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Diabetes Diet
 

The Healing Foods Pyramid Developed by UMich Gets a "C" Grade

The Healing Foods Pyramid guide put together by the University of Michigan Integrative Medicine Division is a step ahead of the USDA's new pyramid in at least one area - clarity.But how does it score for your health in general?   For this, you can neglect that it is 10 storey high. But as with the USDA's new food pyramid and the Harvard School of Public Health's Healthy Eating Pyramid this one also suffers from economic dependency syndrome.   As a diabetic, I have to wonder why the healing foods pyramid (or any food guide for that matter) has to include alcohol? Now, don't jump on me yet, just hear me out...   We're talking about healing foods. Most diabetics have several things to be concerned with: high blood sugars, low blood sugars, high cholesterol, high blood pressure.   Add to that the high costs of diabetes supply, and the possibility of complications. Why should we require alcohol in our diets?For many of us who are on the Western style diet, the odds are higher for getting diabetes and heart problems.Typical Western style diets are high in fat and salt, low in fiber and tastes great. It is symbolized and popularized by our many popular fast food enterprises.   So why is the University of Michigan including alcohol in a food guide? Why include a dangerous drug that wrecks more lives than any other legalized substance?Healing Foods Pyramid by University of Michigan Integrative Medicine.   My opinion, again? It's all economics. If eggs, dairy, or alcohol were left out, the big industries would be pulling out their charitable sticks to whack their institutional dependents on the head.
Just take a look at the Healing Foods Pyramid. If you follow what I have been saying about the anti-diabetes diet, all we really need are the lower four levels of the pyramid.
This is not a popular opinion. Most of us love to obey the first 1.5 inches of our tongues - the salt and sweet tastes. We also love the feel of alcohol in our stomachs.
If you are a diabetic, or are very concerned about your health, you need to love your kidneys even more than your taste buds.   What else about the Healing Foods Pyramid?   Let's look at the 10 levels, from the base to the tip... WATER - This food guide suggests women drink 8 cups a day, and men drink 12 cups per day.
FRUITS & VEGETABLES - Five (5) servings of vegetables and 2 to 4 servings of fruit per day
GRAINS - This includes all parts of the grain - bran, endosperm, and germ. Can be had from whole grain foods, such as whole wheat bread, brown rice, and corn. The starchy vegetables, e.g. potato, have been included in this category as well.
LEGUMES - The fourth and last of the important levels of the Healing Foods Pyramid (as far as the anti-diabetes diet is concerned) is the legumes. UMICH recommends 1 to 3 servings per day. Legumes (peas and beans) are high fiber foods, and therefore, low glycemic foods.
SEASONINGS and HEALTHY FATS - The items on this level of the Healing Foods Pyramid do have some medicinal value. Included in the seasonings are garlic, onion, and other spices. Healthy fats are plant based oils, e.g. olive oil and mono-saturated or unsaturated fats.
EGGS and DAIRY - The 6th level of the Healing Foods Pyramid includes the eggs and dairy food group - your source of extra cholesterol. The anti-diabetes diet does not advocate use of this group.
FISH and SEAFOOD - Seafood items are some of the very highest sources of cholesterol. Still this food group is a significant part of some low carb diets used for weight loss.
LEAN MEATS - Poultry, beef, pork, lamb, and wild game are what the Healing Foods Pyramid builders call lean meats. In this way, you won't need to try to know what isn't lean meat.
ACCOMPANIMENTS - Alcohol, dark chocolate, and tea comprise this group. It is classified as an optional category sitting right on top of the pyramid. Alcohol, extra fat, and caffeine are definite things every diabetic would do well to avoid.
PERSONAL SPACE - This is like "whatever else you like to eat that we have not included in here" category.
On my health grading scale, this food guide gets no better than a "C". For more information and explanation for each of the recommended food categories, click on the appropriate level of the Healing Foods Pyramid at website www.diabetesdestroyer.ws/diabetics-version-of-the-ancestors-pyramid-menu .
shirly

shirly

1
Flotsam and Jetsam
 

So glad the blogs are still here!

