeping through the night the past few weeks for the first time in years. His excess sweating has stopped also.
I can warn you, if you go to a whole food diet like ours it will take your body about 3 weeks to regulate. I delt with a constant dull head ache for two + weeks.
I have gotten whole wheat grinding and baking down to a science now. High fiber is very important to stabilize blood sugar. The only bread we eat is 100% fresh ground wheat. I'll post an article on that later. For now here is an article that I am applying concepts from into our eating. We take Flax Oil pills with breakfast and dinner then Fish Oil with lunch. I only cook with coconut oil and olive oil. I have been using Bragg's raw apple cider for my vinegar on salads. We also have eliminated pork out of our diet and trying to eat a lot of raw fruit and vegetables each day. For a sweet treat we use our Magic Bullet for frozen fruit smoothies each night.
How Can Type 2 Diabetics Recover From Their Illness?
Several features are common to most diabetics:
Sedentary life style
High Intake of synthetic hydrogenated transfats
Hugh intake of refined simple carbohydrates (sugar)
Absence of adequate amounts of dietary essential Omega 3 fatty acids
Inadequate body stores of trace minerals, vitamins and nutrients. When blood sugars are elevated diabetics pass large quantities of urine containing important vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Dietary repletion is difficult until blood sugar control is restored.
Processed food contains pesticides, additives, synthetic disease producing fats, sugar, and artificial sweeteners some of which are quite deleterious to health (Nutrasweet [aspartame], Sucralose, Splenda etc). If the sugar substitute is made in a factory you can be certain it is dangerous to health. Many of these contain chlorine. The best safe sweetening substance appears to be the natural substance stevia. Several of the glycosides in stevia have blood sugar lowering capability.
To regain normal blood sugar values requires:
Permanent elimination of all packaged food. This means that foods packaged in boxes, cans, bottles have objectionable contents in 90% of cases. Read labels so you can refuse to buy dangerous foods. The simplest solution is to buy only foods that will spoil. Fast foods are loaded with calories, sugar and transfats and should be avoided. All transfats must be permanently terminated. This is what caused the problem and if you return to eating transfats the diabetes will recur. In the supermarket all bottles labeled soy oil, canola oil, corn oil, saffola oil, sunflower seed oil contain dangerous transfats. Substances labeled unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are also transfats made in factories that will not spoil.
Initially get rid of all sugar intake. This means sugar, sodas, candy, pies, cakes, cookies and ice cream must go along with the packaged food. When blood sugar values have stabilized at normal values small quantities of honey and brown sugar may be added. Use safe stevia for sweetening foods.
One of the characteristics of the Type 2 diabetic is failure to progress into severe ketoacidosis, which is a medical emergency. This has been attributed to the presence of small amounts of residual insulin sufficient to prevent ketosis. This residual insulin is adequate to slowly decrease blood sugar values if the fat intake is restricted As soon as the dietary fat intake is violated there will be prompt reappearance of elevated blood sugar values and the dangerous hyperinsulinemia with the risk of arterial narrowing. Remember high insulin levels are just as dangerous as high blood sugar levels. Dietary fat needs to be restricted to 15 to 25% of total calories. This is far less than the average American's fat intake of 45% of total calories. An informed intelligent dietician can be an asset in creating low fat meals.
When my bout with Type 2 Diabetes occurred in 2000 Dr. Julian Whitaker's book "Reversing Diabetes" was a valuable resource because it contained menus for 30 days of low fat meals. After terminating the use of transfats my appetite decreased and I was able to lose 50 pounds in 6 weeks. My food intake since then has been about 70% of previous caloric intake.
