Exercising my butt off...literally!

Sorry I fell behind a couple days on blogging. I've been very busy starting up my new exercise program. I started the beginner Crossfit program - which in itself is very easy but I've decided to do some walking or jogging every day in an attempt to get off Glucophage. Yesterday I refilled less than a month's supply of Glucophage and got some new strips for my meter...$60!!!! WITH insurance. Ya, that's gotta go. It's much better than the $250 per month I was spending before when I was doing insulin and syringes - but I'm determined to get it down to just the testing strips. Send me good vibes!

I've also become very determined to re-learn how to jump rope so I've been doing that quite often as well.

I've been scouting new walking/hiking/jogging locations as you can see in this video on my YouTube channel: Scouting Exercise Locations

As many of you know, I was inspired by Gayle Jordan's story here. I mentioned her in one of my videos. Imagine my excitement and happiness when she responded! Here is her response:



Of course I had to respond to her. Here is my response:



And you can bet, I've been working on my pull-ups!

How can insulin make you fat?

We all know insulin is a hormone and escorts sugar into cells to be burned for energy.

However, not everyone knows that insulin has multiple functions. Some that can make you fat or make it easier to gain/retain weight. Some of it's other functions:

1) Signals for carb cravings.
2) Signals for fat to be retained and not be burned for energy.
3) Forces fat cells to convert blood lipids to triglycerides.
4) Speeds up aging.
5) Etc., etc., etc....insulin has MANY functions and most of them are not fully understood.

The more insulin there is...the worse these things can be. If you have insulin resistance you often have excess insulin in your system but your body can't use it to get glucose into cells...but it might be able to still be used for the above functions. This insulin can be from your own body producing it or insulin you inject.

If your body still produces insulin, your insulin levels increase when there is glucose in the blood from carbohydrates, when protein is ingested, or there is circulating adrenaline (stress, exercise, etc.).

Muscle cells and fat cells are effected by insulin's levels...and they make up about 2/3 of all our cells. So insulin has a BIG effect on our health.

Blood sugar control is a sign of how much sugar we have in our bloodstream. However, diabetes is much more complex than that. I personally have been around people who regularly inject excess amounts of insulin while eating tons of carbs and sugar. Yes, they may have a 4.5 HbA1c...but that insulin is making them gain or retain weight and who knows what else. So it's better to try to watch your diet and try to limit how much insulin you need from meds.

When I was diagnosed, I was told by the nurse, "Oh mija (little girl), I'm so sorry. I would rather have cancer than diabetes."

However, as diseases go...I think diabetes is pretty nifty in that you do have some control over it. I know the above stuff may make you feel like - omg, what the hell am I supposed to do then? But if you exercise, even just a little each day, it makes your cells produce more receptors so that you can use more of the insulin that's in your system.

Insulin degrades once it has been docked onto a cell receptor. So the more receptors you make, the more insulin you degrade or burn up.

Is there a cure for diabetes?

When I embraced the raw food diet, it was largely due to reading Dr. Gabriel Cousen's book which answered the question "is there a cure for diabetes" with, "There Is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21-Day+Program."

I have a very dear friend who has lost 65+ pounds the past 3-4 months also due to this book. Like me, she was on a lot of medications and had dangerously high blood pressure. We both lost weight, brought down our blood pressure and were able to stop our medications.

My blood sugar numbers were close to "normal" as long as I was close to 100% raw. Does this mean there is a cure for diabetes? I don't know, because I was having crazy cravings for bananas, so I decided to indulge in fruit and resumed my metformin. My numbers are better than before raw foods, but not as good as when I was 100%.

I admit it is my own fault. The book recommends you maintain low blood sugar levels and remain in the first phases of the diet for a much longer period of time (years) to give your body a chance to "heal."

Maybe with more weight loss I could become more sensitive to insulin and react less to fruit. However, even if I lost weight and maintained 100% raw for a decade, I don't think I would ever be able to eat a banana/honey smoothie without my blood sugar levels spiking. I will still, for all intents and purposes, be a diabetic - I think. Is there a cure for diabetes? Will I be able to eat bananas later if I hold out and lose some more weight?

