Raw Food

Hi everyone! I just thought I'd share my experience with Raw Food because I truly believe it is THE way to be your healthiest as a diabetic.

I was diagnosed type 1 two years ago. I spent the first year on an insulin roller coaster, and was experimenting with many different things to help myself out. I even "donated" my body to a clinical research study for some new drug (didn't do much). After a year of this, I was SO tired. I was absolutely ready for a major change. That is when I found Gabriel Cousen's book, "There is a Cure for Diabetes" and immediately switched to a raw food diet. I was already vegetarian, so it wasn't a very hard adjustment. I noticed that my sugars were much better, and I felt much better and had more energy.

I would eat 3 smallish meals a day; mostly greens and green superfood powders (without fruit in them), nuts, seeds, sprouts, nut mylks,and flax seeds and crackers. I avoided fruit, grain, and beans. The only fruits I consumed were tomatoes (in moderation) and guacamole. I was also very active in between meals. Swimming, walking, bouncing on the rebounder, hula hooping :), and jump roping. My sugars went to NORMAL. I stopped taking insulin. I would wake up at around 80, and go to bed around 110. I was SO happy.

I also went to the Tree of Life, which was an amazing experience and a very profound spiritual opening for me. If you can go, by all means, do. But I know that you can do this on your own as well. The point I want to make is that a Raw Food diet is amazing for Diabetes. And every person I have met or talked to or read about who has been a type 1 able to get off of insulin, has done so with raw foods and an active lifestyle, while working to reduce stress and be happier. BUT another point I want to make is this: Raw Food is the best thing you can do diet wise for your diabetes, no matter what type it is. This, however, does not mean that you will be able to get off of insulin necessarily. As a naturopathic student, I have learned that there are many other factors that can impede your recovery. This is what happened to me after a month free of insulin:

I developed a low-grade bronchial infection after traveling to India. I tried to take herbs and vitamins to knock it out, but after a month felt pretty sure I needed an extra boost. This is before I started studying up on natural medicine seriously. I went to the doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic. I took the full dose. It didn't work, so I went back again- he gave me another one. It didn't work. So finally he gave me Z Pack. This finally did the trick. But....my blood sugars rose and would not come back down. Let me back up a little and say that as a child I had had pneumonia several times, and was always treated with antibiotics. Then I ruptured my kidney in a motorcycle accident and subsequently had to deal with chronic kidney infections for the whole of my teenaged life until I was 22. Obtaining antibiotics for these infections was routine for me. I would stroll into the ER and ask for Cipro. It was an annoyance at most. Little did I know the damage they were doing to my intestinal tract. So, it turns out that I am dealing with Leaky Gut syndrome. That is when the membranes of your intestinal tract allow big proteins from the food you eat to enter your blood stream, causing your immune system to launch an attack and can lead to autoimmunity and food sensitivity. I am currently doing a program to heal this condition.

My point is this: Raw Food is GREAT. It is the best thing (in my opinion) for diabetes. And, it may lead you to be able to stop taking insulin because your sugars may stabilize at healthy levels. But don't be discouraged if it doesn't quite work that way for you, because you may have other underlying issues to deal with. As I do. So make sure you find a doctor (I prefer natural doctors) who can put the pieces together for your individual and specific case. Because if you can treat the other imbalances and deficiencies you may have, then raw foods may bring you back to better health. SO don't give up!

I am currently not taking insulin. I eat small raw meals, and exercise about 3 times a day, for 20 minutes to an hour each time. I drink lots of pure water, take herbs (gymnema, banaba, chromium, nopal, vanadium, ginseng...etc.), and drink beanpod tea and culinary cinnamon extract in water.

My sugars are not perfect yet, but I feel awesome. The more active I am, and the more pure my foods are, the better I feel and the more my sugars respond favorably.

So good luck! And bless you.

Vivelle