My birth family has diabetes- big time. My dad developed it in his 50's. My mom developed it in her 60's. As best as I can figure out without directly asking, both my older brothers developed it in their 40's, and are both insulin dependent. My younger sister developed it the earliest, in her early 40's, and my youngest brother has been cautioned that if he didn't do something to change the path he was on, that he would develop it, too.
Our dad existed with the ravaging effects of diabetes for 20 years, getting worse and worse. His eyes were greatly affected by the disease, as well as his feet. He had lost the feeling in his hands, and couldn't feel anything up to his knees. His last three years were spent on dialysis. He actually out-lived the docs' expectations. He was a superhero.
Why am I the only sibling without diabetes?
Twenty years ago, I decided to change my diet, and as a result, my sugar levels are perfect. You see, the Lord sent me a message over the airwaves. It went something like this: "Women who have at least three years of college have a better diet." That's me, I thought, I've been to college. I'm a woman. I can do this! From then on, I decided to research and implement better nutrition.
How to avoid diabetes
The first thing we did was to start grinding our own wheat, using an electric mill. The initial investment was costly, but well worth it. Buying 50lb bags of wheat berries, I started baking my own bread, and grinding my own wheat to replace store bought, worthless white flour. (White flour is dead- all the nutrients are gone, so there is no nutrition left. Even insects won't eat the stuff!)
Then I began to serve a salad at every meal. Using nutrition-packed Romaine lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, and red peppers makes for quite a tasty salad. Did you know that there are carbs in vegetables? So- salad can help fill up the bellies of those hungry children. Not to mention all the health benefits of fresh/raw foods!
Then I went on the Rosedale Diet. Cutting out, or at least drastically reducing all grains such as flours, bread, pasta, barley & oats have allowed me to maintain low insulin levels. It was really hard to do, but surprisingly enough, has been fairly simple to hold. If I'm hungry, I eat nuts, salad or an apple.
The last sweeping change I made to my diet was to include healthy oils. I now make my own salad dressing using olive oil, and I'm not afraid to use it. (Oils help to fill you up, believe it or not.) I got into a cooperative buy of a 55 gallon drum of coconut oil to replace cooking oil. (Coconut oil has its own fantastic health benefits. More on that later.) I even take cod liver oil. (Loads of benefits there, too!)
The best change is slow change
If you are in crisis, then make your changes quickly. If you are young and can afford to take the time to do it slowly, the change will stick better. I'm not a purist, but because I have made such good progress in better eating, my insulin levels can afford some treats.
Know the signs
The overt signs of diabetes are an unquenchable thirst, frequent urination (duh!), weight loss or gain, blurred vision, or falling into a diabetic coma. But there are subtle warning signs that can alert you that trouble is on the horizon. Whenever I feel like I have "hit a brick wall", I'll think back and realize that I have eaten poorly prior to the event, and my sugar levels dropped too low. This warns me to stop allowing myself the privilege of getting off track, and I know that I must severely limit my carbs once again. Swollen ankles or hands indicate a lack of protein. So I'll eat an egg or some cheese, and that always eliminates the swelling. Lack of focus is another indicator of too many "treats". I know, I know-- it's better to always be perfect, but hey, pobody's nerfect!!
Diabetes can be reversed
As long as you aren't too far gone, it's as simple as this: no grains, no sugar, more veggies, and add good oils (uncooked olive oil, cooked/uncooked coconut oil).
Now isn't that practical?
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