Hi,
Dr Mercola has again caught my attention and helped me make a better decision about my health. I know from my most recent blood tests that I have a high uric acid level (8.6 if I remember correctly) -- this is actually very high from what I am reading in his article.
This excerpt from his post about uric acid will explain more clearly than I could, the connection between diabetes, fructose, and uric acid levels:
"Going back to the issue of genetic variability, it seems that some people may be able to process fructose more efficiently, and the key to assess this susceptibility to fructose damage lies in evaluating your uric acid levels.
"Dr. Johnson (Richard Johnson, MD, who is the chief of the division of kidney disease and hypertension at the University of Colorado.) agrees that using uric acid levels as a marker to identify your susceptibility could be a reasonable approach.
"So, for example, if you’re passionate about fruit and typically eat large amounts of fruit, but have a uric acid level above 5 (or better yet, 4 if you’re a man, and 3.5 if you’re a woman), then you may want to consider lowering your fruit consumption until you’re able to optimize your uric acid levels.
“We have some evidence from our laboratory that uric acid actually regulates the sensitivity to fructose,” Johnson says. “So the higher your uric acid, the more sensitive you are to the effects of fructose.
… So I agree with you. If you measure your serum uric acid and it’s very significantly high, you probably will get into more trouble with fruit juices and large amounts of fruit than other individuals would.
That seems to be the take home message from our current research.”
( Here is the link to the whole article in case you want to read it -- you will have to sign up with your e-mail address to be able to read it: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/06/19/richard-johnson-interview-may-18-2010.aspx )
So there I have it: I do actually need to stay away from fruit. I have no idea whether this will be for a limited time or forever. I do know that my uric acid levels have always been high (along with my father and both of my living brothers), but I did not know what caused this phenomenon. My present doctor saw the blood report but said nothing about the uric acid levels or what causes them. Myself, being ignorant of the significance, simply filed the numbers away in my brain again with no inkling that I could affect these numbers simply by completely avoiding fruit and anything else with fructose.
As I wondered if there are other things that I should avoid, I found this at Wikipedia.com: "Honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, and some root vegetables contain significant amounts of molecular fructose, usually in combination with glucose, stored in the form of sucrose" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose )
If you take a look at Dr Mercola's article you will find a chart of lots of different fruits and the fructose levels they contain. He says that limes have 0 grams of fructose, and that dried figs have 23 grams of fructose. Limes, lemons, cranberries and passion fruit all register below "1" and top the list for low fructose fruit.
Grapes, mangoes, dried apricots and dried figs are at the other end of the spectrum with 1C of grapes having 12.4 grams of fructose, 1/2 a mango has 16.2 (so a whole one has more than 32!) 1C of dried apricots has 16.4 (but who could eat a cup of dried apricots?) and a cup of dried figs containing 23 grams (again, who could eat that many?)
I wish the fruits on the chart had all been 1/4C servings so I could get a more accurate picture in my head of what is going on. But, I guess that is really a moot point, when the message is that I should stick with the "avoid fruit" idea until those uric acid levels come down.
Since, for the most part, I have been staying away from fruits, I think my uric acid levels should be better at my next test (even though I did recently consume perhaps six apples in about five days. By the way a medium apple contains 9.5 grams of fructose). I guess that means no more apples for me, and no grapefruit (1/2 medium has 4.3) either, even though my doctor has recommended them to me. Oddly enough, I was right to be a little afraid to eat them. Just goes to show you that you have to pay attention to your own health needs if you want to make real and significant changes in your health.The Lord and I are the ones in charge of my own health -- He for the creation and maintenance -- me for the obedience to the physical laws he created.
I thought it was slightly interesting that a fresh raw apricot of medium size has 1.3 grams of fructose, but dried apricots in a 1C portion had 16.4 grams of fructose. I don't know whether the increase in fructose is due to the fact that dried apricots are smaller and there are more of them in the cup, or if the amount of fructose actually increases during the drying process. It appears to me that simply having more in the cup is what is raising the number. I have no evidence for my belief that drying or even cooking fruits makes them have more sweetness and be even worse for the diabetic than fresh raw whole fruit. I am not even going to talk about fruit juice because without the fiber that is just a sugar bomb to the blood stream and, in my opinion, no diabetic or prediabetic should be drinking fruit juice of any kind.
Both Drs Mercola and Johnson call this finding "fructose toxicity" -- meaning that fructose is actually toxic to the body, especially when consumed in large quantities such as from HFCS found in such things as sodas. It appears that the more soda a person drinks the closer to toxic they become.
The conclusion they appear to be drawing is that fructose is actually the cause of the diabetes epidemic. And they bring up another amazing and odd phenomenon. They are also saying that once you have diabetes, there is something called the "polyol pathway" wherein, the body, after it has become insulin resistant, begins to make fructose from other sources of food as well! The final statement? The polyol pathway phenomenon is quite remarkable and is also a very strong testament to the need to severely limit your fructose intake if you are a diabetic or even a prediabetic.
Near the end of his article he puts in a bad word for agave too. No matter what the manufacturer says on their label, agave syrup has been tested by an independent laboratory at Dr Mercola's request and can contain as much as from 59 to 67 percent fructose. Honey is 70 percent on average. Both agave and honey should be avoided by diabetics, especially those with high levels of uric acid.
Well. Now I know. And so do you. Take action to improve your own health. Increase the amount of fresh raw leafy greens and vegetables that you consume. Eliminate all forms of sugar. I am leaning towards allowing Xylitol for lack of any evidence that it is harmful and much evidence that it actually helps to eliminate harmful bacteria from your body. Don't eat processed or overly cooked foods. (I actually recommend no cooking of food, but that may seem like an insurmountable chasm to some folks -- if you can do it, great. If you cannot, then start out by taking small steps in that direction by first including and increasing fresh raw foods which you consume before you eat anything cooked. The idea being that your tummy may get full faster and you will naturally and gradually begin to eliminate the eating of cooked and processed foods.
If you eat your food the way God created it you will be eating your way to improved health. The more your foods contain sugars and are cooked or processed you are eating your way towards chronic disease and pain.
Please, take baby steps in the healthy direction and it will become easier to toddle on to better health later.
So I am back on the "no fruit" plan and want to see if my uric acid numbers go down as a result.
Be back soon
--Marcia
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Giving Thanks
Hi,
Been thinking about Thanksgiving. Been thinking of how my health has improved since I began eating the raw food program diet and giving thanks to God for this.
I am seeing subtle and surprising changes in my body since I have been eating so many more greens and raw vegetables. I am still in the process of testing things, too. I have been eating one or two apples per day and seeing good results. I have had to rethink the "no fruit" idea. I am not about to go overboard, but an apple a day, or some grapefruit, as my doctor has suggested does not seem to be going overboard. Then, of course, I think about the fact that I have not been testing my blood sugars after eating the fruit, so I think I should begin doing that.
The changes I am seeing in my body started with my skin becoming soft and supple, instead of dry and rough. I think that was one of the first changes I noticed. It happened within about three days of stopping the sugar intake. I have now also noticed the disappearance of a few "lumps" that I had before.
I have this large pad of fatty tissue at the base of my neck in the back, kind of at the top of my shoulders and it has for the past few years contained some rather large "lumps" that you can only notice by feel. When I asked my doctor about them, she said they were "fatty deposits" and that I need not be alarmed about them. They seem to be completely gone, now. I had had another one on the front of my left shoulder ever since the 70's and it, too, is now almost completely gone. I can just barely find it.
I used to have a couple of small ball shaped "knots" on the ligaments at the base of my fingers on my left hand. One of them is gone, the other one is much smaller than it previously was -- it is almost imperceptible. They were just under the size of a pea and now I have a hard time finding the one that remains.
As long as I continue to take my diuretic, my ankles very rarely swell up. I have tried to cut down on that medication, but the swelling comes back, so still have to continue taking it. But, and I believe this is a large one, I used to have swollen ankles all the time, even while taking the diuretic. Now I do not. Now, my ankles are normal sized for the most part, most of the time.
I used to be aware of the carbohydrate addiction by how it made me "act" -- and it has been a struggle, but I am learning to be more keenly aware of the symptoms when they show up. I tested out eating some cheese again and the results and symptoms were not good. I can still eat the Feta cheese which must be different in some way from the other cheeses because Feta adds good flavor and processes through my body without any side effects that I can see. But that is not the case if I eat American cheese (even though I do not buy the "cheese food" kind). And string cheese is only slightly better.
What I have become aware of is that I tend to binge on cheese, too, if it is in the house, just like I used to binge on grain in the form of bread. I was amazed when I recognized that if I got hungry I went for the cheese first. (A huge clue.) As I ate it, I noticed that the more I ate it, the more I wanted. (A second huge clue.) I soon recognized the sitting and eating with a package of American cheese in my hand as I watched TV while I ate slice after slice. I finally recognized that "eating and eating" without a quenching of the hunger was reminiscent of the eating machine. I just went right on compulsively eating until the package was gone. (And that was the third huge clue.) Any one of these are symptoms of my addiction, so I am not going to purchase that any more. I don't know what it has in it that causes this, and have also noticed it simply has too much salt which oddly enough, I didn't notice as I ate it, but noticed right after, that my mouth was salty. The thing is, I was amazed that American cheese would set off the addiction, again. But I am very glad I recognized it and know what to do about it. After all, that is the main point: Knowing what to do about it, and then doing it.
Dr Mercola says that we need to let go of the grains and also of pasteurized dairy. Taken from one of Dr Mercola's posts:
"As Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation stated: 'Pasteurization (of milk) destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.' ”
Here is the URL to his article if you would like to copy and paste and read it: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/24/nutrition-secrets-from-cavemen.aspx
Another side effect of having eaten the cheese was that I had a lot more "stuff" in my throat that I had to keep clearing out and coughing up. I know that is gross, but I prefer to make note of the bad with the good. So I need to remember about the dairy and the post nasal drip issues.
I also noticed that the pain in the body seems to be worse again, after eating the cheese. I really had no idea that both of those things (grain and dairy) were causing me problems. I recognized the carb stuff, but I had not recognized the dairy problems before. That recognition came from isolating the problem.
I had already eliminated the starchy carbs (in the form of sprouted whole grain bread) and was only eating large amounts of green leafy vegetables, avocado, tomato, cucumber, zucchini, etc. I was eating more raw nuts and seeds, too. When I wanted something "heavier" in my tummy, I gravitated to the nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, almonds, and walnuts) which I would put in a small bowl, sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, curry powder, and olive oil -- almost like a dressing. My weight loss seemed to speed up while I was in that phase. But then I tried out cheese again and all the addiction symptoms came back like a train wreck. So. Now I know.
So, even though this may seem like much ado about nothing, I am grateful that the Lord has opened my eyes to these things. I am grateful that He lead me in the direction of the raw food program and that I am seeing such good results with it. I pray that I may have enough sense to continue doing it.
I am grateful for my church, and for my family and friends. I am looking forward to being with friends tomorrow and possibly hearing from family, too.
By the way, my friends specifically requested that I make my sausage dressing so I have purchased the ingredients and will make it just before I go to their house. I may partake of a serving or two, but I think this will be the last time I make it -- at least for this year.
I thank God for saving my soul and guiding me to learn and incorporate more healthy things into my life. I am grateful for a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat, and a warm bed to sleep in. Not everyone has that. I thank God for everything. May you be blessed this day to have a thousand things for which to thank God and may you feel the joy of His presence in your life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Be back soon
--Marcia
Been thinking about Thanksgiving. Been thinking of how my health has improved since I began eating the raw food program diet and giving thanks to God for this.
I am seeing subtle and surprising changes in my body since I have been eating so many more greens and raw vegetables. I am still in the process of testing things, too. I have been eating one or two apples per day and seeing good results. I have had to rethink the "no fruit" idea. I am not about to go overboard, but an apple a day, or some grapefruit, as my doctor has suggested does not seem to be going overboard. Then, of course, I think about the fact that I have not been testing my blood sugars after eating the fruit, so I think I should begin doing that.
The changes I am seeing in my body started with my skin becoming soft and supple, instead of dry and rough. I think that was one of the first changes I noticed. It happened within about three days of stopping the sugar intake. I have now also noticed the disappearance of a few "lumps" that I had before.
I have this large pad of fatty tissue at the base of my neck in the back, kind of at the top of my shoulders and it has for the past few years contained some rather large "lumps" that you can only notice by feel. When I asked my doctor about them, she said they were "fatty deposits" and that I need not be alarmed about them. They seem to be completely gone, now. I had had another one on the front of my left shoulder ever since the 70's and it, too, is now almost completely gone. I can just barely find it.
I used to have a couple of small ball shaped "knots" on the ligaments at the base of my fingers on my left hand. One of them is gone, the other one is much smaller than it previously was -- it is almost imperceptible. They were just under the size of a pea and now I have a hard time finding the one that remains.
As long as I continue to take my diuretic, my ankles very rarely swell up. I have tried to cut down on that medication, but the swelling comes back, so still have to continue taking it. But, and I believe this is a large one, I used to have swollen ankles all the time, even while taking the diuretic. Now I do not. Now, my ankles are normal sized for the most part, most of the time.
I used to be aware of the carbohydrate addiction by how it made me "act" -- and it has been a struggle, but I am learning to be more keenly aware of the symptoms when they show up. I tested out eating some cheese again and the results and symptoms were not good. I can still eat the Feta cheese which must be different in some way from the other cheeses because Feta adds good flavor and processes through my body without any side effects that I can see. But that is not the case if I eat American cheese (even though I do not buy the "cheese food" kind). And string cheese is only slightly better.
What I have become aware of is that I tend to binge on cheese, too, if it is in the house, just like I used to binge on grain in the form of bread. I was amazed when I recognized that if I got hungry I went for the cheese first. (A huge clue.) As I ate it, I noticed that the more I ate it, the more I wanted. (A second huge clue.) I soon recognized the sitting and eating with a package of American cheese in my hand as I watched TV while I ate slice after slice. I finally recognized that "eating and eating" without a quenching of the hunger was reminiscent of the eating machine. I just went right on compulsively eating until the package was gone. (And that was the third huge clue.) Any one of these are symptoms of my addiction, so I am not going to purchase that any more. I don't know what it has in it that causes this, and have also noticed it simply has too much salt which oddly enough, I didn't notice as I ate it, but noticed right after, that my mouth was salty. The thing is, I was amazed that American cheese would set off the addiction, again. But I am very glad I recognized it and know what to do about it. After all, that is the main point: Knowing what to do about it, and then doing it.