I once had an endocrinologist who told me that once my blood sugar levels got to 180 mg/dL for an extended period of time, my body underwent cellular changes that could be identified under a microscope. If I remained on raw food for a significant period of time, would those changes go away? It would be interesting if anyone could answer that question. Dr. Cousens?

So I guess the answer to "is there a cure for diabetes" depends on what your definition of "cured" is. For some reason I have a problem with that word. I have such an issue, I have a hard time recommending the book to friends, family, and especially the 4000+ members of my website, DiabeticMommy.com - even though it had a big part in changing my life.

I don't want to appear like the ads that bombard my members with advertisements for potions that will cure diabetes. Another issue, is when I was done reading the book, I felt I really should go to the Tree of Life Spa (which is literally down the road). Would I really have received more benefit going, or would I have gotten the same results and lost money? I don't want my members thinking I'm trying to get them to blow a lot of money either.

So is there a cure for diabetes?

Is there a cure for diabetes? I don't know. Should I recommend this book? Yes, I believe so, but I have to express my reservations. Thank you if you read this post all the way to end.

Raw food detox noticed by dental hygenist!

A few years ago my dentist said I needed $3000 worth of work on my mouth. I had the beginnings of gingivitis, cavities, cracked teeth, etc. He scolded me for not getting my teeth cleaned for a couple years. When he poked around my mouth to make measurements for bone health, my gums bled. I would have thought detox in this area based on my diet was impossible.

Research is showing a strong relationship between diabetes and oral health. Oral health could also indicate an even higher risk for heart disease - something I have to worry about with diabetes and my family history. So this is something important for me.

I had read that raw food could not only detox your blood and organs, but also improve your mouth, gums, and even teeth. I read about some of these benefits in a Victoria Boutenko book. She is well-known in raw food diet circles.

In fact, when I read this, I questioned whether she was a quack and trying to make the raw food diet seem like it was magic. I brushed it off. It was the last thing I expected to see - raw food detox in my mouth.

I finally went to get that dental work done a couple months ago. I had been on green juice and raw foods for a few months at that time. They did X-rays and poked around my mouth. The dentist said, "Your mouth and teeth look great. You just have a couple cracked teeth and need two crowns." I was like, what? I mentioned what he told me the last time. He looked in my file, and he said hmmm, I don't know what's going on, but I don't see a lot of the problems we listed before.

I got the work done and then scheduled a cleaning with his dental hygenist. I hadn't gone to get my teeth cleaned for at least five years! Bad I know, I'm scared of the dentist! I went a few days ago to get my teeth cleaned. Finally. :)

Usually when I get my teeth cleaned, it takes a long time and requires a lot of tartar scraping. I expected it to take forever. Also part of the regular routine is some bleeding, a report on the state of gingivitis, warnings about my gums and bone health, etc.

She poked around and said, wow, looks great! She said, "Your gums are healthy, your measurements are perfect, your teeth are pretty clean. The only place I see any tartar is on the back of your lower front teeth, but that's common." Then she said I was doing a great job taking care of my teeth and obviously having regular cleanings.

I laughed and said no I wasn't. She looked at my file, and said that's odd.

I told her I was eating a lot of raw food and drinking a lot of green juices. Green juice can eat away at enamel if you don't rinse your mouth out after. I asked if it was possible the green juice had eaten away the tarter. She said no, and that my enamel was fine.

She said she suspected I changed the pH of my body from acidic to alkaline and that changed the chemistry in my mouth and made the tartar go away! What a trip!!! I still can't believe it.

I was out of there in no time. I didn't even get watch the whole episode of Oprah they had playing in the room. It seems so unbelievable, I keep expecting to wake up at any time.

What I've learned about gestational diabetes

I created my website in 2001 as a result of being very dissatisfied with my pregnancy experience with gestational diabetes. I was scared. I felt alone. I had a really hard time finding information.

When I made the site, I didn't think I would find many others like me, maybe a handful. Since then I've been overwhelmed not only with members and posts on the site but desperate emails sent to me by women with all types of diabetes - type 1, type 2, and women with gestational diabetes. I remember what it was like, and I feel for them.

