Who Do the Voodoo?

photo by acidpix

A guy with a late onset diabetes story similar to mine emailed a couple of days ago with questions about a few details of my experiment. He used the term “voodoo” to describe some of the non-diet/supplement components of my regimen. I like it. It’s pretty descriptive. It’s one word with some power and mystery-- seems much sexier than “eastern-medicine inspired” or “holistic” or “mind-body techniques”. And it’s perfect as a reference to a subject the great majority has no experience with. As I replied, I realized that I reference my acupuncture, yoga, and meditation periodically in this blog, but rarely with specifics. At present, I try to do 25 minutes of yoga exercise , 15 minutes of breathing and 15 minute of mediation daily. I often skip a day on weekends. I had weekly acupuncture treatments from January, 2011 until November, 2011 when I changed to a bi-weekly schedule. That was a purely monetary decision. Weekly is preferable.

My science news feeds led me to kernels of evidence for each of these health and healing practices. Mixed in with the studies on fish oil, ALA, GABA, zinc, and the rest I found: “Iceman” Wim Hof, who controlled his immune response with tummo meditation;  other studies suggest plain old mindfulness meditation also positively affects the immune system; the science for the benefit of acupuncture is related to its role combatting stress, a primary driver for diabetes and other chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; yoga breath and body exercise are tied not only to physical strength and balance, but to the same kind of non-western energy regulation that acupuncture addresses. At a minimum, yoga aids in the all-important battle against stress. My instincts tell me that yoga is also a direct a biofeedback mechanism for autonomic body functions.

These clues were of particular interest to me. Improving pancreas function and reducing insulin resistance are less-dismissed goals by western medicine than actually fixing the root cause immune attack. A “diet cure” for Type 2’s is actually starting to gain some credibility. But it’s still all voodoo on the “curing autoimmune” front. Any pancreas under attack is completely written off by western medicine. Many avenues of research are trying to figure out how to switch off the attack or make islet transplants viable, but currently, none seem less quality of life compromising than the insulin needle or pump.

The cynical answer to why the voodoo solutions aren’t researched more and publicized is that it’s not patentable. If most research originates from corporate interests, the only voodoo reporting we’ll get is at this kind of personal, anecdotal level.





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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

WOLF!

photo by Dennis

 It’s some kind of inertia or afterimage that’s responsible for one of the most vexing problems encountered during lifestyle re-modeling. After however many months or years of work to first identify your required behavior changes, and then make them happen, there’s still a disappointing period of time where you’re the only one who perceives that you‘ve done it.

Everyone attaches a likely intent to the behaviors or behavioral patterns of those they interact with. This perceived intent by others probably closely matches the actual intent of the “behaver”, most of the time. Assume we’re talking about average, socially adequate-functioning people on both sides of this perception line of sight. It took me years to accept the fact that perceived intent counts more than the actual. But it’s true. Perception is all that matters.

I’ve described before my original belief that instincts couldn’t be changed. And about how surprised I’ve been that my ingrained habits, including angry reaction or my skill to find and punch people’s buttons, could be modified. And they have been drastically modified. It was required to lower the stress and stabilize blood sugar. And those around me see the results. But old, tried and true patterns of action-reaction and perceived motivation are hard to discard. The same comment that previously was a snide, passive-aggressive swipe is now earnest. But I’m the boy who cried wolf. I can’t expect people to know that my current health and peace of mind is only possible because all the old unkind intent is gone. Of course, absolutes have to be avoided. I say gone. More accurate would be extremely dampened. In my own mind, I don’t rise to anger often, to any great degree, or without immediately recognizing it. But any deviation from the golden path is an unfortunate reinforcement of the false wolf cry precedent. Still, most of the time now, it’s simply the case that I say something to be honestly helpful, forgetting that the exact same phrase, in the same situation, was once a reason to bristle.





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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Go Back?

Captain Russ ponders the road ahead.

Quantum Mystic

This subject will take far more than the few paragraphs of any one post. But I have to try; the evidence for the mind side of the mind-body equation keeps materializing in front of me. Early this year, the science of the body was foremost in my research. Back in April, the news feeds I monitor had almost daily articles on diabetes and autoimmune disease related studies. Most aspects of my regimen (supplements, diet, activity, acupuncture) are derived from my interpretation of that stream. For the last 3-4 months, the diabetes relevant science news has thinned out. But as if to stave off any boredom on my part, science related to the non-material side of the system has become visible.

