My successes with reducing A1C, weight and bad cholesterol

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I was diagnosed as DT2 in June, 2017. At that time my A1C was 8.1 and I weighed 197 pounds. Over the next 4 months I ate shamrock clover out of my yard. I also ate small, low glycemic load meals every hour or two. In October, 2017, my A1C was 5.4, I weighed 177 pounds and my good collestrol was higher than it has ever been and bad collestrol was 67.

I have continued to use herbs to detox my blood, liver and kidneys. It is February, 2018, and my weight is 167 pounds and I continue to loss weight.

My next fasting blood work will be next week. I will keep you posted.
and maybe some of this will work for you!

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Congrats! I’m not well-versed on the management methods of T2 diabetes, but an A1c of 5.4 is great!

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And I did it without exercise (other than my typical activities like some walking and some stair climbing)! My triglycerides also went into the good/normal range. I think of this diabetes as an adventure/discovery trip on the way to balanced blood gloucose levels.

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Its great that you have been able to get you blood glucose under control through diet. There is a pretty good T2 book on this Blood Sugar 101 by Jenny Ruhl.

As you get your BG under control so should your cholesterol ratio. A high ldl goes hand in hand with high BG. Fix the BG and usually the ldl will fix itself.

What I would suggest is that you get your AGP for a month or so which is very easy now since the Libre was approved. This will give you really good insight and let you better plan your next steps forward.

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THANK YOU. This is the type of information that I need.

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Great job!

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At the basics, what you are experiencing is that your body is not making enough insulin for its needs.

By reducing the after meal sugar spike which you are doing through diet, you do not need the robust release of insulin which your pancreas has lost.

If you can keep a near non-diabetic glucose time in range there is a pretty good chance you will have some beta cell regeneration. The AGP will provide a picture of your glucose levels to what you are eating. Make sure to keep a food log.

The closer to non-diabetic time in range the better long term results you should see. A good walk to help insulin sensitivity will also help as this too will help off load insulin requirements put on the pancreas.

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My process of gaining control a decade ago was similar. I found Bernstein’s super low carb approach worked well for me. And it still does. I do a few herbs in support–Fenugreek and Nopal powder, but generally let food and gentle exercise do the work.

My A1c has stayed between 4.9 and 5.4 for this decade. It has hit 5.6 recently, but it is pretty easy to track that to the ongoing trauma of my broken femur which is (since I fell in mid-October last) the worst, slowest healing injury I have endured—even in my 40 years as a professional dancer, during which I went through 3 knee surgeries and a full knee replacement, as well as a broken clavicle.

I’m sure your continuing efforts will pay off. There are many myths out there about T2—not surprising since I have long believed “If you want to treat diabetes ‘by the book’ you must write a new book for every diabetic.” That also means, if your current routine seems to not work at some point, don’t be afraid to experiment with adjustments. Our bodies evolve, after all…

I wish you well in your efforts…Judith in Portland

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The folks here at TuDiabetes are wonderful and full of valuable information. I thank you all for your knowledge, support and empathy.

Much appreciated,
Jan in Jackson, NH

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If you add in chromium at your main meals that is a co-factor that needs to attached to the molecule of insulin before it attaches at a muscle cell’s receptor site and if the blood sugar is not getting into muscles it gets put into fat without the need for chromium. The best way to ensure you have the preceptor sites available at the cell wall is to use up the glucose inside the muscles as that forces the glucose transporters to go to the inside of the cell wall and activate the receptors from the inside then you need the chromium to attach with insulin at the outside of the cell for the glucose to enter muscle cells. That is why exercise improves glucose sensitivity for everyone. Thus is explained in Dr Bernstein’s book which i have bought three editions of over the years. He explains the glucose transporters but ignores the factor of the chromium. I’ve used the chromium since 1986. Dr Julian Whitaker suggests diabetics take in 1000 mcg a day. I most often use 500 mcg daily since 1986 and my weight averaged 130 lbs for most of my life at 5’6".

Chromium is an essential co factor and to take it in supplement form is about 5c a tablet of 500 mcg. To get it in vegetables is harder to do but broccoli is a good source but it depends on the soil it is grown in and how depleted it already is. It takes a huge amount of broccoli to get to that level.

So know that also the book Dr Dr Jason Fung explains things and his youtube vidoes will give you lots to go on.

I also highly regard Dr John Bergman’s videos and Dr Eric Berg. Dr Josh Axe is also great.

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Chromium is certainly one piece of a very complex puzzle…

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Judith, was it you who mentioned Fennugreek as a means to stabilize blood sugars? If so, how do you use it? Or do you have success with other supplements?

Much appreciated,

Jan Fish

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Yes–but remember that we are all different. When I decide to introduce something new, I take my time about it–up to 3 months. Some things will show immediate results–ranging from nausea and/or diarrhea to sleeplessness or lethargy—other things will indeed take several months to manifest in your regimen–whether they are good, bad or indifferent, so you need to have a system for tracking changes…

For years, I maintained that if I had to pare it down to just one supplement, it would be dandelion root–really all-around good general system support, liver in particular. I also love to eat the greens in salads in the spring!

Since I took a tumble that broke my femur back in October–that is still debilitating–I am “religious” about taking Calcium Carbonate and Vit D.

My current faves for diabetes control that also provide general support are Nopal powder (prickly pear cacti) and apple cider vinegar…Gymnema and Red Yeast Rice. And I fear UTIs when I can’t drink cranberry juice or eat the berries because they spike my blood sugar, so I take a simple cranberry supplement—if you can drink the juice with no spike, that is probably better…

Do check your food intakes and what they provide. Some of these things might be completely unnecessary.

Oh and as you age, be sure a doc is regularly checking that your Vit D levels are appropriate. Mine got so low, unbeknownst to me, that when I fell, it was because of a brief moment of dizziness due to Vit D deficiency and the broken femur result caused 10 days in the hospital, 5 weeks in a nursing facility and will still be a problem up to a year later!

Sorry to run-on. Take care and check things out with your medical support. Some of these things they won’t know about, many they won’t care about. So do your research and introduce them one at a time so YOU can more easily track reactions in your body!

Blessings, as ever, and good luck…Judith in Portland…