I totally forgot about the blog feature, and I was happy to see that mine is still here from 4 years ago! It was funny to read those first few entries, when I was so terrified. And a good reminder, because my current attempt to get the BG down is going exactly as it did when I was dx'd. Best numbers during the day, bad numbers at bedtime and fasting. History repeats itself!   Today I went to a Greek restaurant that's within walking distance of my office. I had souvlaki chicken, a side salad, and a few green beans. It was absolutely delicious, and my BG barely moved. Yay!! I had to pretend I didn't see the rice or bread on the table.   The next step in my attack is exercise. It's more difficult this time around, because my old office building had a 2-mile track around it, and this new office is smack-dab in the middle of an industrial area. There is a park nearby, but I have to get in my car to get there. I don't want to exercise after work, because my dogs are alone all day, and I need to get home. I'll figure something out!
Vilya

Vilya

1
SweetAndBendy's Blog
 

Nighttime thoughts

It's a new year and oh my did our life change for hubby and me as he was diagnosed with diabetes on January 1st, confirmed positive GAD65 earlier this week. But no worries, he's fine, we're both fine and he's taking it all very well and his levels are generally pretty good now considering everything. We fell asleep relatively early tonight, but of course I didn't get all that much sleep before waking up randomly so here I am now, writing a little before trying to go back to sleep for a few more hours. Figured I might as well use the time to do something since I'm rarely able to just go back to sleep instantly if I wake up like this. Hubby is still asleep, he's still a bit more tired than his usual self even though he's feeling a lot better now when his glucose levels are down to more normal levels, than he did just a week ago when he was running high and we didn't know. We've made a smart deal with each other now too, he keeps his monitor by his pillow so if I wake up like this, I can easily check his glucose levels. It's a bit cumbersome for me to reach his monitor if he had kept it on the bedside table by his side of the bed, I can't walk at all and would have to transfer into my wheelchair to go there. But now it is on the bed, right between us. I just checked him and he didn't wake up from it, and thankfully he's at a good level now so I don't have to wake him up. If he wakes up at night and I'm asleep, he checks my CGM to see where I'm at, that's something he's been doing since we moved together, just for peace of mind. He doesn't wake up at night very often though, but when he does, he checks on me if I'm still asleep. Now we'll simply check on each other at night if the other is asleep. It feels safe! But we're not setting any alarms to check on each other, we'll just check on each other if waking up anyways, like I did now. He's already mentioned looking into getting a CGM as well to be able to keep track better, and to have a system that warns if he's going too high or too low. He doesn't mind the finger poking, it's just that it's limited in a way, it can be a long time between tests and things can happen fast. He's a little bit afraid of glucose levels going all over the place while sleeping because he knows far too well what a bad hypo at night can do to your following day, after seeing me being like a zombie most of the day on more than one occasion after having battled a nighttime hypo the night before.   Beginning to feel really sleepy again so think I'll just check my CGM and check manually as well while I'm at it, and then go back to sleep if I can.   Well, my blood glucose is all good as well, so off to sleep I go, again!
SweetAndBendy

SweetAndBendy

2
kooka's kafe'
 

Just thinking and thinking some more

When I ate 20 carbs or less I peed every hour all night long, I stayed dehydrated no matter how much water I drank and my legs hurt all the time. I know I have been sleeping better lately and my feet and legs have hurt less and I have no problem with dehydration but..........here it comes..........I am now eating from 50-75 carbs a day. Yes my sugar is not as low staying around 115-120 during the day instead of 90-110. Planning on working in some type of exercise so I can continue with the higher carb count. 90% are good carbs but it's been the holidays so I have had a sneaky cookie and other such garbage food. All in all I feel better with more carbs. Starting exercise tomorrow. We will see how it goes in a week.
kooka

kooka

0
kooka's kafe'
 

Hello sad lonely blog

Well it will be an interesting year for sure. My postal insurance went up so high I had to drop it and go with Federal BCBS. Thing is they only pay for 2 A1C's a year and one strip a day. As read on here a while back I will be buying a cheap meter at WalMart to use in between the ones they squeeze out of their butts. Like it's going to cost me enough and Medicare to boot on top of it. Then my house payment went up too. I may have to work some rabbit magic and go on a lettuce diet. hahahahahaha May as well sit on a box and laugh since it is what it is.
kooka

