When I went through Diane Philippo’s Practical Paleo, I never really thought to look at the autoimmune conditions meal plan. I was perusing through it again today, and I actually read through the conditions that it can help, and low and behold, type 1 diabetes is on it. It’s also on the blood sugar regulation meal plan. Things to avoid while on the autoimmune protocol: ALL DAIRY. Well shit. I wish I had looked at that sooner.
I also listened to The Paleo View’s latest podcast on autoimmunity today, and I learned so much. In fact, this has been a day of learning for me. I’ve also figured out a way to personalize a meal plan for myself.
First thing’s first, my fasting blood sugars have been perfect for 2 days in a row. Yesterday 4.7, today 4.6. This is awesome. I am being incredibly diligent with what I’m putting in my body and it’s finally paying off. I went as high as 9 yesterday, and while that’s not what I’m aiming for, it’s a lot better than the 20’s I was hitting a few weeks ago. I’ve also noticed that after eating just protein (like salmon or chicken), my blood sugars are highest about 4 hours after, instead of 1-2 hours after a meal that has carbohydrates (in the form of vegetables).
Obviously I have a violent reaction to raw milk, and most likely all milk. No more milk for me, or dairy. Obviously no wheat or gluten either. No nuts and seeds. No cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, mustard, turnips, or rutabaga.
This seems a little strict at first, but I definitely think it’s worth it in the short term to tackle my health with some nutrient-dense, gut healing foods.
I also wanted to mention page 75 of Practical Paleo, which discusses poop. I have never had an ‘ideal’ poop. They are either ‘Ms Rocky’, or ‘Ms Runny’. I don’t poop everyday. If I’m lucky I poop every other day. Otherwise it could be every 2-3 days. This has always been the same whether I was vegan, vegetarian or now paleo. If I switch it up with my diet, I go more often, but then it tapers off again to this same routine.
I’ve discovered this is most likely due to my thyroid, which causes constipation. I’m really looking forward to focusing on eating for my thyroid health, which in turn will help with my diabetes and any other gut troubles I may be having.
We went out for sushi tonight. I ate a ton of sashimi and I brought my own wheat-free, GMO-free tamari sauce. My friend laughed at me. He thinks the best way to lose weight is to count calories and watch what you eat. He has no idea what it’s like to feel like your body is attacking itself. He tried to laugh at me about not even eating rice, which is ‘basically harmless and has little, if any, nutritional value’. I was like, exactly. Not only that, I explained to him that when I eat sushi, I have to give myself triple the amount of insulin to handle the sugar load. The white rice on its own spikes my blood sugars pretty high, but they also add sugar to that rice. If that’s what it’s doing to my body, that I can actually monitor with a glucose monitor, imagine what it’s doing to yours? No thanks. I’ll just stick with the sashimi. Speaking of which, I’ve always gravitated towards sushi, and salmon in particular, and I just discovered today that they are high in iodine, which is a key mineral for thyroid function. It’s interesting how many foods I am intuitively drawn to that just happen to be good for certain things like blood sugar control or thyroid health. Salmon, onions, garlic, eggs.
My sister told me today that she didn’t think the amount of bacon that I eat could possibly be healthy. I told her that I advertise a lot of bacon eating on facebook, but that I don’t actually eat as much as I talk about it. I haven’t had any in over a week. She replied with, “a whole week without bacon? gasp!”
I tried to show her the post that Diane Sanfilippo questioning whether bacon is a Health Food or Delicious Devil in Disguise. She told me that there was no way I could convince her that bacon is a superfood. It’s almost funny because she’s worrying about my health as seriously as I’m worrying about hers. She’s a long-time vegetarian, and I honestly doubt I’ll be able to change her mind. I’m concerned for her because she eats so often, yet is always hungry. Keeping in mind that we live across the country from each other and I haven’t lived near her in years. However, I still worry like crazy that she’s hurting herself without realizing. I think it’s almost comical that she’s worrying about me in the same way.
“how healthy do you really feel…?”
I responded with, “healthier than i have in a long time, blood sugars are regulating, lots of energy, weight loss, blood tests from the doctor are awesome, saturated fat is good for you, it’s not the devil it’s been made out to be, i’ve eliminated all processed foods from my diet, if you read the science behind it, you’ll understand, this is so healthy”
I know the mindset she’s in, and I know that if someone had tried to tell me about paleo a couple of years ago, I would have laughed in their face. I wish I had known about it sooner. In fact, I had just started eating a bit more meat and finally accepted that I was no longer a vegetarian. I looked up online “ideal human diet” and that’s what led me into the wonderful world of paleo. The science behind it works intuitively, and I know this is the right way to eat. Which is also the same thing I thought when I was a vegetarian. I want her to come around, but there’s no way I can force the issue. I’m hoping I can show her how delicious and healthy these foods are when she comes to visit in September.
Tomorrow I have to get up early to go my first meeting for work. I’m off to bed early tonight! I will post some recipes soon, I just need to make something with more than 3 ingredients!
This page has moved to diabeticpaleo.ca 