Up For Air!

Gasp! Up for air. It feels like I’ve stroked several lengths of the pool underwater.

Never would’ve thought any several month stretch would be too crazy to even tweet, much less post to the blog. But then I suppose anyone who thinks they know the limits of what life may offer them is asking for surprise. There are no limits.

I write about health through my lens. It’s the only one I’ve got. That’s not likely to change, but the focus will shift now, assuming some new definition of stability materializes. And assuming that within any modicum of calm I choose to write.

But I will write not so much about LADA. I’m more interested in a wider angle shot of life and health. It’s all too integrated to spotlight just one chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease, the one I happen to have. Looking at any piece of this puzzle in isolation distorts. It’s why western medicine is failing so miserably at this. It’s why it’s obvious the eastern approach has much of it right.

But of course nobody else has it exactly right. Nobody that’s not you can. The utterly individual nature of the solution to perfect health means that absolutely nothing written or espoused in any way will be exactly the right template for you. Until you research and write your own. I happen to think the same is true of religion – that while the standard templates may have been right for the guys that wrote them, the chances of any one of those cookie cutter molds fitting you properly is slim to none. We are all snowflakes, aren’t we?

On the other hand, all the individual ingredients that might be part of anyone’s unique healthy and happy life-living-recipe are probably already out there and identified. You don’t have to create any new elements. You just have to find the right mix and dosage. OK, “just” is not a good word. Empirical self-testing is grueling. It’s too hard. Many of the choices related to being healthy are entangled with guilt, fear, denial, self-loathing, etc. that it’s no wonder most people just grab a diet or a religion off the rack, even if it’s two sizes too small or 89% polyester.

I would measure my success in one way by the extent to which my template for health and life is at least a starting point for those looking for their own answer. Some percentage of what I’ve found is universally applicable. It’s a starting place that you can tweak from. That’s what I offer. None of the access compartments to my Rube Goldberg Device are labeled “Warranty Void if Opened”. Go ahead and open it. Flip a switch or spin a dial to a different setting. See what happens.

"Beluga" is our new home.

Expostulation of theory only goes so far, so expect to also see case studies from my self-experiment. First, for those left hanging in June when I dropped off the radar, I’ll try to bring the timeline up to date. From a health standpoint, this intense period of transition and moving targets is particularly relevant considering the weight I attach to stress. I know it’s critical, but the absence of the expected significant rise in my blood sugar during this upheaval means it may be more nuanced than I’d thought. It may be as simple as the difference between long-term (hopeless) stress and finite-period (toward a desired goal) stress. The stress of a crappy job and being a cog in the machine damaged my body. The stress of losing that job and embarking on a bold plan without all the details worked out and exposing family to risk appears to not have had harmful effect. Perhaps because the option Kathy and I found was a long term soul goal – selling the house and much of the “stuff”, buying and moving aboard a sailboat, living by our wits at an age where many just want to make that last payment on the recliner lounger on the den…

Somehow the mind-boggling logistics, tight timings, depended upon luck and friends, epic cross country U-haul drive, and unexpected rerouting (house selling in a week, last minute switch in east coast destinations, and hurricane within days of purchasing boat) have not erased one bit of the miraculous recovery of my pancreas and insulin production. We’ve been on the road pretty much since early July and so my consistent routine of yoga and meditation has suffered. Only the diet and supplements have been relatively by-the-book during this stretch, yet my numbers, if you throw out one low of 94 and one high of 133 have all been between 101 and 122. Now that’s only about 8 data points because I decreased my testing to just once a week. My last A1c was just before my old insurance ran out and had ticked up a few tenths to 6.1 during the peak of the “what the hell are we going to do” stress phase. After we set our plan (however crazy it is), my numbers trended down. I’m sure my next A1c will be back under 6. I also halved my metformin again, down to 500 mg/day. It didn’t seem to matter.