Restore your body's mineral and nutrient content toward normal by taking Glucobalance or Blood Sugar Improvement Formula. These can be found in health food stores and the Tehama Clinic pharmacy phone 425-264-0059. Dr. Jonathan Wright suggests diabetics have a daily intake of the following nutrients chromium 1000 to 2000 mg., Niacin 1.5 to 2.5 mg , Niacinamide 50 to 100 mg ,Biotin 8 to 16 mg., Alpha-lipoic- acid 300 mg., Co-Enzyme Q 10-60 mg. Vitamin K 5 to 10 mg., Vitamin D -2000 I.U. daily, Vitamin E (as mixed tocopherols) 400 IU, Vitamin C 2000-3000 mg., Magnesium 300-400 mg., Vanadium 1-2 mg., Zinc 30 mg. Copper 2 mg., Manganese 5-10 mg., Most supplements will lack a few of these ingredients which can be added from another source.
Begin taking Omega 3 fatty acids. Thomas Smith currently suggests alternating 2 or 3 tablespoons of flax oil or 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed one day with one capsule of fish oil twice daily the following day. We like Barlean's flax products which can be found in health food stores. Because flaxseed has cancer preventing lignans and valuable aminoacids it has greater health values than flax oil. We like Nordic Naturals Artic Omega brand of fish oil because of the high quality controks used in it's production and it's pleasant taste. This can be ordered by phoning our fulfillment house at 1-800-416-2806 and is also found in health food stores. Both these oils supply the body with the healthy omega 3 fatty acids needed to build normal cell membranes. As the cell membranes heal the blood sugar values will improve.
Food intake initially will be ideal if large amounts of raw foods such as vegetables in salads with Bragg's raw apple cider vinegar are eaten. The food enzymes are preserved in uncooked food when it is raw.
Initially minimize dietary fats as much as possible other than the daily Omega 3 fatty acids (Flax oil, Fish oil). Baking and broiling will help. After blood sugar control has been restored butter, unrefined coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil and unrefined sesame oil may be slowly added back into the diet. The addition of these new fats should be gradual so no relapse in blood sugars from excessive fat intake occurs. Use only butter, extra virgin olive oil, and unrefined coconut oil for cooking. Add water to the olive oil and coconut oil as needed to avoid burning.
A critical cornerstone of diabetic management is regular exertion (walking, swimming. gym workouts etc.) This can be as simple as walking two miles 5 or 6 days weekly. Burning up calories by exercising greatly improves blood sugar values. If you wish to undertake strenuous exertion it is advisible to obtain an exercise treadmill test first as diabetics are notorious for having significant coronary artery arteriosclerosis without symptoms. Weight lifting increases muscle mass which facilitates greater calory burn up with exercise. Fifteen to 20 minutes of exercise after meals works very well to lower blood sugar values but should be avoided if you have chest pain (angina) after meals.
Guidelines Toward Recovery From Type 2 Diabetes
Initially all sugar needs to be eliminated. This impedes the liver's ability to transform sugar into fat. Remember, when blood sugar levels are returned to normal the insulin blood level is often still elevated. High blood insulin levels are implicated in damage to arteries Later when glucose control is well established you can add brown sugar for flavoring, dates, stevia and honey in small quantities. When sugar is added prematurely the blood sugars rise and the recovery is set back in time.
Obese patients take longer to recover blood sugar control possibly because they have larger fat reserves than thin persons. These large fat reserves contain more abnormal trans fats, which may still be used in building cell membranes. When these abnormal fats have been totally metabolized away the new forming cell membranes will be normal and sugar will again enter cells normally with return of blood sugar to normal. Continue to take flax oil and fish oil permanently.
A glucometer will be needed to monitor response to therapy. Blood sugar control can be assumed to have satisfactorily returned when blood sugar values are below 100 mg. on seven consecutive mornings. At this stage blood insulin levels are still probably elevated.
To be successful in ridding yourself of Type 2 diabetes you must change what you eat. If you continue to believe that I deserve a break today you will have great difficulty curing this disease.
