Eat, Drink and be Healthy*

Can simply eating right and exercising a little bit every day cure diabetes? Of course not. However by eating right and exercising it is possible to control diabetes. My wife and I are both diabetic. My wife has been on insulin for almost 30 years. She has used an insulin pump for the last 10 years or so. I was on insulin for almost 8 years. We were both out of control. We were carrying way too much weight and not getting any exercise at all to speak of. We would eat anything we wanted and just take a little extra insulin to cover it (insulin is a real cop out for type 2 diabetics!). We are in our fifties so we were definitely headed toward an early and unhappy demise!

Over a year ago we lost our doctor to the rising cost of malpractice insurance. This was the third doctor we had lost over the last 2 years. When we went hunting for a new doctor we decided to try to find an endocrinologist since diabetes is an endocrine disease. Our hunt ended when we found a wonderful physician in our town who has made a real difference in our lives. Her guidance has turned us around to the point that we may actually be looking forward to a long and healthy retirement.

Although I have heard all the arguments for a good diet, our new doctor put it into simple terms that turned on a light for us. She pointed out that there are foods that raise our blood sugars very fast. Table sugar for example. Then she said that the flip side of that coin is that there are foods that raise our blood sugars very slowly and that by eating those foods we might do much better in controlling our diabetes.

She was right! We soon discovered that by eliminating only a few foods and eating lots of other, very good foods, we could control our blood sugars naturally. The list of foods we avoid is short:

No potatoes.
Nothing with white flour in it.
No white rice.
No saturated fats (any fat that is solid at room temperature)
NO TRANS FATS
Red meats very rarely

Other than that we eat lots of whole grain foods. Whole grain cereals, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and other whole grain products. We eat lots of fresh vegetables. We have at least one serving of fruit each day although we avoid oranges, grapes, and bananas because they are so intensely sugary. We eat chicken and turkey and although my wife does not like fish I try to have it at least once or twice a week. We use lots of olive and canola oil in our meals. Although we try not to pig out, we never count calories. In addition we have started to exercise regularly. In fact last year we trained to run a marathon and on November 18, 2004 we ran the Seattle Marathon.

As a result of this my wife and I are both off of insulin and controlling our blood sugars naturally. We have each lost over 70 pounds and I for one am down to a size I haven’t been since I was in the 101st Airborne Division over 30 years ago!

A good book to read on this subject is Eat Drink and be Healthy by Dr. Willett.* In this book he lays out some really good information about our state of knowledge of nutrition. Dr. Willett has been involved with a study of over 100,000 nurses since the 1980s and of Doctors (to bring men into the study) since the early 1990s. This is the first long term nutritional study of a large group of people. Dr. Willett also discusses the types of studies that are generally done and the problems involved in relying on short term studies of small groups of people. There is nothing radical about his recommendations based on the Harvard study. He recommends a balanced diet that relies on lots of fresh, unprocessed foods. Probably the closest "Diet" that fits his recommendations would be the "Mediterranean Diet" but as Dr. Willett points out the Mediterranean diet is based on foods that are found in the Mediterranean area where as he recommends eating a much larger set of foods from all around the world.

I put "Diet" in capitol letters above because there are diets and there are diets. Actually there are two basic kinds of diets. The first is the kind of "Diet" you go on. Perhaps to lose weight or to control blood sugar or because of some temporary medical condition. Implicit with the idea of going "on" such a diet is the fact that down the road (a couple of days or weeks or even a few months) you will be going "off" the diet.

The second kind of diet is the one you are on in between "going on" a diet. This is the diet we need to focus on. If this diet is good, you will never have need of "going on" a diet again. For example eleminating potatoes in order to lose 10 pounds is no good. When you eliminate potatoes from your diet they are gone for good. Of course you need to replace them with something. We find that cous cous are a good replacement in our diet. The point however is that your really do need to change the way you eat and it is one of the hardest things to do. Once you have made the decision to change the way you eat when you are between diets, you are on the road to eating some really great food.

Of course no matter how well you control the food you eat at home or that you take to work for lunch, there are always times that you will be eating out or at someone else’s house. Try to make this a rare event and don’t worry too much about it. Here are some tips. When invited to dinner at another’s home, don’t insult the cook by being a picky eater. Just don’t over do it and don’t have seconds on anything that is banned from your diet. Be a gracious guest.

When eating out, if you have a choice as to where to eat, go to an all you can eat place. These are great for those on special diets since you can pick out just the foods you want. Since you eat out rarely, simply try not to overdo it too badly and avoid all the stuff you should not have. Load up on the good stuff. Have a great salad and lots of veggies and all the fish or chicken (sans skin of course) you want. If you must eat at a regular restaurant talk to your server. Ask what comes with the fish or chicken you are ordering. Substitute veggies and only eat whole wheat breads. If you let them know you have special dietary needs they are usually quite pleased to help.

As far as exercise goes, it does not take much. Only a half an hour of walking a day is enough. It has to take priority over all other obligations. Remember that we are not talking about giving "exercise" a high priority. We are talking about giving YOU a high priority. Your club, or your church or your kids school activities or your hobbies must all come second to you! If you are not healthy, how will you be there to care for your kids, or your spouse or even your parents? You and your health must be your first priority. Once you make this decision you are on your way to a new you. I will write more on this subject as time goes on because it is the single most important thing to my wife and myself.