Check out this article:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/type-1-diabetes-paleo-primal/
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Comments/ follow
I'd love to see comments on any posts with questions, doubts, support, your experience etc. I know that there are other people out there experimenting with other ways of assisting their blood sugar control, and I want to make this a place where people can come for resources. So go ahead and comment! Also, follow me and we can make this a more interactive blog and pull from everyone's collective wisdom.
Mind Body- OCD and Diabetes
For me, diabetes and OCD have always been intricately related. Pre-dating the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes in 2009 by about 6 months came a period of extreme anxiety, depression and OCD symptoms that I only in hindsight could pinpoint as OCD. I have reason to believe that it was likely the OCD symptoms that perpetuated the auto-immune reaction that let to the Type 1 diabetes.
David Servan- Schreiber in his book The Instinct to Heal notes that depressive symptoms often appear as a precursor to auto-immune reactions. He notes that anxiety and depression are inflammatory reactions, and their occurrence around diagnoses many auto-immune diseases is quite frequent.
But my evidence as to their connection came once I began to study Yoga and Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM). TCM uses a system called the "5 Element Theory" to explain the phenomena of the world and the body. In this system, the Earth element includes as its pair of yin and yang organ system the spleen and stomach respectively. The Earth element is categorized by the emotion of worry, the sense of tasting and the flavor sweet. When I began seeing an acupuncturist, she helped to describe that treating the OCD and Diabetes were really working on balancing the Earth element in my body where the symptoms of OCD and Diabetes were coming from. TCM has a different pathology and pathogenesis than we have here in the west, but for the purposes for this post, just think of all disease simply being an imbalance of the elements in the body that manifest different physical symptoms. (for a little bit more on this, check out my post "The Meridians")
There were so many times that I remember the OCD kicking up and having tough blood sugar days. But once the acupuncture began to restore a balance and as my OCD symptoms diminished, by blood sugars became more stable. At this time, I began practicing a pranayam (breathing exercise) that I learned from a Kundalini yoga teacher. The exact practice is detailed in this post The Daily Regimen. The name of the exercise is "One Minute Breath."
This pranayam is performed by sitting straight, plugging the right nostril with the thumb, and then breathing in for 15 seconds, holding for 15 seconds, breathing out for 15 seconds and then holding the breath out for 15 seconds. The exercise continues for 31 minutes. In the yoga sciences, all thought patterns are held in the breath. Think of fear- when you are frightened, the breath becomes short and quick. When relaxed, long and deep. Other more subtle patterns of breath are stored and occur subconsciously. In this exercise, the breath is made completely even. As thoughts arise subconsciously, their accompanying breath pattern will as well. However, through the will, the breath is held in proportion. This gives you a chance to disassociate certain thoughts from certain bodily reactions.
This control is all about balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system will excite us, quicken breath, increase blood flow, and raise stress hormones to fight. The parasympathetic does the opposite- relax us, turn stress hormones off and slow the breath. Through this breathing exercise, various thoughts arise that trigger the sympathetic nervous system, but we activate the parasympathetic by continuing the breath in the proportion.
The hardest part might be holding the breath out. This is were the sympathetic nervous system goes crazy. As we deplete the oxygen in our body, the sympathetic nervous system detects a danger and wants us to breath in fast and quickly. At this moment, we are looking at a potential threat to life. But, we only have to hold it out for 15 seconds, and we consciously know that we will breath in again and take control. We learn to disassociate even the fear of death- the highest anxiety, and really the root cause of all anxiety- and keep ourselves calm. Of course, you must build up to doing a full 15 seconds on each part of the breath, but with consistent practice it happens fairly quickly.
After about 90 days of doing this pranayam, I could truthfully say that all OCD symptoms had disappeared. This is when my blood sugars began to get really good. It strengthened for me the evidence between the OCD and the diabetes. I continue to practice this pranayam daily and it continues to help keep these systems in balance.
David Servan- Schreiber in his book The Instinct to Heal notes that depressive symptoms often appear as a precursor to auto-immune reactions. He notes that anxiety and depression are inflammatory reactions, and their occurrence around diagnoses many auto-immune diseases is quite frequent.
But my evidence as to their connection came once I began to study Yoga and Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM). TCM uses a system called the "5 Element Theory" to explain the phenomena of the world and the body. In this system, the Earth element includes as its pair of yin and yang organ system the spleen and stomach respectively. The Earth element is categorized by the emotion of worry, the sense of tasting and the flavor sweet. When I began seeing an acupuncturist, she helped to describe that treating the OCD and Diabetes were really working on balancing the Earth element in my body where the symptoms of OCD and Diabetes were coming from. TCM has a different pathology and pathogenesis than we have here in the west, but for the purposes for this post, just think of all disease simply being an imbalance of the elements in the body that manifest different physical symptoms. (for a little bit more on this, check out my post "The Meridians")
There were so many times that I remember the OCD kicking up and having tough blood sugar days. But once the acupuncture began to restore a balance and as my OCD symptoms diminished, by blood sugars became more stable. At this time, I began practicing a pranayam (breathing exercise) that I learned from a Kundalini yoga teacher. The exact practice is detailed in this post The Daily Regimen. The name of the exercise is "One Minute Breath."
