HELP Diabetes Type 2 !!

[manateelady]

Hi, I am new to this board. I have been trying to read over the threads so I don't ask the same question over and over. My husband has diabetes which currently is not in control. I have read a few saying raw worked for them. And a few not so optimistic. I know eating fruit would elevate his blood sugar. I was also told when he does eat a piece of fruit to eat protein with it.He was told to go high protein low carb. How does he go raw without his bloodsugar going through the roof? I am so fed up with eat this don't eat that. It is very confusing with all the diet ideas! Is there raw food he should avoid? I also know some veggies elevate it as well. Does he simply eat raw with protein? I don't have access to alot of organics where i am. I also do not have alot of money to spend on all raw foods. How does someone like us do this diet? I know money should not be a factor when it comes to your health but it is. Any suggestions would be helpful. Does anybody on this board personallly able to go raw with diabetes with out it affecting them? How did you start and currently doing? I'm clueless! Thanks

[girlsmiley]

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 1998 and I thought I could control it with diet and exercise ... nope, the Dr didn't like my numbers so he put me on 2 different kinds of medication. I was still not *good* with my eating. When I went in for a hysterectomy in March of 2005 my blood glucose was 297 and I got *yelled* at and then put on insulin. I stopped taking the insulin after the 3 month prescription finished and just didn't go back to the Dr. for a while.

When I did make an appointment in July 2006 (because all my prescriptions had run out) the Dr was disappointed that my A1C was up. I told him I was not taking, and did not want to take, insulin and that I would bring it down by diet/exercise. However, in September 2006 I went for my 3 month checkup and my A1C was up. I don't remember what it was in July, in September it was 7.3.

I had just started my raw journey and talked to my Dr about that because I did not want to go on insulin so he upped one of my meds from 30 mg to 45 mg. He gave me some samples. I think I took the samples for one week and then switched back to my 30 mg tablets. I went back in December for my 3 month checkup and my A1C was 5.6 ... and I told him I hadn't taken the 45 mg, just the 30 mg ... so this change was attributed to my new diet/lifestyle.

I am not 100% ... and I eat a lot of fruit. By eating the *whole* fruit you also get fiber and that doesn't spike your blood sugar like drinking the juice would. I also tried to eat fruit with nuts (in a smoothie) or greens (in a green smoothie ... e.g., 1 banana, 2 oranges, 1/2 c blueberries, and kale or spinach or romaine or other greens) and that helps slow down the natural sugar absorption so you don't get a spike in your blood sugar.

I try to eat my fruit in the morning and stick to veggies etc. the rest of the day. The morning is when we need the carbs for energy and fruit is also cleansing. The afternoon and evening we need less carbs and more veggies (nuts and seeds etc.) to help build healthy cells ... and so that when we sleep our body has good nutrition to heal our bodies.

Check this out ... http://www.rawfor30days.com/

[juliebove]

I'm a type 2. Was diagnosed with GD in 1998 and type 2 in 1999. I do not eat a lot of fruit, but then I don't like most fruit. I do grow apples, pears and strawberries in my garden and I will eat those in season. Recently I've been eating occasional lady apples (they're very small), just one at a time and I have the occasional 1/2 a grapefruit. I also recently purchased some strawberries. They're very sweet and large. I can eat about 6 of those at a time. I also eat goji berries in limited amounts and some dried fruits as needed in recipes. I mainly use dates. I can eat RP's brownies and I've made some faux Sahale snacks using a mix of dates and water as a sweetener for the nuts and cranberries. Cranberries are another fruit I can eat and most any diabetic can eat those unsweetened because they're low in carbs. I also eat the Go Raw pumpkin seed bars. They are sweetened with dates. I use those as a meal, perhaps accompanied by some raw veggies. That doesn't put me over the top on the carbs.

My breakfast is usually just pumpkin seeds. Sometimes nuts if I am out of the seeds. Sometimes a small amount of hemp seeds too. Although they're high in protein they also seem high in carbs. If my BG (blood glucose) warrants it, I will have 1/2 a grapefruit of a bit of other fruit then. But really rarely ever eat any fruit other than what I listed above. Perhaps some blackberries or raspberries in season. Many diabetics find they can handle berries better than other fruits. And of course by fruits I mean the sweet fruits. Not foods classified as fruits but eaten as vegetables, like cucumbers and tomatoes.

