I like reading how you followed your instincts and made healthy
changes....congrats
Lillian



----- Original Message -----
From: Jerry Stegenga <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, May 4, 2003 9:11 am
Subject: new member

> Just a note to let you know who and what I am. My full name is Jerry
> Stegenga. I am a type 2 diabetic, age 75 on insulin. My general
> health is
> very good.
> I have been a diabetic for about 36 years. The first 18-20 years I
> followedthe ADA diet (which was the basic food pyramid type
> regimen) and pretty much
> ignored my diabetes. During 1981 I ended up in the hospital with
> diabeticulcers on my left foot (a corrected club foot). During my
> stay at the
> hospital I met a RN trained in Diabetes education. She loaned me
> some of her
> books and also a meter ( Ames Glucometer) which allowed me to
> check my blood
> glucose readings at any time. When I left the hospital I obtained
> a meter for
> my own use and started checking my BG readings after each meal. I
> found that
> different foods affected my BG's differently. I began to eliminate
> the foods
> which caused a strong reaction.
> I continued to read books on nutrition and experimenting with my
> diet. When I
> was discharged from the hospital my doctor had me taking 28 units
> of insulin
> per day. With my diet changes I was off the insulin in less than 6
> months.The first foods that I eliminated were the grains. I had
> noticed that cereals
> and breads were very active in raising my BG readings. The next
> foods were
> the starches such as beans, peas, potatoes etc. I was also coming
> to the
> conclusion that man was his worst enemy when it came to nutrition
> and it was
> time to "listen" to mother nature. So I began to eliminate all
> processed(manufactured) foods from my regimen. This included dairy
> products because
> without man's intervention they would not exist and mothers milk
> was only
> supplied to nurture her infant, not to feed adults.
> It took me 15 years to fully accomplish my complete diet
> changeover. Today,
> although I had to go back on insulin recently because of a trauma
> and insulin
> resistance, my blood chemistry is perfectly normal. My blood
> glucose readings
> are in the normal range, 70 to 120 mg/dl 98% of the time. It has
> turned out
> that my food regimen and the PALEO diet are almost the same. I
> continue to
> refine my thinking and that is why I have joined this list. JerrySteg
>