Dr Mercola says that we need to let go of the grains and also of pasteurized dairy. Taken from one of Dr Mercola's posts:
"As Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation stated: 'Pasteurization (of milk) destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.' ”
Here is the URL to his article if you would like to copy and paste and read it: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/24/nutrition-secrets-from-cavemen.aspx
Another side effect of having eaten the cheese was that I had a lot more "stuff" in my throat that I had to keep clearing out and coughing up. I know that is gross, but I prefer to make note of the bad with the good. So I need to remember about the dairy and the post nasal drip issues.
I also noticed that the pain in the body seems to be worse again, after eating the cheese. I really had no idea that both of those things (grain and dairy) were causing me problems. I recognized the carb stuff, but I had not recognized the dairy problems before. That recognition came from isolating the problem.
I had already eliminated the starchy carbs (in the form of sprouted whole grain bread) and was only eating large amounts of green leafy vegetables, avocado, tomato, cucumber, zucchini, etc. I was eating more raw nuts and seeds, too. When I wanted something "heavier" in my tummy, I gravitated to the nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, almonds, and walnuts) which I would put in a small bowl, sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, curry powder, and olive oil -- almost like a dressing. My weight loss seemed to speed up while I was in that phase. But then I tried out cheese again and all the addiction symptoms came back like a train wreck. So. Now I know.
So, even though this may seem like much ado about nothing, I am grateful that the Lord has opened my eyes to these things. I am grateful that He lead me in the direction of the raw food program and that I am seeing such good results with it. I pray that I may have enough sense to continue doing it.
I am grateful for my church, and for my family and friends. I am looking forward to being with friends tomorrow and possibly hearing from family, too.
By the way, my friends specifically requested that I make my sausage dressing so I have purchased the ingredients and will make it just before I go to their house. I may partake of a serving or two, but I think this will be the last time I make it -- at least for this year.
I thank God for saving my soul and guiding me to learn and incorporate more healthy things into my life. I am grateful for a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat, and a warm bed to sleep in. Not everyone has that. I thank God for everything. May you be blessed this day to have a thousand things for which to thank God and may you feel the joy of His presence in your life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Be back soon
--Marcia
Friday, November 19, 2010
Holiday Health Support
Hi,
I just got an e-mail from a group of women who support each other in following the raw food life style. They were offering to e-mail a different smoothie recipe each day for the 24 days before Christmas (I assume) as a way to help support one another in getting through the holidays unscathed. They are charging $24 for the service. (If you are interested in maintaining your weight loss during the holiday you may be interested in trying it out. Here is the URL: http://www.greensmoothiequeen.com/ )
I am not willing to cough up the moola, but I think it is a great idea to have a plan to help get you through the holidays.
I have been considering what I shall do about Thanksgiving. I had three different invitations from friends, and have chosen one in particular and may visit one of the others afterward. But the thing that concerns me is that I have now found out that after eating good healthy raw vegetables for quite a while now, my body no longer tolerates a lot of cooked food. I have on occasion eaten some cooked food but I am no longer satisfied with the results that I can now distinguish in my body. Cooked food just sort of "sits" in my stomach so I am becoming reluctant to eat it. The day after eating cooked food I find that my sinuses start to drip again, my feet swell up again, and I really do just feel "out of sorts" the next day.
I had originally thought that I could go off the program for one day but what popped into my head was recalling last year when I went off the deep end three times at Thanksgiving, alone and started the eating machine that lasted for months. I can not do that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore. My body will not let me do that anymore. So maybe I should plan on taking a couple of raw dishes to add to the dinner and then only partaking of them, plus a little turkey.
I am thinking that maybe I should make a good salad and a fresh raw apple pie. I have not made a raw (unbaked) apple pie before but I have seen a video on YouTube about how to do it and think it should be pretty easy. In the video they used walnuts that had been blended to very small pieces and mixed them with a little raw apple that was also blended to applesauce texture. They mixed these two things together to make the crust which they pressed into a pie plate. Then they put in a layer of fresh raspberries, piled on the thinly sliced raw apples and some seasonings (cinnamon and nutmeg, I think) and topped it with more walnut bits. That is it. No baking needed. They cut it and tried it at that point. It truly is an uncooked raw apple pie.
I was beginning to balk at the raspberries because of the price, but I saw some in the store for about five dollars and if I only buy one box (1/2 pint), I should be able to afford it. I am sure it really added to the flavor of the apple pie even though I don't really care so much for raspberries. Maybe blue berries would suit my tastes better. I will have to consider it.
Perhaps I should make and take the raw stuffing that I saw Ann Marie Gianni make instead of the pie. It would be a little less costly than the pie, but appetizing and appealing none the less. Here is the link if you'd like to see it: ( http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2010/10/06/raw-food-recipe-for-a-fall-apple-cranberry-stuffing/ ) -- there is an odd blank spot in the middle where everything goes black, but it soon continues. This recipe seems very promising to me.
The next thing to consider is how to respond to offers of sweets and other pornographic food. You know they are called "goodies" but they are really "badies." The only proper response is "No, thank you." You may have to repeat yourself many times, too, because well meaning loved ones don't like to take "No, thank you" as a response to what they have lovingly but misguidedly prepared. You will have to be prepared to disappoint someone. I am thinking that since I have always been tempted by them, I may be tempted again, but I cannot afford to indulge in them. "No thank you" must be my consistent response. What if they ask "Why?" That is a perfect opportunity to share what you are doing and why, but that could take up the rest of the conversation for the afternoon. If you need to keep it simple, then "Health Issues" is usually a response they will respect and not continue to press you with.
I remember what Dr. Mercola said about each meal affecting your body. A good meal affecting it in good ways and a bad meal affecting it in bad ways. Just because the holidays are coming is really no good reason to start eating dirt. I said "dirt" to shock the mind. We don't eat dirt and never have, but what if you have finally come to know that the food you grew up eating and loved to eat because of addiction is not really better for human consumption than eating dirt? Those "goodies" are made from ingredients that have been striped of any nutrition they may have originally had, then blended with artificial ingredients to make them look good for a l-o-n-g time on the shelf. Even if they are home made they have been baked, boiled and fried in order to change the consistency which makes them more like imitation food or a science project, than what the Good Lord has created for us and given to us to eat raw and naturally.
I know how I am and I might just happen to forget all this when faced with temptation. So I shall begin to pray about that now. In the Bible it says to "watch and pray" lest you enter into "temptation." I am going to include all the verses I found on this:
Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mr 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mr 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Lu 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Not only prayer is needed but watchfulness. You have to stay on the alert and remain on guard, especially in the area of your addiction. The Lord will help me get thought this, and He will help you, too, if you ask Him too. Then continue to pray and continue to watch and be on guard during the entire holiday season.
My Holiday Health Support is Jesus and following His instructions. There is not anything or anyone who is able to help me more than Jesus is able to. He has said that "watchfulness and prayer" is my part.
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
According to Peter in the above verse, obedience comes from the Holy Spirit, so if I watch and pray and let His Spirit work in me, in my heart, I shall overcome through obedience to what I know to be the truth.
May you be blessed to remain actively engaged in supporting your own health during the Holiday Season. Jesus is the reason for the season. Let us not turn this season into a reason to disobey Him.
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
It is the watching and the praying that helps a weak flesh to overcome the jolly folly of the world.
What are your plans for the holiday season? Are you planning to obey or disobey what you know is right for your body and your soul? What about your family? What are you planning to feed them?
As concerns my health: I am planning on taking fresh raw food I can eat to gatherings. I am planning on saying "No, thank you" to the temptations of pornographic food. I am planning on being on guard and praying to stay on track for every meal and get me through victorious. I am trusting the Holy Spirit to bring to my remembrance the reasons I need to stay on track, too.
Lord, please help me to remain faithful, even during times when I know beforehand that I have failed before. Please help me to not fail again. Did you know that a synonym for the word "fail" is "quit." Don't quit doing what is right. Trust in the Lord and you will come out victorious on the other side.
Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied through trusting in Jesus Christ,
God bless you and your endeavors,
Be back soon,
--Marcia
I just got an e-mail from a group of women who support each other in following the raw food life style. They were offering to e-mail a different smoothie recipe each day for the 24 days before Christmas (I assume) as a way to help support one another in getting through the holidays unscathed. They are charging $24 for the service. (If you are interested in maintaining your weight loss during the holiday you may be interested in trying it out. Here is the URL: http://www.greensmoothiequeen.com/ )
I am not willing to cough up the moola, but I think it is a great idea to have a plan to help get you through the holidays.
I have been considering what I shall do about Thanksgiving. I had three different invitations from friends, and have chosen one in particular and may visit one of the others afterward. But the thing that concerns me is that I have now found out that after eating good healthy raw vegetables for quite a while now, my body no longer tolerates a lot of cooked food. I have on occasion eaten some cooked food but I am no longer satisfied with the results that I can now distinguish in my body. Cooked food just sort of "sits" in my stomach so I am becoming reluctant to eat it. The day after eating cooked food I find that my sinuses start to drip again, my feet swell up again, and I really do just feel "out of sorts" the next day.
I had originally thought that I could go off the program for one day but what popped into my head was recalling last year when I went off the deep end three times at Thanksgiving, alone and started the eating machine that lasted for months. I can not do that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore. My body will not let me do that anymore. So maybe I should plan on taking a couple of raw dishes to add to the dinner and then only partaking of them, plus a little turkey.
I am thinking that maybe I should make a good salad and a fresh raw apple pie. I have not made a raw (unbaked) apple pie before but I have seen a video on YouTube about how to do it and think it should be pretty easy. In the video they used walnuts that had been blended to very small pieces and mixed them with a little raw apple that was also blended to applesauce texture. They mixed these two things together to make the crust which they pressed into a pie plate. Then they put in a layer of fresh raspberries, piled on the thinly sliced raw apples and some seasonings (cinnamon and nutmeg, I think) and topped it with more walnut bits. That is it. No baking needed. They cut it and tried it at that point. It truly is an uncooked raw apple pie.
I was beginning to balk at the raspberries because of the price, but I saw some in the store for about five dollars and if I only buy one box (1/2 pint), I should be able to afford it. I am sure it really added to the flavor of the apple pie even though I don't really care so much for raspberries. Maybe blue berries would suit my tastes better. I will have to consider it.
Perhaps I should make and take the raw stuffing that I saw Ann Marie Gianni make instead of the pie. It would be a little less costly than the pie, but appetizing and appealing none the less. Here is the link if you'd like to see it: ( http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2010/10/06/raw-food-recipe-for-a-fall-apple-cranberry-stuffing/ ) -- there is an odd blank spot in the middle where everything goes black, but it soon continues. This recipe seems very promising to me.
The next thing to consider is how to respond to offers of sweets and other pornographic food. You know they are called "goodies" but they are really "badies." The only proper response is "No, thank you." You may have to repeat yourself many times, too, because well meaning loved ones don't like to take "No, thank you" as a response to what they have lovingly but misguidedly prepared. You will have to be prepared to disappoint someone. I am thinking that since I have always been tempted by them, I may be tempted again, but I cannot afford to indulge in them. "No thank you" must be my consistent response. What if they ask "Why?" That is a perfect opportunity to share what you are doing and why, but that could take up the rest of the conversation for the afternoon. If you need to keep it simple, then "Health Issues" is usually a response they will respect and not continue to press you with.
I remember what Dr. Mercola said about each meal affecting your body. A good meal affecting it in good ways and a bad meal affecting it in bad ways. Just because the holidays are coming is really no good reason to start eating dirt. I said "dirt" to shock the mind. We don't eat dirt and never have, but what if you have finally come to know that the food you grew up eating and loved to eat because of addiction is not really better for human consumption than eating dirt? Those "goodies" are made from ingredients that have been striped of any nutrition they may have originally had, then blended with artificial ingredients to make them look good for a l-o-n-g time on the shelf. Even if they are home made they have been baked, boiled and fried in order to change the consistency which makes them more like imitation food or a science project, than what the Good Lord has created for us and given to us to eat raw and naturally.
I know how I am and I might just happen to forget all this when faced with temptation. So I shall begin to pray about that now. In the Bible it says to "watch and pray" lest you enter into "temptation." I am going to include all the verses I found on this:
Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mr 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mr 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Lu 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Not only prayer is needed but watchfulness. You have to stay on the alert and remain on guard, especially in the area of your addiction. The Lord will help me get thought this, and He will help you, too, if you ask Him too. Then continue to pray and continue to watch and be on guard during the entire holiday season.
My Holiday Health Support is Jesus and following His instructions. There is not anything or anyone who is able to help me more than Jesus is able to. He has said that "watchfulness and prayer" is my part.
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
According to Peter in the above verse, obedience comes from the Holy Spirit, so if I watch and pray and let His Spirit work in me, in my heart, I shall overcome through obedience to what I know to be the truth.
May you be blessed to remain actively engaged in supporting your own health during the Holiday Season. Jesus is the reason for the season. Let us not turn this season into a reason to disobey Him.
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
It is the watching and the praying that helps a weak flesh to overcome the jolly folly of the world.
What are your plans for the holiday season? Are you planning to obey or disobey what you know is right for your body and your soul? What about your family? What are you planning to feed them?
As concerns my health: I am planning on taking fresh raw food I can eat to gatherings. I am planning on saying "No, thank you" to the temptations of pornographic food. I am planning on being on guard and praying to stay on track for every meal and get me through victorious. I am trusting the Holy Spirit to bring to my remembrance the reasons I need to stay on track, too.
Lord, please help me to remain faithful, even during times when I know beforehand that I have failed before. Please help me to not fail again. Did you know that a synonym for the word "fail" is "quit." Don't quit doing what is right. Trust in the Lord and you will come out victorious on the other side.
Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied through trusting in Jesus Christ,
God bless you and your endeavors,
Be back soon,
--Marcia
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Hi to all my good friends and family,
I have now watched all five of the free videos at:
http://www.rawfor30days.com/VideoSeries/?page_id=82
Each one is from a different expert in either raw food eating or in diabetes, itself:
Morgan Spurlock has personal documented experience (film documentary: "Supersize Me) of what happens to the body when eating every meal from a fast food restaurant and super sizing those meals over a 30 day period. This video shares what it took to heal the major health problems that arose afterward. He did a detox and changed to eating more raw vegetables and all of the illnesses he had after eating the fast food diet cleared up and were cured.