When I got pregnant, my doctor had me see a diabetes educator. She freaked out and the rollercoaster began.

I had so many appointments, pamplets, and lectures, it's all a blur. It was a very negative experience. There was no "congratulations!" or really anything positive. I was told my A1c was too high, and that I had a chance of losing the baby. I was told all the risks, complications, history of diabetes, etc. So that was it. I was going to lose it. I was convinced.

Almost every initial personal email I get from someone with gestational diabetes is from someone in that mindset. They think they are going to lose their baby. They are in sheer panic.

As my pregnancy progressed, I got my HbA1c into very tight control, in the 4's and 5's. I got tested up the wazoo (literally, haha). Because of how I was dealt with, the brief wording and grave faces, I thought the baby had Downs and birth defects. I accepted it and prepared. My husband and I are not naive stupid people. But I don't think caregivers realize what impact their comments have, combined with those of nurses and tech's.

I've had nurses tell me they would rather have cancer than diabetes. I've had tech's tell me it's too bad I'm going to lose a foot. It wasn't only health professionals either. Friends and family who had seen movies like Steel Magnolias were predicting my death. I hear shocking things from the ladies with gestational diabetes who contact me.

When my son came out healthy and normal, I was shocked. My entire pregnancy was a very high-stress experience. Most of it was negative. I was lucky that halfway through I found a midwife who educated me and let me know that I COULD do this and let me know I was doing an awesome job. She was one little glimmer in the sea of images that were like Evard Munch's The Scream painting.

Now that I look back. I realize the doctors and others were not evil. They had a limited amount of time with me, and these are very serious issues and facts they had to get across within minutes. These are very valid issues. However, it would have been nice if they had injected a little bit of happiness or positiveness and mentioned they were talking about risks and statistics...not about my current situation.

When I chat with these ladies with gestational diabetes, I ask if they actually have lab tests or something that confirms that something is wrong. I ask if they've been asked to go in for extra appointments, monitoring, or appointments. It turns out the many of them already have really nice HbA1c levels. When I tell them, it sounds like the doctor is just trying to get these warnings and facts across so that you understand the importance of compliance, I am met with profound relief.

Often a woman with gestational diabetes won't ask her doctor more questions because they are confused, in shock and are afraid to hear more. If they got gestational diabetes in pregnancy, they are sometimes ashamed, feeling they caused it with bad habits. They worry they will get scolded. If they had pre-existing diabetes, they are worried the doctor may be implying they shouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place. So they clam up.

It's not uncommon for me to hear that an HbA1c came back at 4.5% and the doctor was still negative rather than telling them good job. They don't understand what they are doing wrong. I remember so well.

When I tell ladies with gestational diabetes or even those who are thinking about getting pregnant that if they have no pre-existing complications, good healthcare, comply/work with their doctor, and get their A1c levels into tight control, they could have about the same chance as a non-diabetic to have a successful pregnancy - the fight begins. They work hard and they are able to enjoy their pregnancy. It's amazing how positive messages can be strong as well.

I realize not all doctors are negative, but I get enough emails to worry.

Sugar cravings - how can you beat them?

Everyone has sugar cravings, but they seem magnified when you have type 2 diabetes - or at that's how it seems to me. I have managed to maintain my weight around 175 pounds after I lost 30 pounds in April - May of last year. This is a big accomplishment for me. I have lost weight before, but it came back quickly. I also had to exercise constantly or starve myself to keep it off. I am doing neither of those now.

I think part of my success is due to including raw dark green leafy greens in dishes and in juices. This gives my body needed nutrients and cuts cravings. I also think some success is due to some deep thinking and a mental flip I had to go through. Together these things have helped keep my food cravings at bay.

Sometimes it feels like I have two people inside me. There is the good person who says, "I need to lose weight," "I shouldn't eat that," "I should exercise." Those words will even come out of my own mouth or I'll type them or make resolutions.