kooka

0
Diabetes Diet
 

How To Follow A Special Diet For Diabetes

More and more people suffered diabetes, so it is important for them to learn how to have a healthy diet. The following tips should be the general aim for diabetics who are following a special diet.   • To stabilize the blood glucose levels. • To prevent damage to the heart and maintain healthy and normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels and blood pressure. • To maintain a weight that is considered as reasonable which in other words means a weight that is achievable and sustainable and which does not become a danger to other healthy organs of the body such as the heart etc. • To prevent medical complications of diabetes such as kidney or heart disease or if they have already occurred, to manage the problem with caution.   Naturally, there is no single diabetes diet that will suit everyone. But, of course there are general dietary guidelines that will suit everyone.   • Avoid saturated fats which are found in animal products and trans fatty acids which are found in hard margarine, fast foods etc. Select monounsaturated fats like virgin oil or canola oil and also polyunsaturated oils such as sunflower or rapeseed oil. • Avoid high cholesterol foods. • Take fiber rich foods like whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes. • Try and take fresh fruits when choosing foods with sugar but in moderation of course. • Limit protein especially high fat meats • Reduce salt   The American Diabetes Association recommends that less than 7 % to 10% of the calories should consist of saturated fats which are infamous for raising the LDL or the bad cholesterol. The patient has to try and maintain his dietary cholesterol to less than 200 to 300 mg per day and minimize the trans-unsaturated fats — also known as partially hydrogenated oils — in his diet.   More related articles: www.diabetesdestroyer.ws
shirly

shirly

0
Bishop's Blog
 

My GAD65 test results….

Comments from the Doctor's Office: negative   Component Results Component Standard Range Your Value GLUTAMIC ACID DECARBOXYLASE AUTOABS 1.0 OR LESS u/mL <1.0   Collected: 11/21/2015 8:10 AM Resulted: 11/26/2015 9:53 PM   While a positive value seems to prove one is LADA, a negative one doesn’t really seem to prove anything. So I guess I'll periodically keep on checking. Back to post-Thanksgiving carnage....
Bishop

Bishop

1
Bishop's Blog
 

(almost) Six Months After That 13.2 A1C DX

My thoughts 6 months after DX: some of my lingering worries based off decades of brainwashing around my cholesterol and diet are gone now that I've maintained a good triglyceride/HDL ratio for a good number of months and "despite" eating what I have been eating and do not really do much to move my HDL (i.e. my triglycerides are low)
do not know if I can, but really want to do better on my A1C and dial in my diet and physical activity - working smart, not just harder (right now, I'd give myself a C- on the working smart side of things; clearly a passing grade, but nothing to be proud of and so much more to learn, keep learning, correcting, etc. it boggles my mind in a good, fun way. just unfortunate it is in the context of such a serious condition.)
drastically reduced diet soda consumption (I know it shouldn't matter, but I'm okay with it)
protein consumption matters far more than I thought (i.e. I can eat too much protein, no question in my mind at this point)
portion control matters
eating only when hungry is far more difficult than I had anticipated, even when I anticipated it being potentially difficult, all relatively speaking (this is a #firstworldproblem of enormous size)
as a game and worst-case-scenario of sorts to help with A1C estimates when missing PP numbers or even for missing spikes in general, I have been playing with my data by adding extra spike values not based off an actual reading, calculating the estimated A1C, comparing to lab numbers, then adjusting the spike value, and seeing how that closed loop converges vs. not - all for fun, no extra credit involved, but no extra work involved either
All of the standard disclaimers apply - everyone is different, what works for Luke may not work for Leia, observing A leading to B doesn't prove anything, there is no cure, etc.   [ my boilerplate below, slightly updated, as usual ]   [earlier] had some mild but clear symptoms for a few months, did some exercise, symptoms went away; but was worried enough to see a doctor given what I had read online about diabetes; diet up until this point was LOADED with carbs (200+ grams of carbs per sitting quite common) and close to 100% restaurant, fast food, and all-you-can-eat catered food and snacks. DX'd with Metabolic Syndrome ages ago, but no symptoms, didn't pay attention or make changes. BAD MOVE. Last FBG on record was 83 on 2012.09.17.   2015.05.28 DX'd A1C at 13.2, FBG at 194 - The Wake Up Call !!   2015.06.08 [11 days after DX] FBG mostly in 80s, all below 100   2015.06.27 [~1 months after DX] A1C at 9.8 & FBG at 88 2015.08.28 [~3 months after DX] A1C at 6.0 & FBG at 87 2015.09.28 [~4 months after DX] A1C at 5.7 & FBG at 95 2015.11.21 [~6 months after DX] A1C at 5.6 & FBG at 83     Diet: low-to-moderate carbs; eat a ton; love my fats, especially given my love of hard boiled eggs, all kinds of cheeses, nuts and meat; though I try to get a lot of veggies in too; personally have found that the amount of protein does matter; much more mindful of overeating and also try to only eat when hungry; not strictly following any given LCHF, Paleo, Atkins, or Diet X, but learning from all of them and trying to figure out what works best for me over time   Exercise: daily mild, but deliberate walking, or 80-100,000 steps per week on average, extremely light strength training, occasional but well beyond recreational intensity tennis; intimately familiar with HIIT and various exercise vs. training routines, but not going down that path for now   Medication: have never taken any medication for diabetes or non-diabetes; I realize this may change significantly over time   Weight: as of 2015.08.28 roughly at 190 pounds, down from an all time high of ~245 around 8/2013 this is technically the lightest I've been in since at least March 7, 2005 (the earliest records I have) - as a 6' male, given my activity level, athletic exposure, and genetics, need to figure out a reasonable steady state given my muscle mass, sustainability, and age; though more recently, given a number of the strength baselines I've used over decades, I really should turn to the good old fashioned hydrostatic torture test or better (DEXA scan), or maybe just keep track of my waist size. =)   On sustainability, it's way too early for me to tell. Ongoing homework, understanding, measuring, corrections, experiments, etc., especially given the progressive nature of this disease.
Bishop

