Why "But you can't eat that..." doesn't bother me... because it's true.

I know a lot of Type 1 diabetics who get supremely annoyed when someone not familiar with the disease will say "But you can't eat that, right?" We are in many ways taught that we can "eat anything, as long as you take your insulin." In some ways this is true, but in reality, those people in their ignorance, are actually saying something true. No, we can't eat that.

What we forget is that "but you can't eat that..." is only the first part of what is really an if-than scenario. "You can't eat that if": you don't want your blood sugar to spike... or... you don't want to fee ill... or... you don't want to put yourself at risk for diabetes related complications. If these seemingly ignorant people really mean this, than they're right.

And it's not just because we have Type 1 diabetes. There is a new school of thought that looks back and the history of human diets. Dr. Weston Price in his book Nutrition and Degenerative Diseases (1939) describes how his findings of different populations all over the globe show that diets consisting of foods that were eaten before the end of the Paleolithic era 10,000 years ago do not exhibit the same kinds of degenerative diseases we know today in the west. In short, it is our diet consisting mostly of grains and many processed foods and refined sugars that are causing the degenerative diseases like Type 1 Diabetes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease etc.

A great documentary called Forks Over Knives attempts to display the benefits of switching to an unprocessed food diet. When participants in the film who had previously been plagued by the degenerative diseases we know like heart disease, high blood pressure etc switched to this more primitive diet, their conditions greatly improved to the point where these diseases disappeared.

I know that as of now there is not a permanent fix with Western medicine to Type 1 Diabetes, but there is reason enough for us to admit that yes, I can't eat this (cake, ice cream, pasta, cookie, french toast, milkshake) without my blood sugar spiking, increasing my risk for diabetes related complications and just flat out not giving myself the best chance at health.

So you know what? Maybe instead of snacking on these Oreo's and milk, I'll have some green peppers and hummus, peanut butter and celery, or some tomatoes and mozzarella, all foods I know I can eat.

The Meridians

Whether or not you believe the human form is a product of intelligent design or a cosmic accident, the wisdom contained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a unique way of describing the phenomena observed in the body.

In TCM, the body is a microcosm of planet Earth. When it rains on Earth, the water flows from the point it falls into small brooks, then streams then rivers. We take this metaphor and apply it to the body. Blood, electricity, and chemicals move along similar pathways that might look very much like the topographical map of a geographic region.

But in TCM these pathways in the body are not as specific as "the aorta artery" or "the sciatic nerve". Naturally, this anatomy is intrinsically a part of the meridian system, but it is much larger than any one specific thing. These meridians include the anatomy and physiology we know in the west, as well as speak in terms of Qi (Chi), a concept we do not have in western medicine.

Qi is the all encompassing life fore. It is everything from kinetic energy, digestive energy to spiritual energy and beyond. Qi flows along pathways called meridians. These meridians are very much like one of those collage pictures that are made up of smaller pictures. Here's an example:

http://thoughtswillcrackmyskull.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/more-ideas-brewing/

Its a meta picture that encompasses all psycho- somatic and physical components of our corporeal and incorporeal forms. Qi flows along these meridians much the same way that water flows through a stream. But like a stream, it can be dammed up. Meridians are dammed by physical ailments and psychological phenomena. When this happens, like a river that is dammed, there is a build up and an imbalanced state may occur.

When it comes to treating diseases, TCM thinks about looking at where there is an imbalance. Where is Qi not flowing as it should. In this way, the diseases we know are little more than symptoms- the real problem lies in the lack of balance.

How do we balance them? Try seeing an acupuncturist. The Peoples Organization of Community Acupuncture is a network of community acupuncture clinics around the country that believe affordable health care should be accessible without insurance. Treatments work on a self- determined sliding scale usually between 15-40 dollars per treatment. You are treated in a more traditional setting where one practitioner treats many patients at a time.  
Find a clinic near you here: https://www.pocacoop.com/clinics/search/0,0/18000/

Also, check out this article from the American Diabetes Association about acupuncture and diabetes (type 1 and 2). http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/14/3/154.full

I also feel I should point people to look at my very first blog post. I think this has the most comprehensive information and inspiration for further posting.

The games we play

The way Type 1 diabetes is treated today is a sickening game.