About 3 months ago, my close friend (an RN with eastern medicine training), called me to say she’d put together a class she wanted me to attend. It was free, one evening a week for 6 weeks, and presented by a Swami she’d met who’d recently arrived from India. I’m not much of a class guy, but Michelle is someone whose instincts are so right that you ignore them at your peril. And she was right. Swamiji was spellbinding. The class was titled “Spiritual Healing Through Eternal Wisdom” and had some focus toward the physicians and caregivers at the hospital where the presentations were given. That focus was not irrelevant to me since I’m primary caregiver to myself during this diabetes project. Swami Dharmananda has been teaching the science of yoga for 26 years in India, mostly to Americans, and has great skill leading western minds on a tour of the universe-system that traditional yoga comprises. The bits and pieces I had previously stumbled across had not made it clear that yoga was more than physical exercises. Swamiji described it as a super-science of physics, medicine, and psychology all rolled into one. I have yet to find fault with his assertion that there is absolutely no conflict between the science of yoga and western science. He suggests that every development in either hard or soft science is explainable and “fits” within the yoga system. Any phenomena still unexplained by western science can be explained by yoga and will, Swamiji says, be confirmed by western science too, eventually.

For me, most of this seemed vaguely familiar and certainly not hard to accept. After the first class, I was reminded of something I wrote in 1980 for a university Mythology class. I was pursuing a double-major in Astrophysics and Creative Writing. This project was to write a cosmology or origin myth. My “A Modern Cosmology” is a little dry to wade through; but its attempt to explain the meaning of the universe, in terms completely compatible with both astro and quantum physics, sounds a lot like yoga.

The compounding event that prompted this post is a documentary I saw last night. I had queued A Quantum Activist in Netflix a couple of months ago. I finally watched it. Lo and behold it’s a film about a quantum physicist who, after decades of teaching the standard western, material model, had a series of radical insights. I can’t possibly do justice to his argument here. You should watch it. His name is Amit Goswami.

The fact that quantum physics is all about possibilities led him to look at what happens in our brains. The current generations-long western mantra (that everything derives from the material or physical) doesn't explain all phenomena. The known chemical reactions and neurons firing in the brain still don’t account for instinct or intuition. Evidence of non-locality connections between people, and at the atomic level, are easily explainable if you turn the paradigm upside down. Instead, put the non-material (consciousness) as the basis that all phenomena derive from, instead of the other way around. As I said, no few sentences can begin to take you to this place. If you can’t find the film, A Quantum Activist, here are some you-tube clips of Amit Goswami, Ph.D. that are a good start.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Hold The Course

Captain Russ advises us to hold the course.

Organ Meat?

tasty collard green experiment

That component of the paleo diet may be tough for me; but, on the other hand, I’m eating many things I turned my nose up at before. I’ve watched the you-tube video a friend of mine shared on Facebook a couple of times. It’s hard to stop thinking about it. “TEDxIowaCity - Dr. Terry Wahls - Minding Your Mitochondria” is the best snapshot of the science behind this kind of lean, hunter-gatherer “paleo” diet I’ve seen yet. It’s also a great story. A western doctor who didn’t accept the MS “sentence” she’d received, and found another way. MS, diabetes and a whole collection of chronic diseases are more related than we’ve traditionally thought. Diet shows up repeatedly as the key. The more cynical among us say these diet “cures” are ignored because they’re not patentable.  This one caught my attention because it’s so close to what I’ve figured out for myself. Although I still eat more whole grains than Dr. Wahls recommends, and I’d need to nearly double my intake of vegetables, which is already much higher than my life before. Kale will be a challenge too; but, we just experimented with collard greens last night, cooked up with onion, quinoa, tomatoes, red chili, and some sliced up spicy chicken brats. Outstanding!



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Infographic: Surprising Downward Trend in BS

10/26/11 thru 11/30/11 (pre and post layoff)

Follow my Gut?

Wow. Is this role reversal for my mind and my body? For the last year, my mind has been trying to convince my body to settle down. It’s been broadcasting soothing logic mantras, telling my gut, and pancreas in particular, that none of the nonsense of the day job meant anything in the big picture. But my gut has generally said “Baloney!” as stress incidents rolled over us, and reacted anyway, spiking blood sugar no matter what calming spin machine message was broadcast from the upper mind office.

So what gives now? Laid off nearly 3 weeks ago, with daunting lists of legitimate reasons to freak out…but now it’s my body saying “Chill.” My blood sugar readings are dropping to a new lower level even while my mind is a little wild-eyed and dis-oriented. My gut is calmly taking the lead, relieved and unburdened, telling me with these daily readings, more powerful than words, to be thankful. Somehow, this body knows, without any flicker of doubt, that expulsion from that organization, a widening pit of fear and devastated morale, is a gift.

