Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jasmine on May 22, 2009 at 7:34am

Update. I ate dinner early yesterday, had no food after 6:30pm and my fasting was 113 this morning.

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ridenour on August 26, 2009 at 4:35pm

Don't eat after 6:30 was good advice..it worked for me...Ellen

Permalink Reply by Judith Wy on January 9, 2010 at 12:30pm

My dietician and nurse giving my diabetes class told me since I was doing the same thing that it wouldn't make a bit of difference.

Permalink Reply by Nedrra on May 27, 2009 at 6:58am

Hello Jasmine! Give me a little more input: are you 100% raw? 50% raw? ?%raw? How late are you eating before you go to bed? What are you typically eating during the 12-14 hours before you do your morning test?
There would be a lot to take into consideration, especially after we've made a significant change in our dietary eating habits/patterns.
It may take a while to balance yourself out.
For me, I first committed to 100% raw about 3 years ago and I had a LOT of symptoms and I was seriously ill. It took awhile but what kept me motivated was that I continued to physically feel better and better.

Permalink Reply by Jasmine on May 27, 2009 at 9:36am

Hi Nedrra,

Thanks for replying. My morning sugars have come down a bit. They are now between 108-115. But I would still love your input. Here are answers to your questions:

are you 100%?
Yes, started with 100% raw about 10 days ago. Before that I was doing a low carb high rotein diet that was not working.

How late are you eating before you go to bed?
This is a good question, I notice that if I dont eat after 630 my morning readings are lower. So Ive been trying not to snack at night after dinner. But I read some posts that say have a late snack, that does not seem to work for me.

What are you typically eating during the 12-14 hours before you do your morning test?
Veggies for dinner - either in juice or a big salad.

There would be a lot to take into consideration, especially after we've made a significant change in our dietary eating habits/patterns.

Here is my daily intake, tell me what you think:
-Tall glass of juice made of lots of greens, 1/2 apple, 1 carrot, lemon, ginger, whatever else I have in the fridge
-Avocado, coconut, or handful of nuts, seeds and gojis
- HUGE salad with lettuce, cukes, radish, raw dressing, raw flax crackers
- Grapefruit for a snack, or a handful or nuts and seeds
- Either another juice or raw veggies for dinner
- Water throughout the day

I plan on staying 100% raw for 30 days, then re-evaluating how I feel and at that time I will consider adding in some cooked veggies and maybe quinoa and see how my body likes it, or I may just stay raw completely. I did eat my only cooked meal last night (got stuck out late with friends and did not have raw food with me) and I feel like I have a ton of bricks in me belly. Wont do that again!

I appreciate any input you might have!

Thanks.

Permalink Reply by Nedrra on May 28, 2009 at 9:13am

Jasmine, I feel motivated to share a little background story with you and the TuDiabetes community, so I hope this may serve as some form of inspiration to you/or others, including friends and family members: I am the parent of a Type 1 juvenile diabetes 'veteran' of over 17 years. As in many family members of diabetics, I was hypertensive (high blood pressure) and I was also obese (95+ pounds).

Why I went raw: I committed to going full raw because I was SO DONE with all the pills (high blood pressure pills, then another pill to counter-act the high blood pressure pill, then another pill to counter-act the counter-act pill, etc.), and I was SO DONE with being so over-weight that just bending over to pick something up off the floor could cause me to break out in a sweat, not to mention that it had been years since I was able to fit into stylish (forget the word trendy) clothes.
It took awhile, but maybe that's because I've been so abusive about my body and my health most of my life. After about 5 months on raw, I was happily and incredulously 70-75% symptom free. Plus, about 50 pounds had simply liquified away (seemingly). By month 9 or 10 on raw I was 85-90% symptom free and I had dropped a total of 85 pounds.

About my son, Marston Alfred: Having watched his mom go through various stages of ill-health and sometimes-questionable ways of dealing with it nearly all of his life, he listened with mild, semi-polite interest when I first told him about my new raw lifestyle to address my health and weight. He's an adult who lived in Europe at the time, so he wasn't a witness to my improvements, he just heard me rave about it via phone or email.
I knew better (no, really: I really, really knew better) than to tell him to go on it for his health. But after about 4 months on it I sent my sons (I have two) before and after pictures and they were totally blown away. Not only had I lost weight, I looked younger, more vibrant, and I had included a list of all my symptoms and a list of all the symptoms that I was no longer experiencing since going raw.

Why Marston went raw: Many months after the fact, Marston told me that he had decided to cautiously start (he's actually the more grounded, practical person in our family!) experimenting with replacing some of his meals with raw without telling me. When he found that to be beneficial, he decided to go 50-60% raw for another few months. I didn't know about this until he had gone through the first three or four weeks of being 100% vegan raw -- probably because he didn't want me to cheerlead, prod or nag him through it like I had in his early years (btw: NOT effective; but live and learn through YEARS of trials and tribulations).