It’s likely that reduced testing and less focus is probably a positive factor. So is being active. I can’t wait until we’re in our new home and in one place form more than a day. Getting some routine back will be good for the head. Just being able to cook is something Kathy’s been pining for.

Stay tuned for snapshots and reflections of this new life and health. I’ve also been hoping for time to work on a cookbook with some of what I’ve been eating the last year, all lean and fairly green.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Probably Need More Than 3

photo by puuikibeach

If our healthcare and insurance system wasn’t broken they would treat me like a king. I’m saving the system tens of thousands of dollars by controlling my Type1 LADA naturally without insulin or frequent testing. Not only is the rest of the country not having to subsidize me, but the incredible state of health my diet, activity, and stress reduction regimen has brought me too guarantees I won’t be burdening the system with chronic cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, or other related care any time soon.

What an if! Instead, the reality is, even though I’ve effectively beat this otherwise resource-sucking disease, I’m unable to get anything but wallet-killing high-risk pool insurance. If our insurance system rewarded hard choices, innovative success, and true across-the-board savings, it would cover my organic foods that have removed the toxins from my body and stopped the immune attack. It would pay for the acupuncture that helps keep me balanced and un-inflamed.

The most important (and unlikely) insurance coverage I could use wouldn’t be insurance at all. Our whole money grubbing economic system would be replaced. Physicians ould be rewarded for how FEW tests and drugs they prescribe, actually graded on the health of their patients. Our ideal system would reward individuals who find work/life balance and would subsidize us for finding productive stress free lifestyles. The savings from reduced old age chronic care would more than offset.

Oh well. We’re just dreaming, right? It just seems that without the conflicts of interest of merging insurance, Pharma, hospitals, and physicians, some of these people might feel free to do the right thing. The physician could be trusted to suggest the right individual care that might often mean less than more. Insurance would be free to want people 100% well, so their claims would shrink. Their motives are suspect when they own device, drug and other healthcare businesses. And Pharma? Are they capable of functioning in mankind’s best interest? As long as we economically reward them for creating chemical erections versus research on real life threats, it seems unlikely.

If physicians, the insurance industry, hospitals, and Pharma were doing the right thing, than perhaps patients could be trusted, encouraged, and supported when taking charge of their own health.


“This post is my May entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2012/may-dsma-blog-carnival-2/“

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Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health , by Russell Stamets
Amazon(Kindle or paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
Smashwords (all ereaders): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
russell.stamets blog: http://russellstamets.blogspot.com
twitter: @russellstamets

Today's Classified Ads

Today’s Classifieds – please pass along to anyone who might be interested

FOR SALE: Beautiful 4 BR, 2 bath Colorado ranch estate on 1.86 acres, rural, yet minutes from town. Lovingly upgraded over many years. It’s ready to happily raise another family. Be sure to sit on the deck under the silver maple and listen to the aspens. While tossing a horseshoe, pause to admire the Flatirons view. Sip your wine in the shade of a hundred trees, watching the kids in the sandbox, on the trampoline, or up in the tree house. If you’re looking for a home steeped in good energy, you’ll feel it here.

WANTED: A new home for a couple of long-time land-locked sailors ready to move aboard, a well-loved, center cockpit ketch over 40’. The sellers of this boat will be looking for us, a new pair of passionate caretakers for their long-time home vs. a quick buck. This flavorful boat will draw less than 6 feet, making her comfy in either the Chesapeake or Bahamas shallows we will explore. This boat will also be found either east coast or Florida, no further west than Texas, since a canal trip for a shakedown cruise to get her back to Annapolis is not our desire.

WANTED: Annapolis-area slip for a forty-something ketch. Price is probably more important than amenities. Walking distance to groceries. Also need nearby mooring for 22’ Pearson Ensign. Unused dock on your waterfront home? Want to help out a salty Colorado couple who are finally answering their call to the water?