So I’ll follow my gut. We’ve got a new trust thing going on any way. My body finally trusts me to stick with this regimen and not pour garbage into it. And I’ve learned to hear my body. It’s definitely a team strong enough to climb the challenge mountain ahead. It’s is nice to look up for a change. The light and air are far improved from the pit. And I think I understand what my body’s telling me – sometimes an unknown road ahead is better than the one where the dead end is clear.





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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Bread & Whole Grains

Captain Russ wants some bread.

Judge Not

Photo courtesy of Marion Doss

It’s the title of an early Bob Marley tune. This simple two-word rule might be all you need in your battle with stress. You are battling stress, aren’t you? Not just for diabetes of course. Stress kills. If not directly, it’s indicted for multiple chronic inflammatory diseases. Stress is trickier than any other component of healing. You can’t eliminate it by conscious choice. Understanding it intellectually doesn’t really help. You can’t will yourself to chill. And the real kicker is that even if you don’t feel stressed, your body can still be suffering damage from it.

Libraries full of books, medical professional buildings full of psychologists, ashrams full of gurus,  and a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry all provide answers to the stress problem. I would charitably assume that every one of these must’ve actually provided a solution for somebody at some time. But I know for a fact that any sustainable solution involves some proactive work by the stressee. And among all the exercises, meditation practices, and the rest, the most powerful tip is probably the simple mandate to quit being judgmental.

I was sorry, in a way, when it became apparent how critical this is. I’ve always been quite good at judging others. It was a skill to be proud of, maybe even one of those self-defining pillars. But no more - at least not the proud or defining part. It’ll probably take years, if ever, before I can say I never slip. Still, 90% less judgmental has huge payoffs. It’s cut the angry, sad, pained, vindictive, and all such ugly moments that arise from it. Those moments are prime stress drivers.

I’m saying you can’t directly will a reduction in stress; but, you can consciously begin to limit your judgmental tendencies. A little less fist pounding when cut off in traffic will, in itself, be well received by your head and gut. If, simultaneously, you begin treating your body with some respect in terms of what you put in it, you can spark a beneficial feedback loop. Because a less stressed body is “calmer” at a cellular or gut level and less likely to suggest fist pounding.




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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Codetalkers

We diabetics are totally defined by numbers and acronyms. It’s quite a shorthand between us.

One says,” How’s your day?”
“122”, I reply.
“Nice! Seems controlled.  A1c?”
“5.8”
“Hell, no wonder you’re smiling. Still doing it all with diet and lifestyle?”
“Yep.”
“And you said you were LADA, right?”
“Yeah, C-peptide and GAD both confirmed it.”
“And no insulin?”
“No pump, no pen, no needle, not ever if I can help it.”
“You know they say that’s impossible?”
“I know. I’m either ignored, a liar, or anecdotal.”
“Ouch. Harsh. But I’M listening.”
“Cool. That’s my hope. One person, one chat at a time…”




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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Food Rules

Captain Russ explains his diet - no grog and lots o nuts. russellstamets.blogspot.com

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

firing squad photo by IMLS DCC

Beginnings… again. The universe knows I’m a problem solver, and has decided I’m not challenged enough.

I’ve been given the opportunity to experience the Great American Layoff firsthand. I wish I could say that the shortsighted axing of Education resources within an organization was new or surprising. In Healthcare specifically, only those that boldly restructure, making social networking and mobile communication the source of patient-service interaction, will survive. No point dwelling on the others, not much to learn. In a fearful knee-jerk, they shoot themselves in the foot, when there are miles yet to walk.

What I do best, and now seek another venue in which to do it, is communicate. I leverage the experience that only a little gray and facility with web presence tools can give. I craft a message with wit, humor, and punch, for the specific target audience. 
If you or someone you know needs a resource like me, please refer.

For various reasons, mostly distrust of Zuckerberg, Facebook is the last holdout for me in terms of significant online presence tools. The urgency of a job hunt makes it imperative to utilize its reach, so now I will hopefully be liked and friend-ed. You have, for a while now, been able to find me on LinkedIn (check for resume detail), Twitter (@russellstamets), Google+ (Russell Stamets), my blog (russellstamets.blogspot.com), my you-tube channel (russellstamets) or of course quaint old email (russell.stamets@gmail.com).

If you don’t follow already, and care to look, you’ll notice that my focus for the last year has been on a diabetes advocacy project. Facebook updates are likely to point in that same direction.

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Measuring Less

Captain Russ warns against hyper fine tuning.

