Lower Blood Sugar! - An Update On My Low Carb High Protein Diet

Hi Everyone. Sorry, I haven't been posting daily (I'll get into the groove soon). Exciting news on my end. My blood sugars are registering in the high end of the normal range most of the time and never high enough to make my doctor want to put me on insulin. I am fully convinced this is due to my low carb high protein diet and to other changes I've made in my life overall.

I've been following a lower carb higher protein diet for at least 2 months now. I've gotten increasingly more serious about it and more educated on how to do it. Luckily, I do have a science background and I've been interested in natural remedies for a very long time. About a decade ago, I studied the low carb high protein diet quite extensively so I'm not a newbie. In fact, I followed the low carb high protein for a while but I confess that I like bread, rice, and sugary things like Crispy Creme Donuts a little too much.

Have I "cheated?" Not much I'm happy to report. I did eat a Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Candy Bar with Almonds the other day. Funny thing is my blood sugar was still lower later that day. I have also added white rice that I already had on hand to a few dishes but I used a lot less than normal and if you calculate it per serving the carb count wasn't that high. For example, in one of my favorite goulash dishes, I used 6 oz of white rice in the whole thing and I also used extra meat. One cup (8 oz) of white rice is about 148 grams of carb so 6 oz is about 111 carbs. I got 6 hearty meals out of what I prepared so this was about 18-19 grams of carb per meal.  If you are on a really strict low carb diet, this is probably too much but not too bad. I also think I could have gotten away with maybe 4-5 oz of rice. I plan to use more brown rice once I use up the white rice I have but I've discovered that brown rice only has a little carb per oz.  There seems to be more difference in the glycemic index than in the actual carbs.  I'm most anxious to try other low carb grains I've been reading about that are even lower in carbs than brown rice - in some cases much lower.  It will be a culinary adventure. I've also eaten bread a few days but very little. I really wanted a hamburger one day so I actually took a single slice of bread from a loaf I had in the freezer and carefully cut it into two slices. This is no easy feat and I was quite proud of myself :) It was 18 effective carbs a slice (with lots of whole grains). I want to find some low carb bread (and thinly sliced). I was so happy to read that one of my favorite breads, sourdough, is among the lower carb breads...yea!!! I'll blog more about this later too. Rice and bread are going to be some of the most difficult foods for me to cut way back on. I love both. Luckily, I'm not quite as keen on pasta but that is touch too. I need to get to Trader Joe's.

It makes complete sense to me why a low carb high protein diet will lower blood sugar from a scientific perspective. It is logical to me why there is currently an epidemic of diabetes in most places in the world... and why it's NOT an epidemic in a few places. These few exceptions are the key to understanding what is really going on to me. They provide the evidence. Where the incidence of diabetes is much lower are places where the standard diet does not include much or any refined sugar and consists of naturally low carb and high protein (sometimes also high fat) items. Is this a mere coincidence? I don't think so. The Eskimos would be a good example of this where they eat mostly protein and fat. I plan to blog about this more later because I find it fascinating. It's like we've been doing a world wide experiment but not everyone recognizes the results yet.

I am also happy to report that my sugar cravings are much lower now and I'm not craving carbs in general quite as much... although I do have my weak moments when I see pictures (or the real thing) of my sweet favorites and my carb favorites. I have had a special craving for cheese puffs but so far I have not succumbed to that one. I may look into some special low carb snacks to satisfy these types of cravings.

I'll post more later. Overall, I'm proud of myself for making this commitment and sticking to it (mostly). I'm REALLY happy about my lower blood sugar levels and it is motivating me to keep doing this. If I can keep my blood sugar levels down naturally, I don't have to do insulin. The idea of "curing" my diabetes, reversing it, through natural means really appeals to me.

Food Labels - My Personal Rant & Some Good Info

It really gets my goat when food labels are difficult to read. Sometimes the print is just too small to read. Occasionally, a funny font is used that makes it hard to read. I've actually put products back on the shelf if I can't read the label as I want to know exactly what I'm buying! As a diabetic, my health really depends on it. I don't want to spend money on a condiment and take out my handy dandy magnifying glass at home only to discover they loaded it up with sugar! I'm also always on the look out for hydrogenated oils, i.e. trans fat, and then also canola oil (which always contains trans fat).

Please remember that trans fat causes diabetes! To learn more, check out my article on what causes diabetes.

Food labels include the "Nutrition Facts" label and the list of ingredients. Even before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was in a habit of reading food labels in the store. However, now I pay much closer attention. I'm trying to eat a low carb high protein diet. Therefore, I always check the number of grams of carbohydrates (available carbs) and protein per serving. I'm also on the look out for products that add unnecessary sugar or sugary syrups - the "bad carbs."

I recently bought a jar of Kettle Foods almond butter. The print was so small I was squinting to try to read it in the store and I had to get the magnifying glass out when I got home. For a company that prides itself on healthy ingredients, you'd think they'd be darn proud of their ingredients and nutritional information, especially on their nut butters, and they'd want to make the print easy to see. This got me thinking about whether or not there were any standards on food labels. I mean what is the use of requiring companies to place a food label on their products if you can't read them?