FOR FREE FOR THE DUMP: the stress of another desk job for him; any more years for her in a broken school system where teachers aren’t allowed to teach; any chance of a soma-numb easy chair retirement for either one; truckloads of stuff we have no idea why we were keeping.

WANTED: Two livelihoods: freelance or contract work for him (a social media/tech savvy copywriting poet), something doable via wifi from either Annapolis or Marsh Harbor; for her, something fun and hourly in Annapolis, nothing to take home at night, flexible enough to leave for the Bahamas for a month in the coldest part of winter – what would you hire an ex-5^th grade teacher for?

NEEDED: A little luck. A few deep breaths. A moment to calm the flutter of worry for the kids. Continued good health. Every ounce of strength the resilient love emanating from a 26 year marriage provides.

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Have a tip or lead on any of the above? Please email firstname dot lastname at gmail (Sorry to be so cryptic, but email address get scraped from pages so easily these days. Or feel free to use the blog comments.)


Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health , by Russell Stamets
Amazon(Kindle or paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
Smashwords (all ereaders): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
russell.stamets blog: http://russellstamets.blogspot.com
twitter: @russellstamets

The Picture of Health

This finger is rarely pricked. No insulin means control without obsession.

Turkey bacon, green onion, green chile, organic romaine lettuce, on a whole wheat tortilla. Clean and lean, this is part of how I’ve beat LADA.

No 24/7 insulin rigamarole means more time for Marley.

No pump or meter to beep during Maggie’s performance.

Omlette (without butter and cheese), with salsa, incredible flavanoid strawberries and carrots. Protein, fruit, and veggies are part of the bargain I made with my body.

Sailing is critical therapy for me. It’s the ultimate zen activity that balances my mind and keeps mountains of stress at bay.

Signature Rant

photo by procsilas

I know plenty of folks will do a bang up job describing all the misconceptions that the general public has about diabetes, so I think I’ll twist today’s prompt a little to look at misconceptions held by diabetics about diabetes. To be fair, what I’m asking well-informed, articulate diabetes bloggers to do is more about being open-minded. I can’t imagine how hard it would be, when “wolf” has been cried a thousand times, to still give a fair look at results as radical as mine. After all, “Type 1(LADA) pancreas’ just don’t come back to life after the honeymoon period.” It’s written in western medicine stone. And there’s no way in hell a natural solution with diet, supplements, activity and stress reduction could conceivably do it, right? And I suppose the world is full of liars and the delusional.

But here I am, insulin-free, kick-ass healthy proof that words like “irreversible” and “impossible” are used in error. I explain how I’ve done this and receive blank stares for a minute before the insulin-using listener turns back to the constant chit chat about what device to strap on next.

I’ll keep trying, but some days it’s all moving backward so fast I fear I’ll stumble and fall under the hooves of the stampede of even theType 2’s, for God’s sake, who are swayed now in droves by the pharma moneyed propaganda to unnecessarily use insulin. What a marketing coup that is. Just like politics I guess. The most moneyed message wins. Facts are meaningless. And no one is going to spend money to study or report on a free cure, no matter how many like me show that diet and stress are the key to the whole gamut of chronic, inflammatory diseases.

OK. That’s my trademark rant. How exactly do I think the DOC can remain openminded in the face of their decades of disappointments and money-skewed research?

Dunno.

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Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health , by Russell Stamets
Amazon(Kindle or paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
Smashwords (all ereaders): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608
russell.stamets blog: http://russellstamets.blogspot.com
twitter: @russellstamets

Congratulations! You Own The Patent

The perfect health tool would benefit not just diabetics but the entire gamut of chronic autoimmuune inflammatory disease. It would be organic, containing no batteries, wire, plastic, or metal. It would function by neutralizing all impulses to eat any processed food toxins, or poisons like sugar. Instead, it would make us feel like it was natural and more than worth the effort to eat lean, fresh, and organic. It would accomplish this leaving no residual craving, desire, guilt, or victimhood.