I like to remain gentle when sharing information about how I treat my diabetes, but sometimes its fun to add a little drama and really go at it. I guess its a blog and I don't really have to worry about people getting turned off face to face! That said, I recognize everyone has a choice in what they do and I do like to maintain an attitude of openness. That said, here we go-


The day to day treatment I observe is sickening. Its an attitude of "eat this and take your medicine." ie. eat a nice big bowl of mac and cheese, a glass of milk, an apple, and then two cookies for dessert, just remember to take your insulin! Sound relatively balanced? Well its not:

Mac+ Cheese: 1/2 cup  24 grams carbs (does anybody really only eat a half of a cup?)
1 8 oz skim milk: 13 grams carbs (if you pour a glass of milk, is it really only 8 oz?)
apple: 15 grams carbs
2 cookies: 30 grams carbs

total = 82 grams of carbs.

Then, depending on what kind of activity you do next, you either get sick from the insulin (ie. medicine) and have a low blood sugar or you get sick from the food and have a high blood sugar. Then, if you're low, you stop what you're doing and eat between 15-25 grams more of processed, fast acting glucose. Then you test again and eat some more or carry on. If you're high, you correct and take more insulin. Then depending on how things go, you might end up going low later and repeating the whole process just described.

Then its dinner time, and the game starts again.

It's a sickening game that might very well be completely, or at least partially avoided, if we give up attachments to food that we shouldn't eat (and its not just because we're diabetics that we might not want to eat). In the meal I described above, there's hardly any fiber- fiber being essential to controlling glucose absorption. There's nowhere near enough fat to more slow that absorption and and too much straight up sugar (lactose in milk, processed sugars in cookies as well as the ever so slightly more complex carbohydrates in pasta).
        If we can admit that certain foods ultimately do not make us feel well nor help keep our blood sugars in range, we'd have an easier time at controlling. It's a sickening game, and I won't play it.

Cutting "finding a cure" out of the vocabulary

Talking about finding a cure for any disease seems to be an unproductive conversation. Finding one single cure completely ignores the fact that the disease is simply a set of conditions that exist only in relation to other contexts- social, cultural, economic, inter/intra-personal and spiritual etcetera. It is by conditions relation to something that we come to call it a disease, name it as undesirable, call it abnormal or determine that whatever exists is a problem.

By convention, and with convenient applications, we have classified certain conditions as most pervasive, established norms and expectations and labeled every aspect of our lives. The Type 1 Diabetes that I live with has come to be called a disease. But it is only a disease because most people do not live in such a condition. Right now, I work at a summer camp that is for children with Type 1 Diabetes. Here, having diabetes is the norm. In the time that kids are here, it really becomes the normal feeing to work with these conditions. Everyone around them tests their blood glucose at the same time, takes their insulin at the same time, and everyone plays games and sports paying attention to whether or not their blood glucose will go low or not. Kids describe that this becomes a place where they are not "the diabetic" but "John the soccer player" or "Matt the musician." There is no disease because there is no dis-ease about a set of circumstances.

Besides this, has there really ever been a cure for any disease? I think of something like Smallpox where there was no cure, there was only a vaccine that eventually eliminated the threat because our immune systems were resistant to it. Antibiotics and bacterial infections might be the only thing I can think of that comes close to qualifying as a "cure". But when it comes to things like Cancer or Diabetes, I think talking of a cure is an irrelevant conversation. The approach cannot be isolated to curing an ailment of the body, but the kinds of degenerative diseases we face today are so much more complicated than any pathogen.

It's not that I think we should stop doing the work we are doing into research, I just think we need to stop thinking about it as "looking for a cure." That kind of language strips us of the power we have over our own circumstances. Because distinctions only exist as relative to something else, if we can consciously apply our perception of our circumstances, we can empower ourselves to do miraculous things. It is irrelevant whether or not the circumstances themselves disappear because it is completely our decision how we will view them. The circumstances might be as benign as mild back pain or as severe as death- in any event we come up with the labels "good" or "bad" and determine our degree of suffering.

Creating the right conditions for self-healing

Creating the Right Conditions for Self- Healing

Keith Ram Prakash 
Curbow

February, 2013

Abstract:

The author describes what he believes are some of the fundamental principles that have allowed him to treat his diagnosis of type one diabetes without insulin therapy for the past year. The author describes how Kundalini Yoga and meditation have effected his treatment and has included some examples of his diet and exercise.

*Note: This material is not intended to be taken as specific medical advice. It is intended to be an account of experience on the part of the author.

I’m a type one diabetic, and it has now been a year since I have taken any amount of insulin at all. I decided, after noticing how some changes in mindset and activity affected by blood sugars, that I would try an experiment by taking myself off insulin, and see how long I could go without going back.

            Before moving on, ponder this: when you break your arm, who fixes it? You might answer a doctor- but that is incorrect. A doctor sets it in a cast perhaps, but the only thing that makes the bone grow back are the right conditions, a safe environment inside the cast, and you. You-  your body literally repairs the damage and heals itself.

