So I’m thinking about going to this rehab/retreat in arizona. it’s for diabetics and they teach you how to live this vegan lifestyle that will supposedly lower my bloodsugars for good. Their success rate for type 1 diabetics like myself is something like 66% and thats with getting people off of insulin alltogether. Almost everyone lowers their bloodsugars, but what if this doesn’t work for me at all! What if i’m one of the percentage that this just doesn’t work for? I’ll keepp everyone posted if i actually go through with this.
Type 1 doesn’t work that way. Dead beta cells are dead beta cells. T1s don’t make insulin. A vegan diet will not “cure.” T1s don’t ever go off insulin. They are selling you snake oil.
What’s the name of this place?
Without insulin, T1s will die. There’s no diet, lifestyle or treatment to revive beta cells. This is scam. I’d ask for data to prove their alleged success rate. Vegan diets are high carb.
I don’t want you to get sick and end up in the hospital so stay away from this place.
I figured it wouldn’t cure anything but im hoping it will get me on a diet- more of a lifestyle really that will help me to take this seriously. Ive really been on a distructive track. I am hoping that maybe it will help me to lower my blood sugars though. idk check out the website its http://www.treeoflife.nu/reversing-diabetes/21-day-reversing-diabetes/_ tell me what you think. I’m going to call them tomorrow, as of now i don’t know much more information than what’s on the website.
Read this about Gabriel Cousens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Cousens. He’s not allowed to practice medicine in AZ. There’s more research available about him & his center.
Read some good books on diabetes to get yourself on track. Dr. Richard Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution, Using Insulin by John Walsh, Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Schneier.
I went to their website. These people are rubbish. Their program is dangerous. There is no cure for diabetes. Do not give these people your money and don’t endanger your life by following their BS program. Fruits, veg, whole grains, healthier choices, smart protein choices and portion control. That’s what this takes. The power to do what’s good for you comes from within you. The tools you need to do so are all around you. Carb counting at first is a pain, but with practice you can eye-ball it. Spend the cure money on a CGMS. It’s been the best tool in the world for keeping an eye on what’s going on. The best thing I ever did was keep a food diary. I got to see how big a 30 g apple is. It also made me accountable. Did I really want to log that stack of wheat thins? I found that I was responsible for my condition and I also found that it requires a great deal of attention. Burn-out is a very real thing. You gotta get your groove back. I felt better once I got in the driver’s seat. I was really being led around by my nose. Once you get to the top of the wave, it’s easier to ride and easier to control. Spend the money on a new iPhone, download a couple of apps and data bases and make that first life-style tweak. So there’s some immediate gratification and useful tools that make keep track and looking things up that much easier. I started on a Palm and then moved over to an iPod Touch. While I was doing MDI I kept pretty meticulous records because I had the thing in my pocket all the time. I was also able to figure my insulin doses much more accurately. It doesn’t have to be a permanent thing. Once you get back in the rhythm you can use it just to calculate meal carbs. Now that I’m on the OmniPod I find I’m using just the data bases and let the pod and the CGM keep track of BG and insulin. You can do this without endangering your life to these freaks in Arizona. More and more nothing good comes from Arizona. I lived there for 11 years so I know of what I speak. 
You need to get re-inspired. Arrange a meeting with a dietitian connected with your endo and get a smarter pep talk and inspiration. The more that you can do that is covered by your insurance the better.
Thanks you guys- i see your point Pete i think i was just looking for an easy way, but easy isn’t always the best! I’m really going to make an effort to move myself along. i’m in that bad groove ive had diabetes for about 12 years, i know what to do but i’m just getting fed up and lazy! i’ll keep blogging though maybe it will help!
I’m a vegan and my diet is very low carb. I cut down from an 9.2 to a 4.9 in three months. It depends on your diet choices… Cut out refined breads, pasta, rice and potatoes and it is easy to have a low carb vegan diet.
Gabrielle, before you spend a lot of money on going to Cousens retreat, you should read his book and decide if the diet is for you - not everyone has the will power to do it. And just so you know, it is just another form of diet modification to keep your diabetes under control. As a T1, you may be able to reduce your insulin requirement but not get rid of it. His book pretty much outlines the program and actually has lots of useful diet advice for diabetic and background info on the disease (genetics etc). The book is like $20 whereas the program is like 12K I believe! I eat about 50% raw vegan on most of my days and I happy with my diet. I am T2 though and thin so my story is different than yours. I am new so I am taking Metformin now. I think the Cousens diet works because it is very low carb. (it is mostly greens) so keep an open mind. I try too and decided for myself by researching up on things first and make my decision about whether or not I think something is worth trying for me. Just because others think it is crackpot and something is different from the mainstream doesn’t mean it might not be good for me.
His book is called “There is a Cure for Diabetes”. (obviously there is no “cure” - it is just another form of diet modification that works for many people - Just an FYI: in order for the diet to work, you have to stay on it forever, you go back to eating crappy foods you will go right back to your previous diabetic state)