This tool would prevent or reverse malfunctions like immune system attacks on the pancreas not only by regulating diet; it would make regular 24/7 activity an imperative. It would actually make it a joy to keep moving, choosing stairs, standing vs. sitting, and walking, walking like your life depended on it.

The most important regulatory function of this free, custom fit, cure-all organic life tool is stress control. It will prevent job, relationship, and other choices that lead to damaging continuous fight of flight response. To allow us to handle the events that aren’t choices that might trigger autoimmune attacks, this survival tool will prompt the user to be a practitioner of meditation. It will make us open to acupuncture, yoga, and pursuit of the true mind/body experience.

This miracle device will run as long as you live, be readily available to every citizen on the planet, and subject to no recall. Upgrades are automatic. Free, extra, hidden functions are included, available for when you’re ready to unlock them. This tool, if trained and used wisely, will provide not only perfect health and long life, it will be your sole source of passion, joy, ecstasy, wonder, and enlightenment. Just read the instructions. Those functions are null and void if you misuse this organ for purposes of anger, self-hate, or anything damaging.

Although portable, this master control unit weighs several pounds. The only place it can be carried, protected, and hooked up properly, is inside your skull. The best news is, it’s already there. Dust it off and use it.

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Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health , by Russell Stamets

Amazon(Kindle or paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
Barnes & Noble (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/refusing-the-needle-russell-stamets/1110361672?ean=2940014469739
Apple (ipad): search the itunes store for Russell Stamets
Smashwords (all ereaders): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608

Speak No Evil (Dblogweek - Day 3)

photo by robertpaulyoung

I have got get better at keeping my mouth shut. I have to remember that some members of my family don’t discuss health issues. Even life threatening episodes tend to go unmentioned, or if discovered, minimized and dismissed. If someone offers up an innocuous tidbit, it’s a sign of something dire.

I, on the other hand, am doing this crazy public blog and book thing with my LADA, discussing, dissecting, evaluating, and pondering even the minutest details of diet, blood sugar fluctuations, and stress drivers.

So when I happen to mention that “my numbers are up a little...”  that’s all they hear. And by normal family standards, they adjust that sentence fragment to mean something like I’m running constant blood sugars of 800 and there were a couple of ER visits involved. They are hearing that alternate story ending in their heads and missing the much less exciting actual end of the comment, something like “...I’ve had couple of fasting 140’s mixed in with the normal 110’s, kind of expected during this stressful, period while laid off.”

It doesn’t help that maintaining the blog, social media presence and promoting the book is pretty much my job at this point, and how much do any of us tend to talk about our jobs? Yeah, too much. So not talking shop around family is definitely my choice for today’s “something to improve” prompt.

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Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health , by Russell Stamets

Amazon(Kindle or paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
Barnes & Noble (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/refusing-the-needle-russell-stamets/1110361672?ean=2940014469739
Apple (ipad): search the itunes store for Russell Stamets
Smashwords (all ereaders): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608

Twitter: @russellstamets

Paper & Ink

For those that still like a real page to turn, I’m pleased to announce that the paperback edition of Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health is now available through Amazon or Createspace.

In even the short month since publishing the digital version there’s been more in the news about the concerns, hunches, and practices I outline in the book. As the diabetes epidemic sweeps over us, there’s probably no such thing as too much coverage. And there’s no shortage of different angles on this story, like the troubling unexplained increase in the autoimmune varieties like Type 1 and LADA over the last couple of decades. It’s a real mystery, although I’ve placed my bet on the toxins in processed food suspect.