Then there is a soft yet persistent bad voice that says, "give in to your sugar cravings and eat that. It's okay. Just do it." Sometimes that soft little voice works some magic and makes me forget about the other voice or my goals. Then after it's gone down the hatch, I remember my resolutions and feel guilty. I'm sure Freud has a name for this, but I don't know what it is. Some people would even say it's the devil, and I could totally see that! Totally.

What a lot of people don't know is that when you have diabetes, carb and sugar cravings can be much worse than a "normal" person. Have you ever taken a sleeping pill and felt the effects of those chemicals on your body? It's really hard, if not impossible to fight off sleep. Imagine being given a pill that makes you crave sugar or carbs. That happens in diabetic bodies everyday and I'll explain why. Once you understand, it's easier to resist with practice and trying to put some mind over the matter.

We all know many people with type 2 diabetes have bellies - but there are many who don't who are slender. What we all likely have in common is some intra-abdominal visceral fat. Intra ab-what? This is a special kind of fat, it gets in around the internal organs and grows and becomes an entity unto itself. It becomes a little monster. And it sends out signals to your brain and chemicals to the rest of your hormonal system to signal for behavior that will cause it to survive and grow.

So this little monster has a lot to do with the frequency and intensity of that second bad voice. It will talk to you like it's your friend - "just have a little more cake, it's okay, you deserve it" - but it doesn't care about you at all. It's wholly self-serving. It causes feelings of discomfort and stress if it doesn't get what it wants. It really doesn't care if you live or die.

What I do before I go to sleep or find myself in a quiet state is think about these two conflicting voices. I realize and envision that first good voice. That is the beautiful, healthy me. The REAL me. I love that me. The second voice is literally an ugly disgusting little monster inside my belly. It is NOT me. I get a picture of it in my mind...what I would look and feel like if I let it have it's way.

Another way to look at it, if you have kids or pets, is those times they bug and pester for something they cannot have. You have to stick to your guns out of love for them. Eventually the pestering stops or they can be distracted. It's the same thing.

Something else that many people don't know is that when you have diabetes you have excess insulin circulating in your body due to insulin resistance. Oral meds often increase insulin in your system, and of course injecting insulin adds more. Most of us know that insulin helps to escort sugar into cells to be burned for energy. However, insulin has other duties. Insulin signals for carb cravings, fat storage, and sends signals telling the body to not release fat for energy.

What can you do about this? First of all, knowledge is power. This is where your brain comes in. You have to pay attention to what are real cravings and what aren't. Sometimes you really may crave something because your body is wanting those vitamins or you really are hungry. You will crave something familiar that has those vitamins...but doesn't necessarily have a concentrated amount of them so you over-indulge to satisfy the need. You have to be mindful. Of course you still must eat, but pay attention to what you are putting into your body and what your body is asking for. Starving yourself is asking for failure.

If you suddenly have a very strong craving for carbs or sugar, then you can assume you are low on energy or it's your little belly monster. If you start to crave something specific like fried sweet potatoes or a can of cranberries - look up what the major nutrients are. Maybe your body is needing those and you can find a healthier alternative that provides those nutrients.

I try to look at what I'm about to eat and ask myself, "Is this enough to sustain me for the next three hours?" I think about what "real" serving sizes are and what was considered a serving size for my grandparents or great-grandparents when they were younger. When I do that, I often find myself cutting my portion in half or adding something that is more nutrient dense and less calorie-filled. It's okay to have a grumbly stomach a few hours later...and to feed that stomach as well. It's a balancing act. I've come to welcome my little grumblings a few hours later and take them as a good sign. At first I was really uncomfortable with it, but now I enjoy it.

Another thing to remember is when you do eat carbs or sugar, they will cause more cravings. So if you try to cut down or eliminate white sugar or white flour, you can cut down your sugar cravings a lot. Many people will say (and I've experienced this myself) that when you cut those things out, sometimes the cravings for those things go away. You go through withdrawal at first, but then they are gone.

There are times people give in to cravings because the food in question is something special, or something they don't usually get to have. They want to have that treat now for fear they won't get another chance. Nobody wants to feel deprived. There is no reason why you can't have it if you can fit it into your diet plan.