            I asked myself this same question, except I wondered if I could create the right conditions for a “healing of my blood sugars.” I thought about a broken arm- if I crated the right conditions, perhaps I could make something happen, and quit insulin forever.

            The fist and most obvious ‘unfavorable condition’ to my blood glucose was dietary sugar. Quite obviously if I don’t drink soda my blood sugars would have a better chance of staying level. But sugar doesn’t just come from candy, sugar is any kind of carbohydrate- bread, pasta, crackers, rice, beans, cereal grains, even quinoa and millet. There’s high amounts of sugar in cows milk and in many fruits. So I took them out of my diet completely.

            Common knowledge tells us this is insane, but as Michael Pollen points out in his book “In Defense of Food” the human body is well suited to run off a host of different diets, so varied and often extreme it would confound most everyone. All kinds of different diets, except one in particular seem to promote a healthy human being. The one lacking is our Western diet. Pollen book might serve as a corollary to the work of Weston Price, who in 1939 published a book entitled, “Nutrition and Degenerative Diseases.” Price notes that about 10,000 years ago at the end of the Paleolithic era, the human race transitioned out of its nomadic lifestyle and began the cultivation of land to grow food. They found the cultivation of grains beneficial because they provided ample amounts of energy and could keep well over long periods of time. What the species had consumed previously did not at all include grains, but rather animal proteins, nuts, seeds, root vegetables, fruits, berries and other wild vegetables gathered on the go (note that it is mostly a high fat and low carbohydrate diet). Price noticed that in his studies of populations still consuming Paleolithic diets, our common Western diseases such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, do not exist.

           I made an attempt at this “Paleolithic” diet. I stopped cold turkey eating all grains of any kind, and of course completely eliminated refined sugar. The diet I eat now is made up of lots of fresh vegetables, lots of high fat foods like nuts and seeds, good quality animal protein including seafood with ample amount of healthy fats, eggs, Greek yogurts (very high in protein and filling fats), and cheeses. On a diet like this, the body does not have the resource of glucose as power, and so shifts to the production and usage of ketones. For a diabetic, ketones are a danger word, but the state that is produced in the body is referred to as “dietary ketosis” not the familiar ketoacidosis diabetics avoid. In this state, it simply means that the body is using ketones as fuel rather than glucose.

It is important to understand that when we eat carbohydrates, the pancreas secretes insulin (or we take it by injection) in order to counteract the rising sugar levels. Over the next few hours, the blood sugar levels decrease, but as is frequently the case, the insulin production lags behind the absorption of glucose, and we end up with more insulin that results in a lower blood sugar manifested as hunger, and we eat again. This is not a situation common to diabetics only, but to all people eating a diet mainly of carbohydrates. If we are running on ketones, the body will not have these sharp rises and falls in blood sugar and can maintain a stable level with much greater ease.

     

            But my experiment did not stop at changing my diet. Next on the list of musts for a diabetic is exercise. And quite honestly, it should be top of the list for everyone. Exercise is no joke. I started about a year and a half ago exercising every day. It began with a walk in the park near my apartment. Surprisingly, even a 20 minute walk got me sweating. It progressed, and soon I was running. Then I was running and stretching. Then I discovered Kundalini Yoga- an ancient yoga practice from India. I started practicing Kundalini Yoga every day. I practice alone at home, and am certain that this practice is one of the huge reasons I remain insulin free.

            What the exercise and diet made me realize was my body. My mind and my body were connected. Kundalini Yoga necessarily includes a lot of meditation practices. Mystical at first to those unfamiliar, meditation practice might simply be interpreted as a practice in concentrating. In terms of our bodies, this concentration is a taking control over our autonomic nervous system, and holds what I believe is the key to my successful experiment.

            The Autonomic Nervous System is made up of two branches, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system’s job is to prompt us to take action. When a stressor is perceived, the autonomic nervous system sends signals to move circulation to the limbs to prepare legs and arms to ready us for running and fighting. It raises the heart rate to circulate the necessary oxygen and quickens the breath. Eye focus narrows and the senses are heightened. All of this in preparation to either fight the stressor or run away. Also importantly, digestion shuts down. We don’t need to digest a taco when we have to run away from an angry dog. Last on the list, and of great importance soon is that it signals the liver to release glycogen to elevate the blood sugar so that cells will have a quick supply of energy ready.

            The Parasympathetic Nervous System does the opposite. It relaxes everything- it slows the breath, moves digestion, stimulates the pancreas, and calms the mind. How the meditation practices of Kundalini yoga intersect is in the harnessing of these two branches. As stressors arise, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in, but in yogic practices we have to redirect thought waves and our actions to remain engaged in a specific exercise- which in yoga might mean making ourselves take a breath in a certain way or continue to hold ourselves in a certain physical posture. By doing this time and time again, we strengthen our control over these two branches, and can keep ourselves from activating the sympathetic nervous system when its not needed.