Three years ago at age 49 I was your typical all-American beer guzzling, pizza chomping, moderately stressed guy. Slim, and in great health (I thought). Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) is also called Type 1.5, but the fact that it’s autoimmune and the insulin-producing pancreas is under attack makes it closer to the kid’s Type 1. It’s still widely misdiagnosed. People are walking around wondering why the usual Type 2 pills aren’t working. The only option currently offered for any Type 1 variety is insulin. Almost no money is spent researching solutions like what I came up with to avoid those shots in the stomach. Perhaps because you can’t patent the kind of diet, supplement, and stress reduction regimen that has worked for me. In any case, here’s some of what I found interesting in my research and self-experiment:

* Diabetes as a “spectrum” disease – traditional lines are blurred, T1’s have environmental triggers and T2’s have genetic predispositions

* over prescription of insulin to Type 2 and LADA – even though there’s good evidence for Type 2 reversal and cure via diet and lifestyle change, the insulin industry is pushing hard to get as many people using insulin as possible. LADA’s are being diagnosed sooner, but unfortunately, they’re being put immediately on insulin instead of using the available window of time to try a diet/lifestyle approach.

* new science showing residual pancreas function in longtime Type 1’s – recent studies contradict the typical unequivocal statements that “a Type 1’s pancreas is dead, or soon will be, period”.

* anecdotal diet-based reversals – my reversal story is not unique, but my cynical side says there’s more money in insulin and insulin-devices so why fund studies for alternatives. And it’s hard to measure the effects of holistic approaches using techniques like acupuncture and meditation.

* the similarities of the large list of common chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases – taking the typical western medicine narrow-focus-blinders off shows dozens of autoimmune inflammatory diseases like diabetes, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, crohn’s, celiac, etc. This is what starts to strengthen the whole processed food, environmental toxin angle for me.

* stress and the mental game are more than just an afterthought – others have done much of the same diet and supplement regimen as what I put together without stopping the autoimmune attack, so I’m placing much stronger emphasis on the role of stress, even down at the cellular level. I’ve had to remodel my life to get rid of minimize anger and anxiety.

If this story interest you, please check it out.

Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey to Kick-Ass Health , by Russell Stamets

Amazon(Kindle or paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4
Barnes & Noble (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/refusing-the-needle-russell-stamets/1110361672?ean=2940014469739
Apple (ipad): search the itunes store for Russell Stamets
Smashwords (all ereaders): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608

blog: russellstamets.blogspot.com
Twitter: @russellstamets

Cool Down Recap

OK. So that was a workout. 30 days of posts for the Health Activist Writers Month Challenge completed. My normal output runs about 1 every 4 days. Props to Wegohealth for taking us through an interesting obstacle course. Storytelling, verse, and different kinds of visuals stretched us into new modes.

My favorites for the month were the ekphasis, haiku, and six sentence story prompts. And even what seemed a trite prompt, like “describe a first time” resulted in a creation I was pleased with. And there were surprises; an incidental use in the challenges/victories post of an image of the drinkingbird toy from many years back prompted more than 40 repins overnight on my Pinterest board. The post it’s linked to is still enjoying about a third more page views than might be expected. Just for grins, I think I’ll throw a slinky in here and see what happens :)

photo by marcdroberts

As a bit of a recluse, normally broadcasting solo from this outlaw radio station of a blog, it’s been healthy for me to be a little more social. I felt like a mountain man coming down to the spring gathering. It’s been nice to meet a few new friends. It’s been particularly hopeful to see the number of positive messages supported by participants. Disease communities are often such a pity party. Nice job Wegohealth for attracting more optimists!

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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, HAWMC

Tagged

The tag cloud generator app at http://www.wordle.net/ is great fun. Here's what it created when I tossed all the words from my last 100 blog posts into its bucket.

Five by Five on a Two by Four

photo by jimmypk218

He stayed hunkered down until the ground stopped shaking. When he finally raised his head, it was a changed world. The road he’d been travelling was gone. The ground had fallen away to the left, right, and behind. Only a sliver of path remained, winding up through the swirling dust, a two by four sized ridge top with an abyss on either side. Somehow he pushed aside paralyzing fear, stood, and stepped carefully, calmly forward, summoning a balance he didn't know he had.

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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, HAWMC

Oh, The Drama!