I asked him how had he determined that a 100% raw lifestyle was for him and he said, "Well... the BG numbers don't lie and I don't want to ignore how much better I continue to feel, so I'm going for it". Marston's BG's were notoriously high pre-raw: a1c's were often at 10. Using the management and tracking tool he created at www.SugarStats.com (he's the founder and totally internet-oriented), he could clearly see the improvements. The trends charts guided him in self-correcting his food and activity levels to continue making improvements and he was able to bring his a1c's down to about 7.5 within a very short time.

Marston has been raw (he's also the initiator of this chat group, Raw Food Diabetics) for nearly two years now. He says he's feels "better than I have ever felt in my entire life".

So, hang in there, Jasmine and thanks for the opportunity to share this story with you and all of the community at TuDiabetes!

From the list of foods you're eating, it feels like you're doing a really great job.

Marston says he's learned:
- if he eats at night his blood sugar is high in the mornings
- to not eat after 6 or 6:30pm
- do his first test around 6:30 or 7am, consistently
- to eat his heaviest or largest meal after or around noon or 1pm
- to get his exercise in every day, morning and evening
- he uses low-glycemic RAW, organic Agave for his sweetener, and adds Stevia Extract Liquid, Vanilla Flavor (just a few drops will do it, and we ONLY buy the Whole Foods Brand because we've found the taste in different brands to be sometimes dramatically distasteful) to minimize the amount of Agave used
This is what works for him.

He also says he only 'misses' certain foods or dishes once in a while, but he gets over it by reminding himself of how awful he used to feel when he would eat it and the negative effects it would have on his health. That's the same for me, as well. It's what keeps me going.

FOODS - Pretty much the same list of foods you've mentioned: Definitely, lots of dark greens. He now really enjoys a green veggie and fruit drink nearly every day, first thing in the morning, and he makes enough to store some in a good thermos for sips during the day.

You might check into adding some other Super foods besides Goji Berries (great food for us, too), like MACA Powder and Lucuma Powder. Start with a scant teaspoon (it's called super food for a reason!), trying one powder for 3-5 days before adding the second one. That way you'll get a good sense of what each does for you, and you'll better recognize what flavor/taste it adds to your recipes or drinks.

We've also learned to drink natural, mountain spring water. We notice an energy level of vibrancy that happens for us. If you have a Trader Joe's food store near you they sell their own brand of it for a economical price (less than $7.00 for a case of 1.5L bottles).

Hopefully, you know this next guideline to be obvious: we don't use ANYTHING artificial or laboratory-created foods with unrecognizable ingredients in it. This includes diet sodas (or any sodas), diet candies and diet cookies, etc.

Last (finally!), there are some great raw food recipe books and books on addressing diabetes using raw foods. What books have you read? I've learned how to make some really great dishes, including mashed 'potatoes' (one of my old comfort foods), and a fantastic veggie burger that's always a hit when I serve it to reluctant, non-raw guests.
I've even learned to make delicious desserts that Marston has found he can eat (we've all since moved in together to put our focus on growing SugarStats). But, this is already a LONG reply, so I'll save the recipes for when/if this community makes a strong request for it!

Permalink Reply by Jasmine on May 29, 2009 at 10:03am

Hi Nedrra,

Thanks for that helpful information. And I would love to get some of your recipes! I will sign up for sugarstats, it looks great. So far the most informative books I have read are There Is a Cure For Diabetes and Conscious Eating, both by Gabriel Cousens. Do you have others you could recommend? I have read quite a few, some of them are awful! I can't believe some people can live off pineapple alone.

Interesting to hear your sons story. Just by instinct I am already doing everything you mentioned. I am not consuming any chemicals or artificial anything, not eating after 630, exercising and drinking good water. My fasting this morning was 110, not bad considering that 2 weeks ago it was 156! I have also lost 6 pounds in the 2 weeks. I could stand to loose a few more, I'm sure that will help, but I don't think I need to loose more than 15 or so.

I wonder if you could share how much fruit Marston is able to eat? I know everyone is different, but Im just curious because I have been having a piece or 2 of fruit everyday at snacks and it seems to be fine so far, but maybe my fasting would go below 100 sooner if I didnt? Or maybe the fruit is helping? I cant quite tell.

Thanks for all your help, and if anyone else wants to chime and share or learn I would love that,

Jasmine

Permalink Reply by Nedrra on May 29, 2009 at 10:47am

Hi!
Wow, we're having our very own one-on-one conversation here... with the whole world having the opportunity to eavesdrop.
Check out the thread titled Juicing under the Raw Food Diabetics group. Marston has his typical juicing formula listed there, plus a few other thoughts from him. You'll need to scroll down just a bit to find it.