            When this stress response is not needed also goes back to the Paleolithic era we discussed before. 10,000 years ago, we needed that sympathetic nervous system to let us fight wooly mammoths and other creatures, but in modern times, it tends to do us harm by reacting to things like a boss or homework. How this relates to diabetes and sugar is fascinating.

            As a possible stressor is perceived, the part of the brain called the amygdala signals to endocrine system to release the hormone cortisol. Cortisol tells the liver to release its glycogen so that there is sugar present to fight or run. At specific moments, this is entirely useful. But if a stressor remains for more than an acute moment- for example a homework assignment or long term project- cortisol levels can remain elevated, which continue to release stores from the liver. Furthermore, through this prolonged response, glycogen stores are depleted, and the brain releases a certain hormone called Neuropeptide Y which creates the craving of carbohydrates to replace the sugars being released by the liver. Does ice cream after a bad break up or cookies during exam period sound like a familiar thing?

            In these situations, the parasympathetic nervous system hasn’t had a chance to relax the body, and blood sugar levels are elevated. The pancreas works great stress is put upon our bodies. As it turned out, I started by changing my diet and exercise, and as the meditation came in, realized just how out of whack my control was. Many of us are in this constant state of hyper arousal, and don’t even realize it, creating treacherous conditions.

                          

Conclusions

Creating the right conditions is all this experiment was about. It is apparent from understanding a little about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, that stressors create conditions that strain the body. Prolonged strain such as this might very well be the source of type one diabetes- an inflammatory reaction set off by a “perfect storm” of chronic stress and the right destructive conditions.

But the conditions can be changed to give ourselves the best chance at healing. Remembering the broken bone, we can set our bodies inside a cast of sorts and perhaps some healing will occur. Yogic practices or martial arts create specific conditions in our nervous system, more so than running or other types of exercise, to relax and strengthen the body at the same time. Altering our diet can also affect our nervous system by helping to lessen the strain on organs involved in digestion and can directly effect the kinds of hormones that are secreted in order to digest certain foods. The rest, after the right conditions are created, is healing. If our bodies can re-grow the skin over a wound I think it might be foolish to assume that we cannot, given the right conditions, find other types of healing which allow us to live healthier more stable lives.

Below you can find a list and description of just a few of the specific exercises from Kundalini yoga and an example list of the kind of diet I have adapted.

Please be well and remember that there is wisdom and healing for all that seek. Feel free to e-mail kwcurbow@aol.com with any questions you may have.

Resources

Diet:

- eat whole, unprocessed foods

- as little grains as possible

- don’t be scared of fats

- eat slowly

- chew completely

Breakfast:

- eggs, egg whites w/ cheese and copious amounts of chopped veggies

- whole tomato

-who avocado w/ salt and pepper

- organic sausage

- unsweetened almond milk

- celery and peanut/ almond/ cashew/ sunflower butter

- handful of assorted nuts+ sliced cheeses

- unsweetened Greek yogurt with the FAT

Lunch/ snacks:

- carrots and hommus

- whole avocado

- steamed brussel sprouts with almonds and olive oil

- pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds

- flax seed crackers

- handful of different nuts: raw peanuts, almonds, chashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, macadamia, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,

- dried seaweed snacks

- kale chips

- salad w/ tuna or chicken

- broccoli and hommus

- sliced cheeses/ string cheese

-unsweetened soy milk (high in protein, fiber and fat)

- treat: Lindt 90% cocoa chocolate (nice and high in fiber and fat)

Dinner:

-prepare chicken/ fish to your liking

- eggplant parm

- steamed favorite vegetable with olive oil

- lots of vegetarian Indian dishes: Palak Paneer, Lychee Paneer

- home made soups (canned almost always have sugar added), examples: Thai chicken coconut, red cabbage soup, tomato soup

- arugala salad w/ goat cheese and olive oil

- vegetable stir fry w/ tofo or chicken

- vegetable polenta

-stuffed bell peppers w/ shitake mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash

-stuffed portabella mushrooms

- unsweetened almond milk/ soymilk

Note: When making the switch to a Paleolithic diet, it is common to experience withdrawal symptoms from refined sugar that can manifest as headaches, irritability, lack of energy and general discomfort

Note 2: the diet might seem “limited” but the species diversity is actually much higher than in a grain based diet. In a grain based diet, most of what is consumed is either sugar, wheat, or corn.