Dr Joel Fuhrman is a medical doctor with lots of experience with healing people by using a raw food program, who gives lots of insight through anecdotal stories of particular patients and also his expert view point of the "powers that be" such as drug companies, the FDA, the food industry. His perspective and message is worth hearing.
David Wolfe is a well-known and popular speaker on the raw food experience. His perspective is down to earth but very studied and intelligent. He has traveled the country for years helping people heal themselves by changing what they eat.
Mike Adams is one that I was not familiar with, but after listening to him on this video segment, I can see his unique perspective and way of putting things together in a logical no-nonsense way that is obviously helpful to those who need his expertise.
If you have any curiosity at all about curing diabetes, plus a few other chronic illnesses, I recommend watching these videos. The only thing I don't like, is that each time I visit the site I have to give my name and e-mail address one more time. I have not balked at this, because the videos are so very good. They also have the trailer for the movie "Simply Raw" available too. The actual "Simply Raw" video is the only one you have to buy to view. But right now it is on sale for 50% off until the 19th. You will be getting the video for half of what I paid for it -- but it was worth it, even at full price, so I think half price is a great deal. And that is aside from the extra stuff they include for free with the purchase.
And no, they don't know me from Adam and I am not being paid to share this information with you. I am simply learning as much as I can on the subject to keep me focused and continue my education in this area. I get excited to find answers to questions and solutions to problems and am simply sharing with you. If you find anything of value in looking at this stuff, I hope it is that you might begin to make healthy changes in your eating habits, too.
For me, changing my eating program has taken a bit of time and effort, but I am glad for the current results I am seeing. I am finally beginning to feel settled into my program and have made some new habits for myself. My weight this morning was 336.75 which is a loss of 15.25 pounds for me. Wow. My weight usually fluctuates up and down but this is the lowest I have weighed in a long time. Blood pressure was 145 over 84 with a heart rate of 73. Still moderately high, but not outrageously high, as it has been in the past.
This morning I had eaten my usual breakfast salad and was feeling hungry for something more. Pictures of protein were passing through my head but I had half of a grapefruit in the fridge and pulled it out. I wanted to test to see if I really should be including fruit in my diet and wanted to see the results in my blood sugar. Before I ate it, I was at 128 which was about an hour after having eaten my breakfast salad. I cut up the grapefruit halve into medium to thin slices and simply ate the fruit and as much of the pith as I could get off of the skin. I waited half an hour and measured again and it was 119. Wow. Not what I was expecting. I think I will have to measure in about another half hour and see what it says.
My doctor had said I could eat grapefruit and apples but I have been very leery of actually doing that. This is my first test of fruit in relation to blood sugars. I am taking a "wait and see" attitude to make sure this was not a "one time" reaction or a fluke of some kind. Better safe than sorry.
I have been trying out greens that I have never eaten before. Yesterday I bought some "macha" which I had read about in the food encyclopedia but had never noticed at the store before. When my eyes landed on the name I had to try some. What I bought had small leaves about the size of a quarter with short stems which are tender like spinach and taste very pleasant, so I am pleased with the purchase and will be adding them to my salads.
One thing about testing blood sugars after eating food is that you need to be careful to make sure you don't have any juice on your hands, because the meter will measure the juice on your hands right along with the blood coming out of your finger. I did one time before check my blood sugar after eating a grapefruit and was flabbergasted that it was something like 347. I just don't usually get blood sugars that high but I realized what had happened and washed my hands and checked again. The second test was taken within a minute of the first one and it was 147, a whole lot better. So be careful to make sure there is no juice on your hands when you test because it really can give you a false reading.
I am pleased with the numbers I am getting (blood glucose numbers, weight, and blood pressure) and am hoping that when I go to the doctor in December, they will be even better. I am still taking my prescribed high blood pressure medications (Losartan and Triamterene) but am hoping to get off of those, too. I had been having a lot of time pass without any swollen feet so, I cut back on the diuretic to see if I could get by without it, but my feet started swelling again, so I had to start taking it properly again. I used to strongly believe that the swelling was caused by eating starchy carbs, but now... I am not so sure. I had always noticed a relationship between eating sweets or carbs and the next day having swollen feet, but it does not seem to be acting as I thought. It also seems funny to me that usually a diabetic has to pee a lot -- but I need to have a diuretic to make me go. I wonder what is up with that. (Please pardon the TMI.)
Well, I waited the half hour and checked again. It is now 117 so it is heading downward and not up. So maybe grapefruit are acceptable in my diet, just like my doctor said. That is kind of nice. One other thing I have noticed is that my blood actually seems to be thinner than it was in the past. It used to be that I would prick my finger and often would have to do it more than once because I could not get any blood out of my finger. I wasted a lot of test strips from not having enough blood to properly measure and you cannot use them again. But now, after changing my diet, my blood is a lot more "watery" in consistency and I sometimes even have to blot it to make it stop bleeding. Progress is showing up in many small ways. At least I hope that is progress.
One of the things that I heard Dr. Fuhrman talk about was that the "symptoms" that show up in our bodies are actually our bodies trying to heal themselves. He gave the example that if you eat something that is poisoned then you usually vomit and get diarrhia which is actually the body riding itself of the poison. Even though we don't like those "symptoms" they are actually good for us. He was talking about how when a person first goes on a raw food program the first feelings they may run into are not called "good." He explained that the body may be in the process of riding itself of toxins and other stuff, and that after that, a person starts to feel better. I think that may be what happened to the man who quit the 30 day diabetes experiment when he began to feel bad. He took those symptoms and feelings as "truth" instead of "reaction" and quit the program. I hope he tries it again, since it had already lowered his blood sugar levels and reduced his blood pressure, too.
I've just been rambling today in the blog, but staying on track in the eating department. It is much easier to do when you have the right kinds of food on hand.
Here is to your success!!
God bless you,
Be back soon
--Marcia
I have now watched all five of the free videos at:
http://www.rawfor30days.com/VideoSeries/?page_id=82
Each one is from a different expert in either raw food eating or in diabetes, itself:
Morgan Spurlock has personal documented experience (film documentary: "Supersize Me) of what happens to the body when eating every meal from a fast food restaurant and super sizing those meals over a 30 day period. This video shares what it took to heal the major health problems that arose afterward. He did a detox and changed to eating more raw vegetables and all of the illnesses he had after eating the fast food diet cleared up and were cured.
Dr Joel Fuhrman is a medical doctor with lots of experience with healing people by using a raw food program, who gives lots of insight through anecdotal stories of particular patients and also his expert view point of the "powers that be" such as drug companies, the FDA, the food industry. His perspective and message is worth hearing.
David Wolfe is a well-known and popular speaker on the raw food experience. His perspective is down to earth but very studied and intelligent. He has traveled the country for years helping people heal themselves by changing what they eat.
Mike Adams is one that I was not familiar with, but after listening to him on this video segment, I can see his unique perspective and way of putting things together in a logical no-nonsense way that is obviously helpful to those who need his expertise.
If you have any curiosity at all about curing diabetes, plus a few other chronic illnesses, I recommend watching these videos. The only thing I don't like, is that each time I visit the site I have to give my name and e-mail address one more time. I have not balked at this, because the videos are so very good. They also have the trailer for the movie "Simply Raw" available too. The actual "Simply Raw" video is the only one you have to buy to view. But right now it is on sale for 50% off until the 19th. You will be getting the video for half of what I paid for it -- but it was worth it, even at full price, so I think half price is a great deal. And that is aside from the extra stuff they include for free with the purchase.
And no, they don't know me from Adam and I am not being paid to share this information with you. I am simply learning as much as I can on the subject to keep me focused and continue my education in this area. I get excited to find answers to questions and solutions to problems and am simply sharing with you. If you find anything of value in looking at this stuff, I hope it is that you might begin to make healthy changes in your eating habits, too.
For me, changing my eating program has taken a bit of time and effort, but I am glad for the current results I am seeing. I am finally beginning to feel settled into my program and have made some new habits for myself. My weight this morning was 336.75 which is a loss of 15.25 pounds for me. Wow. My weight usually fluctuates up and down but this is the lowest I have weighed in a long time. Blood pressure was 145 over 84 with a heart rate of 73. Still moderately high, but not outrageously high, as it has been in the past.
This morning I had eaten my usual breakfast salad and was feeling hungry for something more. Pictures of protein were passing through my head but I had half of a grapefruit in the fridge and pulled it out. I wanted to test to see if I really should be including fruit in my diet and wanted to see the results in my blood sugar. Before I ate it, I was at 128 which was about an hour after having eaten my breakfast salad. I cut up the grapefruit halve into medium to thin slices and simply ate the fruit and as much of the pith as I could get off of the skin. I waited half an hour and measured again and it was 119. Wow. Not what I was expecting. I think I will have to measure in about another half hour and see what it says.
My doctor had said I could eat grapefruit and apples but I have been very leery of actually doing that. This is my first test of fruit in relation to blood sugars. I am taking a "wait and see" attitude to make sure this was not a "one time" reaction or a fluke of some kind. Better safe than sorry.
I have been trying out greens that I have never eaten before. Yesterday I bought some "macha" which I had read about in the food encyclopedia but had never noticed at the store before. When my eyes landed on the name I had to try some. What I bought had small leaves about the size of a quarter with short stems which are tender like spinach and taste very pleasant, so I am pleased with the purchase and will be adding them to my salads.
One thing about testing blood sugars after eating food is that you need to be careful to make sure you don't have any juice on your hands, because the meter will measure the juice on your hands right along with the blood coming out of your finger. I did one time before check my blood sugar after eating a grapefruit and was flabbergasted that it was something like 347. I just don't usually get blood sugars that high but I realized what had happened and washed my hands and checked again. The second test was taken within a minute of the first one and it was 147, a whole lot better. So be careful to make sure there is no juice on your hands when you test because it really can give you a false reading.
I am pleased with the numbers I am getting (blood glucose numbers, weight, and blood pressure) and am hoping that when I go to the doctor in December, they will be even better. I am still taking my prescribed high blood pressure medications (Losartan and Triamterene) but am hoping to get off of those, too. I had been having a lot of time pass without any swollen feet so, I cut back on the diuretic to see if I could get by without it, but my feet started swelling again, so I had to start taking it properly again. I used to strongly believe that the swelling was caused by eating starchy carbs, but now... I am not so sure. I had always noticed a relationship between eating sweets or carbs and the next day having swollen feet, but it does not seem to be acting as I thought. It also seems funny to me that usually a diabetic has to pee a lot -- but I need to have a diuretic to make me go. I wonder what is up with that. (Please pardon the TMI.)
Well, I waited the half hour and checked again. It is now 117 so it is heading downward and not up. So maybe grapefruit are acceptable in my diet, just like my doctor said. That is kind of nice. One other thing I have noticed is that my blood actually seems to be thinner than it was in the past. It used to be that I would prick my finger and often would have to do it more than once because I could not get any blood out of my finger. I wasted a lot of test strips from not having enough blood to properly measure and you cannot use them again. But now, after changing my diet, my blood is a lot more "watery" in consistency and I sometimes even have to blot it to make it stop bleeding. Progress is showing up in many small ways. At least I hope that is progress.
One of the things that I heard Dr. Fuhrman talk about was that the "symptoms" that show up in our bodies are actually our bodies trying to heal themselves. He gave the example that if you eat something that is poisoned then you usually vomit and get diarrhia which is actually the body riding itself of the poison. Even though we don't like those "symptoms" they are actually good for us. He was talking about how when a person first goes on a raw food program the first feelings they may run into are not called "good." He explained that the body may be in the process of riding itself of toxins and other stuff, and that after that, a person starts to feel better. I think that may be what happened to the man who quit the 30 day diabetes experiment when he began to feel bad. He took those symptoms and feelings as "truth" instead of "reaction" and quit the program. I hope he tries it again, since it had already lowered his blood sugar levels and reduced his blood pressure, too.
I've just been rambling today in the blog, but staying on track in the eating department. It is much easier to do when you have the right kinds of food on hand.
Here is to your success!!
God bless you,
Be back soon
--Marcia
Monday, November 15, 2010
Dr Mercola: Health Happens One Meal at a Time
"The old saying “you are what you eat” is probably never more apparent than shortly after you eat a convenient, good-tasting junk-food meal. My guess is that most of the time you begin to feel tired, your mood sinks, your brain feels foggy, and you may even feel hungry again, not to mention all the guilt you have for putting things into your body that you know will move you toward sickness and disease.....The more that you eat a diet full of sugar, grains and bad fats -- like trans fats and those from vegetable oils -- the more you are clouding your brain’s ability to “hear” the biochemical signals that tell it to stop eating and storing fat. These signals come from the hormones insulin and leptin, and their job is to, among other things, control your metabolism. Insulin works mostly at the cellular level, telling the vast majority of your cells whether to burn or store fat and sugar, and whether to utilize that energy for maintenance, repair or reproduction. Leptin, on the other hand, sends signals that reduce your hunger, increase fat burning and reduce fat storage. However, when you regularly eat foods, such as sugar and grains, that cause your blood sugar to spike after you eat -- your body becomes resistant to these important messages. The end result is a major miscommunication that tells your body to eat more and store more fat, instead of what it actually needs: to reduce hunger and burn fat. When your insulin and leptin levels are increased, it will become very difficult for you to use fat as a fuel as the enzymes required for doing this are significantly impaired."
Excerpt from: Dr. Mercola at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/05/a-single-meal-can-lead-to-good-or-bad-health.aspx
Hi,
I was quite taken with the information Dr. Mercola included in his article above and wanted to share it with you.
So far, in my journey of discovery about diet and health, I have found some very major information that I have been trying to incorporate into my own life. If I had any advice to offer the next person I would say: get your information from more than one source, take what you think is best for you and incorporate it into your life, and don't be fooled by opinions and lists of food or menus.
For instance: In the Food Encyclopedia that I found all the good information about leafy greens, I also found what looks to me like misinformation, too. For instance, they have a section in the front of the book about "nutrition" in general, but the book supports the food pyramid that says that grains should be the basis of your diet. I've already found other information that "goes against the grain" which I trust more. So I have taken what I believe works and left the rest.
