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Post by Gutmutter on May 30, 2018 10:01:46 GMT
I occasionally crave Lima beans, but they have to be the baby version with a little butter. The big ones are too mealy for me. I am constantly trying to figure out the best food choices for nutrition and weight loss, but there are so many conflicting experts. I had a lot of luck with Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live diet (greens and beans) but then I hear beans aren’t good for you. I eat very little meat and then worry about B vitamins. Sigh.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on May 30, 2018 15:52:43 GMT
Beans seems like an odd item to have cravings for based on an allergy. Sometimes you crave certain foods because you really do need the nutrients.
When I find the time... a longstanding plan has been to enter what I typically eat into one of the online nutrient calculators for an idea of what I should adjust. The one I'm interested in is Cronometer.com. I have mentioned before that many of us are unable to efficiently convert vegetable source nutrients into what our bodies need, but I figure a starting point is to make sure the potential is there based on what I'm eating.
Joel Fuhrman got my attention several years ago on the value of ensuring a wide variety of certain plant foods and I have largely incorporated that into how I eat. But I don't agree with his aversion to animal-based foods, because I think he misinterprets a lot of nutritional science. So I do also seek out high quality, nutrient dense animal foods, like pastured eggs and pastured liver or liverwurst and wild salmon. I'll admit, my intense dislike of all beans factors in, LOL.
It's scary to me the extent to which almost all plant-based foods need to be organically sourced. If they aren't GMO, they are very likely to have been drenched with glyphosate during harvesting (wheat!) or sprayed with too many pesticides (strawberries and apples!). My sister has severe depression and early cognitive decline, both of which would improve with healthy food, including getting off all glyphosate. But she can't afford to eat better and she's not inclined to eat well anyway because of the depression. I recently offered to make it possible for her to afford the food. I hope that turns out to be enough incentive for her. My theory for a while now has been that good health starts with healthy gut microbes and healthy mitochondria. Glyphosate messes up both because, among its other attributes, it's anti-bacterial. Gut microbes also don't do well with artificial sweeteners. So my sister's biggest challenge may be giving up her diet soda. I had to go cold turkey on that one but it has been almost two years for me.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Jun 27, 2018 15:06:40 GMT
I don't use industrial oils at all. I don't buy products that contain them. That includes even canola oil that at best is still highly processed. For spreads I tend to use overripe avocado. I was thrilled to discover that Whole Foods carries Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayonnaise. I used it this weekend to make coleslaw. The taste is a little different from traditional mayonnaise, but to me so much healthier. It comes in at least three versions.
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Post by FannyMare on Jun 27, 2018 15:45:16 GMT
No white foods, no white flour, bread , sugar.
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Post by Kao on Jul 14, 2018 23:17:26 GMT
No white foods, no white flour, bread , sugar. Same here. I literally was diagnosed as a baby type 2 diabetic last week, so I've really done an overhaul on my diet and lifestyle. No more missing meals, lots of grains like quinoa and coucous, proteins and nuts. Trying to keep the sugar content down. Processed food is going to be a rarity for now on.
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Post by Arielflies on Jul 15, 2018 0:00:17 GMT
Unless you develop high potassium blood count, then you drop all nuts, seeds, bran, fruits and vegetables except for zucchini. Counter intuitive, but I fill in with turkey and canned tuna (no fresh fish).
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Post by Kao on Jul 15, 2018 21:30:48 GMT
Unless you develop high potassium blood count, then you drop all nuts, seeds, bran, fruits and vegetables except for zucchini. Counter intuitive, but I fill in with turkey and canned tuna (no fresh fish). Interesting. Are you doing Keto, Arielflies?
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Post by Arielflies on Jul 15, 2018 21:57:50 GMT
No just low potassium because my blood number was high.
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Post by Kao on Jul 20, 2018 18:16:50 GMT
Oh no! I hope you get better; with a diet like that it sounds quite serious.