Infographic: Insulin Use

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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets

ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608

and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4

tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Mind the Roadies

photo by Mike Schmid

Stress has to be mentioned in and around almost every aspect of controlling or curing diabetes or any other chronic inflammatory disease. Stress may be the trigger, as is probably the case with my LADA. It will most certainly exacerbate any condition and prevent healing. No drug, supplement, or single approach can tackle this toughest component. Reducing stress will probably mean going even further than remodeling your lifestyle. Odds are, you’re going to have to remodel your life. And that means taking a hard look at how you interact with everyone around you.

You can’t forget your fellow travelers. Spouse/partner, family, friends -- they’re all along for the ride. They’re only doing it for you. And you can’t do it without them. So what are they getting for this trip they didn’t choose? You, living longer? Let’s assume they want that. But do they want the same old asshole, only now who’s more self-absorbed? OK, relax, if you’re saying “I’m not an asshole”, I’ll take your word for it. But the point is, maybe these folks deserve a little more return on their investment. As disclaimered often, I’m reporting from one perspective, that of a 50-something, Texas-born, (ex)beer-guzzling, sarcastic, all-about-me kind of guy. For me, it’s about becoming a little kinder, because that will reduce stress, both on my body, and on those around me.

Your challenge may be opposite, but equally difficult. Maybe you’re too kind, too self-sacrificing. Different source, but it produces the same stress that’s killing you and affecting your world of those that care. Both your body and your community will breathe easier to see you take charge of yourself and just do whatever it takes. The benefits of your drastic lifestyle changes will far outweigh any confusion, concern, or inconvenience to anyone. Know that it stresses anyone out to be around a victim. And I’ll repeat often, you can’t succeed at this if you haven’t sent your victim packing.

Now if you’re neither an asshole or a victim, the cause of your stress may be from being a little too perfect, and we’ll need more than the space allotted here to walk you through your penance.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Meat

Captain Russ is still a carnivore.

You Know We’re All Addicts, Right?

You don’t really need proof like this Bloomberg article, do you? We openly admit that nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol are addictive. But fat and sugar? Well, duh! How else could you explain the voluntary slow suicide so much of our race is engaged in? Our irrational consumption of french fries and milkshakes is identical to the smoker or alcoholic or crack user. Of course it’s addiction. We dress up our craving for fat and sugar with wholesome sounding pseudonyms like “comfort food”. It’s certainly anti-american to disparage mom’s apple pie or girl scout cookies. 


We’re in some deep fudge here. How the hell are we going to get anyone to leave our Willy Wonka World for the valley of the jolly green giant? I feel like the bell-ringing prophet of doom character Kareem Abdul Jabar played in Stephen King’s The Stand. As a diabetic, I’ve been forced off the fat/sugar drug. Now that the DT’s are passed, the siren call of the drive-thru is revealed. I’m pulled over on the side of a highway choked with bacon-wrapped acolytes honking and hurrying on toward the diabetes/cardio abyss. And the billboards! Holy crap. We are so screwed. Look what was tweeted unsolicited to me this morning:





I'll bet you a Twinkie they want to email me free "supersize your order" coupons.


You could read the Bloomberg article, “Fatty Foods Addictive Like Cocaine in Growing Body of Scientific Research”. It’s just more to confirm what you know in your gut to be true. These studies are showing things like the fact that a picture of a milkshake is lighting up the same part of the brain as a smoker anticipating a cigarette. One could get all weird and conspiratorial if one starts to connect some of the dots. 


Maybe, instead of an apocaplytic bell ringer, I’m feeling like the woman at the end of the Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man” episode who has run to warn her friend walking up the gangplank into the until-then-believed-friendly alien’s ship that the title was actually that of a cookbook. 





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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Exercise

Captain Russ in in perpetual motion.

Eat Differently And Ye Shall Blaspheme

photo by Rev Stan 

With the holiday season upon us, it’s time to try again to devise the best way to prevent panic in our hosts. Do not underestimate the deep cultural roots of sharing food and drink. They WANT to feed you, and the unknowns around a diabetic diet cause panic. You can see it in their eyes. Their respiration quickens. You can only hope they haven’t already bought whole tubs of things they think you eat but will never get used again after your 2-day stay.
The trick is to come up with the quick explanation spiel when dining with family or friends that can calm the unease and frustration. I want to explain, as soon as it comes up,  what the heck I eat, when I eat it, which rules are flexible (or not), and how much I love talking about it (or not).