Bishop

0
Bishop's Blog
 

Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) since DX

I haven't had success with posting graphs in the blog vs. the gallery, so trying an experiment here with my FBG graph. A brief annotation on certain points in time: A first A1C after DX
B 2nd A1C (3 months after DX)
C new meter
D A1C 4 months after DX
E NYC Business Trip (did well overall, but one night of very bad food and timing)
F a few days into a mild cold but running nose ; took a large dose of Vitamin C as an experiment (though not the mega dose I've been reading about)
X1 really noticed upwards trend, growing concern
Bishop

Bishop

0
kooka's kafe'
 

Bad days are here to stay

Here I lie in bed with no hope for sleep soon. The pain pill did nothing. I was fairly fine until I lay down and now I am a brain,feet,ankles and calves with nothing in between. I do feel like crying tonight. I feel like maybe I need to save up for a good recliner to sleep in. Laying down lately is just way too painful. If somebody told me they had just broken all their toes I could honestly say I know how you feel. What a crappy state of affairs. How stupid that they grouped the cannabis vote as one issue instead of having a recreational and a medical separately. Now there is no hope for me to have one day without pain. It's so unfair. I bet if the Mayor or Congressmen needed relief they could do it. Oh well. I am beyond caring. Tired of waiting for the Sugar Crush book on Overdrive so I am calling the library tomorrow to see if they can get it in for me. Maybe there will be some hope in that. Goodnight sweet Prince wherever you are.
kooka

kooka

0
kooka's kafe'
 

TMJ sucks!

No clue why I even on the stupid internet today. This crap is worse than neuropathy. One side of my face is swelled and aches. My bottom teeth hurt on that side, I get pains shooting into my eye, I go to bed with a migraine and wake up with one. My neck is stiff and I can't chew or yawn without getting burning stabbing pain low in my ear. My head was hurting so bad at church I had to sit down while everybody else stood up. I heard half the service because my eyes felt like they were popping out of my eye sockets. This rats!   I just ate mashed fish and brussels sprouts for lunch and this morning I ate yogurt mashed with cottage cheese for breakfast. It was so delightful I have to say. Oh well I did eat 2 fat bombs today and I made them like ressee cup. PB on the bottom and chocolate on top. Oh well I think I am going to take half a lortab and lay down for a few. Maybe get out the heating pad along with it and have a cup of tea.   It's always darkest before the dawn.
kooka

kooka

0
kooka's kafe'
 