To summarize: Type 2 diabetes appears to be an illness caused by abnormal fat metabolism induced by absence of Essential Omega 3 fatty acids and the presence of dangerous artificial fats in the diet. Omega 3 fatty acids are responsible for the maintenance and repair of cellular membranes. When the body lacks Omega 3 fatty acids the omega 6 and omega 9 fatty acids must be used. This results in a stiff and sticky cell membrane, instead of the usual slippery and smooth membrane. These abnormal membranes do not permit easy transport of glucose into the cell and the blood sugar stays high.
The disease is reversible with appropriate dietary changes in approximately 90% of cases. Mr. Smith is uncertain why 10% of cases fail to respond to these dietary changes. Some of these failures may be related to faulty compliance.
http://www.eidon.com/diabetes2.htm
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Sep. 30, 2006
Making lifestyle changes to lose weight and lower blood sugar
Well, the diet is going pretty good. Here are some things we are doing to make a life style change. These are taken from an article written by Dr. James Howenstine, M.D.
To regain normal blood sugar values requires:
Permanent elimination of all packaged food. This means that foods packaged in boxes, cans, bottles have objectionable contents in 90% of cases. Read labels so you can refuse to buy dangerous foods. The simplest solution is to buy only foods that will spoil. Fast foods are loaded with calories, sugar and transfats and should be avoided. All transfats must be permanently terminated. This is what caused the problem and if you return to eating transfats the diabetes will recur. In the supermarket all bottles labeled soy oil, canola oil, corn oil, saffola oil, sunflower seed oil contain dangerous transfats. Substances labeled unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are also transfats made in factories that will not spoil.
Initially get rid of all sugar intake. This means sugar, sodas, candy, pies, cakes, cookies and ice cream must go along with the packaged food. When blood sugar values have stabilized at normal values small quantities of honey and brown sugar may be added. Use safe stevia for sweetening foods.
Begin taking Omega 3 fatty acids. Thomas Smith currently suggests alternating 2 or 3 tablespoons of flax oil or 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed one day with one capsule of fish oil twice daily the following day. We like Barlean's flax products which can be found in health food stores. Because flaxseed has cancer preventing lignans and valuable aminoacids it has greater health values than flax oil. Both these oils supply the body with the healthy omega 3 fatty acids needed to build normal cell membranes. As the cell membranes heal the blood sugar values will improve. (I bought our organic flax oil tablets at Wal-Mart very inexpensive)
Food intake initially will be ideal if large amounts of raw foods such as vegetables in salads with Bragg's raw apple cider vinegar are eaten. The food enzymes are preserved in uncooked food when it is raw. (I bought my Bragg's at Kroger and go to Sam's for most of our raw veggies since I'm feeding a family of 8)
Initially minimize dietary fats as much as possible other than the daily Omega 3 fatty acids (Flax oil, Fish oil). Baking and broiling will help. After blood sugar control has been restored butter, unrefined coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil and unrefined sesame oil may be slowly added back into the diet. The addition of these new fats should be gradual so no relapse in blood sugars from excessive fat intake occurs. Use only butter, extra virgin olive oil, and unrefined coconut oil for cooking. Add water to the olive oil and coconut oil as needed to avoid burning. (I buy my olive oil from Sams and coconut oil from Wal-Mart)
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Sep. 23, 2006
The new diet
Well, maybe I shouldn't title this entry the new diet but maybe the next diet might be appropriate. My DH has battled diabetes and was able to control with diet until that 40s thing hit. He has had more trouble keeping his sugar down each year and the doctor has put him on some medication that will help boost his body to function properly. However, the medication is not a cure but a crutch and seems to make him feel bad. So, it's time we make some changes. We are going basically raw veggies/fruit, one learn meat a day and fresh ground whole wheat for a while. We are also only using olive oil and coconut oils. The hardest part has been finding a sweetener that is not chemically made. Stavia just has not been the answer for us. 
The past week or so has been a success thus far. He usually has a level around 160-170. By the end of the first week it stayed around 120 - 111. I'm still reading, researching, and tweeking our new way of eating. I'll post anything interesting I come across to share with others that are trying to loose weight or just gain a healthier lifestyle.
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