Type II Diabetic here.........

[TheDebbieDee]

Hi everybody. I wanted to share with anyone who is interested a listing of foods/supplements/activities that I have found that help me lower my high blood sugar readings (150+) to safer levels fairly quickly (in 2 hours or less).

Please feel free to add the foods/supplements/activities that you have been using to lower your blood sugar levels. Thanks.

Lemon Zinger Tea (1 teabag's worth)
1.75 - 2.0 ounces (about 2 or 3 handfuls) of lightly salted peanuts (This seems to only work once per day for me.)
1 apple
1 orange
1 pear
20 minute walk (I have found that this activity lowers my blood sugar anywhere from 2 to 4 points per minute of walking.)

I welcome your additions to this thread. Thanks.

[Irishonly]

1. I am also diabetic

I walk from 3-5 miles daily and since I have been doing the walk(s) my blood sugar is under great control.

I like cinnamon tea. I don't use tea bags. I use the sticks.

I have also found the more water I drink, the better my blood sugar is.

I will try some of your suggestions. Our neighbor's orange tree is producing like it thinks it needs to give everyone in CA a bag of oranges. LOL I will pass your suggestions on to some other diabetics I know.

[kdmorris]

2. I eat as low-carb as possible

But around 2006, I wasn't able to keep up with the lack of insulin in my system, so I had to go on meds (metformin/Byetta).

I still exercise (riding bike) 3X a week to keep the amount of meds I have to take lower. I tried cinnamon and chromium and neither seemed to work for me.

But.. peanuts for snacks.. OH YEAH!

[Nay]

3. Several things work for me. . .

I take Metformin and follow a more low-carb diet than was recommended in my diabetes classes. I thought they were insane when they said to have 45-60 carbs per meal and 15-30 carbs per snack.

Cinnamon (a teaspoon mixed in cottage cheese) works.

So does a small glass of wine or beer -- the alcohol seems to have that lowering effect. You can't go overboard, of course.

Exercise is a biggie. When I go on vacation and take longer hikes and am more physically active, I regularly have to eat many more carbs just to stay around 90-100 BG.

Each person is different, but I've found that lots of people's blood sugar spikes with white potatoes, white bread, pasta, and rice. If you can minimize those four items (and ditch things that are straight sugar, of course), you can expect to have very good BG results.

[TheDebbieDee]

4. About the alcohol, it works to keep blood sugar lower

by inhibiting the liver from releasing glucose into your bloodstream.....the liver treats alcohol as though it were a toxin and makes removing/cleansing alcohol from the bloodstream a priority over ALL other functions (the liver behaves as though it was obsessive/compulsive like Mr. Monk when it comes to alcohol).

Alcohol works on the liver just like Metformin, by preventing the liver from dumping glucose into the bloodstream while alcohol is present.

At least, that's how it was explained in a book I read. The explanation has stuck with me because I really appreciated the way the author explained it.

[grasswire]

5. well that's interesting

I rarely rarely have anything with alcohol in it. Last week I bought a bottle of red wine because I've been feeling guilty about not getting the resveratrol benefit. This week we know that the studies about that were fudged. I guess I'll drink the wine anyway, 4 oz a night, hoping that it will help blood sugar control.

[TheDebbieDee]

6. But you still have to read up on the sugar content of what you're drinking.........

There may still be way too much sugar in that pina colada or strawberry dacharri (sp) or wine cooler to make it a practical potable.

[grasswire]

7. gack -- would never drink those anyway! n/t

[TheDebbieDee]

8. Hi, everybody. I'm just checking in again.................

I have been having financial difficulties since Christmas. Except for the four weeks after I received my income tax refund in mid-February, I have been chronically underfunded!

I joke to anyone who asks that I haven't been this broke since I was married!

I take Metformin (1000 mg X 2/day), Lantus (was taking 20 mg 2/day, now taking 30 mg 2/day), Humalog (10 mg at 6.00am, 12.00pm and 6.00pm) and Glipizide (10 mg 1/day)

Anyway, if you find yourself in a money crunch and need to make you medicine last a little longer (I ran out of Humalog a week ago yesterday and I still don't have the $57 co-pay I need to get a refill so I increased my Lantus injection amount from 20 mg to 30 mg to compensate) I have had TREMENDOUS success with lowering my blood sugar quickly after even a very large meal by eating 2 ounces of peanuts (plain or salted, NOT honey-roasted).