My current Reader’s Digest version of the explanation of my diet regimen goes something like this:
Sugar - sucrose (the white stuff) is to be avoided. If numbers are good, and I choose to have two bites of key lime pie, than so be it. All fruit, in any quantity, anytime is good. Fructose, in other words, as it occurs naturally in fruit, has no detrimental affect on me (many physicians have told people otherwise).
Starch - potatoes, white rice, white flour (including pasta) are to be avoided. I might steal one french fry off Kathy’s plate. But eating just one takes extreme force of will. Whole wheat, whole grains in breads, pasta, rice, are great. So is Quinoa. This is all classic Type 2 diabetes advice.
Saturated Fat - no dairy (milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, etc); no beef or pork cooked in it’s own juices (like pot roast), but grilled is fine. Any chicken or fish is fine. Chicken brats and turkey bacon have been a savior. This saturated fat connection with blood sugar is not as prevalent in the literature, but it’s an absolute fact for me that it will spike my next morning fasting BS reading if I have even the cream in a lattee.
Note: the saturated fat included on nutrition labels does not distinguish animal-based from plant-based fat. It’s the animal based fat like bacon grease that are bad. Olive oil, for example is OK.
Caffeine - 1-2 morning cups of coffee, de-caf tea the rest of the day. The science on this is limited to a study linking the late day intake of both saturated fat and caffeine. It was the only suspect when looking at many of my spikes.
Alcohol - the beer, rum, and wine are gone. I’ve experimented with a couple of glasses of champagne on special occasions. As long as the special occasions aren’t more than monthly, it seems OK. Most western science would allow some more regular wine, touting it’s proven benefits. My eastern trained consultants, disagree, stating that the liver and pancreas are closely tied, and that any stress on the liver (even if IT is healthy), puts stress on the pancreas.
Timings - I eat all day. Something like oatmeal, for breakfast, a banana and almonds at 10:30, a wrap and an apple for lunch at 12:30, dried mango and almonds at 3:30, dinner by 6:30. Early dinner appears key. Especially if you’re still on diabetes oral medications, carry your almonds, dried mango, powerbars, with you. None of this is new advice.

The problem with eating what someone else has cooked is guessing what’s in it. Was it sauteed in butter? Cream in the sauce? Molasses or brown sugar in the marinade or dressing? And if you start asking, that wild-eyed, trembling, hurt, panic thing can appear in some hosts. And I refuse to ask more than one ingredient question in a restaurant. So you eat nothing you know is bad and very little of anything suspect. For Thanksgiving, it’ll be turkey and salad for me. The mashed potatoes will call, but I will remind my lower mind that I’ve already eaten a lifetime’s worth of mashed potatoes.

The other strategy is to eat something before you go. Don’t tell my family, but I travel with beef jerky, almonds and dried mango in my backpack. If dinner is going to be too late or questionable, I’ll eat enough ahead of time so I can just nibble without the embarrassment of a rumbling stomach.

Not drinking alcohol adds another strangeness factor to the new me as viewed by those I socialize with. I understand it. I always thought those who chose not to drink were a little... different. The fact that I believe it’s not really a choice, that it’s to save my life, doesn’t change the unease some old friends and family can feel when I’m the only one without a beer or glass of wine in his hand. But the strangeness dissipates. On the upside, there’s a measurable entertainment factor observing proceedings from a less sloshy perspective.

The strict, lean, clean, consistent diet that’s the cornerstone of my Type 1 LADA diabetes’ apparent reversal will be tested during these family holiday times. Emotions, comfort food, gut feelings, habit, and desire for normalcy swirl together. But I’ll have to look no further than my missing beer belly, peak functioning body, and clear mind to find the strength and peace to pass the pumpkin pie with a sincere and un-forced smile.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Beef Jerky

The Mental Re-build

Bultaco engine exploded view  Some rights reserved by twm1340

This bit about re-inventing oneself is central. To get to the parts that need to be changed, you’ve got to do a fair amount of dis-assembly. There are no instructions. You’ll dive in and stumble across whole sub-assemblies you’ll have to take apart. It’s like on some cars when the mechanic says “as long as I’m in there, I might as well change the timing belt.” And there’s a good chance there might be a few parts left lying on the floor when you’re done.

You’ve got to reverse engineer the diagram of what makes you tick. How are you wired? Where are the switches and junction boxes that control addictions for food or alcohol? How buried is your anger sensor? Odds are you’ve never accessed these compartments, and the screws may be rusty. Just know that you won’t run leaner or on less stress if you’re not thorough in your re-build.