This pranayam is performed by sitting straight, plugging the right nostril with the thumb, and then breathing in for 15 seconds, holding for 15 seconds, breathing out for 15 seconds and then holding the breath out for 15 seconds. The exercise continues for 31 minutes. In the yoga sciences, all thought patterns are held in the breath. Think of fear- when you are frightened, the breath becomes short and quick. When relaxed, long and deep. Other more subtle patterns of breath are stored and occur subconsciously. In this exercise, the breath is made completely even. As thoughts arise subconsciously, their accompanying breath pattern will as well. However, through the will, the breath is held in proportion. This gives you a chance to disassociate certain thoughts from certain bodily reactions.
This control is all about balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system will excite us, quicken breath, increase blood flow, and raise stress hormones to fight. The parasympathetic does the opposite- relax us, turn stress hormones off and slow the breath. Through this breathing exercise, various thoughts arise that trigger the sympathetic nervous system, but we activate the parasympathetic by continuing the breath in the proportion.
The hardest part might be holding the breath out. This is were the sympathetic nervous system goes crazy. As we deplete the oxygen in our body, the sympathetic nervous system detects a danger and wants us to breath in fast and quickly. At this moment, we are looking at a potential threat to life. But, we only have to hold it out for 15 seconds, and we consciously know that we will breath in again and take control. We learn to disassociate even the fear of death- the highest anxiety, and really the root cause of all anxiety- and keep ourselves calm. Of course, you must build up to doing a full 15 seconds on each part of the breath, but with consistent practice it happens fairly quickly.
After about 90 days of doing this pranayam, I could truthfully say that all OCD symptoms had disappeared. This is when my blood sugars began to get really good. It strengthened for me the evidence between the OCD and the diabetes. I continue to practice this pranayam daily and it continues to help keep these systems in balance.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Faux breaded spicy brussel sprouts
This recipe is great as the main dish. Lots of good fats, some protein and delicious brussel sprouts. And as always, low carb.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound fresh brussel sprouts (difficult if frozen)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
crushed red peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degree F
Wash and slice brussel sprouts in half.
Using a food processor or food chopper, chop sunflower seeds until they are a breadcrumb like consistency.
Dip each half of the brussell sprout in the olive oil then run in the chopped sunflower seeds. Place all pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle desired amount of crushed red pepper on top and toss remainder of olive oil on sheet.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the brussel sprouts have begun to brown at the edges. You can bake them to your desired level of browning.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound fresh brussel sprouts (difficult if frozen)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
crushed red peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degree F
Wash and slice brussel sprouts in half.
Using a food processor or food chopper, chop sunflower seeds until they are a breadcrumb like consistency.
Dip each half of the brussell sprout in the olive oil then run in the chopped sunflower seeds. Place all pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle desired amount of crushed red pepper on top and toss remainder of olive oil on sheet.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the brussel sprouts have begun to brown at the edges. You can bake them to your desired level of browning.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Taking notes
When I first started noticing that consistent meditation practices and dietary changes had an effect on blood sugar, I needed hard number to validate my observations. For two weeks, I took careful notes and observations on all of the food I ate and the exercise I did and wrote down all of my blood sugars and insulin doses as well as all of the nutritional details. I made a little journal notebook that looked like this:
I filled this out daily for about 2 weeks straight. Everything I ate went in the table. You might have to add extra lines if you end up eating more than 10 times a day. I used it to basically prove to myself that I could have lower average blood sugars eating less carbs.
But since cutting out all the carbs, I used the table to track how much fat and protein I was consuming so that I could figure out exactly how many calories I was having a day.
I also took note on how many miles I walked each day (living in NYC means at least 2 miles of walking daily) as well as if I did exercise or meditation practice that day (which it should be every day, not just most). I had all the data at hand and could say exactly how many carbs I ate, how many calories I got and what the effect was on my blood glucose.
You could do it for 1 week eating how you do now, then another week cutting out all carbs and replacing those calories with other food and compare.
But since cutting out all the carbs, I used the table to track how much fat and protein I was consuming so that I could figure out exactly how many calories I was having a day.
I also took note on how many miles I walked each day (living in NYC means at least 2 miles of walking daily) as well as if I did exercise or meditation practice that day (which it should be every day, not just most). I had all the data at hand and could say exactly how many carbs I ate, how many calories I got and what the effect was on my blood glucose.
You could do it for 1 week eating how you do now, then another week cutting out all carbs and replacing those calories with other food and compare.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Performing an experiment on yourself
It appears that I espouse that eating a certain way and doing certain exercises will have a given effect on our blood sugars. While I hope that I have provided some information that will explain why I might think that, such as the material in this article.