Those little personal-sized sleeves of peanuts sold at grocery stores and convenience stores are perfect. I eat the peanuts to lower my sugar instead of the 5 or 10 mg shot Humalog I would take if I had any. I wait 90 minutes to 2 hours after eating this meal before I down the peanuts.

On Thursday evening, I fell of the (diet) wagon and wolfed down Chinese buffet for dinner. Two hours later my blood sugar was 319 (at 10.15pm). I ate the peanuts, which was very difficult as I was still stuffed from all the Chinese food, and at 12.25am my blood sugar was down to 156. While 156 is still high it was much better than the previous reading and I KNOW that a shot of Humalog would not have worked any better.........

Anyway, as long as I don't develop a peanut allergy, I know I can bring down my sugar levels quickly by eating the peanuts.

[sense]

9. I had type 2 diabetes

until Sept of last year. I had refused to take the meds and kept my blood sugar under control pretty well with a low carb diet. My blood sugars started creeping up (I was falling off the low carb wagon) and I was wandering the web looking for better answers. I happened upon mark's daily apple. It's a free site, one of many that explains the primal/paleo diet/lifestyle, with scientific cites to back up their assertions. One of the things that appealed to me was that they encourage people to give it a try for just 30 days. That seemed like something I could do... no long term commitment. I started reading there and within about a week (I seem to need a lot of research....) decided to give primal eating a try because so many people seemed to be having success in curing diabetes, losing weight (which should help diabetes) and other auto-immune diseases by eating that way. It was similar to low carb, so it seemed like it couldn't hurt.

Within 3 weeks of changing my diet I no longer had diabetes. I still tested in the insulin resistant category, so I just kept eating primal and with 3 months or so my insulin resistance was also gone. As a bonus, I've lost about 30 lbs! I was able to stop my blood pressure meds after I lost the weight, as my blood pressure was normal!

I've made some other changes too.... mainly supplements that have improved my sleep (magnesium), Vitamin D (it's always been extremely low in my labs). My energy level has improved enormously and that has helped with my outlook on life!

May not work as well for everyone, but did for me.

[kdmorris]

10. Awesome... thanks

Another "blame the victim" post and "if you just eat right you can cure anything"...

If only I'd heard that before

[sense]

11. Not remotely what I said... or at all implied.

Although, I'd certainly say that there is an entity to blame for many of the diseases of today. It's not the fault of those who're ill, it's the fault of those who're giving us the wrong information. Our government and the AHA, ADA and AHA are all giving us the wrong information on nutrition and how to be healthy. The low fat, eat your grains and get plenty of aerobic exercise meme has been promoted for the last 40 years or so by those charged with giving us good advice and it's untrue. I and millions of others have done just that since it was introduced and it hasn't kept us healthy, it's made a huge amount of the population fat and sick. Look at all of the auto-immune diseases that were nearly unheard of before that time. The food pyramid, which so many believe to be based on science was created by politicians!

Ancel Keyes, who first hypothesized that a low fat diet was the most heart healthy, studied the data from 22 countries and when the evidence didn't support his theory, he threw out the data from 15 of those countries and pretended that the he only studied 7 countries and that his theory was supported by the data! What a crock. And no one questioned him and we've been doing the wrong thing, based on skewed data ever since. That's not science, it's politics and it's made the corn and wheat industries extremely wealthy. Not to mention the pharma co. that just can't wait to "treat", but never cure us.

Here's a great, free video that explains what happened. Unfortunately not by an American doctor, as most are pretty firmly entrenched, but by a doctor from Sweden, where they also have great health care for their citizens.

http://vimeo.com/couchmode/ancestralhealthsymposium/videos/sort:newest/29464690

[kdmorris]

12. I got Type 2 Diabetes because of my lousy genes

My mother, father, maternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, paternal aunts (2), maternal aunt, paternal great grandmother, paternal great aunts/uncles (3), sisters (2) and daughter all have Diabetes.

I ate low-carb, I exercised my ass off and my Diabetes still progressed to the point that I needed medications. If I had a dollar for every person that tells me that Type 2 Diabetes is caused by what I eat or the lack of exercise I get, I would be rich now. Or better yet "you don't look like you are Diabetic" because I'm 5'11" and weight 158 lbs.

Maybe you didn't mean to imply it, but you are not part of the solution. Saying that you can cure Diabetes in any way is just blaming the Diabetic and is not at all supportive of those of us who have tried to cure it - when there is NO CURE.