Sometimes I prefer to think of it as trying to repack the footlocker.  I take each item out, making sure it’s something I still use. I inspect it to confirm that it’s not broken or full of holes, or out of date. If I don’t need it, it gets tossed. I can’t afford to carry the weight of half-assed convictions. I’m running light. And I need to be able to put my hands on something easily, without rummaging.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

The Daily Gagathon

I was never a great pill swallower. Never would’ve dreamed I’d be taking this pile of pills every day. It’s gotten a little easier over time, but the biggest trick has been to learn to clap my hand over my mouth if it doesn’t go down the first time and force the gag back as a rebounding forced swallow. And it’s not all about size. The big orange fish oil  gel caps go down fine. But the light clear capsules that the GABA and NAC come in float on the mouthful of water and often are still unfortunately in my mouth after I swirl my head and do the open throat swallow thing that mostly works for everything else. And then there’s the odd flat side with sharp edges on the ALA tablet. It can catch and not go down too. Oh well. I don’t know how the hell the people in the movies put a handful of pills in their mouth with no liquid and get ‘em down.

Why am I taking this stuff? Three reasons: each of these things MAY either improve glycemic control, moderate cell damage caused long term by high blood sugar, or boost the immune system. As a LADA diabetic who is controlling without insulin, I need to deal with both the Type 2 blood sugar management and the Type 1 autoimmune attack.

The evidence for some of these is strong. For others, like GABA, it may be no more than a mouse study. My nutritionist suggested some. Others, I spotted in my news feeds from sources like EurekaAlert! All of them were run by my DO to make sure he didn’t see any harm. He didn’t see any good in them either, but was OK with it if I wanted to spend the bucks and gag them down.

So here’s the run down of pills I’ve been taking for at least the last 5 months, during the time of my greatest drop and stabilization of blood sugar:

Metformin - classic Type2 medication, bought me time to rejuvenate my pancreas

Vitamin D - autoimmune - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/cshl-vdl081710.php

Zinc - damage control - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/uom-pdd063011.php

GABA - beta cell regeneration and attack stop - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/smh-cpi062811.php

NAC - antioxidant damage control - http://www.jautoimdis.com/content/2/1/4

Fish Oil - autoimmune inflammation - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2000-10/UaB-Foav-3010100.php

ALA - antioxidant damage control - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/1999-11/UoTS-Sutt-111199.php

I use the dosage recommended by my nutritionist for each of these. This list is only pills. The benefits from components of my diet, including cinnamon, flavanoids (berries), green tea, and almonds are documented elsewhere. Once again, I don't know which one worked, or what combination. But if they actually do what they say in terms of damage control, inflammation, or immune system help, then they'd be good for anyone, since cancer, arthritis, MS, and all kinds of chronic and nasty stuff fall in these categories.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - the health nuts were right

Captain Russ has to admit it.

Burning My Superman Card

I was fooled because I was Superman. I could eat what I wanted and not get fat. I’ve rarely been sick. Never seemed that much affected by caffeine. Never broke a bone. Have hardly any cavities. I had no reason to think my body WASN’T super human. I’ve always been strong enough to do anything I wanted to do. I’ve always had great balance and 20/15 vision. I’d go large parts of days without food or water if the project or activity seemed best uninterrupted. Being Superman was pretty convenient. Some rules of healthy living could be ignored as Not Applicable. I’d have warning, I figured, and could start drinking less or eating better whenever my body gave me the heads up. And, at age 49, it did.

So I burned my Superman card. It had obviously expired. That meant dealing directly with my body, who I’d so long dismissed as loyal and sub-servient. Fortunately, negotiations have gone well. We have a tentative long term lease agreement for the next 50 years. I have sheepishly accepted its terms with no protestation. During the last 9 months, a trial period, trust building measures have resulted in bilateral de-escalation. Specifically, after I cut alcohol, ate like an angel, and calmed my mind for a few months, my body responded with lower and more stabile morning fasting blood sugar levels.

Life as a mere mortal has been surprisingly good. The pros and cons seem to net out more favorably to the new lifestyle than I had estimated. For example, in this new life I have to make sure I’ve got some almonds and fruit or powerbars in my pack at all times; but, I don’t have to worry about a cooler and beer and ice. I never left home without lugging cold brew in the first term. I’m actually traveling lighter now. And there are other before-and-after zero sum games.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Your Body's Freakin' Out

Captain Russ uses the technical term "freakin out" in this inspirational clip

The Word "Diabetes"

I can’t stand this word. It has always instantly connoted masses of pale sweaty flesh and Victorian-style unhealthy vapors. I’m uttering it more now without so much vomit re-flux, but for a while I substituted terms like “blood sugar issues” or “pancreas problem”.




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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Rowing

Captain Russ touts consistency as a secret to success.