If you can't have it now, write it down. I have a friend who religiously keeps a little notebook and pencil with her. When she sees or craves something and she's already eaten or she's trying to have a good food day, she'll write it down. When she can have a treat, she'll remember and won't feel deprived. In her diet, she is really good during the week and has treats on the weekends. So often I'll see her enjoying something with that notebook open in front of her, haha. For her it works, she is one beautiful skinny biatch.

People often say eating raw food is easy because you don't have write anything down if you follow the rules. As a diabetic who tries to be "mostly raw," I have to write down when I've eaten something outside the rules. It's too easy to forget that I had some meat yesterday morning, some roasted nuts, or some bread with dinner last night. So I write it down. That way I can really keep track of what percentage of raw I'm eating. Also, I still try to pay attention to total carbs, protein, and fat.

There is a really great website for analyzing foods - a great resource for beating sugar cravings. If you have never used that site, I highly suggest trying it out. It is really interesting to see graphical representations of the make-ups of different foods. You can put in what you ate for the day and see how nutritionally complete it was.

You CAN get a handle on those cravings, and you CAN beat down that little monster. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. As you lose weight and exercise you won't have insulin interfering as much. Remember you deserve health and happiness more than you deserve that brief pleasure from over-indulging in that chocolate cake and the detrimental effects it will cause later.

This won't happen overnight either, and you'll slip. The little belly monster will make you forget everything I've written here. When it happens, remember, it's not your fault. Forget about the mishap and move on, keep trying. Try to get into the habit of being mindful when you eat or are hungry.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. When you start to feel down because of the struggle, remember someone over here in Arizona is going through the same thing and is sending you good vibes, wishes, and encouragement.

Need to vent? Even if you aren't "mostly raw" feel free to make use of the "Venting" folder in my Rawbetes forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/rawbetes. We'll listen and understand. :)

Ancient wisdom from a diabetes microcosm to help us all

I am of Mexican heritage along with a motley mix of other cultures which includes Native American ancestry, but I don't know which tribes.

I do know my family has been here in southern Arizona for hundreds of years. The earliest written documentation I have found, has been family living in the Spanish presidios or forts.

Because of this I pay a lot of attention to the tribes from this area. Not only is there a possibility of some familial ties, but for sure our histories are intertwined. My great-great grandfather was a settler but it's been written he never denied peaceful tribes access to his land for their cultural ways. He held great respect for them.

I am very happy to share history and possibly blood with them. However, there is one element I am NOT happy to share - and that is diabetes.

In my family diabetes runs rampant. It's pretty much a given that someday you will get it. I received the family honor of type 2 diabetes in my mid twenties.

I know many families like mine - usually other ethnic families. It used to be primarily an ethnic problem...but that is quickly changing. It's becoming everyone's problem.

There is a tribe in my area, the Tohono O'Odham, who have the highest incidence of diabetes in the world. Yet in 1960 diabetes was unknown to them. What a difference mere decades made!

These people have learned that if they return to traditional foods they can prevent diabetes and help current diabetics get better control and health.

I'm not talking about traditional foods as in fry bread...I'm talking earlier than that, before they were introduced to processed, frankensteined foods. I'm talking back when a bowl of gruel and reconstituted sun-dried vegetable was the norm. I'm talking back when they gathered wild greens, seeds, and cactus for food.

There is an organization called TOCA (Tohono O'Odham Community Action) that is trying to reintroduce traditional foods, tradtional farming, improve health, and revitalize culture. I feel the whole world should be paying attention to, and supporting this community. They represent a microcosm of diabetes in the world - and hopefully we can learn a lot from their traditional foods and traditional ways. We can learn a lot as they fight their way back to health with food.

See the video below to meet these people. I will include more videos under my favorites on my YouTube channel and you can expect to read more about them here. http://www.youtube.com/user/bjay100

Which raw diet is best?

I'm so glad you guys are interested in adding more raw foods. :) I am so excited with the talk in the forum and the emails I'm getting.

I was surfing around today, and have been reading a lot. I realize the "raw food world" might be pretty confusing to new people. So I wanted to share share something with you.

