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Recently in diabetes Category
Imagine being able to diminish the miserable symptoms that come with allergies: the sneezing, the sinus infections, the runny nose, the itchy eyes and throat. For the very first time this spring, I can attest to being allergy free and I am attributing this miracle to something not so magical: it's simply about my food choices.
Since I was diagnosed with Diabetes, I've dramatically changed my eating habits. I have cut out all grains and instead have daily portions of almonds, pecans, some walnuts and Brazil nuts (these particular nuts are low in carbohydrates as opposed to nuts like cashews). Soymilk (unsweetened), tofu, lots of garlic, egg whites are included in my daily diet as well as lots of vegetables (kale, spinach, arugula, chard, asparagus, red bell pepper, jalapeños).
For snacks, I eat half to a whole apple, berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries), a half of a not-so-ripe banana.
The amount of sugar/carbohydrates I eat is about 100 to 110 carbohydrates a day. I end the day with 3 TBLSP's of apple cider vinegar to avoid the "Dawn Phenomenon" which is known among those with Diabetes as a high glucose blood count in the morning. My friend, David Mendosa, who is a freelance journalist and consultant specializing in Diabetes has written about this (click here for his article) and I can attest to the power of vinegar! (A look through David's website will also inform you on so many aspects regarding Diabetes. David is also quite strict on carbohydrate daily counts. He will tell you my 100-110 carbohydrate count can stand for further trimming. I'm working on that).
Gentle Reader--I'm writing you about this because I'm completely amazed that for the first time EVER-- I am not experiencing any kind of hay fever allergies right now. Between the beginning of April and the beginning of June--I have horrible allergies here in Lincoln, Nebraska. Some years it's been so bad, I've developed a sinus infection that took two weeks to clear up with antibiotics (and you know how antibiotics wreak havoc in the body as a side effect).
But this spring, lo and behold, I am allergy free. I am doing the unimaginable: riding my bike, walking outside at this time of year when every year prior to this one, I have kept myself indoors, been on all kinds of drugs, etc. What we choose to eat is vital to our health in so many ways!! I so wish I had been eating like this years ago.
My discoveries continually encourage me to question our national diet, our continual penchant for processed foods which contain such high amounts of carbohydrates and processed grains. Fructose is now in every processed food we buy.
I also wanted to send you an article that coincides with what I have discovered:this article (click here) discusses the connections between food and allergies.
Carbohydrates (sugar, fructose, glucose, etc.) are so very dangerous. But food corporations will continue to sell us processed foods, will continue to work toward manipulating your palate so that your body craves more sugar all the time. And once they have you craving carbohydrates, it's hard to stop. And then you get sick and then your money is going toward medicines, doctor bills. They want us to be sick.
Fight it. I say read David Mendosa's website whether you have Diabetes or not. Diabetes is genetic (that's why I have it) but Diabetes is now becoming an epidemic. People are developing Diabetes without the genetic inclination for it. Why? Because we are exhausting our pancreas with the overwhelming amount of carbohydrates embedded in every processed food you buy at the store.
Unless you have stopped buying prepared food and are cooking your own food, you are eating too many carbohydrates.
It's tough to stop eating processed foods. It's a huge commitment to learn to cook in a much more healthy way. But it's worth it. It gets easier and your sense of taste is more alive. I send you good wishes for much more healthy eating!
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If you're worried about a coming apocalypse in 2012, you might want to look instead at what you ate today. Media hype about the Mayan Long Count Calendar pointing to a global cataclysm and propagandist films like Roland Emmerich's 2012 can easily distract us from focusing on what is truly an encroaching global disaster: our diet. The foods we choose to consume are slowly contributing to a global epidemic that will not come with a cataclysmic bang but a slow debilitating disease: Diabetes.
A diabetic individual may (type 1) not be able to produce insulin at all or (type 2) produces insulin in amounts that are inefficient (either too much or too little). Insulin is the key hormone/protein which assists in transforming glucose into energy. When glucose/sugar continually remains in the bloodstream without getting processed, the kidneys, heart, nerves, eyes can become damaged. People die not from "diabetes" but from "complications from diabetes." It is a complex disease that affects various areas of the body making it a serious and crippling disease. An article in the journal Diabetes Care explains that "The number of adults with diabetes in the world is estimated to increase by 122 percent, from 135 million in 1995 to 300 million in 2025 . . . Without sustained and cooperative education and government outreach, the prevalence of diabetes will reach epidemic proportions by 2025."
This serious increase in diabetes is due (1) to the global corporatization of pre-processed foods (very high in sucrose and fats) and (2) a sedentary lifestyle. Easy to fix you may say--just eat organic local foods and move your body. Easy for those who can afford organic, locally grown food. When McDonalds or KFC is offering dollar meals while a pound of organic green beans is $3.50 and you've got a family of 2, 3, or 4 and you're working two jobs and don't have time to cook--which are you going to choose?
I think about this and wonder--how did we get to this point in our global society? The media and Hollywood may advertise the coming of 2012 but I fear what we have become right now in 2009. There IS hope!! I don't want to sound so dire. There ARE many many people/organizations who are questioning AND doing something about our pre-processed and sedentary world. And when I say "sedentary" I do not mean laziness. I am thinking of people in factory jobs who are sitting or standing and doing the same "action" over and over (wrapping, cutting, stuffing, inspecting) but not working/exercising their whole body. I am also thinking of our children--the next generations who are already so addicted to their computers, video games, i-phones, i-pods, wii---that they are loathe to take a walk, to eat a home-cooked meal.
Sooo--I am including here, a number of books on this subject if you want to join me in working toward a non-preprocessed, active world! Forget 2012. Let's prevent a diabetic epidemic in 2025!
If you have a favorite book that is not on this short list, please share! Happy healthy eating and exercising to you all!!
p.s. If you click on the book Eating Animals, check out author Jonathan Safran Foer's two-minute description of his book--picture below--on Amazon, you can hear it.
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