It also talks about salt. On the left hand page it says that a healthy person should have a salt intake of between 1500 and 2000 units of measure. On the right hand page, it suggests a one-day menu for eating this way. The first thing I noticed was that the list had no -- none -- no raw vegetables. It was all packaged, canned, or processed foods. And guess what the total salt at the bottom of the list was? Amazingly it totaled more than 3,500! What is up with that?
I have noticed this "phenomenon" before. Even in the "Going Against the Grain" book I was flabbergasted when I read the menus. I would have thought that dropping out grains would have meant to increase fresh raw vegetables, but the menus are heavily based on consuming more meat and protein, instead. They just don't match the information in the front of the book, at least, not as I interpret it.
It even occurred in "The 30 Day Diabetes Cure" book that I started my blog with. I must admit that this particular book was far better than many I have seen in that it had only two recipes that I recall that simply did not fit their own instructions. They specifically help you to stop eating sugar, and then include a recipe that has sugar as one of the ingredients. I don't recall off the top of my head what the problem with the other recipe was, but actually, this was one of the best menu matches for the information provided.
I have actually run into this many times. You read the book, you see the research, you get the idea, and then look at the sample menus. Sometimes they are so far off base that you wonder if they were compiled by the same individual.
So, my point, is this: be observant and careful. Don't rush willy nilly to the menus and skip the information, scientific or otherwise. I think it is much better to get the information, verify it from other sources, and then incorporate it yourself into your own menus. Getting ideas from recipes is the main thing I do. I let them head me in a direction, especially ones that I might not have thought of, but I am careful. If the recipe actually follows the health advice, then have at, but if it does not, wonder what is going on, and then fix it yourself.
Even when I took the raw food class at my doctor's office -- taught by the doctor -- I noticed discrepancies. The students were all either pre diabetic or diabetic and there were high sugar items in some of the recipes we were taught. If you are trying to eliminate sugar, you can't put sugary items in your recipes. If you are doing it for your health, you need to be careful.
Which brings me back to the statements by Dr. Mercola above. Each meal is important. When I eat, what I call a screwed up meal, I notice the crappy effects the next day in the way my body feels. Sometimes within hours I notice my nose is running again, or my feet are slightly swollen again. This means the recipes are very important. The ingredients are important. Each meal is important. I know how easy it is to get tempted to eat something that is not actually on your program. I've blogged about my own exploits. We live surrounded by pornographic food and well meaning but misinformed people, whom we love. Good people offer us donuts. Nice friends want us to have a diet soft drink. And the words, "just one won't hurt you" often accompany the misguided hospitality. If we were drug addicts they would never do that. They would never offer just one drink to an alcoholic. But because our society does not recognize carbohydrate addiction, being addicted themselves, they simply do not understand what they are doing to you -- and more importantly to themselves.
I know also from my own experience that a person is probably going to eat a "bad meal" from time to time, but the important thing is to not let unhealthy choices begin to rule your life again. If you have a "bad meal" don't have another one immediately after, or even within the next few days. Give your body time to recover before deciding to eat bad stuff again. The more time that you put between bad meals, the more time your body has to heal. I am reiterating and emphasizing this as much or more for myself as anyone else.
If you let yourself get too hungry, you are likely to make bad choices. Our own appetites and cravings are strong, sometimes overwhelming. If we do not take that into account, we are easily misled. The best advice I have heard on this subject, is to make sure you have something in your pocket or purse, to tide you over. If nuts and seeds are on your program, carry some. If an unsweet fruit (such as cucumber or green bell pepper) will help you, carry one during the day. Do what you need to do. Be honest with yourself. For myself, I have not yet started carrying proper snacks, but I am thinking seriously of it, now.
I think the most important thing is to keep focused on why you are doing what you are doing. That is one of the reasons I do so much reading about the subject, it just keeps me awake and focused. If I did not do that, I would soon be living in the fog again, making wrong choices and thinking that it was perfectly OK to eat a bag of candy once in a while. If that is not foggy thinking, I really have no idea what is. The thing that really amazes me when I look back on having eaten an unhealthy meal, is how nonchalantly I did it. It was as if I was nearly unconcerned with doing what was best for me. I say "nearly" because there is always that little voice saying, "that is not good,", or "that is not on your program."
It is hard to admit that sometimes I just stick my hand out and take bad food. My hand becomes suddenly autonomous and does what it wants to do, without regard for what is best for my health. I guess that is a habit, too. Self indulgence. There it is again. As long as I continue to live at the mercy of my flesh, meaning cravings and desires, I let the pornography win. (Pornographic food is food that is tempting, but full of bad ingredients that are not good for me.) The sleazy food ideas that come floating through my brain, do not have to be indulged. I can stop them. I can put up the STOP sign and say, "I'm not going there." When I do, I make much better choices, because I choose to be thoughtful about what is best for my health. I can choose to make intelligent informed choices, rather than indulge in "knee jerk" reactions, if I am willing to recognize the sleazy thoughts and put a halt to them. Making good choices always makes me feel good afterward -- not only emotionally, but physically, too.
May we all make good thoughtful purposeful food choices today. To your health!!
Love you,
Be back soon,
--Marcia
Excerpt from: Dr. Mercola at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/05/a-single-meal-can-lead-to-good-or-bad-health.aspx
Hi,
I was quite taken with the information Dr. Mercola included in his article above and wanted to share it with you.
So far, in my journey of discovery about diet and health, I have found some very major information that I have been trying to incorporate into my own life. If I had any advice to offer the next person I would say: get your information from more than one source, take what you think is best for you and incorporate it into your life, and don't be fooled by opinions and lists of food or menus.
For instance: In the Food Encyclopedia that I found all the good information about leafy greens, I also found what looks to me like misinformation, too. For instance, they have a section in the front of the book about "nutrition" in general, but the book supports the food pyramid that says that grains should be the basis of your diet. I've already found other information that "goes against the grain" which I trust more. So I have taken what I believe works and left the rest.
It also talks about salt. On the left hand page it says that a healthy person should have a salt intake of between 1500 and 2000 units of measure. On the right hand page, it suggests a one-day menu for eating this way. The first thing I noticed was that the list had no -- none -- no raw vegetables. It was all packaged, canned, or processed foods. And guess what the total salt at the bottom of the list was? Amazingly it totaled more than 3,500! What is up with that?
I have noticed this "phenomenon" before. Even in the "Going Against the Grain" book I was flabbergasted when I read the menus. I would have thought that dropping out grains would have meant to increase fresh raw vegetables, but the menus are heavily based on consuming more meat and protein, instead. They just don't match the information in the front of the book, at least, not as I interpret it.
It even occurred in "The 30 Day Diabetes Cure" book that I started my blog with. I must admit that this particular book was far better than many I have seen in that it had only two recipes that I recall that simply did not fit their own instructions. They specifically help you to stop eating sugar, and then include a recipe that has sugar as one of the ingredients. I don't recall off the top of my head what the problem with the other recipe was, but actually, this was one of the best menu matches for the information provided.
I have actually run into this many times. You read the book, you see the research, you get the idea, and then look at the sample menus. Sometimes they are so far off base that you wonder if they were compiled by the same individual.
So, my point, is this: be observant and careful. Don't rush willy nilly to the menus and skip the information, scientific or otherwise. I think it is much better to get the information, verify it from other sources, and then incorporate it yourself into your own menus. Getting ideas from recipes is the main thing I do. I let them head me in a direction, especially ones that I might not have thought of, but I am careful. If the recipe actually follows the health advice, then have at, but if it does not, wonder what is going on, and then fix it yourself.
Even when I took the raw food class at my doctor's office -- taught by the doctor -- I noticed discrepancies. The students were all either pre diabetic or diabetic and there were high sugar items in some of the recipes we were taught. If you are trying to eliminate sugar, you can't put sugary items in your recipes. If you are doing it for your health, you need to be careful.
Which brings me back to the statements by Dr. Mercola above. Each meal is important. When I eat, what I call a screwed up meal, I notice the crappy effects the next day in the way my body feels. Sometimes within hours I notice my nose is running again, or my feet are slightly swollen again. This means the recipes are very important. The ingredients are important. Each meal is important. I know how easy it is to get tempted to eat something that is not actually on your program. I've blogged about my own exploits. We live surrounded by pornographic food and well meaning but misinformed people, whom we love. Good people offer us donuts. Nice friends want us to have a diet soft drink. And the words, "just one won't hurt you" often accompany the misguided hospitality. If we were drug addicts they would never do that. They would never offer just one drink to an alcoholic. But because our society does not recognize carbohydrate addiction, being addicted themselves, they simply do not understand what they are doing to you -- and more importantly to themselves.
I know also from my own experience that a person is probably going to eat a "bad meal" from time to time, but the important thing is to not let unhealthy choices begin to rule your life again. If you have a "bad meal" don't have another one immediately after, or even within the next few days. Give your body time to recover before deciding to eat bad stuff again. The more time that you put between bad meals, the more time your body has to heal. I am reiterating and emphasizing this as much or more for myself as anyone else.
If you let yourself get too hungry, you are likely to make bad choices. Our own appetites and cravings are strong, sometimes overwhelming. If we do not take that into account, we are easily misled. The best advice I have heard on this subject, is to make sure you have something in your pocket or purse, to tide you over. If nuts and seeds are on your program, carry some. If an unsweet fruit (such as cucumber or green bell pepper) will help you, carry one during the day. Do what you need to do. Be honest with yourself. For myself, I have not yet started carrying proper snacks, but I am thinking seriously of it, now.
I think the most important thing is to keep focused on why you are doing what you are doing. That is one of the reasons I do so much reading about the subject, it just keeps me awake and focused. If I did not do that, I would soon be living in the fog again, making wrong choices and thinking that it was perfectly OK to eat a bag of candy once in a while. If that is not foggy thinking, I really have no idea what is. The thing that really amazes me when I look back on having eaten an unhealthy meal, is how nonchalantly I did it. It was as if I was nearly unconcerned with doing what was best for me. I say "nearly" because there is always that little voice saying, "that is not good,", or "that is not on your program."
It is hard to admit that sometimes I just stick my hand out and take bad food. My hand becomes suddenly autonomous and does what it wants to do, without regard for what is best for my health. I guess that is a habit, too. Self indulgence. There it is again. As long as I continue to live at the mercy of my flesh, meaning cravings and desires, I let the pornography win. (Pornographic food is food that is tempting, but full of bad ingredients that are not good for me.) The sleazy food ideas that come floating through my brain, do not have to be indulged. I can stop them. I can put up the STOP sign and say, "I'm not going there." When I do, I make much better choices, because I choose to be thoughtful about what is best for my health. I can choose to make intelligent informed choices, rather than indulge in "knee jerk" reactions, if I am willing to recognize the sleazy thoughts and put a halt to them. Making good choices always makes me feel good afterward -- not only emotionally, but physically, too.
May we all make good thoughtful purposeful food choices today. To your health!!
Love you,
Be back soon,
--Marcia
Saturday, November 13, 2010
The Human Struggle
READING FROM BOTTOM UP:
11-13-2010 -- 1:22 pm 114 -- YIPPEE!
AFTER EATING A RAW SALAD FOR BREAKFAST
11-13-2010 -- 12:08 pm 128
AFTER EATING 2 SPOONS OF CHIA GEL, ONE OLIVE
11-13-2010 -- 11:22 am 123
AFTERWARDS, WENT TO FELLOWSHIP, ATE MEAT DISH
11-12-2010 -- 5:22 pm 112 (YESTERDAY)
Hi,
I was alarmed this morning when my morning blood sugar was 123. I had taken some chia seed gel and had eaten an olive -- so I guess it was not really a true fasting blood sugar (and I suspect my meter has not made the time change so the time is also off). Perhaps that is why it was so high. But I also wonder if it was not what I ate last night at Sweet Fellowship.
I had prepared and taken a nice fresh raw salad trying to remember that other people are not used to the combinations I eat so I put in some olives, feta cheese, tomato and avocado (which is normal for me anyway) plus my normal spices and olive oil. I took along some fresh lime pieces to squeeze over the salad as it was served.
The hostess had made a Scandinavian type meatball dish with mushrooms and white gravy which she served over noodles. When she plated mine, she left out the noodles, knowing that I don't eat them. She gave me more than I would have taken myself. I did not count them but I would guess there was about five meatballs, a few mushroom pieces and half to three quarters cup of gravy. I filled the rest of the large plate with salad and ate. I wanted to see if the others liked my salad so I kind of watched the eaters. There was only four of us, including the hostess' 12 year old son who came in a little late and ate with us.
I ate and was satisfied. I noticed that the hostess took some of the salad but must not have liked the flavors because she went to the kitchen and put some of the gravy from the meat dish on her salad as dressing. I did not think anything of that other than to realize she was making the flavor match what she needed. I thought it was interesting.
But I wonder if my having eaten the cooked dish with the gravy and probably some grain in the meat balls was what influenced my blood sugars up this morning. You would not think it would make such a difference. I obviously did not think there was anything wrong with partaking in this way, because I did it with only minor reservations. I knew it was not perfect, but also knew I do eat meat from time to time, so I partook. Then had high blood sugars this morning. Granted 123 is not super high, but I kind of like my "teen" numbers. Just to assuage my soul, I checked to see what my average blood sugar has been for the last 7, 14, and 30 days that are recorded and it was 115 consistently on all of them. That includes this morning -- so, OK, that was higher than the 112 for which I was hoping, but still, not so bad. Good even.
I got out the "Simply Raw" DVD and watched it again. There seems to be something small said about eating cooked meat that Dr Cousins believes contributes to diabetes in some way. Maybe that is why I've not been able to get my blood sugars down to the normal "88" average. Maybe that will happen in the not too distant future, but for now my body is hanging on to the sugar levels.
I shall just keep on keeping on and am not going to "sound the alarm" yet. It said in the video that a blood sugar of less than 120 after eating was normal, so I am very very close. I am hoping that as I continue and then go to the doctor in December that I will have some extreme improvements in my blood tests. Especially after sticking to it for that amount of time.
One of the things that was brought home to me in the video was to see the emotional struggles that the participants went through. One lady who is large like me was very distressed in the beginning because her blood sugars simply did not come down as fast as the other participants. They had all gone down to pretty low numbers and she was still at 400 and very discouraged. She wanted to quit and go home, but she decided to stay and stick it out for the 30 days and soon her blood sugar numbers were where mine are right now.
