Thank you Barbara!!!!
As a teenager, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. For most of the time since, I had thought that I understood nutrition, and was fanatical about “managing the disease” using insulin injections. What a cruel joke, in retrospect! And what an antithetical paradigm to that of “health and wellness”.
Thankfully, over the past couple of years I have been REALLY learning about nutrition. If you are reading this here, you are probably aware that there is quite an astonishing gulf between true nutritional knowledge, and that promulgated by the AMA/USDA/FDA!
In my reading, I had kept coming across references of pH and its relationship to cancer, etc. Long story short, around Sept./Oct. 2014, I finally eliminated from my diet the following:
• Deep-fried foods
• White flour
• Refined sugars
What an eye-opening experience; reading ingredient lists while shopping with this in mind! You all know what I learned:
• Most “whole grain” products… aren’t even close.
• The second or third ingredient in most food products is… refined sugar. This-ose or that-ose. Or corn syrup. Or starch. Or “evaporated cane juice” (really?!?). Or white flour, which is practically the same from a metabolic and nutritional viewpoint.
• And this isn’t even counting the long lists, of long Latin words that can basically be translated as “agent orange”.
• Then of course, it has to be deep-fried in oil! Another empty calorie. With sugar on top.
OK maybe that’s a bit cynical, but WOW! Like I said, I had thought for my whole life that I ate healthy.
Soon after making these dietary changes, I began to notice changes in my metabolism. It seemed that all body fat quickly melted off of me, although I was never overweight by normal standards. I had no idea at first… but my body was beginning to heal from the diabetes. “Traditional” doctors of course, know that this is “impossible”.
At times, I would be overcome with a strange weakness and fatigue throughout the day and evening. I figured… “Well, I guess it’s the lack of rocket-fuel-carbohydrates from my diet. I’ll adjust.” Over time, I realized that I was needing to reduce my insulin dosages substantially. And when I experience this strange exhaustion, that’s my sign to reduce it further. Even if my blood-sugar levels are not crashing down low from too much insulin. I have some theories about the science now… but who cares? 🙂
May/June of 2015, I was reducing my insulin so rapidly that I expected to be insulin-free around my birthday at the end of July! However, it was about that time that… WHAM!!! Like hitting a brick wall, the reductions halted and I actually had to increase the dosages again over the next couple of months. That was a rough couple of months; it made no sense at all to me.
It was about that time that I was emailing with Barbara, and she recommended a doctor/author; Joel Fuhrman. “Yeah, sure… another vegan.” I had been a vegan around 20 years ago! And in retrospect, a very unhealthy individual at that time.
My goodness, the power of knowledge! Until that time, I basically had NO IDEA of the importance of “micro-nutrients”, as opposed to “macro-nutrients”. The dietitians in my past had only educated me about the latter, pertaining specifically to diabetes. “Fast carbs, not-so-fast carbs, starch, protein, fat. Lather, rinse, repeat. Long live the AMA.” I basically thought that people ate vegetables, only to fill up and avoid eating more potato chips and deep-fried Oreos!
Part way through Dr. Fuhrman’s book “The End of Diabetes”, I bought some fresh spinach/arugula mix, kale, radishes, baby carrots, onions, mushrooms, fruits, etc. Woowwww! I swear that within a day I felt quite a change in my health, mental clarity and metabolism. For the first time that I remember, I have a normal cycle of hunger and sleepiness. Also, I’ve noticed that I crave these foods while desiring meat a lot less than previously. This was maybe a month ago –I am definitely down the rabbit-hole! And… once again rapidly reducing my insulin dosages. I’m currently back to where I was at the pinnacle of the reductions in July. This is without a doubt the next puzzle piece of my healing.
I am convinced that with continued learning, fitness discipline, and faith in the healing nature of God and our bodies I am back on track to being injection-free. It is absolutely miraculous how our bodies can heal, if we simply let them and avoid sabotaging ourselves with the horrendous diet that is so common in our society. Aahhhh… The Enemy’s Siren-Song of Socialism and Wonder Bread. But I digress! When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
THANK YOU BARBARA ! ! ! !
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