Time for a change.

OK I have been banging on about the right way to control type two diabetes for well over two years. I am a music nut, so for a while I am gonna bang on about great music, starting from tonight.
Tell me this is not as good as it gets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xB4dbdNSXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vAH6-cUVt4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp-qDcQU6sQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpgLsX6b4DA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqaOp7sIy0w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yU9WHTWzE0

Any complaints ?

This song was written by a tough guy. Help Me Make It Through the Night by Kris Kristofferson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D6HsaQ4EJM

Eddie

Some lowcarb fruits.

Strawberries 6 grams. Blackberries 5.1 grams. Raspberries 4.6 grams. per 100 grams.

A sweet lowcarb vegetable treat.

Children will love their vegetables as an after dinner treat this way.

Vegetable Candy

1/2 cup xylitol sweetener
1 cup water
juice of 2 limes

Vegetables: Zucchini, sweet potato, spaghetti squash, butternut pumpkin. The peel of red grapefruit (not if you are taking statins) or lemons cut into fine strips is candied peel.

Place first three ingredients in a heavy based saucepan and heat while stirring occasionally. Add the peeled, deseeded vegetables that can be sliced, cut into cubes or cut into chunks and simmer for about 15 minutes to infuse and tenderize the vegetables. Drain the syrup and discard it. Dry the vegetables in a dehydrator or oven.

If oven drying set at lowest temperature, lay on wire racks and leave the oven door slightly ajar. Depending on the size of your pieces this process can take 3+ hours.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge and try not to consume it all on the first day.

                                                                      Travel Mix
Take some of the candied vegetables and add shredded coconut, pepitas, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, macadamias, almonds etc and mix well.  Store in an airtight box and take as a low carb travelling food, pack in children's lunch box or just enjoy at home.
 



Pharmacology researchers link high-carb diet to Type 2 diabetes

After a two-year investigation, Professors Kaushik Desai and Lily Wu have discovered diets high in carbohydrates are probably a mechanism for the skyrocketing rates of Type 2 diabetes.

The work by Kaushik Desai and Lily Wu, professors in the U of S College of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology, focused on methylglyoxal (MG), which is produced naturally as the body metabolizes glucose consumed in carbohydrates.

What they have found is that high levels of MG produce all the features of Type 2 diabetes, including damage to insulin producing cells in the pancreas, insulin resistance and impairment of body tissue to use glucose properly. Their findings are set to be published in the March issue of the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes.

http://www.medicine.usask.ca/academic-units/support-units/communications/news/pharmacology-researchers-link-high-carb-diet-to-type-2-diabetes.html

Highest Common Factor

Good news all round today, well at least on the diabetes front. Three years after diagnosis, with the first three months experimenting resulting in an HbA1c of 6.1, since then all HbA1c less than 5.4. No osteoporosis, no scurvy, no kidney failure and today confirmation of the joy of helping others.

Over two years ago, a disparate group of Christians, Buddhists and atheists like me, obtained some funding to help a group of type 2 diabetics unable to fund a testing regime.

After a hard (and desperately sad process of elimination), 19 people were chosen for help. Today, I received news that of the 19, 15 had kept their HbA1c below 6 for the year.

We can make a difference!

John

Featured great food of the week Tomatoes

Tomatoes are now eaten freely throughout the world, and their consumption is believed to benefit the heart among other organs. They contain lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. Rich in vitamin C and very low carb.
　

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell

If you had believed the resident dietitian and the lowcarb antis, you may have come to the conclusion, a lowcarber had the life expectancy of a kamikaze pilot. Even if you survived the first six months, you would become riddled with osteoporosis and scurvy. Kidney failure was a certainty. When that did not have us running back to the starch laden junk, we were told our brains would turn to mush, and cognitive disorders were on the way, turning us into gibbering baboons. Mood swings, so bad from lack of serotonin, would turn us into crazed axe murderers. In short, we were all doomed.
　
Well, our rib cages have not turned to dust, nor our spines collapsed, we are not getting around on Zimmer frames. The much threatened scurvy has yet to manifest itself, nothing has fell off. Some of our team are coming up to three years as diabetics, and well over two and a half years as lowcarbers, we are all doing well. Non diabetic BG numbers, lipids of kids, and reduced weight, we are still alive and kicking.

Other than insulin, nothing comes close to reversing the symptoms of type two diabetes like a low carb diet and regular exercise ! If you believe drugs are the answer, then you are already on too many drugs. Don’t become a victim of the junk food and pharmaceutical industries. They are only interested in your money. Sure they know there is no money in dead people, the trick is to keep you alive, well, sort of midway between really living and dying, how many drugs really cure people of anything ?


Eddie

The lowest common denominator !

Meanwhile over on the forum of flog ! aka diabetes.co.uk

Newbie’s are still being greeted with this copy and paste job.

“The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:

Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.”


What in control diabetic wants to see those sort of numbers on their BG meter. The forum has become another misinformation outlet, and old Ken is pushing the misinformation for all he is worth. He states he was in the dark and out of control for over ten years, why is he trying to get all newbie’s in the same state as him ?