It's that there is no ONE raw food diet. There are high-fat raw food diets, low-fat, high-fruit diets. There are diets that allow some lightly cooked items, some that don't. There are some that allow beans, others that call them poison.

There here I come confusing things, saying I personally believe we need to look at the wisdom of the diets of some indigenous cultures before the Spanish explorers arrived, calling specific attention to the Tohono O'Odham and Pima Indian early traditional diets. Enough to make your mind spin! Sorry!

Currently there is a big split happening in the raw food world. At one end are the diets that say you can eat anything as long as it's raw - eat as many high-fat avocados and nuts as you want. At the other end are the ones that say, no you can't, this is way too much fat, eat fruit instead (like the 80/10/10 raw food diet). The former leans a lot on "gourmet" foods, superfoods, and manipulating raw foods into copycats of old favorites. The latter says, how can anything be or taste better than a fresh pineapple?

I know, it's confusing. So what is the RIGHT diet? The right diet is the one that makes YOU feel food and you see positive benefits from. As diabetics, of COURSE you know, we are all unique and different and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. We know that all too well. 100% raw might not be right for you. Maybe you are someone who can handle a lot of fat. I personally can't. While my blood sugar numbers and blood pressure went down to normal eating raw foods, my cholesterol numbers did not go down to normal - they DID decrease, but not to normal. So I have to cut some more. Also some diabetics can have tahini (raw sesame seed paste) with no ill effects while others will have their blood sugar numbers skyrocket.

It's important to keep records and be observant (another curse of diabetes, haha). Pay attention to what you eat and then how your blood sugar reacts. Just because it's raw doesn't necessarily mean it wont effect your sugars. Pay attention to foods that might be irritating your digestive system - because in the end it's all connected via our hormonal systems.

MOST IMPORTANT...you have to work with your health care team. Ask your doctor before starting a new program and ask what foods you might need to avoid because of complications, medications, or any special conditions you may have. For instance, if you are on Coumadin/warfarin, you shouldn't be eating ginger - and maybe even limit the dark leafy greens. Let your doctor know what your plan is and have him or her work with you on your drug dosages and strategy. Don't make changes on your own.

So what should you do? How should you start? The basic thing these diets all can agree on is - get more raw fruits and veggies, especially green leafy vegetables into your diet. So, that is a fantastic starting point. Figure out simple ways to get more of these things into your diet. Take baby steps and see how you feel. In the meantime, research! Pay attention to your basic needs - carbs, fat, protein, calories, vitamins, minerals, water - make sure you aren't deficient or extreme on any of these. We need balance.

You can add green juice or a green smoothie. You can decide to have fruit or veggies for breakfast or replace a meal with a big salad. You try a raw recipe once in a while. It doesn't have to be complicated, and it's best to make it simple and go slow. Anything you do will be an improvement and as long as you are headed in the right direction, don't worry too much about how fast you get there. Enjoy the ride. :)

Why do raw food, diabetes, and indigenous traditions go together?

I have diabetes, eat mostly raw food, and pay attention to what, when, and how the local indigenous people ate. It all naturally goes together. Why?

I live in the southern Arizona desert. Home to the Tohono O'odham and Pima tribes--two tribes recognized for a severe diabetes epidemic. About 75% of those over 55 have obesity and diabetes.

When these people were introduced to the standard American diet and encouraged to abandon their traditional diet and native foods, it was disaster.

As diabetics, we can learn a lot from this. They have the so-called "starvation gene" that allowed them to survive through regular periods of hunger. For instance, on the tradtional Tohono O'Odham calendar, May had been listed as "The month of hunger." This is when I like to do longer fasting or juice feasting. It keeps me in touch more with the natural cycles of the desert.

Their bodies were able to store more fat for the future. Studies have found they gain more weight than the "average" person consuming the same amount of calories. This is thought to be due to a low metabolism.

