You Are What You Eat!!

I just can't believe how smooth my skin has gotten. I first noticed the smoothness about a week ago, when I absently touched my knee and was surprised at how smooth and soft it was. I thought that it might be something in the pool water at the physical therapist's office and wondered what it might be that would make my skin feel so smooth and soft. It was nice but, you know, nothing of import and I figured it was temporary. I noticed it again a couple of times, but still paid no real attention to it. Recently, I have noticed the skin on my face is as smooth and nice as baby skin. I checked my arms and neck and, surprisingly, my whole body skin has become as soft and smooth as it was when I was a child. What a nice surprise!

I am not sure what to attribute this to, except for the diet of fresh raw vegetables, protein, and good fats. Maybe even the shirataki noodles. Who knows? I was eating the vegetables before and my skin got "clear" but not so smooth and nice as it has become now. It seems that it must be either one or both of the protein and the fats that I am consuming. Gee... even my hair has gotten soft, again. I remember when I stopped eating sugar that my skin was no longer so dry, rough, and flaky, and now it has become extremely smooth and soft, too.

The only place on my body that the skin is not what I would call "ideal" is on the bottoms of my feet. There it seems to be flaking and cracking in odd places like the bottoms of the toes. I had put some coconut oil on them this morning after using emory to "file" them down. I was not yet pleased with them. But this "whole body" skin thing is new and unexpected.

"You are what you eat." Every time I make a dietary change, my body responds to it in ways that I was not expecting -- and most of them have been good changes recently because I've been eating good things.

If you think about it, every time a diabetic pricks their finger to test their blood sugar that is proof that what a person eats actually does get injected directly into the blood stream and courses through the body with every beat of the heart. If I eat something sugary or high in carbs my blood sugar goes up. I know because I can test it, myself. If I eat raw vegetables, protein, and fats, my blood sugar reflects the absence of excess sugars.

When the doctor checks my A1C, she can tell just how much sugar and high carbs I've been eating over a three month time period. The A1C test measures how many of the oxygen molecules have been displaced by glucose molecules on our red blood cells. Isn't that awesome to think about? Every bit of food we put in our mouths, chew and swallow ends up in a cell somewhere in our body. Some of them to give us health and vitality -- and some to cause problems, like the sugar replacing the oxygen on the red blood cells which ends up being "poor circulation." How about them apples?

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” (Hippocrates, 460 B.C.) H said this more than 2500 years ago and it is still true today. What we eat really does affect our bodies. I keep hearing vegans and raw foodists saying this, but mainstream America does not seem to be listening. It is hard for addicts to change their lives. Whether the addiction is tobacco related, alcohol related, or food related the hardest part of the addiction to deal with is the cravings. It's not good for you but you just can't seem to stop eating it!! And every bite you eat adds another problem to your body.

I've just been spending some time at http://www.konjacfoods.com/ reading the bits and pieces of research that they have posted about how glucommanen acts in the body to reduce post-prandial blood sugars, insulin, and lipids in the blood stream which make them an excellent food for diabetics. Some of the studies were done in the 1990s, so why it just now, that I am hearing about it? I must admit that I had heard about and even ordered some glucomannen tablets once about ten years ago, but I did not see instantaneous affects from it, and never completed taking the bottle of pills.

I was a little afraid of the choking warning, too, so was never really comfortable taking the GM pills. I remember throwing them out because I did not know enough about them. Too bad!! The choking warning on glucommanen pills came about because if one of the capsules were to get lodged in your throat and then break open the glucommanen, which can absorb 100 times it weight in liquid, could block the passage and cause big problems. They recommend that you drink lots and lots of water if taking the pills. I think I recommend not taking the pills!!

But eating the shirataki noodles which are made from glucommanen is not a problem -- as far as I can tell at the moment.

Another thing I have noticed as I am journaling and keeping track is that after I exercise can become a problem time for me. Not every time, just certain times, and I am not exactly sure which is which. I do recall a suggestion from an exercise guru that I read in the last year. He said that you need to make sure to have something to eat, and water to drink, immediately after exercising. I'm thinking that perhaps I need to pay more attention to that.