The Battlefield

photo by brcake

On the oft-forgotten Pancreatic Continent you will find the Islets of Langerhans. And thereupon reside the talented Betacellites who labor tirelessly to produce the life sustaining Insulin, which they freely distribute to the rest of Bodyworld. Unfortunately, the planetary defender, Otto Imyoon, has cracked under the toxic stress of what the Russellverse rained down on him for several decades. He’s delusionally shooting anything that moves, and the poor little Betas in particular are undergoing genocide. Otto orders his imperial stormtroopers, the TH1, to launch daily  sorties, wreaking havoc across the Islets. The planetary legislature has dispatched scores of TH2 envoys, but reports of their efforts range from ineffectual to complicit. And then there’s the shadowy world of the Kevorkian RNAgents, enticing the Betas to suicide.
Will the toxic flood stop? Will Otto Imyoon regain his senses?Can the Betas rebuild? Will they want to? Stay tuned!





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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Be Your Own Spin Doctor

I spend arguably too much time staring at the graph of my morning fasting Blood Sugar measurements. The trend line is my crytral ball to the past, present, and future of how I fare in my battle with diabetes. I can draw that trend line in drastically different ways. Which way do I choose at any given time? To appear positive, of course! Today, as a point in time, is a good example. By changing the polynomial order of the Excel trend line tool, I can tell different stories, although only for recent times. Long term, it’s less manipulable.



Trend Scenario  for 10/16/2011 using polynomial order “3”. This would be the pessimistic view that after the drastic drops in July/August, I’m trending back up to soon be above the “diabetic” line again and toward required insulin use.



Trend Scenario  for 10/16/2011 using polynomial order “5”. This would be the probably overly optimistic tea leaf reading. The spin for this view would be that after a little bump from the stress of the initial going public online with my story, the last couple of days show me trending back down.

Trend Scenario  for 10/16/2011 using polynomial order “2”. In true Goldilocks fashion, the middle of the road interpretation is my choice today. Little up trend yes, but explainable, and sweetened with the observation that daily swings are drastically dampened and stabilized. Yes! This is the view that the Russell News Channel will go with today.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Trading Tastegasms

Captain Russ waxes philosophical about cheesecake.

Whacking the Hornet’s Nest

photo by pellaea

For those only following the blog, let me explain that this post is, in part, a response to the discussions I participate in at diabeticconnect.com and tudiabetes.org. These two large, active communities have been a real eye opener for me. You can check out most discussions without joining, if you want. Over the last few weeks, I’ve started a few discussions with posts from here, and I’ve commented on a few existing threads. It’s sobering to see the number of views I’ve received in the hundreds and commments/replies in the dozens. It allows the teasing out of more detail as questions get asked and stories related. The less controversial lifestyle related posts, like “How Are Your Nuts?” have been huge fun. The discussions about insulin use (i.e. Newly Diagnosed? Question the Use of Insulin!) have been much more serious. There are many people with firm convictions on either side, in addition to many newcomers, who are deer in the headlights, trying to sort it all out. In some circles, though, this aspect of my message is clearly heretical. And though I don’t have to justify myself to anyone, if the goal is to impart information to help people, it makes sense to periodically describe the roots of my voice --

I’m not here to preach THE path to a righteous diabetic cure. I’m just here to relate the facts as I’ve observed and uncovered them. I have no axe to grind, no medical or scientific certificate of any kind to either burnish or defend. There’s absolutely no guarantee that anything that may have worked for me will work for anyone else. I don’t sell juicers, or have any stake in promoting any particular diet, or lifestyle change. I’m just sayin’ that there are some things people have been saying for a long time that appear to be true. And, there are a couple of things I’ve discovered that don’t seem to be on the radar of the health-wise. I’ll give you MY facts, and a few notes on my navigation through these waters. It is up to you to reconcile my reading of data with your own notion of a fact.

I’m on a strict no-conflict diet, so I seek only as much confrontation in these forums as is necessary to keep this alternate opinion regarding insulin, as annoying as it is, visible. When I started looking at all this, I realized that the western medicine Diabetes Establishment’s mantra on insulin was monolithic. I’m focusing on communities like tudiabetes.org that are donation-funded, and therefore separate from direct Big Pharma influence. There is HUGE money in insulin and insulin-delivery. But even in places safe from direct commercial influence, I think it’s worth remembering that all the knowledgeable, giving, well-meaning opinionators are “invested” in their belief. Whether one has chosen, or has had to, accept the extreme lifestyle compromise of injecting or pumping insulin and all it’s trappings, he or she has still had to build an ironclad rationalization and justification of its utter appropriateness in their own mind. How else could they live with it? I obviously rationalize my own path as well, but it’s hardly the same challenge for me to make a case for clean living, minimal medications,  once a day measurements, no lows, and superb health.

I think the main point is that the epidemic is upon us. I know for a fact that all 300 million plus people will not choose exactly the same way to deal with their diabetes.