A similar thing happens with diabetes. Most of us have low metabolisms. It is harder for us to lose weight sometimes because our hormonal systems are sending messages to the brain to hold on to fat - even if we already have plenty of fat. The indigenous people would store the extra fat in their bellies. That's the common storage place for us...and it's been found that our belly fat, or abdominal intra-visceral fat, even acts as an organ unto itself, sending out messages to the brain to sustain itself.

If the local Native American people return to eating traditionally, they often lose weight, belly fat, and can better control their diabetes.

Their traditional eating and a raw food diet have a lot in common. They are both low-fat, high-fiber. They both use fresh seasonal foods and nutrition is condensed into less so less empty calories, as well as less overall calories, are consumed.

In scientific circles there is high debate as to which came first, the chicken or the egg...did diabetes appear undetected and cause the weight gain or did weight gain cause diabetes.

I found this interesting article from the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition and it explores those questions. It considers the Pima indians. The thinking seems to be that the Pima have low metabolic rates, low fidgeting, and probably genetic factors that make it easier to gain weight. Interestingly, they start out with low insulin resistance and low insulin levels. When they gain weight, the weight gain itself causes insulin resistance, higher insulin levels, and progression to diabetes and high blood sugar.

Anyway, it's pretty interesting. But all the scientific mumbo jumbo aside, regardless of the studies, for some reason traditional foods and raw foods seem to help.

I'm not going to say that either one is a magic cure in and of itself, but the components of each allow a person to eat a good amount of food with more nutrition and less calories. They also tend to help with food allergies which may complicate diabetes since many diabetics are allergic to gluten and they are both so much easier on our digestive systems.

Diabetes expert Dave Mendosa on "Raw Food People"

I came across this today surfing around the net on Dave Mendosa's site. He's a fantastic and well-respected source of diabetes information on the internet. His blog post is not an attack on raw food diets, he's writing about a study.

In a nutshell he writes how some "raw food people" may not be entirely correct when they say raw food is better for you. I agree with this and don't.

I Agree: I agree there was a reason why primitive peoples took the time to cook certain foods rather than eat them raw. They had to avoid pests & poison. Some foods had to be prepared a certain way to become safe.

In the raw food circles, I wish there was more information out there about the need for proper preparation or limited eating of: Raw kidney beans, buckwheat greens, spinach, prickly pear pads, unpeeled potatoes, alfalfa sprouts, some types of raw cassava, unfertilized raw eggs, apricot kernels, and parsnips.

For example, spinach and prickly pear pads are pretty high in oxalates which can be detrimental. They are better in limited raw amounts or cooked to reduce the amounts of oxalates.

I Don't Agree: The blog post did not talk about these foods, it talked about everyday foods like broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. It referenced a study that said cooking allowed certain nutrients to become more available, "probably because of matrix softening and increased extractability."

This is a big misconception people have about raw food (just like how some people think raw food means sushi, haha).

Most raw fooders don't eat a lot of broccoli, carrots, or zucchini in it's whole state. I personally am not going to bite into it like an apple. It will get stuck between my teeth and feel like hell going down if I eat a lot of it.

These things I either juice...or blend or grate or slice into paper-thin slices and marinate them. This causes the aforementioned "matrix softening and increased extractability."

Anyway, I wanted to throw my 2 cents into the fray as I felt this touched on a major misconception of eating common raw foods while ignoring other foods which could realistically pose a threat in their raw state.

I don't have anything against Dave and I think he has provided an INVALUABLE service to the diabetes community. Thank you Dave!

My medicine is trying to kill me?

On DiabetesConnect.com, someone posted a question about why insulin causes you to gain weight. I read it's because it signals for fat retention and carb cravings.

However, it reminded me I had a similar problem with metformin - my oral diabetes medicine. When I did the green juice and was eating 100% raw, my carb cravings went completely away. I mean, I looked at a hamburger bun, a roll, a donut, and actually was turned off.

I restarted this oral medicine because I wanted to eat fruit again. I missed fruit. Immediately after I restarted the metformin, I got INTENSE constant carb cravings. I wanted Twinkies, donuts, bread crackers.


My diabetes medicine...which is supposed to help by body combat the ill-effects of too many carbs, actually causes me to crave carbs?

Ironic.