Why do diabetes "professional" opinions differ from the diabetic community

I trust David Mendosa and his research and personal experience much more than I trust 1) a certified diabetes educator (CDE), 2) a certified dietician with training in diabetes management, 3) an endocrinologist specializing in diabetes, and 4) my family doctor with many patients with diabetes. Why? They aren't diabetic. Not one of them.

I haven't met a diabetes advisor since January 1995 that's diabetic. A CDE I met a year ago had never heard of gymnema sylvestre, which is a known effective hypoglycemic supplement (has been used in ayurvedic medicine for a couple thousand years). Everyone I've talked to says to make sure I get unrefined starchy carbohydrates so that I have "clean" carbs for muscle and brain function, but then they say that to handle the starchy carbs I also need to increase my medications, including insulin and statins.

Regarding statins, even though my last blood test results showed close-to-perfect cholesterol (total, HDL, and LDL) that's not good enough, and my doctor wants me on both ACE inhibitors and statins.

Fuck 'em.

It's March! Can Spring Be Close?

Only 19 days until Spring arrives -- at 11:44 pm on March 20! And only another week until Daylight Saving Time begins (March 8 at 02h/2 am). That means, um, what? Brighter in the morning, or in the afternoon? I forget. I think it's the afternoon. That means that when I get home it might still be light-ish out. I hope.

And only 19 days until my friend Debra (http://www.greensleevesblog.blogspot.com/) and I fling off our winter glooms and trek to Canada Blooms! I won't forget my wallet this time.

These are my Toronto tulips last April, before I cleaned out the oak leaves (or did I bother to clean out the oak leaves in 2008?). I'll be sure to do it this year.

Step 3: removing cholesterol from the diet

No cholesterol means none. None more cholesterol! Zero eggs, meat, poultry, fish, or dairy. That leaves me with only about a million other kinds of food to eat. The trouble will be coming home from a long day at work (one hour transit each way) and taking fresh food from the fridge and preparing it, and NOT buying a bag of Fritos on the way home and eating them for dinner with salsa as a vegetable. Or spending money on pizza or Chinese or sushi or whatever. Or making a couple or three peanut butter sandwiches.

Considering the fabulous collection of cast iron, stainless steel, and copper cookware I have, and all the cool tools and knives and cutting boards anyone could ever want (none at full price, mostly bought at clearance sales and from thrift stores; I'm not rich!), I should be able to cook for myself, right? And I have a blender, and TWO food processors (one large Braun with multiple blades and bowls that I got at Value Village for less than $20 CA [see picture], and a smaller Salton that works well to chop onions, etc., quickly), and a Braun immersion blender that I've had for about 20 years. And two Presto pressure cookers (one vintage aluminum, needs a new sealer ring again; one new stainless steel). Oh, and I have a vintage juicer that works pretty well (5 bucks at our street sale).

I went through my freezer and cupboards and pulled out all the foods that are meat, fish, or dairy. I listed the frozen meat on FreeCycle and have had about 9 responses since yesterday.

I specified that the food should go to an organization that provides meals for people in need. This implies that, for example, the meats could be thawed and used in recipes. So a strip loin steak or pork loin could be cut up and made into a nourishing soup, stew, or casserole, so instead of feeding me twice (or once, if I'm greedy), that tender meat cooked with vegetables and potatoes should feed about 6-8 people. One can of sockeye salmon (hey, it was on sale!) could make sandwiches for four. Is that a lot to ask?

I think I've made my choice, though. I called Second Harvest today and left a message. They don't usually do small pickups, but I checked their website and among the donations they want is an industrial wringer bucket on wheels, of which I have one (1). I am not so ambitious about washing the basement floor any more...

Now I need to cull more cookbooks to make room in the pantry for beans and other things.

Leaking roof and SPAM -- coincidence??

It's confirmed -- my roof is leaking. Again. Just over three years ago I was between jobs, reading e-mails, and speaking on the cell phone with a recruiter about an interview. I looked up and watched drops of water falling onto the floor. Long story short, my attached neighbours and I got a couple of estimates to do only part of the job and that would have really hurt our wallets. My neighbour's father recommended a guy who could do both roofs (including removing old roof and taking it away). Very good price, pretty good looking job. The guy also did another neighbour's house. But she hasn't been able to get in touch with him, and he hasn't answered my call this morning. So I'll probably have to get another local company to do it and figure out how to get the 20-year warranty honoured.