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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

I am Anecdotal

photo by CannedMuffins

I am Anecdotal
the tangled web of variables I weave
gives shivers to the evidence-based
supplements, diet, meditation, oh my!
which one prodded this pancreas to produce again?
I could say I’m sorry to not have spent the years required
to have double-blind tested
each and every part of my solution...

but I’m not










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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - Excuses

Newly Diagnosed? Question the Use of Insulin!

Photo by Melissa P

If you’ve recently been told you have either Type 1, LADA, or Type 2 Diabetes, there are decisions about the rest of your life that you may want to decide for yourself. First, you have to recognize the points at which options exist. One such fork in the road is when you’re first told you have to start shooting insulin. Some of you will have a pancreas functioning so low at this crossroads that you have no choice. But the heretical point I’m making for the rest of you is, “Why rush?” I’m extremely lucky to have a brilliant, dedicated, strictly evidence-based DO who answered my questions (it’s still up to you to ask). I asked questions like, “if I still have morning fasting BS readings near normal sometimes, doesn’t that mean my pancreas has the ability to produce normal levels of insulin?” Instead of saying, “it doesn’t matter, you must start insulin now, here’s the prescription”, my DO took the time to share his opinion that there’s no evidence that immediate insulin use is shown to have any better outcomes in a case like mine. It’s true he fully believed then that I would eventually have no choice. But he respected my desire to to use this rarely recognized window of time to explore any reasonable options. He warned me that any endocrinologist would disagree with this plan, and would order insulin, period. That was more than two years ago. So far, so good with my holistic approach experiment (detailed in other posts). I’ve trended steadily down to an A1c of 5.5 and am holding steady. Even if this miraculous reversal ended tomorrow, A1c rose dangerously, and insulin was my only choice to live, I would consider the 2 years gained (without shots in the stomach) to be priceless.

If I were more cynical, I’d suspect the influence of big Pharma money in the Diabetes Establishment’s blind spot regarding the knee jerk use of insulin. I particularly wonder about so many Type 2’s being prescribed it when their pancreas is obviously still functioning and they don’t have the extra hurdle of autoimmune destruction to contend with. But, I don’t think it’s really a conspiracy. I think the assumption by so many well meaning healthcare professionals is that you’re not capable of walking the hard non-insulin road. I think the assumption is that you’re weak, and that there’s no point hoping you’ll give up your beer and potato chips. It’s just simpler to save and extend your life with daily shots, and move on to the next one in line.

Are they right?

Following the Iceman

In the stream of medical science and research articles I’ve set to feed to my android phone, I usually look for anything related to diabetes or auto immunity. So when this Science Daily article scrolled by last April, it caught my eye: Research On 'Iceman' Wim Hof Suggests It May Be Possible to Influence Autonomic Nervous System and Immune Response. This guy is mostly known for being able to raise his body temperature. His stunts include: up to 90 minutes buried up to his neck in ice cubes; running a marathon above the arctic circle in just a pair of shorts; swimming under arctic ice, etc. He taught himself a Tibetan form of meditation called “tummo”. Buddhist monks have apparently been doing cold-defying feats using this “fire meditation” for centuries. But the article is about Hof’s claim that he could also affect his body’s autoimmune response. The study, using an immune-response producing endotoxin, certainly looks legitimate. Hof was able to lower his body’s immune response by 50% compared to 240 other subjects by using concentration and meditation.

I thought, pretty darn interesting!
Because in the autoimmune flavors of diabetes like Type 1 and my LADA, it’s always seemed to me that ANYTHING that hints at a way to stop my body’s attack on my pancreas is worth a look. Even the regeneration of beta cells isn’t going to do me much good if they’re just going to get killed again. It’s one of the reasons I avoid insulin. It doesn’t fix the problem or the root of the problem. And I worry it’d damage my remaining capacity.

In reality, the odds that I could actually teach myself the secret tradition of tummo are slim. Hof may have done it, but it’s supposed to take 12 years in a Himalayan temple. Still, the idea of it was still enough of a hook to get me started. And there’s plenty of evidence that any meditation is good for you. Being the typical restless-minded westerner, I’m only managing 15 minutes a day for now. But I know for a fact it lowers my stress. And who knows, maybe this winter I can don a lighter weight parka when I hit the slopes.





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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets
ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - testing

"Captain Russ is going to tell it as he sees it." I haven't lived with diabetes for that long. I'm still able to look at it from outside of the box. As for testing, I'm just suggesting a more sane approach.

Diabetes Tips With Captain Russ - alcohol

"Captain Russ knows his IPAs from his ESBs" I think quitting alcohol is a deal-breaker for some. It's embedded in our whole personal and social fabric. But weighed against life and the FSIS, it was an easy decision for me.