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| Tools I'm using to fight diabetes. Clockwise from the top: blender, bread maker, no sugar added apple sauce, extra virgin olive oil, and agave juice. |
Now, as serious as diabetes is, we are overjoyed to have a diagnosis and we are happy to have a disease that is treatable. Heck, it is even curable. But it ain't gonna be easy. And whatever else, we are going to have to make big changes.
The first of these changes is to realize that type 2 diabetes is not a mystery. It is simply the body's inability to keep up with its weight. With that in mind it is easy to figure out the cure: eat healthy and exercise.
Of course the simple explanation gets complicated by the fact that we have to keep her alive long enough for the cure to be effective. Our bad food habits, the evil agri-food machine, and additional health issues also complicate the matter.
The biggest thing my wife needs is support. This comes not from patting her on the back and saying, 'You're doing a great job!' or from getting her the best and latest diabetic cookbook or even from cooking her the best, most luscious diabetic meals 'just for her'. It comes from living the lifestyle with her.
This means not eating the things she loves in front of her, making meals she can eat for the whole family, and cutting back on my excesses even while she is not around. Sure it is ok for me and my daughter to splurge when my wife is not with us, but these should be infrequent and cautious.
And over all, I am grateful for the changes in me. As we all have been cutting back on the sugar I have found that some of my aches and pains have lessened, I feel better about myself, and I feel that the way I eat now better matches with my permaculture ideals.
As long as both of us stay the course, diabetes will end up being a win/win rather than a terrible curse.
The first of these changes is to realize that type 2 diabetes is not a mystery. It is simply the body's inability to keep up with its weight. With that in mind it is easy to figure out the cure: eat healthy and exercise.
Of course the simple explanation gets complicated by the fact that we have to keep her alive long enough for the cure to be effective. Our bad food habits, the evil agri-food machine, and additional health issues also complicate the matter.
The biggest thing my wife needs is support. This comes not from patting her on the back and saying, 'You're doing a great job!' or from getting her the best and latest diabetic cookbook or even from cooking her the best, most luscious diabetic meals 'just for her'. It comes from living the lifestyle with her.
This means not eating the things she loves in front of her, making meals she can eat for the whole family, and cutting back on my excesses even while she is not around. Sure it is ok for me and my daughter to splurge when my wife is not with us, but these should be infrequent and cautious.
And over all, I am grateful for the changes in me. As we all have been cutting back on the sugar I have found that some of my aches and pains have lessened, I feel better about myself, and I feel that the way I eat now better matches with my permaculture ideals.
As long as both of us stay the course, diabetes will end up being a win/win rather than a terrible curse.