The first time I gazed out across the diabetes landscape I saw a wasteland. It was a zone of gray, dusty ruins in perpetual twilight. The meager glow of kerosene lamps here and there marked the various huddles of gray, dusty denizens. They always seemed preoccupied with the devices clipped to each other’s belts, or the contents of the little zipper cases they all carried. Every so often one would announce a number and the rest would either cheer and slap his back or sigh “oh no” and give him a hug.

As I watched, a regular stream of pilgrims plodded into the zone, looking bewildered, new zipper cases in hand. Some of them drifted into dark corners alone. Others were drawn like moths to the kerosene lamp groups where they were consoled, and hugged, and congratulated on the quality of their insulin supply case or pump.

Nobody seemed to notice me on the bluff from where I watched. They didn’t seem aware of the sunlit, clean kodachrome universe mere steps from their enclave.

In the years since, I’ve traveled often into the Zone, carrying news of the fresh water and food that I’m sure saved me from their fate. I’ve shown any who would listen that I carry no case or pump, just a handful of almonds. Mostly I’m met with blank stares. Once, one of the kerosene lamp leaders asked me to go away.

But depressing as these sorties into the realm of victimhood are, it’s worth the short time away from my happy life for the one person in a hundred, mostly from the queue of new pilgrims, that hears me, and turns away, daring to live in the light.

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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, HAWMC

It's More Than About Beating Diabetes

I've already changed my profile tagline in several places to something like “it’s more than about beating diabetes”. The word holistic seems inadequate to describe the profound integration my experiment has illuminated for me. It’s a question of seeing the big picture. When racing sailboats you’re taught to get your head out of the boat and look around. It’s hard, because the many adjustments and controls near at hand seem to demand attention. But even if everything is trimmed perfectly, if you’re not headed at the mark, all your micro-fidgeting is for naught.

I’m convinced that western medicine is full of micro-fidgeters. Blinders and magnifying glasses strapped on, the questions that legions of mice are sacrificed to solve are miniscule (possibly meaningless) pieces of the big picture. Without more of an eastern stepped-back, whole systems view, they’ll never connect the parts. It’s no wonder we see so many unintended consequences for drugs targeted at discrete processes. Nothing is discrete.

An entire blog post of mine might pass without mention of Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA). What started for me as a typically western search for a solution to this individual disease yielded not a pill to be taken and cure resulting by morning, but a real cure all elixir. None of the ingredients are unheard of, although a few, like self-accountability and patience are hard to come by.

photo by Leo-Seta

Finding and maintaining balance is the root purpose of each and every goal I might choose to list on a given day. It’s all so interconnected that it’s difficult to create a linear string of words to diagram it. Writing about it is like uncovering a tiny section of an ancient wall on an archeological dig and not knowing which way to follow it to get to the treasure chamber. Of course, eventually you figure out that either way will get you there.

Here’s one list of cascading challenges/opportunities for achieving/maintaining mind/body balance and the resulting good health:

1. keep the cupboard and fridge stocked with organic, unprocessed food

2. find a way to make a living that enables #1

3. avoid the kind of work requiring body-killing stress but still satisfies #2 and #1

4. dedicate a generous slice of each day to physical and creative activity while still solving #3, #2, and #1

5. discover an infinite number of moments in which to be present with wife, kids, and any other human whose path I cross, unfettered by worries of failing #4 through #1.

List small victories? Like writing every day for a month on topic and on deadline? Or launching the boat for the season, knowing that just the thought of it swinging on its mooring is the best stress pill available? Or having a 30 and 90-day average fasting blood sugar of 115? Or staying cool and balanced, even though laid off and in uncharted waters? Or this morning, having the presence of mind to watch the thermal-riding hawk for uncounted moments?

It all matters, but not in the proportions you may first assign. Remember the drinking bird toy that repeatedly dipped its head? Our lives are an endless cycle of head-drooping down to focus on one spot of ground followed by the wakeup head-shaking return to the long view where we get back in our lane and spot the next turn.