One day the FDA is gonna be after me

I have so many pills here I am afraid to get any more. Now I am on a muscle relaxer to help my stress while I sleep and keep me from clinching my teeth together. I am on Pain pills and tranquilizers and Bentyl and 6 Ibuprophin a day among the diabetes stuff and the reflux stuff. Not sure how to juggle it all. I think I will take the Ibuprophin in the morning and then the muscle relaxer at bedtime and skip the rest except for the Metformin, vit, D3 and the Previcid. Taking that stuff is not my cup of tea.   Sugar this morning was 124 and 2 hours after breakfast it was 90. It will be hard since I basically have to blend everything with this TMJ issue now. Haven't wore the insoles either. I need too sine the outside of my right calf feels bruised inside but I can live with it. Of everything that's happened this year this is by far a pain in the butt. Boiling zuchinni and I will make some soupy tuna and maybe for supper. Hopefully it will work and I will not require surgery to repair the joint. In my research it rarely helps anyway.   Finally managed to get that trogon virus off my p.c. even if it did take almost all day. Onward and forward.
kooka

kooka

0
Bishop's Blog
 

If you're not vomiting, you're not doing it right.... (High Intensity Exercise vs. An Alternative)

It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make as much time as I’d like to give this topic a proper post, but I did want to start with something vs. waiting for that day to arrive. A bunch of this started much earlier, but was jiggered in my mind via this post - http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/topic/77325-finally-decided-to-read-bernstein-with-reservations/?p=939297 - which, in a nutshell, called out higher intensity training as the best way to go on the exercise front.   As I mentioned then, I found the article very well written and great advice in some contexts, but strongly believe it’s not the best advice in other contexts, in particular sustainability in those without the equivalent willpower [1] of Dr. Bernstein, or physical capability to safely engage in higher intensity, more efficient physical activity.   To be clear, there’s almost no question in my mind based off personal experience, exposure, and research over decades that higher intensity, “purpose training” [2] obtains superior results, especially per unit time. And by results, I mean the same class of outcomes as what Dr. B observes - in his case, running further, faster, having more of what he calls stamina and capacity. So the best bang for the buck in many ways.   But if your goal is sustainability, and not necessarily this efficiency (results per unit time, best use of our busy schedules, etc.), consider some of the downsides of prolonged high intensity training: Ability to maintain high intensity over truly long periods of time. Five years would be the absolute, obscene minimum I’d consider “long term” - it really should be measured in decades.
Correlation of intensity and injury, even for those with perfect form, knowledge, experience, and so on. Ironically, I see analogies with this correlation and a variant of The Law of Small Numbers theme in his book. Big intensity, bigger potential for things to go much “more wrong more quickly” before you realize it (and “right more quickly” to be fair). =) I'm seeing a TON of this with the new Cross Fit generation at my gym. Tons.
Even outside my domain of fitness and athletics, I think there’s something to be said about the longest lived populations on the planet and some of the things they have in common. None of them train in this way. Certainly nothing remotely similar to HIIT or variants. But all of them maintain a relatively high level of daily, regular, activity. Exercise or activity vs. purpose training with no analogous goals (speed, strength, stamina, capacity, etc.). [3]
Lest you think I’m not a fan of efficiency or even HIIT. Quite the contrary. I think it has unbeatable usefulness in many contexts and even some analogies to periodic or 5:2 or abc fasting, jump starting xyz, and so on. I.e. where the ratio of the activity vs. the non-activity and the benefits is extremely compelling. Incredibly useful and almost irreplaceable.
I just think there’s an alternate motivation in play here, another viable option to integrate fitness into one's lifestyle, and that there are benefits beyond the great ones associated mostly with higher intensity routines.   In my n=1 situation, I keep intensity as one of many tools in my toolbox. And it's not an on/off situation either, there is obviously a spectrum of intensity. In general and to date however, I've gone down a far more mellow but NEAT [3] oriented route. I enjoy regular walking and using some of that time to catch up on podcasts, news, shows, learn or hear about new things, and so on. And just unwind. And while diet is my number one "go to" tool, there are certainly many benefits to physical activity that go beyond or don't even involve blood sugar levels. For some reason, I've been hitting more towards 100,000 steps per week vs. my baseline minimum which was around 88,000. Not intentional, just happens, I don't notice it.   --   And sorry about the vomit in the entry title - just a catch line given how many folks have clearly never done high intensity training or are surprised that vomiting absolutely, definitely comes with the territory. While most of this is friendly joking - you can obviously do intense anaerobic exercise without vomiting - without exception, 100% of all competitive athletes I've known over the decades experience what I'm talking about with regard to vomit and intensity. If you've never pushed this hard and crossed that line, you have NOT come even remotely close to your limits in terms of anaerobic intensity. As always the inverse or the converse are not true - you can certainly vomit and that does not mean you're exercising with intensity. Many just spend time hanging out in the aerobic zone and use a heart rate monitor to measure intensity. =)   And to be clear: This vomiting is not tied to the GI distress so common with distance running. Totally different root causes.
You also don't have to vomit every time you engage in high intensity exercise. Or even most of the time as you become more familiar, know your body a bit better, and gain better fine control and awareness over your routines, how you feel a given day, etc. But if you do hang out in the highest intensity zones, it's just a matter of time....
My current take and use (or relative lack) of intensity in my routines has nothing to do with vomiting or avoiding vomiting. It has to do with sustainability, my own observations, and my own perceived results. No scientific rigor is involved. At all.
            [1] Or whatever you want to call it - I don't mean to be derogatory, merely pragmatic for the general population.   [2] This is another huge topic and was somewhat controversial decades ago. In short, it’s tied to training specifically for an event, season, and competing. There are elements of time, both in terms of how much time is available to prepare, along with peaking with regard to peak performance for a given schedule of events, tournament, or related scenarios. There’s also an element of specificity   [3] Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise.   <EOF>
Bishop