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Post by Kao on Jul 27, 2018 23:33:18 GMT
If anyone has any tricks/tips for diabetics I'm all ears. I'm still quite new to this.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Jul 28, 2018 0:02:51 GMT
If anyone has any tricks/tips for diabetics I'm all ears. I'm still quite new to this. I'm sorry to hear that Kao. Is it you or a loved one? You sound committed, so if you there is probably more you can achieve. Elevated blood sugar is not good. But elevated insulin/insulin resistance is the cause and also not good. Therefore insulin shots are o not your friend in the long term, although most new diabetics don't need shots. If you can turn around the insulin resistance you will have accomplished a great deal. I think it's obscene that conventional treatment involves "counting carbs", as though eating that many carbs when you're effectively allergic to them (not really an allergy) could be a good thing. Better to make basic adjustments to what you eat. So start looking at substitutions. There are amazing things you can do with "riced" cauliflower (the only "good white") as a substitute for potatoes to have them taste, for instance, very much like mashed potatoes and much more nutritious. Figure on a lot of low glycemic veggies, good fats and moderate protein, lots of fiber and/or resistant starch, all of which can help moderate whatever starch, if any, you consume in a meal. A blood sugar monitor is your friend, because only you can figure out how you really respond to a particular meal/food combination. It's possible to cure diabetes by dealing with the insulin resistance. Look for anything by Jason Fung. He has an amazing blog and also a couple excellent books. Good luck!
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Jul 28, 2018 0:21:38 GMT
No white foods, no white flour, bread , sugar. Same here. I literally was diagnosed as a baby type 2 diabetic last week, so I've really done an overhaul on my diet and lifestyle. No more missing meals, lots of grains like quinoa and coucous, proteins and nuts. Trying to keep the sugar content down. Processed food is going to be a rarity for now on. I missed that you said this! Missed meals are not a problem. Intermittent fasting where you stretch out the period between your last meal of the day and first meal of the next day can be a really good approach. It's a lot of what Jason Fung discusses. It gives your insulin levels an opportunity to settle down for parts of the day. The diagnosis might turn out to be really good for you if it it is incentive to eat better, which is where you say you're heading. Congratulations for that!
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Post by Kao on Jul 28, 2018 6:26:43 GMT
Thank you so much for your comments!
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Post by ibot2much on Jul 28, 2018 15:21:45 GMT
Sorry you have this issue-Kao. I also had a diagnosis a year ago and in that time, I have cut back on carbs---I have brought my A1C to a normal level and lost 70 pounds.
I eat whole grain cereal with almond milk and berries for breakfast, a salad with some cheese and olive oil, vinegar and herb dressing for lunch and a handful of nuts for "dessert". Dinner is a small piece of meat or fish with at least two non starchy vegetables and a small serving of fruit. I too was advised not to skip any meals .
We eat out a couple of times a week and I work around the menu to get what works for me and I always bring half the meal home for Dh or myself.
What I have discovered is that you really are what you eat. I am 70 years old and my hair was thinning....now my nails, skin and hair are in great condition. Everytime I make a part in my hair, I discover new virgin hair that in filling in what I had lost earlier .
Are you on medication??
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Post by Kao on Jul 28, 2018 15:43:34 GMT
Yes, they put me on 500g Metformin.
Since I was such a couch potato I now go for a 2 hour walk every day, amounting to 10k steps. 3 days a week I go to the gym and do 28 minutes on the elliptical, and 25 minutes on the bikes. I'm going to start strength training with the machines because my muscle tone is blah, lol.
I'm eating my flavored yogurt for breakfast along with a hard boiled egg but I also have some steel cut oats that I also eat from time to time.
Before I was diagnosed and not eating breakfast (and sometimes not lunch) I would get these horrible tension headaches. They are gone now.
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Post by ibot2much on Jul 28, 2018 15:56:27 GMT
An omelet in a nonstick pan is a great breakfast option----especially if you put in onions, peppers etc to really fill it out. I usually eat a dry piece of 100% whole grain bread with it and that really holds me through the morning until lunch time.
I have stopped eating yogurt but I am glad that it works for you. I also have increased my exercise---but no where near your level----good for you.
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Post by Kao on Jul 28, 2018 21:33:04 GMT
TGhank you! And congrats to losing 70 pounds; that's amazing!