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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, HAWMC

Summed Up

Tomorrow’s Memory

The old guy was really skinny. But not unhealthy skinny. Plenty of muscle rippled under his weather-leathered skin. John had no idea why his current assignment was to come talk to this guy. His editor had simply said, “Go talk to this guy.” He lived on a sailboat down at the 79^th street marina. After asking at the dock master’s office, John made his way out to where Ouija was moored. This boat was pretty old, but looked well maintained. Lots of varnish undoubtedly was brushed onto all the woodwork on this craft each year. After hailing the traditional “permission to come aboard?” it was a few moments before Captain Russ stuck his head up from below.

“You bet, son. You must be from the paper. Come aboard and have a seat in the cockpit while I grab a cup of tea. You want anything?”

“Tea sounds good.” John sat next to the old-style wooden-spoked steering wheel and tried to guess what each of the myriad coils of line hanging everywhere was used for. He wondered if the range of colors from bright yellow, to red, green blue , purple, and every braided combination and thickness really helped to identify  them all. As the boat rocked on the gentle swell, the dock lines creaked.

“Green tea OK?” the captain called from the galley.

“Sure. No sugar.”

“You’re damn right no sugar!” was the Captain’s growled reply. “We don’t even stock that poison on board.” John could hear the water pump thump a second or two as the teapot filled and he smelled the faintest waft of propane from the stove.

“Right. I guess nobody argues that it’s not poison anymore.” John now had an idea why he’d been sent here.”Say, Cap’n, didn’t you have something to do with proving that?”

The spry old guy climbed from the cabin below with 2 steaming cups, handed John one, and took his time settling onto the slick waterproof cushion, the kind that squeak a little when you sit on them.

“Not really. I wasn’t a scientist, or a physician or anything. I just helped spread the word.” He dipped his teabag a few times, waiting to see where this was going.

Until now, John wasn’t sure either. But he had a hunch this guy was one of a handful of bloggers from 30 years ago who were raising the alarm about processed food and sugar years before the warning labels and eventual strict controls came along in 2018.

“Don’t be so modest, Captain! If I remember right, you put your money where your mouth is and tested these theories on your own body, right?” It was dark in the cockpit, but John could see the gleam in Cap’n Russ’ eyes as he leaned back and recollected.

“Well, they were sure different times. Back then, EVERYONE was addicted to sugar. Hardly anyone realized the danger. There were these canned drinks called sodas that contained a hundred times the amount of sugar as what’s set as the legal limit now. And what’s horrible is, they let kid’s have ‘em. Hell, mom’s actually bought them FOR their kids. The schools had vending machines full of them. I used to drink one called Dr.Pepper. I remember it was so carbonated it really tickled your nose.” The captain itched his nose sympathetic to the memory.

“Yeah, as I research this, pieces of that picture seem pretty surreal. What made you leave the ‘opium den’, so to speak.”

The captain chuckled, “Opium den. That’s a good way to put it. The sugar and the saturated fat had a hold on nearly everyone. I got lucky though. Me and a few million other canaries in the coal mine got sick from it early enough to do something about it.”

“Lucky?” John had to balance his tea for a minute as the wake from the passing powerboat rolled Ouija a few times.

“Sure. The rest of the sugar addicted world was sick too, but didn’t know it. They thought dying at 70 or 80 was normal. Except for a few heretics, nobody had a clue. Nobody connected all the ways everyone died, failures of heart, brain, immune system, and any other organ, to the garbage we were eating.”

“But you did?” John was amazed at how long it took some old geezers to get to the point.

“Well, when I was told I had an irreversible metabolic disorder called “diabetes” back in ’09 I quickly learned that it was kind of like an early old age. Diabetics actually died from the same kind of cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and other body malfunctions as anyone else, just sooner. There was a connection back then between sugar and diabetes, but not the right one. People thought a genetic error just made us sensitive to it. Sugar wasn’t viewed yet as the culprit. I originally quit it just to buy time and keep my blood sugar out of the red zone until a cure like a beta cell transplants came along. It was another couple of years before I realized that quitting sugar and most processed food in addition to swapping out a high stress lifestyles was the cure.” The captain paused to sip his tea.