I stepped out for smokes and more coffee, and when I got back there was a message in my Junk mailbox from a British military guy with THE SAME EXACT NAME as my roofer guy. Except this guy wants to share Iraqi loot with me (I did wonder for a second how the roofer got my e-mail address). All I have to do is get in touch:

"We have managed to move funds belonging to some demised persons who were attacked and killed [Ed. damn, killed twice!] through these attacks. The total amount is US$15 Million dollars in cash. We want to move this money to you, so that you can help keep our share for us until when we shall come over to meet you. My partner and I will take 70%, . while you take 30%. No strings attached! Just help us move it out of Iraq."

It certainly would help pay for the roof repairs.

Starting out slowly...

We all know we should drink more water---two liters/eight cups a day. I read somewhere that a headache can be a symptom of dehydration, and when you take an aspirin with a glass of water it's probably the water that eases the pain, not the pill. When I told my mother this (we're not big water drinkers in my family) she told a friend who was plagued by afternoon headaches. Mrs. M. started drinking more water and Mom told me her headaches went away. So, drink more water. (I have several steel water bottles that I fill from the tap.) That's one.

Due to oncoming cardio problems (negative on one cardio test from last month, positive on the other) due to diabetes and genetics, I've been noticing that ankles are swollen at the end of the day. A night of sleep (lying down promotes even circulation, probably) would usually solve the problem. But I don't want to go to bed with swollen ankles at all, thanks. My days go like this: get up, get coffee, feed the cats (including Mr. Jones) and grab the paper. Then I usually get online and sit for an hour or so. Then I get to work and sit for another eight hours. Then I get home and get online and sit for another few hours. Yeah, good physical activity there, KBinTo!

Yesterday, sunny and calm but cold, I got off the bus on King St. W. at Shaw and walked to work from there (of course I bought a soy latte at *$s to keep me warm). Took about 15 minutes (1.2 km/.7 miles). The problem with walking is it stresses incipient right-knee osteoarthritis, for which I had physiotherapy at this time last year for a month or so, until the benefits ran out. At that time I had started by doing 3 km in about 30 minutes. I'll try to walk at a healthier pace this time. That's two.

"Take Charge of Your Health" by Diehl & Ludington

I've been reading (and re-reading, and RE-reading) this little guide book (159 pages) full of anecdotes and advice on various health improvements. I already have a considerable library of books and references and get a number of e-newsletters on "living well with diabetes." I'm a believer (though not strictly a follower, yet) of low-carbohydrate (or at least low starch), low-glycemic diets, though you know I LOVE my bread (and cake, and cookies, and pastries, and and and...). And I'm trying to eat less meat. (Tonight I had an orange sweet pepper, a big pile of steamed yellow string beans, and a good chunk of roasted salmon, which I am trying to digest with a bottle of water. And some extra dark chocolate, but so far I haven't eaten the whole bar.)


And I think this might be the book. I read it once and felt encouraged. I read it again over the last couple of days. Oh, I haven't spent much money in total on this library; mostly I got them off clearance tables and at thrift stores. I think to myself, one more might help with my motivation; there might be something in here I can use; gee, I really like the cover of this one. Mostly they're not for me. But I'm keeping "Take Charge..." in my handbag so I can read it on public transit to work and back.

You might be able to scroll through the whole thing here:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=kUsvzjgp_dwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA11,M1

Now, to finish Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Stop Smoking."

Cat Entertainment -- Bwai's new toy!

Dis Bwai new toy! It's a 5-foot length of foam insulation for hot water pipes, soft and light-weight---perfect for attacking. I got extra pieces from a city power conservation campaign a couple of years ago (pipe insulation, faucet aerators, etc.). She recently found one of the pieces in the basement and hauled it upstairs with much struggle and arguing. Then she found the other piece and brought that up too.

She's a playful cat by nature, if I initiate an interesting game like laser tag. But she never went after it further than a couple of feet, then needed to rest and contemplate. And now I can't find the laser pointer.

These "toys" gets dragged from room to room and floor to floor (though they haven't made it back to the basement, and they're covered in teethmarks.

This morning I found that she had managed to drag one of the pieces up to the bedroom. (The other night I got up to pee and kicked about 5 toys down the hall in the dark. Once or twice a week I collect the toys and put them back in the basket in the living room.)

Here she and Handsome Stranger are vying over each end of the longer piece.

Bwai, you might have noticed, is somewhat obese. And has an odd coat. She needs a body shave once a year (at least) to deal with her matted fur (and she's too fat to clean her own bum). The vet puts her under general anaesthetic to do this, and charges me an arm and a leg. But she's much happier and more active (and cuddlier) once it's done. This time I've greatly restricted her diet (and she's prevented from scavenging the other three cats' food). I think she's lost a pound or two. I'll let you know.