Go for non diabetic BG numbers, that's in the fours, fives and sixes, it can be done, many have proved this ! Why settle for highly dangerous BG numbers that have been proved to cause diabetic complications.

Vit D and the great outdoors !

I work as a sports photographer, outdoors most of my working life. When not on a camera, I am out fishing, or walking, get that fresh air down ya, and get a good healthy dose of vit D.

If you check out this weeks great food sardines, you will see they have a very high level of vitamin D. Why take supplements when you can get all the vit. D you need from the correct food and some health promoting outdoor exercise. Start fishing, if not your thing, start walking, you know it makes sense, why fight it !

Other foods rich in vitamin D salmon, shrimps, milk, cod and eggs. Vit. D can help prevent type two diabetes, insulin resistance, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.

Eddie

Hypos and type two diabetics !

If you check out a certain diabetes forum these days, you could be forgiven for believing, type two diabetics are having hypos around the clock. The fact is, none insulin using type two diabetics, rarely suffer from hypos. For most of the time, type two’s are fighting to keep BG number down, not up ! Hypos are very rare, unless you are on a multi medication regime to control BG numbers, or suffering from Cugila induced mass hysteria. Jeez, that guy is more dangerous than four pounds of sweating gelignite !

If you are a type two diabetic, on none or minimal meds, i.e. Metformin, and use diet and exercise for safe control of BG numbers, hypos are the last thing you need to concern yourself with.


Eddie

Featured great food of the week

Sardines are rich in numerous nutrients that have been found to support cardiovascular health. They are one of the most concentrated sources of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which have been found to lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels; one serving (3.25 ounce can) of sardines actually contains over 50% of the daily value for these important nutrients. Sardines are an excellent source of vitamin B12, second only to calf's liver. Vitamin B12 promotes cardiovascular well-being since it is intricately tied to keeping levels of homocysteine in balance; homocysteine can damage artery walls, with elevated levels being a risk factor for atherosclerosis. A true super food that will not break the bank !

Please visit  a fantastic food website http://whfoods.org/

Diabetes for life, has been miraculously resurrected.

After three months lying in a mortuary, the diabetes forum Diabetes for life, has been miraculously resurrected. Well sort of.

The moderator known as SueM, aka SarahQ, aka “I fill my face with carbs” signature "a balenced diet is a cake in each hand" posted this on Monday.

 “The intensive use of therapy to chase aggressive blood sugar targets in patients with type 2 diabetes results in increased five-year mortality, a new analysis of the ACCORD study shows”

Old Sue was never slow in dredging up old chestnuts and myths surrounding low carbing, clearly nothing has changed ! If you have hung around some diabetes forums over the last few years, you could not have failed to notice, the people most against low carbing, are type one’s, very often on an Insulin  pump. Now, if they had shown good control, I would have had some respect for them, but although I admire their honesty, their idea of good control is pitiful. From diabetic partners being saved by hypo sensing dogs, to retinopathy and other complications, add to that the sad and untimely death of one high profile pump user, get my point !

Why do highly medicated type one diabetics, very often with poor control, feel they have the answers for diet controlled type two’s ?

Maybe Diabetes for Life should have stayed dead !


 

New analysis of the ACCORD study

“The intensive use of therapy to chase aggressive blood sugar targets in patients with type 2 diabetes results in increased five-year mortality, a new analysis of the ACCORD study shows”

A paragraph from the original study.

“At enrolment, ACCORD participants averaged 62 years of age and were obese. In addition to having type 2 diabetes for an average of 10 years, about one-third had pre-existing heart disease, and the remainder had at least two additional cardiovascular disease risk factors. They also had high blood sugar, as measured by the haemoglobin A1C test, which shows average blood sugar in the preceding two to three months. Half of participants had an A1C over 8.1 percent - above the currently recommended target for good control. A1C values in people without diabetes are less than 6 percent”

Need I say more ! Most of the participants had one foot in the grave before the trial started ! Some use this study to convince us we should not go for non diabetic numbers, idiots !

Eddie

As good as it gets !

If you want to reduce BG numbers to non diabetic, if you want to lose excess weight, if you want to stay fit and healthy, this is the food for you. A salad made from iceberg lettuce, bacon lardons, avocado pear, olives, tomatoes, feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, add some black pepper and a tiny amount of salt. Great food for all, whether diabetic or not. If you should stumble onto this blog, go for it, get your children to eat this way, It can only do them good !

 

The low-fat trend finally appears to be on its way out !

The low-fat trend finally appears to be on its way out. The notion that saturated fats are detrimental to our health is deeply embedded in our Zeitgeist—but shockingly, the opposite just might be true. For over 50 years the medical establishment, public health officials, nutritionists, and dieticians have been telling the American people to eat a low-fat diet, and in particular, to avoid saturated fats. Only recently, have nutrition experts begun to encourage people to eat “healthy fats.”