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Jul 29, 2018 1:23:45 GMT
Before I was diagnosed and not eating breakfast (and sometimes not lunch) I would get these horrible tension headaches. They are gone now. It's possible those tension headaches were from glucose withdrawal. After you have been eating better for awhile your body will adjust and they may not occur or be much milder. That's great on the exercise. It will help your metabolism in so many ways.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Aug 12, 2018 1:49:43 GMT
A jury just awarded a man $289 million in a suit against Monsanto. It's a landmark case with 4,000 more in the works. I hope it becomes a wake up call as to how dangerous glyphosate is and the need to eat organically as much as possible.
One bizarre thing that happened during the lawsuit is millions of documents were produced by Monsanto and Monsanto's attorneys neglected to file the necessary motions to prevent those documents from going public. So it is well documented now the extent to which Monsanto lied and obfuscated and corrupted the system and our federal agencies to protect its profits. It's why $250 million of the verdict was punitive damages. These documents will now be available for use in the other lawsuits against Monsanto.
Meanwhile, it blows how much more we have to spend on food to eat healthy.
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Post by Kao on Aug 13, 2018 14:22:02 GMT
Sadly, I figured out that I can't eat Bahn Mi or Korean Fried Chicken anymore. Both foods had me up to 154-156/dl when I tested my glucose two hours after eating it. I know that the range for diabetics is anything below 180/dl two hours post-meal, but since I normally have ranges around 112-115 the larger numbers just seem very high to me. I guess these foods will be on the once in a blue moon treat, or I just can't have them anymore which is a shame; I love them both.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Aug 13, 2018 15:38:53 GMT
Kao, that's great you're testing. It's the only way you'll know, and there may be some surprises in your favor!
I tended to test every 15 minutes or so to make sure I found the spike. I want to avoid anything that exceeds 140 because that's when damage from elevated blood sugar occurs. Yes, it can eat up a lot of strips, but then I know.
If you can reverse the damage to your pancreas you may yet be able to freely eat Bahn Mi some day. There's fascinating information emerging that we can do things to stimulate activation of our own stem cell supply, and something like that might heal a pancreas. Diabetes does not have to be a progressive disease, which is a wonderful thing!
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Post by Kao on Aug 18, 2018 14:44:23 GMT
Ravioli is also on the no-no list now. I ate my fav goat cheese ravioli from Trader Joes the other day and two hours later I was at 167/dl! That's the highest I've ever been.
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Post by Arielflies on Aug 18, 2018 15:13:05 GMT
That's the highest? Wow...I've been over 300 dl at mid-day, though now, with insulin, I've been able to bring my morning tests from 200 to 100. I do feel better, I must say, but the damage is done.
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Post by Kao on Aug 18, 2018 16:41:00 GMT
It's the highest with medication. Who knows how high I used to get before...
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Post by Arielflies on Aug 18, 2018 19:12:17 GMT
Okay - yes that is high with medication. Thank goodness for the meds.
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Post by Kao on Oct 4, 2018 14:54:04 GMT
Went for my 3 month checkup this week, and my a1c has dropped from 6.9 to 5.8! That's over an entire point, and I'm now in the pre-diabetic range. So all the diet changes and exercise seems to be working. I still have to tweak the diet some since I only lost three pounds, but it's a start. I'll stay on the Metformin and continue to test my sugars to find out which foods are triggers for me.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Oct 5, 2018 15:44:26 GMT
That's great progress, Kao, congratulations!
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Post by angelic_one2002 on Oct 5, 2018 15:56:27 GMT
If anyone has any tricks/tips for diabetics I'm all ears. I'm still quite new to this. Kao, have you ever tried the 'Dreamfields' brand of pasta? They have the macaroni, penne, and spaghetti that is listed on the box as low carb. It's really good, and you cannot tell at all it is low carb.
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Brooks
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Post by Brooks on Oct 5, 2018 16:23:47 GMT
I thought Dreamfields was nailed for misleading advertising about its low carb status. It isn't so different, but comparing box labels would give a better idea.
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Post by Kao on Oct 5, 2018 21:40:54 GMT
Ugh, just when I was about to get happy to have a low carb option for spaghetti.
The Japanese restaurant where I go to have ramen has kale noodles available, so I'm able to have my garlic tonkotsu ramen without worrying about a hike in my sugar.
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