I know he still uses that basic formula 'cause I've watched him do it and it's what he's taught me. Even though I started on raw before him, he's really got this juice thing down: my first attempts were awful and I would make myself drink it.

TIP: he always reminds me to ADD ICE to the drink! That does make it much more enjoyable. Just think about ice cream and if it's not cold it's not even worth eating (drinking). Same with smoothies: add ice after it's blended, then blend a bit more to crush up the ice.

I'm on my way out the door for the day, so I'll get back to you later about some of my favorite raw books! I'll also ask Marston about fruit at snacks for you ...and the world.

Permalink Reply by Jasmine on May 29, 2009 at 12:04pm

Yes, I suppose we could email, but someone else might find this interesting...

I looked at Marstons posts, and he does talk about fruit and how much he eats, THANK YOU MARSTON!

I intuitively feel like fruit is helping me as long as I am careful about which ones, I don't seem to feel so well with citrus for instance. So I'm still learning and I might change my mind, but for now Im sticking with it.

Thanks for all the support, and I would love to see those recipes.

Jasmine

Permalink Reply by Nedrra on June 3, 2009 at 8:30pm

Sorry for the tardy reply. Looks like I've bit off more than I can chew with offering those recipes right now...

Below is a list of my favorite Raw Food Recipe Books that will --hopefully -- be helpful to you.
Raw Family by Boutenko. This is the very first book we all read. It's a quick read, has their motivating personal journey and some good basic raw food recipes. BIG ADDED PLUS: They share their journey regarding the initial reason they went raw: their son was diagnosed Type 1 and they panicked.
12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food by Victoria Boutenko
Hooked on Raw: Rejuvenate Your Body and Soul with Nature's Living Foods by Rhio. This is a big softcover book and I would describe Rhio as a well-established cheerleader for the raw movement. She seems to be knowledgeable and her writing is engaging. She goes over a LOT of stuff and has helpful information about what you need to stock a raw food kitchen.
Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes by Ani Phyo. I love her recipes.
Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods (Avery Health Guides) by Renee Loux Underkoffler and Woody Harrelson. Also really great recipes and lots of good information, but no pictures. Read the forward by Woody Harrelson (actor).
Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen. Alissa also has a website: AlissaCohen.com. She also seems to be very knowledgeable. This is another big, softcover book that's loaded with lots of information plus recipes.

All the books above are what I recommend to people just starting out. As a group of books, they provide solid, grounded information that is helpful to know up front, in addition to basic-intermediate recipes.

TIPS: I always substitute the suggested use of Carob (yuck) for CACAO in all of the recipes that list Carob as an ingredient.
Also, I use Raw, Organic AGAVE (low glycemic index) for my sweetener (versus any other sweetener that is called for) and to diminish the glycemic index even further, I will cut the agave amount by 1/4 c. - 1/2 c. and substitute 1/2 to 1 dropperful of Stevia Extract, Vanilla Flavor (Whole Foods Brand).
Having said that, DO NOT try to use ONLY Stevia in replacement for the sweetener in a given recipe: I haven't found that to be very palatable and Marston, my resident diabetic, says using a combination of Agave and Stevia is fine for him!

Search the authors' names for their websites.

There are a couple Raw Food 'experts' that I don't like AT ALL. A few of the 'experts' I find to be tortuously arrogant and frankly I feel they're irresponsible with how they present themselves and their information.
So I am conscientious about the books I recommend (that I personally have found to be helpful).

Although, obviously, Raw Food was the first diet for mankind, the current movement is relatively new. As such, I believe we're all just finding our way with it. So, experiment with what works FOR YOU!
--and let me know how things are going!

You can find the books at Amazon.com -- I always check the used book prices!

CHOW!

Permalink Reply by Paul Underwood on November 17, 2009 at 4:39am

Hi there

When i was first diagnosed i checked my BG every morning and it was usually quite high (140) I thought this was unfair, as i was doing my best with the right diet and getting alot of excersise.
I was doing a lot of evening exercises during this period , so i experimented and took my workouts during the day instead .I found my numbers went down after i stopped the evening excersises . I can excersise up to about 8 pm in the evening, but after that i get a high morning BG . Iam not sure why . Also changes in diet may have helped over time so it might be that aswell, but i noticed a sudden drop in the morning BG after i stopped the evening work outs .

Permalink Reply by Judith Wy on January 9, 2010 at 12:29pm

I suffer from Dawn Phoenomenon and taking a diabetes class for the next six months. The nurse and dietician say it is very common although it was a new term for me. My highest readings are when I first wake up. I think you are better off taking your morning reading to keep your doctor advised as well as for yourself. I know that once I eat and get going that it will drop but I also had to split my metformin at bedtime and morning because of this. Hope that helps.

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