In 2001, Dr. Hu, writing in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, noted, “It is now increasingly recognized that the low-fat campaign has been based on little scientific evidence and may have caused unintended health problems.” Or, as Michael Pollan pithily puts it in his In Defense of Food, “The amount of saturated fat in the diet may have little if any bearing on the risk of heart disease, and the evidence that increasing polyunsaturated fats in the diet will reduce risk is slim to nil.”

And as for diabetes, there is no data to support the notion that a high-fat diet increases the risk for diabetes. Again, if anything, the opposite appears to be true. In a 2008 study reported in the Los Angeles Times article, obese men and women with metabolic syndrome (a precursor to diabetes) that went on a high saturated-fat, low-carb diet saw their triglycerides drop by 50 percent and their levels of good H.D.L. cholesterol increase by 15 percent.

Keep in mind, there is one type of fat that is implicated in high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and diabetes: Trans-fat. Trans-fats raise bad cholesterol, lower good cholesterol, and increase triglycerides, they also promotes inflammation and insulin resistance, according to a 2000 article in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. This points to the one basic axiom that always hold true: Eat real, whole foods and nothing else—now, if we could only just all agree on what those are.

http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/a-big-fat-debate-low-fat-trend-finally-appears-to-be-on-its-way-out/

　

Beta cells do not replicate after the age of 30 !

Beta cells, which make insulin in the human body, do not replicate after the age of 30, indicating that clinicians may be closer to better treating diabetes.

"We found that beta cells turnover up to about age 30, and there they remain throughout life," Buchholz said. "The findings have implications for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes."

Buchholz said there is active research in stem cell therapies to replace lost beta cells for both types of diabetes. "But with these new findings, it isn't clear how easy it will be to get the body to make more beta cells in adulthood, when it is not a natural process," he said. "At the surface, it seems like coaxing the body to do what it does naturally will be easier to accomplish."
　
www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2010/Oct/NR-10-10-05.html

Carbohydrates not essential.

"There are three kinds of foods--fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. All of these provide calories. But the carbohydrates provide calories and nothing else. They have none of the essential elements to build up or to repair the tissues of the body. A man, given carbohydrates alone, however liberally, would starve to death on calories. The body must have proteins and animal fats. It has no need for carbohydrates, and, given the two essential foodstuffs, it can get all the calories it needs from them."

Sir Heneage Ogilvie, former vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, England.

The earliest and primary proponent of an all animal-based diet was Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a Canadian explorer who lived with the Inuit for some time, and who witnessed their diet as essentially consisting of meat and fish, with very few carbohydrates - berries during the summer. Stefansson and a friend later volunteered for a one year experiment at Bellevue Hospital in New York to prove he could thrive on a diet of nothing but meat, meat fat and internal organs of animals.

His progress was closely monitored and experiments were done on his health throughout the year. At the end of the year, he did not show any symptoms of ill health; he did not develop scurvy , which many scientists had expected to manifest itself only a few months into the diet due to the lack of vitamin C in muscle meat. However, Stefansson and his partner did not eat just muscle meat - they ate fat, raw brain, raw liver (a significant source of vitamin C and others), and other varieties of offal. The no-carbohydrate and low carb diet often reverses type two diabetes.

We do not advocate a no carb diet, although this has been proved to be safe, it would be a very boring way to live. Some of us think of our way of life as being meat eating vegetarians. No, we are not trying to wind up vegetarians, but we base our food on fresh vegetables, then add high quality protein, then good fats. If you are consuming around 50 carbs per day, all from non starchy vegetables, you have a very large range to choose from. By eating the colours of the rainbow, and eating small portions, of many different types, you can get all the nutrients you need to stay healthy.

Featured great food of the week

Red Bell Pepper

Check out the vitamin c in a bell pepper. One of the many myths regarding low carbing is we can be vit c low when we drop potatoes. A red pepper has around twelve times the vit c content per hundred grams as potato. Available all year round, great when added to a roast vegetable mix, or eaten cold and raw with a salad.

For atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, peppers also contain vitamin B6 and folic acid. These two B vitamins are very important for reducing high levels of homocysteine, a substance produced during the methylation cycle (an essential biochemical process in virtually every cell in the body). High homocysteine levels have been shown to cause damage to blood vessels and are associated with a greatly increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

The Worlds Healthiest Foods Book

I have lost count of the times I have referred to the Worlds Healthiest Foods website, a fantastic resource of very in depth information on food. From nutrient values to the best way to cook, it is a masterpiece.

After using the free website for a couple of years, I thought it was pay back time and purchased the book from Amazon, price including postage £28. The book arrived yesterday and maybe it should be renamed ‘the worlds heaviest food book’ ! At 880 pages and close to A4 size and two inches thick in paper back, it’s one hell of a beast.

I cannot recommend it highly enough, the book is not aimed at diabetics, or low carbers, but I believe the book will be priceless, for anyone wanting to understand what good food is all about, and the correct way to prepare and cook food, without wasting vital nutrients and flavours. In my opinion, this book is fantastic value for money, and an absolute must have for all foodies, check it out on the website below.

http://whfoods.org/