diabetes 2

I was told in rapid succession that I was suffering from intermittent claudication (that’s blocked arteries in the legs)
high blood pressure
Diabetes Type 2. and that I was overweight.

Not a lot of pleasure there! The intermittent claudication made it increasingly difficult to do much
so that in effect I had become a prisoner to my house and garden. Exercise was out of the question
my legs simply couldn’t cope
but it was hoped that angioplasty to each leg would cure the problem. It didn’t.

My high blood pressure
I was assured
could be treated by a cocktail of drugs and by weight loss. The cocktail of four different drugs worked
but I could not seem to lose weight.

So I was given a choice: the blood sugar levels could be controlled either by drugs or by diet. Since I was already taking four different drugs for blood pressure
I thought it best to try diet control. I was also hopeful that this might help me to lose weight. But where to start? My diabetic nurse provided me with a blood sugar monitor and said I should aim to stay under 9 as my reading. My Doctor said to stay under 7. Now she has reduced this to under 5. My current long-term reading is 5.3. A big drop from the high readings I used to produce.

So what did I do? At first I was taking blood samples three times a day and was truly astonished at how my blood sugar jumped about. Plain porridge and water
which I absolutely loved
would produce a reading of 16 and yet
being a slow release multigrain
I had always assumed it would be good for my health. A single apple
showed a reading of 12! Tea with milk but no sugar
10
Obviously there was more to this than met the eye.

The first learning point was that the body needs water and lots of it. Out went sugared fizzy drinks and in came plain boiled water. The Swedes call it Silver Tea
I’m told
and it is very refreshing. Now a cup starts every day and two or three more follow. Low calorie tonic water is also useful (the quinine helps prevent cramps)
mineral water (I especially like carbonated forms)
low calorie Ginger Beer and cold filtered tap water.

The next
crucial
learning point: control your carbohydrate intake
in my case to under 40gms a day. Eliminate bread
cakes
sweets
pasta
rice
cereals
biscuits
sugars
fruit juice
potatoes
honey
jam
marmalade
baked beans. Reading the food labels is a real eye opener!

Instead
increase your intake of vegetables and low carbohydrate foods & fruits. All of the following are particularly good: Broccoli
cabbage
spinach
runner beans
brussels sprouts cauliflower
broccoli
peppers
tomatoes
courgettes
aubergines
swede
squashes
celeriac
green salads. Fruit can be very high in sugars
so use in moderation. Choose rhubarb
grapefruit
raspberries
loganberries
strawberries
blueberries
all of which are O.K. Do not add sugar
of course
so sweeten with cinnamon instead. Avocadoes are low in carbohydrates
but high in fat
so eat no more than half a fruit a day. Add nuts and seeds to your diet
again in small amounts.

As far as alcohol is concerned
all beers are out. One or two glasses of red wine a day are acceptable.

Avoid processed foods as much as possible and certainly do NOT eat hydrogenated fats of any kind. They are to my mind a food industry con. and of no use to any one other than manufacturers of processed food.

Buy only genuine
non-reconstituted lean meat
poultry
game and fish. Reduce your saturated fat intake by cooking on a griddle and cutting off any excess fat. Cook with olive and nut oils
as these unsaturated fats are good for you. Never use lard. Add game to your repertoire of ingredients
along with plenty of oily and white fish such as salmon
haddock
tuna
swordfish
mackerel & kipper.

I have never once felt hungry with this change in my eating habits to simple whole foods. I still find I miss eating plain yoghurt
vanilla ice cream and various cheeses. But then I occasionally do give myself a small treat - provided I stay within my allowance.

The results are good for my health:

My good cholesterol is high
My bad cholesterol is low
My type II diabetes blood sugar is well controlled by diet alone
I have lost 10 lbs in weight.

My next task is to lose another 30 lbs. I know now that this is achievable. The more weight I lose
the more able I am to increase my activity levels - and the more incentive I have to control my calorie intake. At last I feel that I am taking back control of my body and discovering that you really are what you eat!