I will pass you across to my
wife at this point as she was the one who sorted out my diet and
treatment.
Prior to my husband even visiting the doctors, I started
to research the alternatives for diabetes. Doctors are very good at
telling you about one type of treatment (conventional) without giving you
details of the other options (alternative). I didn't want, what I call 'The Fear
Factor', using on him. ("If you don't use this wonder drug that I am
going to prescribe for you, you might go blind, have your legs chopped
off, your kidneys fail." Not actually bothering to tell him, that the
side effects might be even worse than those three horrors.)
I was fortunate that having always had an interest in
alternative therapies, I had a good range of books and literature to delve
into.
My first port of call was a publication called WHAT
DOCTORS DON'T TELL YOU. This is an excellent publication available
by subscription (for details on how to obtain, see links page). It
provides you with information on side effects, what all the different
options are and on the alternative therapies available.
The other publications were:
The Complete Natural Health Consultant by Michael van
Straten
A Modern Herbal by Mrs M Grieve
The A-Z of Modern Herbalism by Simon Y Mills
The Complete A-Z of Common Ailments and their Natural
Remedies by Judy Jacka
The Illustrated Herbal Handbook for Everyone by Juliette
de Bairacli Levy
As well as the above publications I borrowed books from
the library and scoured the internet for information.
Diet was again and again stressed as a very important
factor. Also the need for supplementation of trace minerals and
vitamins. Unfortunately in this day and age of intensive farming,
foods tend to be lacking in essential minerals. If you
can afford to, you should buy organic foods, as these are much more likely
to contain the essential minerals. Try to use mainly fresh
food. Do NOT rely on bottled, tinned and frozen. Always
remember FRESH IS BEST.
When looking at the options available, both herbal and
homoeopathic, I decided to try those that were 1) most readily available
and 2) those that I already knew or had used for other ailments in the
past. I did not want to use too many different ones at once, as this
would only make us unsure which one was doing the job. If the blood
sugar started to settle down we could remove one remedy and see if things
remained stable. If the blood sugar started to rise we could
reintroduce this remedy until things settled and then try removing another
remedy. Obviously a combination might be necessary to get the best
results.
We decided to start off with a multi-mineral supplement
and a chromium supplement (chromium GTF) as the basis for improving the overall nutrition
of the diet. Most of the books that I read, reported on research
that showed diabetics were frequently suffering from a deficiency of
chromium and one nutritionist thought that this could, in fact, be a trigger
for the onset of type two diabetes. They also stated that high doses
of vitamin C, had been shown to reduce blood sugar levels. So,
initially, 1000mg 4 times a day were taken, this being reduced to 1000mg
twice a day once the blood sugar levels had settled.
Garlic and onions (raw) were also repeatedly mentioned as
having the significant ability to bring down blood sugar
levels. As my husband loves onions and garlic, there was no problem
what so ever in increasing these in the diet. If you are one of
those people who do not like raw onions and garlic, try very finely
chopping it and adding a little to your meal ( mix well in) just prior to
serving it or try the hummus recipe in the recipe section.
We decided on Echinacea to help boost his immune system.
Goldenseal is known to bring blood sugar levels
down. Fortunately I already had an Echinacea and Goldenseal tincture
in the cupboard, so he was able to start to take this immediately.
Unfortunately, since then, the company who made the combined Echinacea and
Goldenseal, have discontinued it, so I have had to start buying these separately.
With both the Echinacea and the Goldenseal take as recommended on the
product. We buy both in the Tincture form but you might find it easier to
take by tablet or capsule (ensure that you do not buy products in gelatin capsules as this is a by-product of the slaughter house; vegan capsules
are now readily available). With any of the remedies you buy, always
check that they are suitable for vegans, a lot of the cheaper remedies
have by-products of the slaughter house or dairy products added.
Syzygium jambolanum is a homoeopathic remedy, available
in tincture form, that is known to have a stabilizing effect on blood
sugar levels. Initially, one teaspoon was taken four times a day,
going down to one teaspoon twice a day, once the blood sugar levels had
settled. This tincture can be purchased from any homoeopathic pharmacy. We purchase it in one hundred ml bottles but
it is available in smaller quantities.
Every three or four weeks dandelion juice was taken to
help cleanse the kidneys of any toxins.
Lemon juice was also mentioned as having the ability to
control blood sugar levels so he started to have the juice of a lemon once
a day. If you can't face drinking neat lemon juice, either, dilute
it with water (rather than drink all in one go, spread it across the day)
or add it to your salad dishes, along with some chopped raw garlic and a
touch of olive oil. FRESHLY SQUEEZED LEMON
JUICE NOT BOTTLED OR CONCENTRATED
We decided to stick to these remedies and to see how he
progressed. Fortunately the combination worked wonderfully and my
husband's blood sugar levels settled down to an acceptable level. To see
how his blood sugar levels were affected and how they started to
settle, click on the link at top left of page for BLOOD SUGAR. You must understand that the above remedies are
no substitute for a proper diet. You can't continue to binge on
sugar and refined foods and think that these remedies will be a cure
all. No remedy will work if you continue to poison your
system. These are just a small number of the remedies that can help
with diabetes, to see more click on MORE REMEDIES link at top left of page
To see an average weekly diet click on DIET PLAN at top
left of page.
IMPORTANT
Please ensure that you monitor your blood sugar levels
very carefully throughout any treatment that you take. Take your
blood readings before every meal and two hours after every meal. If
you feel unwell in between check your blood readings. My husband has found
that if his blood readings drop below 4 (after very strenuous exercise or
when he gets very cold) all he has to do is eat something like a Ryvita or
he has half a mug of muesli with soya milk and his readings go up to
an acceptable level. If you are on the go, you could try a handful of
dried fruit (sultanas, dates, raisins, etc.) that will give you natural
sugars that will be released more slowly into your system, as opposed to
the refined sugar that will go straight into your blood stream.