This lady shared at one point how much she just wanted some cheeze crackers and was even describing them in detail. She really wanted those crackers. You could tell that was a really powerful craving she was having, but she got through it without cheating and got to the point of better blood sugars.
One man actually left the program due to the emotional struggle. His blood sugars had gone down, his blood pressure had gone down, and physically he was in much better shape than when he arrived, but one morning he felt sick, almost like the flu. He would not eat because of how his stomach felt and ended up calling his cousin to come pick him up and he did not complete the program. I thought it was interesting that his cousin was actually much bigger than he was in weight. He also refused to think that what his feelings were telling him was anything but the truth. I understand, but I also take note.
I already know that our feelings do not always tell us the truth -- especially when they are in "reactive" mode. What our feelings tell us is how we feel, and that may or may not have anything to do with "the truth." They do not even tell us what we are capable of (a future event), they only tell us how we feel (a past event). I believe, also that our feelings come from our thoughts. If you ever pay attention, every feeling you ever get, comes on the heals of a thought that has just gone through your mind. It is almost like, our feelings are a result of our thinking habits. I learned this from having dealt with lots of fear and anxiety in my past. This is also one of the reasons I believe so strongly in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. It is not the only reason, but it is a strong one.
For me, the Bible is a manual for life. It is more than that, too. It is the Word of God to His children whom He wants back. God loves us and wants us to live with Him, so He gave us His word to guide us to Him. The more you know God, the more you know about Him, who He is, what He is like, the more you know yourself. You can trust in His word, and know that His word is powerful, and you do not need to be afraid of, nor run by, your feelings. You cannot live, separate from God, and you cannot separate from your own feelings, but the more you trust God, the better you feel. Amen!!
In the video, during this segment, they showed clips of a man talking about the struggle that goes on when we try to make changes in our lives. My blog is full of that struggle. That is probably more of what my blog is about than anything else. My struggle to do what I believe is right for my physical body. I share the lessons I am learning from the "experts." I share how I implement, or failed at implementing, that advice. I am, slowly, finding the parameters that work for my body to be healthy. I am finding that if I find what works and continue to do it, it continues to work.
As I read of other people who have struggles in some way to change their lives for the better, I am learning from their struggles. For instance: As I watched the DVD "Simply Raw" for the second time, I tuned in more to the individual struggles. Each person has their own struggles. One man struggled with not only type 1 diabetes but alcoholism. At one point he left the enclave, against good and earnest advice otherwise, and went drinking. But what did he do? He came back. He finished the program, changed his eating habits, and reduced his insulin intake to one fifth of what he had been taking. Later it said he was sometimes preparing raw food meals for his family.
Of the six people who started the experiment, for that is what it was, an experiment in reversing diabetes, one man gave up and quit. One man, gave up, quit, and came back within five hours. One woman almost quit, but decided to stay. The other three did not share what their particular emotional struggle was. They simply persevered, kept their minds open, and obediently did what they were told -- and completed the program successfully. Every person who started out, improved their health during the experiment, even the man who completely quit. Every person was changed in some way. All made physically healthy improvements, but one succumbed to his feelings and quit. Two struggled and teetered with their reactions, but did not let them rob themselves of fulfilling their desire to be healthy. Three simply saw the improvements and rejoiced in them, later making significant changes in their lives and their communities. One even decided to become a doctor so he can help others do the same thing he did.
Hope you are making good changes and seeing good results for your body and soul, too. Don't let your struggles, and your feelings, lead you in the wrong direction. Keep looking at the truth, and following after it. If you are looking for truth, you will find it. If you are not looking for truth, you will not recognize it.
One of the things about diabetes and the standard American diet is that it comes with a mind set. The mind set is self indulgence. That is the thing that I struggled with. It still rises up in me, but the longer I am successful at incorporating the change, the easier it is becoming to stick to it. Sounds like I think I am past the struggles. I am not going to let that fool me. Please don't let it fool you, either. Each day has its own struggle, but if you keep refocusing your eyes on the truth, you can keep getting up and going for it.
I trust in the Lord, and the food He made and believe that He and His food, raw, organic, food that is still in the state that He created it, is the best thing for our bodies. Our bodies are raw and natural. Seems like raw and natural food would obviously be the best thing for them. Living food, for living bodies.
Love you,
Be back soon,
--Marcia
11-13-2010 -- 1:22 pm 114 -- YIPPEE!
AFTER EATING A RAW SALAD FOR BREAKFAST
11-13-2010 -- 12:08 pm 128
AFTER EATING 2 SPOONS OF CHIA GEL, ONE OLIVE
11-13-2010 -- 11:22 am 123
AFTERWARDS, WENT TO FELLOWSHIP, ATE MEAT DISH
11-12-2010 -- 5:22 pm 112 (YESTERDAY)
Hi,
I was alarmed this morning when my morning blood sugar was 123. I had taken some chia seed gel and had eaten an olive -- so I guess it was not really a true fasting blood sugar (and I suspect my meter has not made the time change so the time is also off). Perhaps that is why it was so high. But I also wonder if it was not what I ate last night at Sweet Fellowship.
I had prepared and taken a nice fresh raw salad trying to remember that other people are not used to the combinations I eat so I put in some olives, feta cheese, tomato and avocado (which is normal for me anyway) plus my normal spices and olive oil. I took along some fresh lime pieces to squeeze over the salad as it was served.
The hostess had made a Scandinavian type meatball dish with mushrooms and white gravy which she served over noodles. When she plated mine, she left out the noodles, knowing that I don't eat them. She gave me more than I would have taken myself. I did not count them but I would guess there was about five meatballs, a few mushroom pieces and half to three quarters cup of gravy. I filled the rest of the large plate with salad and ate. I wanted to see if the others liked my salad so I kind of watched the eaters. There was only four of us, including the hostess' 12 year old son who came in a little late and ate with us.
I ate and was satisfied. I noticed that the hostess took some of the salad but must not have liked the flavors because she went to the kitchen and put some of the gravy from the meat dish on her salad as dressing. I did not think anything of that other than to realize she was making the flavor match what she needed. I thought it was interesting.
But I wonder if my having eaten the cooked dish with the gravy and probably some grain in the meat balls was what influenced my blood sugars up this morning. You would not think it would make such a difference. I obviously did not think there was anything wrong with partaking in this way, because I did it with only minor reservations. I knew it was not perfect, but also knew I do eat meat from time to time, so I partook. Then had high blood sugars this morning. Granted 123 is not super high, but I kind of like my "teen" numbers. Just to assuage my soul, I checked to see what my average blood sugar has been for the last 7, 14, and 30 days that are recorded and it was 115 consistently on all of them. That includes this morning -- so, OK, that was higher than the 112 for which I was hoping, but still, not so bad. Good even.
I got out the "Simply Raw" DVD and watched it again. There seems to be something small said about eating cooked meat that Dr Cousins believes contributes to diabetes in some way. Maybe that is why I've not been able to get my blood sugars down to the normal "88" average. Maybe that will happen in the not too distant future, but for now my body is hanging on to the sugar levels.
I shall just keep on keeping on and am not going to "sound the alarm" yet. It said in the video that a blood sugar of less than 120 after eating was normal, so I am very very close. I am hoping that as I continue and then go to the doctor in December that I will have some extreme improvements in my blood tests. Especially after sticking to it for that amount of time.
One of the things that was brought home to me in the video was to see the emotional struggles that the participants went through. One lady who is large like me was very distressed in the beginning because her blood sugars simply did not come down as fast as the other participants. They had all gone down to pretty low numbers and she was still at 400 and very discouraged. She wanted to quit and go home, but she decided to stay and stick it out for the 30 days and soon her blood sugar numbers were where mine are right now.
This lady shared at one point how much she just wanted some cheeze crackers and was even describing them in detail. She really wanted those crackers. You could tell that was a really powerful craving she was having, but she got through it without cheating and got to the point of better blood sugars.
One man actually left the program due to the emotional struggle. His blood sugars had gone down, his blood pressure had gone down, and physically he was in much better shape than when he arrived, but one morning he felt sick, almost like the flu. He would not eat because of how his stomach felt and ended up calling his cousin to come pick him up and he did not complete the program. I thought it was interesting that his cousin was actually much bigger than he was in weight. He also refused to think that what his feelings were telling him was anything but the truth. I understand, but I also take note.
I already know that our feelings do not always tell us the truth -- especially when they are in "reactive" mode. What our feelings tell us is how we feel, and that may or may not have anything to do with "the truth." They do not even tell us what we are capable of (a future event), they only tell us how we feel (a past event). I believe, also that our feelings come from our thoughts. If you ever pay attention, every feeling you ever get, comes on the heals of a thought that has just gone through your mind. It is almost like, our feelings are a result of our thinking habits. I learned this from having dealt with lots of fear and anxiety in my past. This is also one of the reasons I believe so strongly in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. It is not the only reason, but it is a strong one.
For me, the Bible is a manual for life. It is more than that, too. It is the Word of God to His children whom He wants back. God loves us and wants us to live with Him, so He gave us His word to guide us to Him. The more you know God, the more you know about Him, who He is, what He is like, the more you know yourself. You can trust in His word, and know that His word is powerful, and you do not need to be afraid of, nor run by, your feelings. You cannot live, separate from God, and you cannot separate from your own feelings, but the more you trust God, the better you feel. Amen!!
In the video, during this segment, they showed clips of a man talking about the struggle that goes on when we try to make changes in our lives. My blog is full of that struggle. That is probably more of what my blog is about than anything else. My struggle to do what I believe is right for my physical body. I share the lessons I am learning from the "experts." I share how I implement, or failed at implementing, that advice. I am, slowly, finding the parameters that work for my body to be healthy. I am finding that if I find what works and continue to do it, it continues to work.
As I read of other people who have struggles in some way to change their lives for the better, I am learning from their struggles. For instance: As I watched the DVD "Simply Raw" for the second time, I tuned in more to the individual struggles. Each person has their own struggles. One man struggled with not only type 1 diabetes but alcoholism. At one point he left the enclave, against good and earnest advice otherwise, and went drinking. But what did he do? He came back. He finished the program, changed his eating habits, and reduced his insulin intake to one fifth of what he had been taking. Later it said he was sometimes preparing raw food meals for his family.
Of the six people who started the experiment, for that is what it was, an experiment in reversing diabetes, one man gave up and quit. One man, gave up, quit, and came back within five hours. One woman almost quit, but decided to stay. The other three did not share what their particular emotional struggle was. They simply persevered, kept their minds open, and obediently did what they were told -- and completed the program successfully. Every person who started out, improved their health during the experiment, even the man who completely quit. Every person was changed in some way. All made physically healthy improvements, but one succumbed to his feelings and quit. Two struggled and teetered with their reactions, but did not let them rob themselves of fulfilling their desire to be healthy. Three simply saw the improvements and rejoiced in them, later making significant changes in their lives and their communities. One even decided to become a doctor so he can help others do the same thing he did.
Hope you are making good changes and seeing good results for your body and soul, too. Don't let your struggles, and your feelings, lead you in the wrong direction. Keep looking at the truth, and following after it. If you are looking for truth, you will find it. If you are not looking for truth, you will not recognize it.
One of the things about diabetes and the standard American diet is that it comes with a mind set. The mind set is self indulgence. That is the thing that I struggled with. It still rises up in me, but the longer I am successful at incorporating the change, the easier it is becoming to stick to it. Sounds like I think I am past the struggles. I am not going to let that fool me. Please don't let it fool you, either. Each day has its own struggle, but if you keep refocusing your eyes on the truth, you can keep getting up and going for it.
I trust in the Lord, and the food He made and believe that He and His food, raw, organic, food that is still in the state that He created it, is the best thing for our bodies. Our bodies are raw and natural. Seems like raw and natural food would obviously be the best thing for them. Living food, for living bodies.
Love you,
Be back soon,
--Marcia
Thursday, November 11, 2010
All Kinds of Greens
Hi,
Greens. What does that make you think of? I hear the words, "eat your greens" in my head but I don't know from where. I don't think it is my mother's voice. Maybe the words are "eat plenty of greens" coming from a doctor. I don't ever remember hearing why, other than, "they're good for you." So my response was similar to "whatever."
I remember figuring "greens" meant salad, or cooked spinach, or something. Salad meant iceberg lettuce. When I got older and went to a salad bar, I usually skipped the iceberg lettuce because it was my very least favorite item. It was boring and tasteless and kept falling off of the plate so it was hard to control. Ha! Not that I never ate it. It was just a really boring substitute for food and when I had the chance to skip it, I did.
I have been changing what I eat with an eye to improving my health. I am eating a lot of raw food in the form of salads which I am learning to love. But still no iceberg lettuce. Sorry. Salads made with other lettuces and greens really are quite satisfying as a meal. I have been juggling learning and practicing how to control my blood sugars with my diet and am discovering that this raw food thing seems to be producing good results (as noted in my morning blood sugars list from yesterday's post.) So I am getting more excited to find out more about "greens."
What I am first noticing is the importance of them. I listened to a video done by a lady named Victoria Boutenko who was the lady who invented green smoothies. In the film she shares how she healed her family of some pretty major illnesses (juvenile diabetes, obesity, hyper thyroid, chronic fatigue, arrhythmia, arthritis, asthma, and allergies) by starting to eat raw foods. She later came to the conclusion that she and her family, although eating raw for seven years, were missing something in their diets and starting to feel ill in small ways, again. She set out to find out what the missing link or ingredient was. Oddly enough, she found it by studying chimpanzees which she settled on because of their 99.4 percent match with human genes. I think God did that so we would have a living example of what to eat, since we have gone so far afield. And the ingredient was green leafy vegetables. (Here is a link to her story which includes the chart that I saw: http://www.rawfamily.com/green-smoothie)
I knew that my knowledge about greens was very limited so I started to look around to see if I could find more information about them. I ended up finding exactly what I needed in a book that I had sitting on my shelf called, "The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition" by Sheldon Margen, M.D., printed by the Wellness Letter out of Berkeley California. If you want to know about a particular natural food, this is the place to look and it has wonderful pictures, too. Mine is a copy that I have had on hand for a few years. You can still find it at Amazon.com if you are interested.
I was pleased to find an entire section devoted to green leafy vegetables, including sub-sections of what they called "cooking" meaning those greens that are traditionally cooked such as collards and turnip greens, "salad" which are the familiar salad items such as Romaine and green leaf, and a third category called "other" which seems to be an extended list of salad greens like arugula and watercress. Some of the "greens" are actually reddish in color but are still considered "greens.