It turns out that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does offer guidance to companies on food labels. Some of it is mandatory and some of it is just strongly recommended. Here's an exact quote from their website:

"There are no specific size requirements for the nutrition label. However, the "Nutrition Facts" heading must be in a type size larger than all other print size in the nutrition label (21 CFR 101.9(d)(2)2). Minimum type sizes of 6 point and 8 point are required for the other information in the nutrition label (21 CFR 101.9(d)(1)(iii)3), and there are minimum spacing requirements between lines of text (21 CFR 101.9(d)(1)(ii)(C)4)."

They do not require a certain font but they do make strong recommendations and most companies use some form of Helvetica. They do require that it be legible and that's where the rub comes from for me. This is too wishy washy and there a a few companies out there that use really difficult to read fonts, probably due to an over-zealous graphic designer.

There also seems to be exceptions for small packaging. However, I believe even here that companies could improve in this area. For example, if Kettle Foods turned their Nutrition Facts 90 degrees, which is allowed by the FDA, they would have plenty of space to increase the font size.

I think it is important for the FDA hear directly from consumers regarding food labels. The easiest way to do this is to go to their website and email them a comment or call them toll-free. If you want to be really effective, you may want to call them first and follow-up with an email.

By the way, I don't mean to pick on Kettle Foods only. This just happens to be a recent experience but the same thing is true with many other products. I happen to admire Kettle Foods' sustainability practices. Their manufacturing plant in Salem Oregon sports a 600 panel solar rooftop that generates approximately 125,000 Kilowatt Hours of electricity directly from the sun which is pretty darn cool. I also love their tasty chips which are healthier than other chips with no artificial preservatives and natural organic ingredients - but of course almost pure carb so as a diabetic I won't be able to indulge very often.

Please remember that it is possible to reverse diabetes completely if you have all of the right information like you find in this comprehensive diabetes reversal guide.

Diabetic Recipes 123

Hi all. I love to cook (well, sometimes) and I'm really trying to eat a good diabetic diet. I've created a companion website to this one devoted to diabetic recipes. I'm mostly going to post delicious low carb recipes many of which will also be high carb recipes. I am fascinated with ingredients that lower sugar levels in a natural way so most of these recipes will feature one or more of these ingredients. I may also do some blogging about my favorite ingredients. I've already posted one of my very favorite things to make - a white chili recipe - which is very low carb and contains 4 ingredients that are well known to lower blood sugar. This is really one of the best things a diabetic can eat.

Reverse Diabetes Naturally - My Personal Experience

Important: Please note that I wrote the post below going on four years ago (May 15, 2010) and I had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only a few months before. I was already heavy into research on how to reverse diabetes but I definitely know more now than I knew then. Be sure to read the important update at the end.

Here's my personal story:

I'm a newly diagnosed diabetic and I'm determined to reverse diabetes naturally through diet, exercise, finding ways to reduce my stress, and other natural means.

I went to the doctor recently for a general checkup. It had been about 3 years since I had been to the doctor. I know this is bad but I'm more of a heal yourself kind of person and I'm basically terrified of any kind of medical procedure. Anyway, they drew blood and I was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic. Not only was my blood sugar over 200, my HgAc1 test came back initially as 10.6! In other words, it was considered severe diabetes. This was very unpleasant news to say the least! Quite frankly, it took a couple of weeks I think for this news to fully sink in. I think I was in denial at first. Diabetes runs in my family on my father's side with my father having the worst of it. He had terrible circulation problems in his feet and legs and it affected his eyesight as well (so much so he had trouble driving in the end). He didn't take care of himself. He almost never got any exercise and basically refused to change his diet, although we pleaded with him to do so. He died at the young age of 49. I do not plan to follow in his footsteps.

On the other side of the coin, my father's mom, my paternal Grandmother, always took very good care of herself. However, she was still diagnosed in the early 70's with what they then called "borderline diabetes" which they commonly refer to now as "pre diabetes." Her blood sugar was a little higher than the high end of the normal range but not high enough to take insulin. These days most doctors would have probably put her on oral medication but in the 1970s doctors still prescribed dietary changes sometimes rather than automatically doling out prescription drugs.  I was just a kid then but I remember how determined she was to not let it get any worse. She started walking more and she closely watched her diet. Not only did she not let it get any worse, she reversed her borderline diabetes. My Grandmother is now 90 years old and she's in terrific shape for her age. Her blood sugar is completely NORMAL now every time she goes to the doctor for a check up they have been for years. In fact, she's often on the low end of the normal range. She's very active for her age and stays mentally sharp. She goes to church every week, does her own shopping, keeps up with all her own affairs, loves to laugh and spend time with her family, and does many other activities with friends. She's also a joy to be around --- and she's diabetes free!

My Grandmother has always been an inspiration to me. I'm determined to follow in her footsteps and reverse my diabetes naturally. I would love to hear from other people who have reversed their diabetes with diet and other natural ways. Please leave me a comment.

Update: I HAVE reversed my diabetes using this basic method even though this method is a bit more refined through research and my blood tests have come back normal every time I've had it tested. I am now on a personal mission to help other diabetics reverse their diabetes too. If you are diabetic or pre-diabetic, I high recommend you go to the top of this page and click on the red button. The information could literally change your whole life. It is the most comprehensive source and best researched information I've seen to reversing diabetes. I do provide lots of information here on this blog but to really do it, to really reverse your diabetes, you're going to need every detail to follow and I just don't have the time to post every detail here. I've learned that there are several steps you need to take and if you skip just one, you may not reverse your diabetes, although you may help control it - but I want you to understand you can CURE diabetes, not just control it. Check out the reference I provide at the top of this and and let me know what you think.