[sense]

13. Saying I'm not part of the

solution, because the way I cured my diabetes may not work for you, is short sighted at best. The way that worked for me is working for many, many people. Each one of them would say that you are not part of the solution to try to deny that what works for others isn't valid because you haven't tried it or it may not work for you. We are each individuals and as such not everything will work the same for each of us.

I cured my diabetes, so why are you yelling at me that there is no cure????? There is a cure for many. Your trying to discredit what I and others have worked very hard to do, against the advice of doctors and pharma, who stand to profit greatly if we stay sick, is very selfish. I'm very sorry that you have diabetes. That doesn't negate that some people can cure theirs or improve their blood sugars. I was really pissed to have diabetes myself and even more pissed that my (now fired) doctor kept giving me the party line advice about it. She laughed at me and told me I'd go to an early death if I didn't follow her advice. She seems to be wrong. And if she's not.... then at least I'll enjoy the short time (according to her and her pharma reps) I have left, as opposed to my life before, when I had no energy, was depressed and just waiting to die.

If you read my post, you'll notice that I also tried for years to control mine with low carb and exercise and had limited success. Even when I was low carb, I was still eating processed foods, whole grains, soy and many of the overly processed fats like corn oil and canola. When I cut those things out, my health changed for the better. Fact. I absolutely don't think it will work for everyone, nor would I ever say that, but that doesn't mean it's not a viable alternative.

I used to have to eat every two to three hours to keep my blood sugar under control and because eating carbs that were anything but low starch vegetables caused me to be hungry all the time. When I switched to what is called primal or paleo, I was able to cut my meals down to 2 per day, due to the high fat content that kept me feeling full and just didn't allow for the spikes in blood sugar. I didn't change my exercise, but I'm aware that lifting weights is a good idea and at some point I'll add that. I'm not remotely saying that what I did was easy and that everyone will see the same results. This thread was for suggestions that might help others.

Your post helped no one and was simply an insult. I do not understand why people are so flipping pissed when someone else has success at something. No one is bashing you. I'd be thrilled to death for you if found a way to help yourself and I wouldn't give a flying fig what it was you found that worked! If if worked for you, I'd celebrate that!

[kdmorris]

14. Now we are adding in "or improve their blood sugar"

You never said anything about it improving your blood sugar... you said it cured you. There is a difference.

Glad it worked for you... it doesn't work for me. I don't think we have anything else to discuss.

[sense]

15. I'm saying that I'm cured.

Not everyone who tries primal will be. Some may only improve their blood sugars. My blood sugars are normal, I no longer have diabetes, but I am also much more careful (some would say obsessive) about not eating processed foods, grains and sugar.

[grasswire]

17. give us a general idea of what you eat in a day

that would be really helpful.

[sense]

18. Ok.

Usually for breakfast I have 3-4 eggs cooked in butter or coconut oil with 3-4 pieces of bacon or about a 1/4 lb of sausage and coffee with cream. Sometimes I add fresh basil or spinach to the eggs, or some sauteed mushrooms. Most days I'm not hungry for lunch because that much high fat breakfast keeps me satiated until dinner. If I have lunch it's usually 2-3 ounces of cheese or some nuts and maybe a couple squares of 85% or 99% chocolate. For dinner tonight I had grilled wild salmon and brussels sprouts cooked in bacon grease and a splash of balsamic vinegar, with blue cheese and the bacon sprinkled on top.

Last night dinner was grilled chicken sausage (without all the usual additives), caprese and cookies made with almond flour and a small amount of stevia instead of the sugar.

The night before we had burgers with shrooms, no bun, but lots of lettuce and tomato, plus a small bowl of strawberries with whipping cream (no sugar).

Very satisfying meals, no hunger, no worries about blood sugar anymore and great labs.

Here's a really good, free video by a Swedish doctor explaining all about how we've been fooled into eating the wrong things and talking about how to regain our health without loading up on drugs:

http://vimeo.com/couchmode/ancestralhealthsymposium/videos/sort:newest/29464690

[Nikia]

16. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes about a month ago

I know that this is a little different than Type II Diabetes. I have found that a minimal amount of exercise within a short time of eating a meal with carbohydrates makes a huge difference in my 1 hour after meal glucose levels. Even showering instead of vegetating on the couch can make a 20 point difference, which is enough to keep me safely within range. If I walk instead, my blood sugar is almost down to my fasting levels by then. I haven't really pushed over my diet that much. After not being used to so much carbohydrates, I felt different in a bad way after eating breaking down and eating a full bakery doughnut at work so for now I know I am staying close to my diabetic diet and try not to vegetate on the couch after eating carbohydrates.