The thing about greens that really struck me is that when Victoria B. began to do her research she listed the RDA for the average adult person and then compared them to different food items and green leafy vegetables turned out to be the one category of foods that actually matched ingredient for ingredient what human beings need. Vegetable greens actually contain all the nutrients in larger amounts that humans require to remain healthy with the one exception being vitamin B12. I was impressed. She had some other charts in the video that I did not see on the web site (yet) that showed that fruits have most of the nutrients, too, but not in the large quantities that leafy greens have them.
The conclusion that I see to her story was that when she added in more leafy greens, her family went back to better health again. She does not overtly state that, but both her son and her daughter are raw food experts now, too. So that must have been the end result. She also claims to be the person who invented the green smoothie which she did because she has some missing molars in the back so chewing lots of salad was hard for her. She came up with the idea to do smoothies and over time, added fruit for flavor and voila! The smoothie was born. Many people do smoothies for health and they have become very popular.
I had kind of dismissed them out of lack of interest. I have never liked apple sauce because it reminds me of disgusting baby food. Smoothies seemed kind of like that, to me, but, I'm thinking of giving them a another try. I'll have to bend the rule and add some fruit, I think, for flavor. My doctor did say I could have apples and grapefruit. I suppose I could try it and test my sugars to see if it is OK for me. But that is my thought after having finished the shopping! Ha.
Today when I went grocery shopping, since I had just been reading about all the different varieties of greens and how to use them in the encyclopedia, I was a little bit floored that I actually found them at my Whole Foods Market. I had gone there because I knew that would probably be the one place I would find the majority of them. They had even more than what was in the book. They had nearly a whole wall stacked from cart height to above my head with beautiful healthy greens. It was like being in wonderland. On the opposite wall of the fruit and vegetable area, they had lots of bagged lettuces and boxed sprouts, too. I bought some greens from the big wall that I had never bought before, and sprouts from the other wall, and am planning on trying them out over the next few days.
Victoria's chimpanzee food chart works out to be half fruit, about forty percent greens, and five percent nuts, seeds and bark, and about five percent insects. She chose chimpanzees because their genes are 99.4 percent identical to ours. I've translated that into human terms to mean fifty percent fruit (but not sweet fruit for me, yet), forty percent greens, five percent nuts and seeds, and five percent animal protein such as eggs or cheese or whatever else a person wants to eat from fish to hamburger.
So those are the percentages I am working on putting into practice now. On the issue of fruit. I am still very leery of including sweet fruits -- apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, etc. So I am, for now, sticking to tomatoes, avocados, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumber, etc. as my fruits. There is one more category that I am going to include and that is cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbages. I'm not going to be measuring and getting nit picky about this. I'm just going to make salads, and maybe some smoothies, with lots of leafy stuff, a few fruits, and anything that feels good for flavor and accent.
One other tidbit of information about greens. It seems that you need to rotate the crop that you are eating, meaning Romaine lettuce, today, green leaf, tomorrow, and spinach the next day and then back again using any number and variety that is appealing and available. It has something to do with alkaline properties or something similar which I cannot remember right now. (I'll get back on that when I find that info again.) It seems like a pretty simple thing to do and would probably keep me more interested, too, so, rotate the crops, it is.
I am really kind of glad I finally found this out about the greens. I've heard it all my life that they are good for you, but never really considered what that really meant. I never really saw anybody actually doing that -- that I noticed. I now feel like I have a basis to begin and will make adjustments as I go along.
I hope that you are also inspired to include or at least investigate greens. Why? Because they are good for you! Ha
Please note the following link: which has a 50% off discount until Nov. 19th on the DVD: "Simply Raw" plus some other stuff you will see at the site.
http://www.rawfor30days.com/RawFor30/special_top.html#order_now2
Be back soon
--Marcia
Greens. What does that make you think of? I hear the words, "eat your greens" in my head but I don't know from where. I don't think it is my mother's voice. Maybe the words are "eat plenty of greens" coming from a doctor. I don't ever remember hearing why, other than, "they're good for you." So my response was similar to "whatever."
I remember figuring "greens" meant salad, or cooked spinach, or something. Salad meant iceberg lettuce. When I got older and went to a salad bar, I usually skipped the iceberg lettuce because it was my very least favorite item. It was boring and tasteless and kept falling off of the plate so it was hard to control. Ha! Not that I never ate it. It was just a really boring substitute for food and when I had the chance to skip it, I did.
I have been changing what I eat with an eye to improving my health. I am eating a lot of raw food in the form of salads which I am learning to love. But still no iceberg lettuce. Sorry. Salads made with other lettuces and greens really are quite satisfying as a meal. I have been juggling learning and practicing how to control my blood sugars with my diet and am discovering that this raw food thing seems to be producing good results (as noted in my morning blood sugars list from yesterday's post.) So I am getting more excited to find out more about "greens."
What I am first noticing is the importance of them. I listened to a video done by a lady named Victoria Boutenko who was the lady who invented green smoothies. In the film she shares how she healed her family of some pretty major illnesses (juvenile diabetes, obesity, hyper thyroid, chronic fatigue, arrhythmia, arthritis, asthma, and allergies) by starting to eat raw foods. She later came to the conclusion that she and her family, although eating raw for seven years, were missing something in their diets and starting to feel ill in small ways, again. She set out to find out what the missing link or ingredient was. Oddly enough, she found it by studying chimpanzees which she settled on because of their 99.4 percent match with human genes. I think God did that so we would have a living example of what to eat, since we have gone so far afield. And the ingredient was green leafy vegetables. (Here is a link to her story which includes the chart that I saw: http://www.rawfamily.com/green-smoothie)
I knew that my knowledge about greens was very limited so I started to look around to see if I could find more information about them. I ended up finding exactly what I needed in a book that I had sitting on my shelf called, "The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition" by Sheldon Margen, M.D., printed by the Wellness Letter out of Berkeley California. If you want to know about a particular natural food, this is the place to look and it has wonderful pictures, too. Mine is a copy that I have had on hand for a few years. You can still find it at Amazon.com if you are interested.
I was pleased to find an entire section devoted to green leafy vegetables, including sub-sections of what they called "cooking" meaning those greens that are traditionally cooked such as collards and turnip greens, "salad" which are the familiar salad items such as Romaine and green leaf, and a third category called "other" which seems to be an extended list of salad greens like arugula and watercress. Some of the "greens" are actually reddish in color but are still considered "greens.
The thing about greens that really struck me is that when Victoria B. began to do her research she listed the RDA for the average adult person and then compared them to different food items and green leafy vegetables turned out to be the one category of foods that actually matched ingredient for ingredient what human beings need. Vegetable greens actually contain all the nutrients in larger amounts that humans require to remain healthy with the one exception being vitamin B12. I was impressed. She had some other charts in the video that I did not see on the web site (yet) that showed that fruits have most of the nutrients, too, but not in the large quantities that leafy greens have them.
The conclusion that I see to her story was that when she added in more leafy greens, her family went back to better health again. She does not overtly state that, but both her son and her daughter are raw food experts now, too. So that must have been the end result. She also claims to be the person who invented the green smoothie which she did because she has some missing molars in the back so chewing lots of salad was hard for her. She came up with the idea to do smoothies and over time, added fruit for flavor and voila! The smoothie was born. Many people do smoothies for health and they have become very popular.
I had kind of dismissed them out of lack of interest. I have never liked apple sauce because it reminds me of disgusting baby food. Smoothies seemed kind of like that, to me, but, I'm thinking of giving them a another try. I'll have to bend the rule and add some fruit, I think, for flavor. My doctor did say I could have apples and grapefruit. I suppose I could try it and test my sugars to see if it is OK for me. But that is my thought after having finished the shopping! Ha.
Today when I went grocery shopping, since I had just been reading about all the different varieties of greens and how to use them in the encyclopedia, I was a little bit floored that I actually found them at my Whole Foods Market. I had gone there because I knew that would probably be the one place I would find the majority of them. They had even more than what was in the book. They had nearly a whole wall stacked from cart height to above my head with beautiful healthy greens. It was like being in wonderland. On the opposite wall of the fruit and vegetable area, they had lots of bagged lettuces and boxed sprouts, too. I bought some greens from the big wall that I had never bought before, and sprouts from the other wall, and am planning on trying them out over the next few days.
Victoria's chimpanzee food chart works out to be half fruit, about forty percent greens, and five percent nuts, seeds and bark, and about five percent insects. She chose chimpanzees because their genes are 99.4 percent identical to ours. I've translated that into human terms to mean fifty percent fruit (but not sweet fruit for me, yet), forty percent greens, five percent nuts and seeds, and five percent animal protein such as eggs or cheese or whatever else a person wants to eat from fish to hamburger.
So those are the percentages I am working on putting into practice now. On the issue of fruit. I am still very leery of including sweet fruits -- apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, etc. So I am, for now, sticking to tomatoes, avocados, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumber, etc. as my fruits. There is one more category that I am going to include and that is cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbages. I'm not going to be measuring and getting nit picky about this. I'm just going to make salads, and maybe some smoothies, with lots of leafy stuff, a few fruits, and anything that feels good for flavor and accent.
One other tidbit of information about greens. It seems that you need to rotate the crop that you are eating, meaning Romaine lettuce, today, green leaf, tomorrow, and spinach the next day and then back again using any number and variety that is appealing and available. It has something to do with alkaline properties or something similar which I cannot remember right now. (I'll get back on that when I find that info again.) It seems like a pretty simple thing to do and would probably keep me more interested, too, so, rotate the crops, it is.
I am really kind of glad I finally found this out about the greens. I've heard it all my life that they are good for you, but never really considered what that really meant. I never really saw anybody actually doing that -- that I noticed. I now feel like I have a basis to begin and will make adjustments as I go along.
I hope that you are also inspired to include or at least investigate greens. Why? Because they are good for you! Ha
Please note the following link: which has a 50% off discount until Nov. 19th on the DVD: "Simply Raw" plus some other stuff you will see at the site.
http://www.rawfor30days.com/RawFor30/special_top.html#order_now2
Be back soon
--Marcia
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Dropping Grain, Improves Blood Sugar Readings
11-09-2010 -- 8:53 am -- 108
11-08-2010 -- 9:16 am -- 97
11-08-2010 -- 8:19 am -- 102
11-07-2010 -- 11:47 am -- 120
11-05-2010 -- 9:12 am -- 116
11-04-2010 -- 11:00 am -- 113
11-02-2010 -- 1:37 am -- 111
10-30-2010 -- 9:47 am -- 116
10-28-2010 -- 9:55 am -- 126
10-28-2010 -- 9:19 am -- 125
10-23-2010 -- 10:20 am -- 123
10-22-2010 -- 10:37 am -- 124
10-20-2010 -- STOPPED EATING GRAINS
9-20-2010 -- 10:44 pm -- 139
9-20-2010 -- 11:48 am -- 131
9-20-2010 -- 10:22 am -- 147
9-20-2010 -- 9:03 am -- 152
9-20-2010 -- 12:08 am -- 143
Hi,
I see a trend in the numbers above which are the blood glucose readings I copied from my meter. The bottom numbers with the date 9-20-2010 were all taken when I was worried about my blood sugars that day. They were pretty high for me, being a pre-diabetic. I was enjoying having sandwiches made with what I thought was low glycemic bread. I foolishly did not take any more readings in that month, because I did not want to own up to the fact that my eating Ezekial low-glycemic sprouted whole grain bread was causing a problem with my blood sugars and ultimately with my insulin levels. If you are addicted to something you don't want to give it up, even if you know it is not good for you.
The thing that shocked me out of that position was going to my doctor on 10-19-2010. My fasting blood sugar in the office that day at about 11:30 am was 147. I wanted to die of embarrassment. No way did I want my doctor to know I had been eating bread and ignoring my blood sugars, but the numbers don't lie. There I was: exposed. I tried to pass it off on having a slight temperature and a runny nose and some slight congestion I was experiencing so she gave me some antihistamine and antibiotics. I never admitted to her that I had eaten three sandwiches the day before and that was why my sugars were so high. Addiction will also make you lie, when you feel cornered. When I went home, I ate two more sandwiches.
On 10-20-2010 I prayed, repented, and came to my senses and got out the book "The No-Grain Diet" by Dr. Joseph Mercola and started to read. I had had the book on my shelf for a few years without reading it. When he fully made his point that grains were not good and I should not eat them, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately got up, tossed one full loaf and one partial loaf of sprouted whole grain bread into the trash and sat down and continued reading. That was the only grain I was eating.
The blood glucose numbers two days later, starting on 10-22-2010, are already starting to improve -- I did not check on the days before that. And just look at the top number which is for today 11-09-2010 -- 8:53 am -- 108. All of the am numbers are fasting blood sugars taken when I first got up, and they are beginning to be much closer to the normal range. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! When I eat His fresh raw vegetables and a little protein, I can see, for myself, that my body is healing. My weight is now at 342.75. Only a slight change, but I am hoping for more weight loss as I go.
I am also keeping my agreement with my cousin to exercise three times per week or pay her ten dollars for each time I miss. I have not missed any, so my exercise is on track, too.
The blood sugar improvements all happened when I completely stopped eating grain of any kind. I am totally amazed that I even had a 97! My body is doing its job perfectly and all I had to do was put the right kind of fuel into my mouth. What a blessing! There is the confirmation that there is nothing wrong with my body. The problem was the eating habits, it is just the symptoms that showed up in my body. There is the proof, in my mind, that diabetes is a hand and mouth disease. What you put in your mouth with your hand affects the health of your body. Just like the old saying says: "You are what you eat!"
I have been continuing to read the book "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith, a nutritionist, and being even more convinced that I need to simply stay away from all grains. I do not have a gluten sensitivity, but I certainly do have a carbohydrate sensitivity. I don't know if I have a wheat sensitivity. She talks about all three in her book. My doctor had tested my blood for a wheat allergy and did not find one. She also tested me for the gluten allergy, or Celiac disease, which I do not have. Ms Smith says that an allergy and a sensitivity are different degrees of the same thing, and a sensitivity may not show up on a test like the one I was given. I am not going to worry about that anyway. I can clearly see that I do have the carbohydrate sensitivity and since wheat has a boat load of carbs whether refined or whole or sprouted, I need to stay away from it.