Exercise:

 Qigong: perform daily at the same time

Watermill: you may need a stack of phone books or yoga blocks in front of you depending on your flexibility

1) stand with your bare or sock covered feet pressing tightly together: thighs all the way to toes are “zipped” up the middle

2) angle your palms face down to the ground and example

3) inhale as you push your hands palms up slowly towards the ceiling

4) interlace fingers and exhale slowly while moving hands down

5) at about the level of your eyes turn the palms over to face down

6) at this point, move the hands quickly down one inch in front of your toes and create a pressure into the ground

7) concentrate your gaze at your middle fingers

8) keep the legs pressing firmly together and your weight evenly distributed

9) breath slowly and deeply while maintaining a firm pressure

10) perform for three minutes

11) to end keep your nose down towards your middle finger

12) turn the palms face up and pull your arms up towards your ribcage with the elbows jutting back but firmly along your ribcage

13) roll up very slowly starting from the bottom of your spine

14) once standing all the way, bring the palms face down towards the floor while remaining standing and turn your head slightly to the left

15) breath normally for a few moments

Note: this exercise should be very difficult and could be practiced daily starting with a short amount of time and working up to higher

Sat Kriya: an exercise from Kundalini Yoga

1) sit cross legged and breath deeply in and out 3 times

2) Chant the words “Ong- Namo- Guru- Dev- Namo” 3 times before beginning

3) warm up by grabbing your shins in a cross legged position and flexing your lower spine, breath in short as you go forward and out short backwards, Perform for at least 2 minutes and move one set per second, inhale to the center and hold to finish, then exhale

4) place hands on shoulders and inhale as you twist to the left, exhale as you twist to the right, continue at a steady pace, inhale to the center to end then exhale

5) stretch your legs out in front of you and grab your toes if you can, if you cant find a comfortable spot on your shins, inhale as you rise up keeping the legs on the floor and exhale as you go down. Create a light pumping motion that is quick and a small stretch. Perform 3 minutes, inhale up to finish, hold a moment, then exhale down and hold a moment.

6) sit on your heels so that your weight is resting on your shins like a Sphynx

7)  interlace your fingers and with the pointer fingers out like you were making a fake gun and bring them over your head so that the sides of the arms press against the ears

8) begin a rhythmic chant of the words “Sat” and “Nam” at a rate of 8 repetitions per 10 seconds. As you chant “Sat” pull your belly button in just slightly, and on “Nam” release. Sat – Nam means “truth embodied”

9) Perform for at least 3 minutes daily. The time can be worked up to incredible lengths of time such as an hour in one sitting. Begin with a daily discipline of 3 minutes.

10) To end, inhale and clench your lower abdominals and sex organs and hold, then exhale and hold the breath out while repeating the same clench of lower muscles. Repeat 2 more times

11) Lay flat on your back and relax for the same amount of time that you performed the exercise. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MUST RELAX AFTER THE EXERCISE

12) Do not perform Sat Kriya if you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant or are on your cycle.

Deep Breathing

1) lay on your back with your hand palms up by your sides, cover yourself with a blanket if you wish

2) begin to inhale very slowly expanding first your lower abdomen and allow the breath to slowly fill the lower part of your body then expand your ribcage and finally up to the shoulder

3)hold in slightly then exhale slowly

4)exhale until the breath is all the way out and the belly button pulls in ever so slightly towards the spine

5) hold the breath out briefly and repeat

6) repeat at least 3 times, but continue at a very relaxed pace for as long as you wish

Pranayam:

“One minute breath”

1) Sit comfortably on a cushion or in a chair

2) block the right nostril with your thumb and sit straight with the eyes closed

3) inhale deeply for a maximum of 15 seconds, hold the breath in for 15 seconds, exhale for 15 seconds then hold the breath out for 15 seconds. You may start with smaller amounts of time, perhaps beginning with 3 seconds, but the ration 1:1:1:1 for all 4 parts of the breath must be kept consistent through out the exercise

4) you may mentally chant the words “Ek Ong Kar Sat Gurprassad Sat Gurprassad Ek Ong Kar” to help keep rhythm. Each repetition should take 3 seconds that way you can measure the time and give yourself something to focus on

5) Practice for a minimum of 3 minutes and work up to a maximum of 31 minutes with the full 15 seconds on each breath

Books:

• In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press 2008.
• The Instinct to Heal, David Servan-Schreiber, MD., Ph.D, Rodale 2004
• Spark, John J. Ratey, MD. Little, Brown and Company, 2008
• Ayurveda, The Science of Self Healing, Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, 1985
• Happiness, Matthie Ricard, Little, Brown and Company, 2007