Bishop

0
kooka's kafe'
 

Why do I try

That is how I feel today. Yesterday was so great. Went to church, visited a friend and went shopping. Can I walk today? barely. Am I in pain. Of course. Is my foot skin stretched across like a rubber band and all my toes broken and crushed. of course. I hate what cancer and that dang tumor on my pancreas is doing to my quality of life. I fake that joyful spirit while I am gritting my teeth trying to walk another few feet. I gave all my new shoes away because with the orthodinics they now longer fit. Now I need all new shoes a size bigger. I could just cry. I have, however, learned very much that smiles can be deceiving. Oh yes.   I once thought I was the perfect clown as I carried all my burdens under my mask and now it's almost to hard to do that lately. This disease has a way of becoming your life's work and your daily mantra. What to eat, what not to eat, what vitamins, what exercise, what medication, is it up, is it down to low and on and on and on. Then it becomes can I walk today, how long, can I hide the pain, will my shoes fit today, will the socks make my legs swell up, will hot water make my feet freeze, can I sit in church without having to take my shoes off, can I walk down the stairs to the car. I am just so tired of it all today. Pain does that to people. Ugh.   Diabetes has not ruined my life. Neuropathy has.
kooka

kooka

0
kooka's kafe'
 

Ugh. BGs are out of sinc

As this earache and jaw pain continues my sugar will not go down much after breakfast. Fasting this morning was 140 and now it's still 124. I had a two egg omelet with 1oz. of cheese for breakfast. My throat hurts and my sinus is giving me a fit. I do go to my ENT Wens. So hopefully he can vet to the bottom of it all. I am hoping its just wax or sinus zso it can be taken care of soon. Taking the kid for Fall Fest at church. I know they are roasting hotdogs so at least I can eat those. Hopefully the rain stops. I guess I will have to ride out these zugar highzs anxxd cut carbzs down to 10 or below to see if that helps.
kooka

kooka

0
kooka's kafe'
 

Metformin/ diabetes and life

Went back on the 1000x2 Metformin. Even though my WOE stayed the same my bg's were slowly creeping up. It took 3 days but I am back down in the mid 90's again. The $250.00 insoles made my foot swell up and it looked like I had a large donut wrapped around my ankle. What a waste of money. Actually what I should say is what a waste of hope. Had some. Gone now. Life.   The blister on top of my foot dried up and now there is a tiny ulcer on top. Glad I am seeing my foot doctor soon. What people do not understand about neuropathy is the sensation goes and though an area may not seem numb you can step on something and not feel a thing. I stood on a machine that felt like a scouring pad vibrating under my left foot. I felt nothing under my right. That is how you end up with gangrene.   Checking the feet top and bottom and between the toes is the best thing a diabetic can do for themselves. Some who get neuropathy do not have the pain like I do and I don't have pain in some places and in some I do. Some don't know they have it until they find a cut and it has already infected. The top of my bad foot feels like leather. Sort of like I have my gym shoe on and tied. My ankles feel like a rope is wrapped around them. It never goes away these feelings.   I do not think diabetes will be cured in my lifetime. I do not think diabetic neuropathy will be cured in my lifetime. I do think all diabetics would be schooled about neuropathy. It's a very nasty condition that sneaks up behind you like a shadow and tries to destroy your life Or at least the quality of your life. It succeeds.
kooka

kooka

0
kooka's kafe'
 