I often feel completely exhausted after a work out at my therapist's office. She always has a cup of water ready for me to drink after both the massage and the work out so I can see she follows that same "drink water after exercise" theory. I am always ready for the cup of water, too. So, perhaps I need to prepare a snack for after exercise, too. She does not want me to eat a heavy meal beforehand, so I don't, but I seem to need a real good snack afterward. Maybe some bacon would be a good easy to carry with you snack. I don't seem to do "snacks" at home... but maybe I need to start. I need them on Sundays when the service goes long, too. Maybe some of those pork rinds would do, and they would be easier to carry. I think I read somewhere about a lady who is doing low carb and she carries string cheese in her purse. I need something that is portable, not a bother, and has protein -- a veggie would be good too.

They have a whole list of low carb snacks at www.atkins.com but some of them seem a little complicated to just carry in your purse for emergencies. They do list bacon, avocado, and cheese, each one as a snack item. I could do any one of those and be happy. Although the avocado would require a knife for opening and eating.

I've been looking online for a better way to purchase the plain shirataki noodles (no tofu) and the www.konjacfood.com seems to be the cheapest -- but you have to buy a case of them. That does not seem like it would be a problem since I am planning on using them nearly once every day. I purchased a case of their #1 variety and have been very pleased with them. I do find that I don't like the "macaroni" shaped ones, though. They seem to be too chewy and not really like macaroni for me. I love the noodles like the "angel hair", and the "linquini." Anything that resembles spaghetti pasta works for me, so next time, I may just order a case of "angel hair" and skip the variety pack. Of course, I would not know that, if I had not tried it out.

I found this on the Konjac Foods website along with other sited reports about high fiber foods and diabetes:

Diabetes Care (2000; 23: 9 - 14)
Beneficial effects of viscous dietary fiber from Konjac-mannan in subjects with insulin resistance syndrome: results of a controlled metabolic trial.
"A diet rich in high-viscosity KJM improves glycemic control and lipid profile, suggesting a therapeutic potential in the treatment of insulin resistance syndrome."

This is saying that the addition of any soluble fiber with a high viscosity (ability to soak up liquid) affects how carbs get digested in the body. Glucommanen is the natural soluble fiber with the most viscosity known to man. Konjac root, Glucomannen, has 64 grams of soluble fiber per ounce as compared to oatmeal that has 12 grams of soluble fiber per ounce. If eating oatmeal once a day can help lower cholesterol, then eating shirataki noodles once a day should work about six times better or faster.

Glycemic control means keeping blood sugar levels low and glucommanen (shirataki noodles) helps to control blood sugar. It also controls the fats (lipids) in the blood. So if you have high triglycerides (fats) in your blood, then glucommanen powder or shirataki noodles may help lower the lipids or fats in your blood. The suggestion of a "therapeutic potential" means they may be used as therapy for "insulin resistance syndrome" which is also known as "prediabetes." I'm on board for that.

Been feeling closer to God lately. I'm glad of that. Been praying for the upcoming hurricane to close up shop and not hit the East Coast. God is the Master of the Wind!! If you are a believer, then please pray for "Irene" to stop blowing and become peaceful.


From my friend, "B":

FAITH AND FEAR

Faith keeps you stable despite what your eyes see

Fear keeps you on shaky ground and never wants you free

Faith keeps you moving as each day you believe

Fear keeps you idle and it likes to deceive

Faith keeps you encouraged as you keep your eyes on Him

Fear wants you to dwell on things when they're looking dim

Faith gives you power to keep on pressing in

Fear keeps you in condemnation and looking back again

Faith gives you power to stand upon God's word

Fear clouds your thinking with the negative things you've heard

Faith makes you more like Jesus as you trust Him and obey

Fear wants you to figure things out and keeps you in disarray

Faith helps you walk in peace and calms the storm and rain

Fear makes you always doubt and keeps you under lock and chain

Faith helps you please the Father and makes your body whole

Fear will never help you win so don't let it have control

By: David Todd Hendrix

Love you

Be back soon,

Marcia