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 followed
the 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 diabetic
ulcers 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