However, my true message is this: perform an experiment on yourself.
I was once told that the definition of insanity is repeating the same answer over and expecting different results. When it comes to the way we address our mind and body, this is the same.
Eating the same foods and taking the same medicine produces the same undesirable result. So find something else. Be brave and experiment with different foods. Don't think about putting yourself on a "diet" but that you are simply finding foods that nourish you the way you want to be nourished. It takes careful observation and willingness to admit when something isn't working. You might have to adjust your insulin dosing or other facets of your life as you go along, but be willing to experiment.
Moreover, this method of experimentation applies to our minds. Do you have recurring thoughts, worries, fears that in the end do not help you? Do you have attitudes and perceptions that are not useful in the end? This again takes careful observation and a willingness to let things go.
As we confront parts of our mind, we will find that certain attitudes and reactions to things do not help any situation. For example, believing that there is not cure to type 1 diabetes make it impossible for one to imagine a way that there is. We are so attached to what we take as "medical fact" and so attached to our way of life with the disease, that we cannot and will not believe there might be another way. We take it as fact that "the insulin producing beta cells have been destroyed and there is no way to get them back." It may or may not be the case in reality. But that is unimportant. What we can work with is giving up our attachment to this thought- be it reality or non-reality.
It is the attachment itself that creates our suffering over a thought pattern. We can find ourselves outside of what we take to be solid and unchanging if we can slowly loosen our grip on those perceptions. It is a slow process, but day by day you can quietly propose to yourself that you loosen your grip on all perceptions. They may stick around, but at least you can find yourself increasingly free of them. This has nothing to do with what we think is fact or fiction. Once you loosen your grip, you might find something entirely different than you had unwaveringly accepted as fact to be true.
Practice Suggestion:
Pick a time of day where you can sit quietly for 5 minutes.
At this time propose to yourself three questions having to do with harmful thought patterns or beliefs you wish you could let go of.
They might look like this:
1) Could I less attached to the thought/fact that diabetes will never go away?
2) Could I believe that I will be healthy and in control?
3) Can I be less attached to what people think of me?
These could be anything that you want to address. Take a few minutes and honestly propose if you could possibly, some day far in the future, do these things. This is not a "I will do this today" type of thing. It takes time and by honestly proposing the possibility daily, you might find that you can loosen your grasp on harmful thought patterns.
However, my true message is this: perform an experiment on yourself.
I was once told that the definition of insanity is repeating the same answer over and expecting different results. When it comes to the way we address our mind and body, this is the same.
Eating the same foods and taking the same medicine produces the same undesirable result. So find something else. Be brave and experiment with different foods. Don't think about putting yourself on a "diet" but that you are simply finding foods that nourish you the way you want to be nourished. It takes careful observation and willingness to admit when something isn't working. You might have to adjust your insulin dosing or other facets of your life as you go along, but be willing to experiment.
Moreover, this method of experimentation applies to our minds. Do you have recurring thoughts, worries, fears that in the end do not help you? Do you have attitudes and perceptions that are not useful in the end? This again takes careful observation and a willingness to let things go.
As we confront parts of our mind, we will find that certain attitudes and reactions to things do not help any situation. For example, believing that there is not cure to type 1 diabetes make it impossible for one to imagine a way that there is. We are so attached to what we take as "medical fact" and so attached to our way of life with the disease, that we cannot and will not believe there might be another way. We take it as fact that "the insulin producing beta cells have been destroyed and there is no way to get them back." It may or may not be the case in reality. But that is unimportant. What we can work with is giving up our attachment to this thought- be it reality or non-reality.
It is the attachment itself that creates our suffering over a thought pattern. We can find ourselves outside of what we take to be solid and unchanging if we can slowly loosen our grip on those perceptions. It is a slow process, but day by day you can quietly propose to yourself that you loosen your grip on all perceptions. They may stick around, but at least you can find yourself increasingly free of them. This has nothing to do with what we think is fact or fiction. Once you loosen your grip, you might find something entirely different than you had unwaveringly accepted as fact to be true.
Practice Suggestion:
Pick a time of day where you can sit quietly for 5 minutes.
At this time propose to yourself three questions having to do with harmful thought patterns or beliefs you wish you could let go of.
They might look like this:
1) Could I less attached to the thought/fact that diabetes will never go away?
2) Could I believe that I will be healthy and in control?
3) Can I be less attached to what people think of me?
These could be anything that you want to address. Take a few minutes and honestly propose if you could possibly, some day far in the future, do these things. This is not a "I will do this today" type of thing. It takes time and by honestly proposing the possibility daily, you might find that you can loosen your grasp on harmful thought patterns.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Amended post title
I have amended the posting title for this entry:
Click here to see post
I think had lost track of what I said in this link.
Click here to see post
I think had lost track of what I said in this link.
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