PART 4 Blood Sugar and me

In the last three rambles I told you a little about the trip I made getting my blood sugar down from 260-ish to where it is now - in the low 80s/upper 70s.  I have not been academic about this as I am not an academic, though in the past 2 years I have read so much stuff, not because I needed to but because I found the whole way our bodies work amazing.

What I have also found is that there is amazing ignorance and indifference amongst many doctors and health care workers. A great deal of this has to do with the lack of time they have to spare with their patients, a lot more has to do with the system and some has to do with just not keeping up with current research and a heavy reliance on the pharmaceutical companies to supply the answers. Some, on the other hand, are amazing.

What I would like you to do is accept that the answer is in your hands. You know your body better than anyone. Please, if you have found out that your blood sugar is high, or you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, STOP and look around you.

When I was a lad (that was just after the great flood and while Noah's grandson was still head boy at our school), there were hardly any pupils with diabetes. T2D was something that came on with age (late onset diabetes). There was even only a token number of overweight pupils.

Go into the high street now and look around.  A vast number of folk are over weight, even the kids. All seem to carry weight around the middle; even the slim ones have a belly. Maybe you have heard the predictions for T2D are beyond belief with some quoting 1in3 in the near future. One question. WHY?

If it is dark in your house you have two solutions. If it is day time, open the curtains. If it is night time, switch on the light. Neither is complicated, neither needs years of training to perform, but what both solutions have in common is that they both require you to do something. You do not need to know about weaving material or how electricity is generated.  All you need is the knowledge of how something operates; how to depress a switch. But you need to know that there is something you can do to solve the problem. Ugg, the cave man, would have no idea about the light switch. He would be breaking up your sideboard to make a fire.

All I have written in the blogs are simply my ideas and those are simple!  But what I have done is something and so must you. You can't rely on other folk to sort it out for you before you sort out what needs sorting. For example even if the doctor tells you that your bloods are ok - a little on the high side, but ok - you probably have a problem. Recent ideas and research show that blood sugars even in the currently accepted "OK" range are reducing your chances of a long and healthy life. Never forget that illness is big business!

If you find your waking blood sugar reading is 100 or over you need to start to do something now. Now it will be easy. Later... well, just check up what can happen if you develop T2D and secondly look at the folk who are on medication and how healthy they are.

So take responsibility into your own hands, trust no one and don't believe for one moment that the food industry or big pharma has your interests at heart.

Remember you can reverse/cure HBS. YOU can! T2D is a symptom. It is not the same as T1D.

So after all this patronising waffle, what have I done and what do I do now?

Firstly what I have stopped doing. Here come those bullets marks again!
Cut out all "bad" fats/oils.
Cut out all processed foods.
Cut out/down carbs.

Now for what to do.

Eat for nutrition, not pleasure (get your pleasure elsewhere - it's just marketing that makes eating the centre of all pleasure).
Eat Real Food.
Eat lots of good fat - the omega 3s.
Check out the up-to-date research. Don't rely on the stuff that is churned out by charities and doctors using the drug companies research.
Sleep. Contrary to what has been banded around, that you should wear your under pants over your trousers, multi task and keep the world safe, you are not superhuman! You are human and you are super, but you do need sleep and good sleep, at that. Insufficient or poor sleep can destabilise your BS and how you get good steep is something you need to work at. More later.
Keep hydrated.. This does not mean mindlessly glugging down 8pints a day, come what may. It means watching how you feel. If you are thirsty, drink. Your body has a lot of fluid in it, fluid that contains electrolytes. It needs to be kept topped up!
Then look at the food you eat. Make sure it's as fresh and as natural as you can get. If you eat meat eat happy meat not the stuff that is fed on crap and kept in boxes without seeing the light of day.

And while we are talking about sunlight... you need it. There are only two things that have receptor sights on every cell in the body. One is thyroid hormone, the other is vitamin D (which is not actually a vitamin, but is in fact a hormone, doing a wonderful balancing act with vitamin F) Yes, every single cell needs D. Why then do we not go out in the sun without plastering ourselves with sun screen? Cutting off all that good exposure to those life giving rays... "Skin Cancer!" I hear you shout. Maybe, but maybe not, if very recent research is to be believed. If the balance of Vit D and Vit F is right... and if there is not a whole load of free radicals charging around the body... and if the cells of the body are built correctly with the omega 3s allowing normal, healthy cell division, then maybe sunlight is in fact much needed. Just a thought. Check out the recent research. The skin is the largest organ of the body and is capable of absorbing what is put on it (think of nicotine patches and HRT patches).

I really rate and take cinnamon and turmeric every day. I take both of these along with a couple of pieces of chocolate (now re-named in our household as medicine ). Before you shout me down, NOT stuff that calls itself chocolate. The proper stuff. 85% coco solids!
"UGH!" You shout,  "I don't like that, it's bitter. I like real chocolate."
Now I am going to take a break, sigh loudly and give you a lecture on how not to be a chocolate philistine and how to eat REAL chocolate 'cos not only is it nice but it's pretty good for you and a bit of a treat. First make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, then give yourself some time. This simply can't be rushed and needs your full attention. Take a bar of 85%+ good chocolate and break off one piece. Now break that piece into 4s. Take a sip of tea and put one piece in your mouth... NO, don't chew it or swallow. Instead clamp it to the roof of your mouth while you take another sip of tea. Leave it there. Let it just dissolve in your mouth. Don't  swallow or chew, just be aware of the wonders of a universe that brought you the wonders of chocolate! Repeat 3 more times...  Now, tell me... am I right or am I right?!!!

And I try to keep moving. As I have said before, just a little walk after meals. Sometimes I forget, sometimes I don't. But I feel better when I do.

A couple of fish oil "bombs" and an extra Vit D capsule and that is about it. Not very exciting and all pretty simple, but for me it works.

Next time I will give you my rough eating habits with a couple of things I have found makes a huge difference.  But for now, it's "Medicine Time".

Look after yourselves and lots of love.