The title pretty much says it all… But my story involves a doctor who didn’t give me any help whatsoever regarding diet (in the country I was diagnosed they usually don’t even count carbs). Thanks to his incompetence I did a ton of research about how to treat diabetes online. Then I ran into the low carb diet, which is great for treating diabetes, but then I read into how processed carbs are giving us all our health problems anyway - type 2 diabetes, fatigue, heart problems, obesity, etc.
I really really took off with the health food thing, and I’ve been maintaining a blog about health food for the last four months - http://newfoodview.com . Again and again I find compelling reasons to stay on my diet (of eating real foods like our great grandparents did), which is not only great for diabetes but also great for general health.
Hi Sam,
I wouldn’t say I am a health food nut, but when my daughter was diagnosed with a wheat and gluten and fructose intolerance it sure made me change what i cooked with. I have to use fresh whenever possible but my one concession due to avaiailability and cost has been frozen vegies and fruits. I can’t do many fruits for her because of the fructose levels but the frozen vegies have been a true saver for me. I don’t do any processed foods that have been combined with anything else due to all the additives. But when you add your own spices, you know exactly what is in there. And another nice thing has been to taste vegetables i had been using for years, but am now roasting and finding a new taste. When you peel away all the processing we do to things you find some pretty amazing stuff.
I wish it had. I ate the required amounts in the old ADA diabetic exchange regimen as a child, but much of it was still packaged and processed, with tons of carbs. In the mid-90s when the ADA lightened up on sugar restrictions, so did my doctors. Then I started enjoying junk foods with my teenage friends. In college, I got a pump and now could eat “anything” I wanted as long as I bolused. My A1cs ran high, but not critically so. I never ended up in the hospital. My sugars averaged in the low 200s, but I felt like I was managing.
What changed for me was meeting and marrying a health nut who had lost 80 pounds through self-education and sheer force of will. Then I began to eliminate a good deal of crap from my diet. Gone are the days of fast food. Gone are the fried, greasy things that I used to think tasted so yummy. Now I cook nearly every meal from fresh ingredients. I buy more meat and fresh veggies than anything else. I buy organic when possible. If carbs come into the house, they are HFCS free and all whole grain. I splurge now and then and I don’t think I am totally healthy in my eating habits, but I am worlds beyond the backsliding bad habits of yesteryear. And I have A1cs in the 6s and a slimmer waistline to show for it!
I am just starting to realize that i need to drastically change my diet. I started eating a lot healthier when I was diagnosed with diabetes, but I still eat a lot of processed foods.
But diabetes did change eating into a science. When I look at food (even food in the grocery store that I am NOT buying), I start carb counting. Eating is a very technical procedure now. I have gotten used to it-- to the point where I forget that I used to eat without even thinking about it.
I had been eating what I considered to be healthfully…low fat, lots of fruits and veggies, before diagnoses. I buy organic when feasible and am trying to limit processed foods, but that all seems like the same direction I’ve always been heading. What has changed for me more dramatically is my attitude toward carbs. I thought of fat as the enemy and high quality carbs as my friend. I am trying to learn more about and do what is best for us.
I’m not there yet, but heading that way. Making a conscious effort to introduce more veggies into my family’s diet, cutting simple carbs wherever possible, buying more and more fresh & organic foods, doing a lot more freezing and cooking. I still have a long way to go in all respects, but in time… we’ll be nut’n’crunchy people!
I’m a big believer in adding cinnamon to everything!
When I read your subject, I dove right in. Your first paragraph describes my experience almost exactly. (Except that I did two tons of research
I have been trying to get others to try it, but I’m not sure my approach is conducive to getting their attention in the right way. See my post here: Why the resistance, people?
I thought I was eating healthy, getting enough exercise, taking Metformin regularly, etc. When I noticed my BGL still climbing ever so gradually. Seeing myself shooting insulin in just a few years, I renewed my efforts. I made a most remarkable discovery a little over a year ago… I wasn’t getting enough fresh fruits!! I don’t know where the ridiculous notion of fruits being bad for diabetics started, but the person responsible ought to be tarred and feathered. Since I incorporated more raw fruits and a wider variety of raw vegetables into my diet, not only did my sugar drop, it PLUNGED into the upper fifties and lower sixties for the first week. Naturally, I stopped the Metformin immediately. After that, everything settled down, and has been close to normal non diabetic standards ever since. I have been preaching the virtues of a natural foods based diet ever since. See my diabetes info page: Craig’s diabetes info page.
So, let me give you a list of benefits that I’ve noticed. Less indigestion, smooth and regular bowel movements, better eyesight, more energy, much easier glucose control, much easier weight control, better appetite control, less E.D. problems, smoother/moister skin, and (here’s the really cool part…) my fibromyalgia has practically vanished.
Nice meeting you Sam. Let’s keep spreading the word.
I’m trying to become a health nut. Up until recently I’ve resisted cooking and ate out frequently, But now that I’ve decided to get control of my diabetes (T2) I’ve been trying to prepare my own food more. I keep having to remind myself that most vegetables are things I can eat freely. I’m trying to stay away from processed foods. I’ve got much to learn!