Just stick with what you know Kooka

Okay I am tired of experimenting on when to take the pills, to take or not take the pills, to take one pill and not two pills, to eat late, to eat early, a snack, no snack. It boggles the mind. If the mind is boggled to much it goes quietly away. This morning because of my "experiment" Friday my fasting was 138. Higher than it's been since I restarted the WOE and cut down to 20 or less carbs a day and now 15 or less. I am eating way to many low carb vegetables and not enough fat and protein to offset the carb intake. Henceforth 128 yesterday morning and could not get under 110 the rest of the day even if my carbs were ultra low . Getting the cold weather lazies and don't want to cook. That is not good. When I don't cook I snack like a bird. All day. Went to bed at 127 and woke up at 138 this morning. Now I am back to a comfortable 101 after breakfast and it will settle in through supper. I just do not want lunch. Who eats lunch at 3:00 p.m.? If I did I would want no supper and that would mess me up again on the Metformin. What works for me: Eat breakfast sans any carbs Eat lunch with 1/3 of the allotted daily carbs Cut coffee out by 4:00 p.m. Eat supper at 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. thereby seeing a lower fasting in the a.m. Drink water even if I hate it Exercise when I can Think positive Be grateful to God for the knowledge to help myself
kooka

kooka

0
OldTech's Blog
 

Why I accept Dr. Bernstien's definition of normoglycemia

Normal blood glucose as defined by sampling does indeed show that people spike to 110,120,130 and even 140 and beyond. The problem that I have with these samples is that the population being sampled are not that healthy. For example, it is estimated that around half the population is prediabetic and that most people will need treatment for one of the vascular diseases as they age. We also know that high percentage of that population is also overweight and that many are obese. So how healthy are those numbers?   In my opinion, they are not. That's one reason I accept Dr. Bernstien's definition of 83 mg/dl (for pragmatic reasons I just target under 100, but my average is in the mid- 80s).   The second reason I accept his solution is the biochemistry of ketosis. Ketosis is a state where the body has adapted to burning fat rather than glucose. And it is that state that minimizes both circulating glucose levels and insulin levels. While I have not seen a study of blood glucose levels in people in ketosis, I strongly suspect that their levels would be close to Dr. Bernstine's. Note that glucose levels do not spike while maintaining ketosis and if they do it will kick the body out of ketosis. I know that when I am in ketosis (almost all the time) my levels are close to Dr. Bernstien's.   Third since I have 'diabetic' complications, I not only want to prevent future complications, I also want to reverse them to the extent possible. So far after almost of two years being on a very low carb diet I have seen improvement, so I plan to continue to target his definition of normoglycemia for glucose. Fourth, is the realization that it is increased levels of insulin - likely caused by excessive consumption of carbohydrates - that cause vascular damage long before type 2 diabetes becomes diagnosed. In other words increased the risk of heart disease is not a direct risk of type 2, it is the metabolic disease that is at the root of both. It is this increase in consumption of carbohydrates that explains the obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other manifestations of metabolic disease when native people started consuming white flour and sugar (see Taubes for a description of the diseases of civilization and his carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis).   So I do not think that the general observational studies are the way to define normoglycemia, and I accept Dr. Bernstien's definition.
OldTech

OldTech

1
kooka's kafe'
 

Tried something new today

This morning my fasting was 107. I decided I would not take a Metformin with breakfast to see if I could just skip it. Well I spiked at 114 and there I stayed. Thanks to another member I realized that was rather foolish and decided to take it at lunchtime. I did (had taco mix, cheese and salsa on a LC soft tortilla shell) and it went down to 100 in half an hour and has stayed there. I had an avocado w/ evoo and cider vinegar and steamed Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli with budda for a late dinner and went ahead and took the other pill with that. My sugar now before bed is 123 (could be I had no meat) an hour afterward so I will check again in another hour. I see now that was a bad move on my part and will not repeat that mistake anytime soon. I dread my fasting read in the morning. UGH   My foot has been swelled and tight all day. I noticed what appeared to be a burst blister on top right under my middle toe. I used peroxide and antibiotic salve on it. I will be watching it that's a positive. I never even felt it. Just saw it. Scary stuff not to feel especially on the sole of this foot. I have to check it all the time to make sure it has no cracks or ulcers or cuts. I check them both but pay extra attention to the right one since the left still has sensations.   I be tired now. Goodnight blog.
kooka

kooka

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Got the bionic inserts today