I am, again, recommending the book "Going Against the Grain." If you have not yet checked it out on Amazon to sample what it is about for yourself, then here is the link again. Just copy and paste it into your browzer (sorry -- I don't know how to create an actual link in my blog.):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0658017225/sr=1-2/qid=1288232357/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1288232357&sr=1-2&seller=
The problem of grains was brought home to me with Dr Mercola's book, "The No-Grain Diet." That may, in fact, be all you need to get started. But to keep yourself on track, which is what I am doing, get Ms Smith's book, too. The more you nurture and increase your knowledge, the easier it is to stick with the plan and remember not only how but why you are doing what you are doing. The reading, keeps me on track by feeding me a daily dose of the truth about grain. The blogging, gets me back on track if I fall off, and hopefully helps others to realize that making changes is an ongoing process. You move ahead, you stumble, you get up and go again. Like a baby learning to walk. Sure you make the decision to change your diet to improve your health. Sure you set up the goal. But the journey to the goal is the process and the process is always supported by keeping your mind focused on the truth about the problem you are dealing with. For me, this book is hitting homers.
It has tons more information than I expected. She talks about diabetes, Celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, mystery ailments, headaches, and to some degree even autism and schizophrenia. Many of which can be laid at the feet of grain as being the cause. Get the book. Read it. Test out what it says for your self. What have you got to lose, but your present unhealthy state of being? It does not have to stay that way. You can make healthy changes and reap the benefits. There may be nothing wrong with you but a few bad habits that were picked up in ignorance. We don't have to remain ignorant, any more. God bless you and lead you in the direction you should go.
If you are not a reader you can view the progress that six diabetics made on the raw food program, but you have to buy the DVD. Here is where you can get that:
http://www.rawfor30days.com/index4.html
Please note that until November the 19th they have a set of streaming videos that you can watch for free -- they contain very good information. I have only watched the Morgan Spurlock one, so far, but I think they have more of the other experts posted now. Check it out. See what you see.
Be back soon
--Marcia
P.S. For those who think I might be being paid to advertise these books and DVDs: No. I am not receiving any payment of any kind for letting you know about this information. I am just a person, like you, sharing my experience and what I have found that has helped me to improve my health. Check it out for yourself and see if you don't want to tell the whole world, too!! God bless you.
11-08-2010 -- 9:16 am -- 97
11-08-2010 -- 8:19 am -- 102
11-07-2010 -- 11:47 am -- 120
11-05-2010 -- 9:12 am -- 116
11-04-2010 -- 11:00 am -- 113
11-02-2010 -- 1:37 am -- 111
10-30-2010 -- 9:47 am -- 116
10-28-2010 -- 9:55 am -- 126
10-28-2010 -- 9:19 am -- 125
10-23-2010 -- 10:20 am -- 123
10-22-2010 -- 10:37 am -- 124
10-20-2010 -- STOPPED EATING GRAINS
9-20-2010 -- 10:44 pm -- 139
9-20-2010 -- 11:48 am -- 131
9-20-2010 -- 10:22 am -- 147
9-20-2010 -- 9:03 am -- 152
9-20-2010 -- 12:08 am -- 143
Hi,
I see a trend in the numbers above which are the blood glucose readings I copied from my meter. The bottom numbers with the date 9-20-2010 were all taken when I was worried about my blood sugars that day. They were pretty high for me, being a pre-diabetic. I was enjoying having sandwiches made with what I thought was low glycemic bread. I foolishly did not take any more readings in that month, because I did not want to own up to the fact that my eating Ezekial low-glycemic sprouted whole grain bread was causing a problem with my blood sugars and ultimately with my insulin levels. If you are addicted to something you don't want to give it up, even if you know it is not good for you.
The thing that shocked me out of that position was going to my doctor on 10-19-2010. My fasting blood sugar in the office that day at about 11:30 am was 147. I wanted to die of embarrassment. No way did I want my doctor to know I had been eating bread and ignoring my blood sugars, but the numbers don't lie. There I was: exposed. I tried to pass it off on having a slight temperature and a runny nose and some slight congestion I was experiencing so she gave me some antihistamine and antibiotics. I never admitted to her that I had eaten three sandwiches the day before and that was why my sugars were so high. Addiction will also make you lie, when you feel cornered. When I went home, I ate two more sandwiches.
On 10-20-2010 I prayed, repented, and came to my senses and got out the book "The No-Grain Diet" by Dr. Joseph Mercola and started to read. I had had the book on my shelf for a few years without reading it. When he fully made his point that grains were not good and I should not eat them, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately got up, tossed one full loaf and one partial loaf of sprouted whole grain bread into the trash and sat down and continued reading. That was the only grain I was eating.
The blood glucose numbers two days later, starting on 10-22-2010, are already starting to improve -- I did not check on the days before that. And just look at the top number which is for today 11-09-2010 -- 8:53 am -- 108. All of the am numbers are fasting blood sugars taken when I first got up, and they are beginning to be much closer to the normal range. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! When I eat His fresh raw vegetables and a little protein, I can see, for myself, that my body is healing. My weight is now at 342.75. Only a slight change, but I am hoping for more weight loss as I go.
I am also keeping my agreement with my cousin to exercise three times per week or pay her ten dollars for each time I miss. I have not missed any, so my exercise is on track, too.
The blood sugar improvements all happened when I completely stopped eating grain of any kind. I am totally amazed that I even had a 97! My body is doing its job perfectly and all I had to do was put the right kind of fuel into my mouth. What a blessing! There is the confirmation that there is nothing wrong with my body. The problem was the eating habits, it is just the symptoms that showed up in my body. There is the proof, in my mind, that diabetes is a hand and mouth disease. What you put in your mouth with your hand affects the health of your body. Just like the old saying says: "You are what you eat!"
I have been continuing to read the book "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith, a nutritionist, and being even more convinced that I need to simply stay away from all grains. I do not have a gluten sensitivity, but I certainly do have a carbohydrate sensitivity. I don't know if I have a wheat sensitivity. She talks about all three in her book. My doctor had tested my blood for a wheat allergy and did not find one. She also tested me for the gluten allergy, or Celiac disease, which I do not have. Ms Smith says that an allergy and a sensitivity are different degrees of the same thing, and a sensitivity may not show up on a test like the one I was given. I am not going to worry about that anyway. I can clearly see that I do have the carbohydrate sensitivity and since wheat has a boat load of carbs whether refined or whole or sprouted, I need to stay away from it.
I am, again, recommending the book "Going Against the Grain." If you have not yet checked it out on Amazon to sample what it is about for yourself, then here is the link again. Just copy and paste it into your browzer (sorry -- I don't know how to create an actual link in my blog.):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0658017225/sr=1-2/qid=1288232357/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1288232357&sr=1-2&seller=
The problem of grains was brought home to me with Dr Mercola's book, "The No-Grain Diet." That may, in fact, be all you need to get started. But to keep yourself on track, which is what I am doing, get Ms Smith's book, too. The more you nurture and increase your knowledge, the easier it is to stick with the plan and remember not only how but why you are doing what you are doing. The reading, keeps me on track by feeding me a daily dose of the truth about grain. The blogging, gets me back on track if I fall off, and hopefully helps others to realize that making changes is an ongoing process. You move ahead, you stumble, you get up and go again. Like a baby learning to walk. Sure you make the decision to change your diet to improve your health. Sure you set up the goal. But the journey to the goal is the process and the process is always supported by keeping your mind focused on the truth about the problem you are dealing with. For me, this book is hitting homers.
It has tons more information than I expected. She talks about diabetes, Celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, mystery ailments, headaches, and to some degree even autism and schizophrenia. Many of which can be laid at the feet of grain as being the cause. Get the book. Read it. Test out what it says for your self. What have you got to lose, but your present unhealthy state of being? It does not have to stay that way. You can make healthy changes and reap the benefits. There may be nothing wrong with you but a few bad habits that were picked up in ignorance. We don't have to remain ignorant, any more. God bless you and lead you in the direction you should go.
If you are not a reader you can view the progress that six diabetics made on the raw food program, but you have to buy the DVD. Here is where you can get that:
http://www.rawfor30days.com/index4.html
Please note that until November the 19th they have a set of streaming videos that you can watch for free -- they contain very good information. I have only watched the Morgan Spurlock one, so far, but I think they have more of the other experts posted now. Check it out. See what you see.
Be back soon
--Marcia
P.S. For those who think I might be being paid to advertise these books and DVDs: No. I am not receiving any payment of any kind for letting you know about this information. I am just a person, like you, sharing my experience and what I have found that has helped me to improve my health. Check it out for yourself and see if you don't want to tell the whole world, too!! God bless you.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Amazed at: "Going Against the Grain"
Hi,
Wow!! I really am amazed at what I am learning from the book "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith. She is very detailed, which I like, but she is not so overly technical as to make the read boring. There is plenty to learn about grains that I had no idea about before.
I think the thing that is so amazing is how she plainly points out the many ways that grains are simply not good for human consumption. If you consume products made with refined grains, nearly all the vitamins and minerals are stripped away and all you are eating is what turns to sugar in the blood. If you consume whole grain products, you get the good stuff, but you also get some pretty awful bad stuff right along with it, plus the sugar in the blood.
I suggest that you copy and paste the URL below into your browser and check out the book at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0658017225/sr=1-2/qid=1288232357/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1288232357&sr=1-2&seller=
Look at the table of contents, and then read a portion of the first chapter and I believe that you will be hooked because she covers so many important and very interesting topics concerning grain, and how to improve your diet towards healing your body. This is not only for diabetics, but for those who may have Rheumatoid arthritis, or Celiac disease, or Crohn's disease, and any other autoimmune disease or problems. Grains are likely to be the culprit behind the problems, according to Ms. Smith, yet we continue eating them because we really don't know any better. How much easier to heal yourself by making simple changes in your diet, than to go on maintaining the disease with medications -- which are both expensive and always have terrible side effects. I am for getting rid of side effects whenever possible.
Not only does she relate the scientific details in a manner that the lay person can easily grasp, she also shares healing stories about individual clients that she had helped onto the road to recovery. Ms. Smith is a nutritionist who first stumbled onto the problem with grains in her own life. When she cured herself by simply cutting out grains, her health and weight improved drastically. She became a nutritionist and discovered that many other people were suffering the way she had, so she advised them to reduce or eliminate grains from their diet and they too improved. After much research she has written this very readable and highly informative book. I think everyone should read it. It is important to improving the health of human beings everywhere.
When you go to the web site above, be sure to read the comments from other readers. I read the first three or four and heartily agree with them. You will be impressed by the personal experiences of improved health and also the credentials of the people writing them. They speak of healing Celiac disease, chronic head aches, and making blood sugar improvements.
When I read the many endorsements in the front of the book, I especially liked this one by Ron Hunninghake, M.D., medical director, the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning:
"Based on solid science, 'Going Against the Grain' invites the reader to conduct an experiment in the laboratory of his own body, possibly to uncover a hidden key to otherwise unexplained symptoms and illness. I really like this book."
I really like this book, too. I am considering if I can afford to sent a copy to my two brothers and my sister for Christmas, perhaps along with a few cups of chia seeds, with information about what they are good for, and how to use them.
Eliminating what I had believed was the best form of bread (sprouted whole grain) from my diet -- the one and only grain food I was eating on a daily basis -- has lowered my daily blood glucose numbers a great deal. I am also noticing a reduction in the amount of pain I am dealing with, and that is really good, in my mind. I still have pain in my low back, but it is better than it was even a few days ago (after I had eaten three tacos and one burrito -- all of which have refined grains). My physcial reaction to the tacos/burrito the next day, sure made me stop and think. I'd rather avoid the unpleasant swelling of the sinuses and the feeling like crap all over my body, than eat tacos or burritos ever again. I might miss the taste, but I sure don't miss the swelling and pain.
Get the book. Read it. Test the advice in the laboratory of your own body and see what you see. If you are interested in losing weight, lowering your blood sugar levels, or healing your intestines and getting rid of chronic headaches you might try it out, just to see if it works. Many of these may clear up in only a few days. Rheumatoid arthritis may take a little longer to test, but what if it works? That would surely not be a waste of your time. What have you got to lose but a lot of stuff you don't need?
From my own experience, eating lots of fresh raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, and small amounts of chicken, fish and eggs, as often as you need to, really satisfies the body. Day four will prove that to you in your own personal test. It often takes three days to get off the craving boat, but on the fourth day, it will suddenly all be down hill. The pain reduction often comes about on or near day six -- so if you commit to test it out for seven days, you should have enough good personal results to tell you if you are on the right track or not.
I am looking forward to better numbers at the doctor's office in December. For now, I am staying on track and going on with the reading of this hard to put down book: "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith.
Let me know if you get good results from trying it out. I'd like to hear about it -- as I think others would, too.
Be back soon,
--Marcia
Wow!! I really am amazed at what I am learning from the book "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith. She is very detailed, which I like, but she is not so overly technical as to make the read boring. There is plenty to learn about grains that I had no idea about before.
I think the thing that is so amazing is how she plainly points out the many ways that grains are simply not good for human consumption. If you consume products made with refined grains, nearly all the vitamins and minerals are stripped away and all you are eating is what turns to sugar in the blood. If you consume whole grain products, you get the good stuff, but you also get some pretty awful bad stuff right along with it, plus the sugar in the blood.
I suggest that you copy and paste the URL below into your browser and check out the book at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0658017225/sr=1-2/qid=1288232357/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1288232357&sr=1-2&seller=
Look at the table of contents, and then read a portion of the first chapter and I believe that you will be hooked because she covers so many important and very interesting topics concerning grain, and how to improve your diet towards healing your body. This is not only for diabetics, but for those who may have Rheumatoid arthritis, or Celiac disease, or Crohn's disease, and any other autoimmune disease or problems. Grains are likely to be the culprit behind the problems, according to Ms. Smith, yet we continue eating them because we really don't know any better. How much easier to heal yourself by making simple changes in your diet, than to go on maintaining the disease with medications -- which are both expensive and always have terrible side effects. I am for getting rid of side effects whenever possible.
