DISCLAIMER: I am not a Health Practitioner/Professional
This journey I am on of learning about the disease diabetes has many ups and downs but thankfully, I am better for the knowledge.
The most disappointing realization is the fact that all the things that I have enjoyed eating over the years are the very reason why I have this disease.
No more cakes, doughnuts, cupcakes … in fact anything that’s loaded with sugar, butter and white flour that’s been combined with other stuff then baked. Not to mention the coconut cakes, drops and such that I grew up eating.
Grated coconut cakes would usually be red and white but my grandmother would make them using food colour she already had, pink and green. She would make two batches and the pink looked like fly bait and the green rat poison; hence they were duly dubbed rat poison and fly bait.
But I digress.
Horrors! How could I go on without heeding the call of my delicious Christmas cakes, sitting on the table with a knife at the ready? So I started to use the medication as a tool to continue eating the stuff I liked. I seemingly had no need to change my diet because the tablets were very accommodating. And if I went for a doctor’s visit and the glucose reading was a little elevated, she doubled the dosage!
Well, more than a little.
This went on for a few years before I awoke to the realization that I was playing with my health. My organs would not have been having a great time of it especially when I imagined how they struggled to flush the sugar out of my system. I was not exercising; neither was I being good at following any diet. And the pills had side effects.
I started to suffer from acute constipation which disturbed my mucous membrane; at the same time I got tired of the rollercoaster ride. I had to come to a decision and the decision was I had to become my own advocate.
If I were to continue eating the way I was, the doctors would continue to feed me with pills, while my internal organs suffer. I also considered deeply on my assumptions that that many of them are associated with (or owned) pharmacies.
There had to be a change and the change had to come from my own convictions.
I had been reading a little about the disease since diagnosis, but I started to read more and pay more attention to Dr. Oz and his associates. I eventually developed my own system to the point where I do not take the pills anymore.
Not having the pills to rely on while holding a vision of a bad kidney in the forefront of my brain, has been a good incentive to not overdo it, i.e. eating sugar and starch.
Firstly, you have to love (or learn to love) vegetables especially the green leafy ones and callaloo, pak- choi and cabbage have become staples for me. Cucumbers, string beans and other cruciferous vegetables have also been on the menu at one time or another.
I find that if I have vegetables alone, my glucose level goes down to real acceptable levels. Dr. Oz would be proud (I think?). And I am hearing the rumblings saying that I have to eat carbs, and yes, I agree. But when?
With constant monitoring with your Glucose Monitor, you will know when, so if the level is elevated, then it is only vegetables for the next meal or few. If it is not bad but not great I add protein and if it is really low then I can eat carbs.
In other words, how I eat is driven by the level of my glucose … well most times.
Two days ago I discovered NEEM!
I was told it was good for many things including diabetes, so I decided to try it. Lo and Behold! It worked. I was told to put three of those itty, bitty leaves in a mug and pour hot water over them and allow it to steep for a few minutes.
It brought my glucose level down by 33 points.
{(Divide that by 18 to get the lower number), which is just a tad better than the tablets. I used to take one Diamicron before breakfast and since it was a slow release it worked for 24 hours. Then I would take two Metformin twice daily until it was reduced to one twice daily}.
Neem also purifies water, transforming it into the tastiest water I have had in ages, just like that from a spring. Incredible!
The side effects are liver damage in children and 100% sterility in male albino rats (reversible).
Also, NEEM is NOT recommended for pregnant women and women trying to conceive.
Pretty good stuff!
The most important lesson for me is that meal portions have to be very small. I have to eat more vegetables and less of everything else, especially those foods that pile sugar in my system; and don’t discount exercise.
Exercise burns the glucose stored in the muscles and help the movement of the sugar through your system, hence exercise is referred to as instant insulin.
I reiterate that I am not a health professional and, therefore, these are not recommendations but my experiences. And always, always be guided by your doctor.