How do I say walking on baseballs is so comfortable? I don't. hahahahahaha Funny how they feel like baseballs under the arch but they look flat. Nothing like the ones I checked out on amazon which looked like weird sandals without straps, She said the feet, ankles and toes would hurt for a while but within a week or two I should have lots of pain relief in the toes on the left side and the foot and ankle on the right side. Wow. It will feel great to go to the store and not need help getting into the car afterward. I am pretty stoked. The only lousy part is country gals do not like to wear shoes.   Sugar under 100 after breakfast and a MacDonald salad sent me on a spike to 145. The small chicken breast was breaded is all I can figure out. I had the salad and water. Told them no corn but there was some kind of corn chip looking things in there. Maybe a TBS. or 2. Won't be eating that again for sure.
kooka

kooka

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kooka's kafe'
 

Not a good night/ no sleep and leg spasms and cramps

I have my sugars in good control now yet I am still getting the spasms, twitches and cramps either in my feet or legs or both. The tendons suck in so far up my calves I could lay a pencil in the rut. It is painful to the max. Needless to say I am getting little sleep. A few hours at most even with Tylenol PM or Xanax. Last night I took a Benedryl and still work up with cramps. The ear pain is the same. I feel like I'm batting a zero sometimes. I keep trying to keep my spirits up and be grateful for my many blessings but it's hard sometimes when everything is such a chore. Making the bed or washing the dishes. All a chore.   I go for fittings on my bionic insoles tomorrow. So glad they have time payments or I'd be sol. Taking a bag of my shoes with me hopefully I don't forget. ugh I am so hoping it helps the inflammation under the two toes on my left foot. Just getting rid of that pain would help my moral some. Oh well. Take the good with the bad. There is still more good than bad and I need to remember that!
kooka

kooka

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kooka's kafe'
 

What a wasted day. I could just scream!

Went all the way out of town to this new ENT about my ear. Got there an hour early and here his office told me they had no morning appointments except on Friday and whoever told me 9:30 was mistaken. I was so mad! So I left here at 8:a.m. and came home at 10:30 with the earache still. I have never had a month long earache so now I guess I can be the earache poster child of 2015. Today and my 5 minute diabetic foot exam yesterday and just about ruined my mood. Called my old ENT who took care of my throat cancer and he has nothing open until the 28th. UGH!   Had dinner around an hour and a half later last night and the BG's were 105 this morning. However all night long I had the lightening vibrations in my legs. I hate them! It's like all the nerves are vibrating at the same time which of course cause my foot to cramp up two different times. How anybody can continue to live a quality life on 3 or 4 hours of sleep is beyond me. It can be done though since I am still breathing. (sic) I don't even like my own pun.   Having dinner later again tonight to see if it works again to my benefit in the morning fasting. Right now I could care less to be truthful about it. Ear hurts, legs hurt, jaw hurts, throat hurts and I am sleepy. I need a break!
kooka

kooka

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kooka's kafe'
 

My 6 minute feet check

At the podiatrist this morning for 6 minute exam. "You have neuropathy. You are elderly and your foot is red on top from tiny broken veins. Your neuropathy is very advanced from the hip down on your left side from back surgery. Your toes underneath are inflamed that is why they hurt. Your feet are not really on fire or frozen it's just the nerves sending mixed signals to the brain. Why are you here? The bionic insoles should help everything including the toes. if not come back and see me." Out the door he went. What a waste of time. I am so ticked off. Now I hope Medicare will pay for it since I am already seeing the orthopedic surgeon about the right foot. errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr   Took the Met. at 8:15 p.m. 2 hours after dinner. This morning fasting was 106. The thing is that taking the pill 2 hours after dinner causes my after meal BG's not to drop back down from the spike to the 90's. Now I am conflicted about keeping it lower all evening or overnight. Overnight I have no clue how high it goes or when it starts to go up. Now I have to make some kind of decision. Maybe tonight I will take it 1 hour after dinner and see how that works out in the morning.
kooka

kooka

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