Not only does she relate the scientific details in a manner that the lay person can easily grasp, she also shares healing stories about individual clients that she had helped onto the road to recovery. Ms. Smith is a nutritionist who first stumbled onto the problem with grains in her own life. When she cured herself by simply cutting out grains, her health and weight improved drastically. She became a nutritionist and discovered that many other people were suffering the way she had, so she advised them to reduce or eliminate grains from their diet and they too improved. After much research she has written this very readable and highly informative book. I think everyone should read it. It is important to improving the health of human beings everywhere.
When you go to the web site above, be sure to read the comments from other readers. I read the first three or four and heartily agree with them. You will be impressed by the personal experiences of improved health and also the credentials of the people writing them. They speak of healing Celiac disease, chronic head aches, and making blood sugar improvements.
When I read the many endorsements in the front of the book, I especially liked this one by Ron Hunninghake, M.D., medical director, the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning:
"Based on solid science, 'Going Against the Grain' invites the reader to conduct an experiment in the laboratory of his own body, possibly to uncover a hidden key to otherwise unexplained symptoms and illness. I really like this book."
I really like this book, too. I am considering if I can afford to sent a copy to my two brothers and my sister for Christmas, perhaps along with a few cups of chia seeds, with information about what they are good for, and how to use them.
Eliminating what I had believed was the best form of bread (sprouted whole grain) from my diet -- the one and only grain food I was eating on a daily basis -- has lowered my daily blood glucose numbers a great deal. I am also noticing a reduction in the amount of pain I am dealing with, and that is really good, in my mind. I still have pain in my low back, but it is better than it was even a few days ago (after I had eaten three tacos and one burrito -- all of which have refined grains). My physcial reaction to the tacos/burrito the next day, sure made me stop and think. I'd rather avoid the unpleasant swelling of the sinuses and the feeling like crap all over my body, than eat tacos or burritos ever again. I might miss the taste, but I sure don't miss the swelling and pain.
Get the book. Read it. Test the advice in the laboratory of your own body and see what you see. If you are interested in losing weight, lowering your blood sugar levels, or healing your intestines and getting rid of chronic headaches you might try it out, just to see if it works. Many of these may clear up in only a few days. Rheumatoid arthritis may take a little longer to test, but what if it works? That would surely not be a waste of your time. What have you got to lose but a lot of stuff you don't need?
From my own experience, eating lots of fresh raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, and small amounts of chicken, fish and eggs, as often as you need to, really satisfies the body. Day four will prove that to you in your own personal test. It often takes three days to get off the craving boat, but on the fourth day, it will suddenly all be down hill. The pain reduction often comes about on or near day six -- so if you commit to test it out for seven days, you should have enough good personal results to tell you if you are on the right track or not.
I am looking forward to better numbers at the doctor's office in December. For now, I am staying on track and going on with the reading of this hard to put down book: "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith.
Let me know if you get good results from trying it out. I'd like to hear about it -- as I think others would, too.
Be back soon,
--Marcia
Friday, November 5, 2010
Do Grain and Diabetes Have Anything in Common?
Hi,
I got the books I ordered and have been reading. I started with the "Grain Damage" book and discovered the main idea of the author is to replace the bad-for-you grains with fruit. The first comment, placed before the "forward" is this:
"The obesity and malnutrition problems experienced in epidemic proportions by those who follow the Standard American Diet are due in large part to the overconsumption of grains and the underconsumption of fruit." -- Dr. Douglas N. Graham, author.
On the cover he says: "The grain-free diet is not radical. It is ultra conservative."
Concerning the book, I was a little disappointed with the fruit idea because I am a diabetic and believe that I need to stay away from fruits. When I say "fruit" I mean things like apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, etc -- the sweet ones. I am afraid to incorporate them at this time because my body sucks up sugar into my blood like there was no tomorrow. But I do eat avocado, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers -- those things that I think of as vegetables but which may actually be fruit, so, in that sense, the fruit is a good idea. If you don't have a diabetes or metabolism problem, then fruit might be fine for you. You always have to do what works for you and your body and your situation.
I am seeing the difference that dropping the bread out of my diet has made. My morning blood sugar today was again 116. Excellent in my mind. I am eating fresh raw vegetables and a small amount of protein in the form of feta cheese, munster cheese, tuna, and hard boiled eggs. I do sometimes eat scrambled eggs (once or twice a week) with either zucchini or spinach fried along with it and covered with mild salsa. Of course there is protein in the vegetables and seeds that I am consuming, so I don't believe I'll be having a "protein shortage."
The more I read the more I see the problems with eating grains. Any grains. Some are research documented, some are just plain observational logic. Many are reports of personal experiences. For instance, I know that eating bread caused my blood sugars to shoot up pretty high, and I was eating what I thought was low glycemic bread -- it was made from sprouted whole grains. Anything above 147 is a bit alarming to me. I know the blood sugar can actually go as high as the one I read of 1337 but that guy was in a diabetic coma at the time. He healed himself by changing his diet. The fact that he lived was a blessing from God. The fact that he finally took over his eating habits and got rid of the diabetes is amazing and a good example to others.
So. The "Grain Damage" book may be of interest to you, especially if you do not have diabetes but some other debilitating condition, such as Celiac disease or mysterious fatigue and allergies of the skin which are often caused by eating grains. The book is small, only 52 pages, so if you either don't like to read, or simply don't have time to get involved in a 350 page book, then this one may be perfect for you. The author is wise, experienced, very logical and makes his points well. It is pretty easy to read -- and there are quotes at the tops and bottoms of every page in large type so there is a lot less reading than you might think -- you could even skim through reading the quotes and get the gist of his ideas. I think it was worth the read. The information concerning grain will help you not only get informed about the dangers of eating grains but get off the grains and lower your blood glucose levels. The fruit, is questionable in my mind for the diabetic, but the rest of the information is valuable. I give it a B+ for the diabetic who understands they may not be able to incorporate the fruit, just yet.
The other book that I have just finished reading is: "User's Guide to Preventing & Reversing Diabetes Naturally" -- a Basic Health Publications book written by Melissa Diane Smith. I thought this one was full of excellent advice and would recommend it to those friends who either have diabetes type 2, or prediabetes and are inching their way into type 2. This one, too, is a fast read being only 92 pages but the shape of the pages is tall and narrow like a pamphlet so you are also getting less reading material than in a larger book. But this one is chock full of very good advice. If you have diabetes and have already read other material about how to control and reverse it with your diet, you will only need it if you are like me and want to support yourself in keeping up on why you need to be careful. It is a great handbook for the beginner. It has plenty of facts and reasons supporting the good advice that it offers.
The basic premise of this one is to cut out the grains and starchy vegetables, increase the green vegetables and include animal protein in your diet. This one also talks about the damaging effects of high insulin levels which is why managing your diet is so important. She also covers relaxation and a healthy life style in addition to managing your food intake. She also includes a list of supplements and herbs that may help you get things under control. All in all, I thought this was an excellent little guide and should be read by anyone who wants a quick and useful overview about type two diabetes, what causes it, and the simple steps you can take to reverse it out of your life. I give it an A+.
I am now in the process of reading "Going Against the Grain" by the same author, Melissa Diane Smith. I was pretty surprised when she pointed out that even some of the oils we eat are from grain. Think: Corn oil. I am at the part where she is pointing out other areas where we are consuming grain products of which we might not be conscious. I consider this one the best read so far. I'll get back to you on this one, when I finish it.
I am pretty much sticking to the plan. I did have some tacos again on Tuesday, but noticed on Wednesday that my sinus passages were swollen making it hard to breath and I just felt kind of "out of whack" all over, if you know what I mean. The change was really noticeable, so I am not going to be doing that again. It almost made me wonder if Taco Bell is using MSG.... I have no idea, but my body sure reacted like it did.
So, to answer the question: "Do grain and diabetes have anything in common?" -- that is a resounding yes. Not only from the books I am reading but from my own personal experience, I can see the difference in my blood glucose levels when I don't eat bread, or grain of any kind. In fact, if what I am reading is correct, excessive grain consumption may even be the cause of the current diabetes epidemic.
If you want to know what a difference it makes in your blood sugar levels, try going without grain (or potatoes or fruit) for seven days in a row. Eat all the fresh raw vegetables you want and any kind of good animal protein you like and watch your blood sugars begin to normalize before your eyes. After the first three days your carb cravings will disappear which makes it all downhill after that. Your BG meter does not lie. Find out for yourself what the difference is.
(Please note: if you are taking any kind of medication to treat your diabetes be forewarned that you should consult your doctor before making these diet changes. The diet, alone, will lower your blood sugars, so if you are taking blood sugar lowering medicines at the same time, you may end up with the double whammy of blood sugars that are too low. Talk to your doctor and get his/her help and advice on how to reduce your medications as you change your diet.)
Let me know what you find out.
Be back soon
--Marcia
I got the books I ordered and have been reading. I started with the "Grain Damage" book and discovered the main idea of the author is to replace the bad-for-you grains with fruit. The first comment, placed before the "forward" is this:
"The obesity and malnutrition problems experienced in epidemic proportions by those who follow the Standard American Diet are due in large part to the overconsumption of grains and the underconsumption of fruit." -- Dr. Douglas N. Graham, author.
On the cover he says: "The grain-free diet is not radical. It is ultra conservative."
Concerning the book, I was a little disappointed with the fruit idea because I am a diabetic and believe that I need to stay away from fruits. When I say "fruit" I mean things like apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, etc -- the sweet ones. I am afraid to incorporate them at this time because my body sucks up sugar into my blood like there was no tomorrow. But I do eat avocado, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers -- those things that I think of as vegetables but which may actually be fruit, so, in that sense, the fruit is a good idea. If you don't have a diabetes or metabolism problem, then fruit might be fine for you. You always have to do what works for you and your body and your situation.
I am seeing the difference that dropping the bread out of my diet has made. My morning blood sugar today was again 116. Excellent in my mind. I am eating fresh raw vegetables and a small amount of protein in the form of feta cheese, munster cheese, tuna, and hard boiled eggs. I do sometimes eat scrambled eggs (once or twice a week) with either zucchini or spinach fried along with it and covered with mild salsa. Of course there is protein in the vegetables and seeds that I am consuming, so I don't believe I'll be having a "protein shortage."
The more I read the more I see the problems with eating grains. Any grains. Some are research documented, some are just plain observational logic. Many are reports of personal experiences. For instance, I know that eating bread caused my blood sugars to shoot up pretty high, and I was eating what I thought was low glycemic bread -- it was made from sprouted whole grains. Anything above 147 is a bit alarming to me. I know the blood sugar can actually go as high as the one I read of 1337 but that guy was in a diabetic coma at the time. He healed himself by changing his diet. The fact that he lived was a blessing from God. The fact that he finally took over his eating habits and got rid of the diabetes is amazing and a good example to others.
So. The "Grain Damage" book may be of interest to you, especially if you do not have diabetes but some other debilitating condition, such as Celiac disease or mysterious fatigue and allergies of the skin which are often caused by eating grains. The book is small, only 52 pages, so if you either don't like to read, or simply don't have time to get involved in a 350 page book, then this one may be perfect for you. The author is wise, experienced, very logical and makes his points well. It is pretty easy to read -- and there are quotes at the tops and bottoms of every page in large type so there is a lot less reading than you might think -- you could even skim through reading the quotes and get the gist of his ideas. I think it was worth the read. The information concerning grain will help you not only get informed about the dangers of eating grains but get off the grains and lower your blood glucose levels. The fruit, is questionable in my mind for the diabetic, but the rest of the information is valuable. I give it a B+ for the diabetic who understands they may not be able to incorporate the fruit, just yet.
The other book that I have just finished reading is: "User's Guide to Preventing & Reversing Diabetes Naturally" -- a Basic Health Publications book written by Melissa Diane Smith. I thought this one was full of excellent advice and would recommend it to those friends who either have diabetes type 2, or prediabetes and are inching their way into type 2. This one, too, is a fast read being only 92 pages but the shape of the pages is tall and narrow like a pamphlet so you are also getting less reading material than in a larger book. But this one is chock full of very good advice. If you have diabetes and have already read other material about how to control and reverse it with your diet, you will only need it if you are like me and want to support yourself in keeping up on why you need to be careful. It is a great handbook for the beginner. It has plenty of facts and reasons supporting the good advice that it offers.
The basic premise of this one is to cut out the grains and starchy vegetables, increase the green vegetables and include animal protein in your diet. This one also talks about the damaging effects of high insulin levels which is why managing your diet is so important. She also covers relaxation and a healthy life style in addition to managing your food intake. She also includes a list of supplements and herbs that may help you get things under control. All in all, I thought this was an excellent little guide and should be read by anyone who wants a quick and useful overview about type two diabetes, what causes it, and the simple steps you can take to reverse it out of your life. I give it an A+.
I am now in the process of reading "Going Against the Grain" by the same author, Melissa Diane Smith. I was pretty surprised when she pointed out that even some of the oils we eat are from grain. Think: Corn oil. I am at the part where she is pointing out other areas where we are consuming grain products of which we might not be conscious. I consider this one the best read so far. I'll get back to you on this one, when I finish it.
I am pretty much sticking to the plan. I did have some tacos again on Tuesday, but noticed on Wednesday that my sinus passages were swollen making it hard to breath and I just felt kind of "out of whack" all over, if you know what I mean. The change was really noticeable, so I am not going to be doing that again. It almost made me wonder if Taco Bell is using MSG.... I have no idea, but my body sure reacted like it did.
So, to answer the question: "Do grain and diabetes have anything in common?" -- that is a resounding yes. Not only from the books I am reading but from my own personal experience, I can see the difference in my blood glucose levels when I don't eat bread, or grain of any kind. In fact, if what I am reading is correct, excessive grain consumption may even be the cause of the current diabetes epidemic.
If you want to know what a difference it makes in your blood sugar levels, try going without grain (or potatoes or fruit) for seven days in a row. Eat all the fresh raw vegetables you want and any kind of good animal protein you like and watch your blood sugars begin to normalize before your eyes. After the first three days your carb cravings will disappear which makes it all downhill after that. Your BG meter does not lie. Find out for yourself what the difference is.
(Please note: if you are taking any kind of medication to treat your diabetes be forewarned that you should consult your doctor before making these diet changes. The diet, alone, will lower your blood sugars, so if you are taking blood sugar lowering medicines at the same time, you may end up with the double whammy of blood sugars that are too low. Talk to your doctor and get his/her help and advice on how to reduce your medications as you change your diet.)
Let me know what you find out.
Be back soon
--Marcia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)