Lunch depends on what I am doing, how hungry I am and how my BG is running. I often do not eat it. If I do, it might be the pumpkin seed bar. Might be some raw veggies and nuts or nut cheese. I also make onion bread (not really bread but mainly onions, flax and sunflower seeds) into sandwiches with Swiss nut cheese, lettuce and tomato. I do assorted sprouts and they're good for protein.

Dinner is often a really big salad. I start with assorted greens and then add whatever I've gotten in my organic produce box or grown in my garden. There's almost always some bell pepper, tomato , carrots and onion. I might also have beets, cucumber, peas, green beans, celery, corn or anything else I can think of to put in there. If I have nut cheese I might crumble a bit on top. Or I'll just add a handful of walnuts or pecans. I'm allergic to almonds, otherwise I'd eat those! I might also add sprouts to the salad. I don't like dressings so I don't eat them. But I might add some lemon juice or if I'm craving Mexican food, some salsa. If I need more carbs I might add a thinly sliced apple or pear to the salad.

My diet is not necessarily a low carb one. I don't think that's the way to go for me. I've tried it and I just do not feel well on it. Plus it makes my BG go too high because I also have reactive hypoglycemia and if I don't get enough carbs my liver will dump glucose. :( For me, I try to keep things in balance. Since the body is the most insulin resistant first thing in the morning, I eat very little carbs then. I may or may not eat them at lunch. It all depends on how I am testing. I can eat more carbs at dinner and must eat some more before bed or I'll wake up with higher BG.

Now I'm not going to say I am 100% raw and I don't think I ever would or could be. There are times, such as when I'm having a hypo and I need to get something into my system ASAP. In that case I'm not going to worry about whether or not that apple juice is raw or the candy I'm eating is raw or vegan or whatever. Not that this happens to me often mind you. But on the rare occasion that it does, I consider it an emergency and I will do what I have to do so I don't pass out. Because that's no fun! :D I also do still eat some foods that are not raw but I will not give the particulars here since that's frowned on. I do aim for as much raw as I can, at least 80% each day. But I don't beat myself up if I can't accomplish it. I also have many other medical problems aside from diabetes so I have to take it all into account.

Another thing I think is very important to get into your diet, especially if you need to lose weight is raw coconut oil. I try to get 1 to 2 T. daily. If I can't find a food to put it in, I'll just eat it on a piece of flax cracker or slice of apple or whatever. I find it tastes buttery. And it really does help with the weight loss. I had gone from stalled weight loss to about 1/2 pound a week on raw. And now about 2 pounds a week after adding the coconut oil! :)

My Drs. are very pleased with my progress. I had gone from having what might have been the start of kidney failure, anemia and high triglyerides to having (almost) everything in normal range. Now I will say my BG is slightly higher than *I'd* like it. It is the only thing that is not in normal range. It has been holding at 6.9 on my A1c, with normal for my lab being <6.0. However my Dr. will not take further action on that unless it goes >7.0. So while I would personally like it to be <6.0, my Dr. is pleased. I am disabled and I can't always exercise like I should.

I am hoping though with the weight loss I will have less insulin resistance and perhaps will see lower numbers. So far in my testing, my numbers have been all over the place. Some higher than I'd like but some others in normal range and more often than they were before. But as I said, I do have additional medical problems and some of these do complicate my BG control because I do not metabolize my food properly.

I would strongly advise your husband to begin adding more raw foods to the diet he's on now. Particularly those in the salad and lower carb vegetable dept. Also add in the coconut oil. Have him see how his numbers are doing. And he might decide to add even more raw.

I never ate sweets before. Never, unless I was having a hypo. But now I find I can when it comes to raw sweets. Now I don't go hog wild on them but I find I can eat a small piece or two of something like RP's brownies as a snack or in addition to my meal and my BG doesn't spike. That really says something to me. :D