“But what was all this I read in the archives about some kind of hormone that people had to carry around in pumps or needles and inject themselves with?” The thought gave John a queasy shiver.

“Oh my God, son, it was like something out of the Twilight Zone. Insulin. The best that science and medicine could come up with back then was a f*cking shot in the stomach! Most of the research and money went into new devices to deliver it. People walked around with devices clipped to their belt and tubes inserted into god knows where. It didn’t even treat the disease, just one symptom. And the worst thing was that many used it as an excuse to keep drinking soda and pizza. The stupidity of human kind...” The captain shook his head and muttered something unintelligible, Pop-eye style. John steered him back again.

“So Cap’n, what led you to see the truth as we know it now, that most disease is related to toxins from diet and stress?”

“I just thought that the whole insulin thing was batsh*t insane. I researched. I looked toward eastern medicine. Seems obvious now. It was all right under our noses. It’s a shame it took so many years before the establishment got it.” The old man frowned, obviously re-tasting something bitter. Then he got up, and extended his hand. “I’m afraid I have to say good night. Need my beauty sleep you know.” The happy twinkle had returned to his eye.

“Ok, Captain. I hope it’s OK to follow up if I need more for the story. John shook the calloused hand, trying not to wince at the strength of the grip.

“You bet. Come back when there’s breeze, and we’ll take the old girl out for a spin.”

“I will.” And John knew he would, too.

___

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

A Mascot, Huh?

I suppose it would be nice to have something to replace the beer logos that might’ve adorned my baseball caps once upon a time. I thought about a little Buddha. He’s kind of my shoulder angel. But he’s not really suitable as a mascot. People might get the wrong idea.

Mr. Almond

So why not my good buddy Mr. Almond? He’s without question my #1 junk food replacement. A bag of him and his cohorts are with me at all times. I consume pounds of these wonderful nuts. There’s plenty of science showing their benefit for diabetics. The fibrous nature of Mr. Almond makes him very nice and slowly metabolized. He almost counts for nothing as a carb because of his un-rushed progress in my gut. He’s a healthy influence on other carbs and sugars too. If I eat something with a higher glycemic index along with a handful of Mr. Almond, he’ll slow them down too. And for me, a nut's fat is a needed replacement for the animal saturated fats (including dairy) that I must shun.

Mr. Almond is wonderfully low maintenance. He stores a long time, doesn’t need refrigeration, He certainly doesn’t crush easily so he can be tossed in the backpack along with tools and end up no worse for wear. California seems to grow a gazillion, which must help keep the cost so low. At least compared to my ex-best-buddy Mr. Potato Chip.

I suppose he could use a little graphic design help. With only a sideways glance you might mistake him for South Park’s Mr. Hanky Poo.

___

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

How Social Can You Be?

As Health Activists, our mission is to communicate our message. As of this point in 2012, there have never been more choices for extending your audience reach. Your blog by itself is a great central location, but it’s a pretty small piece of real estate for people to actively search out. There are a range of additional tools that can complement your and send your message further.

Many of you are active on Twitter, which is great. Choice use of hashtags and links in your tweets can expose you much more broadly, especially if what you say is helpful or interesting enough that someone wants to retweet it.

Your social networking sites are a great resource. LinkedIn and Facebook are not only another place to post a link to your blog, but any discussions or groups you participate in adds to your credibility.

You also need to think visually if you want to maximize the chances of reaching the the largest number of people who might be interested in what you have to say. In addition to making sure you include some kind off graphic in every blog post, pin that graphic to a Pinterest board and any others that might be eyecatching and relevant to your followers.

What about You-Tube? It’s pretty hard to argue with the penetration that video has. And with people’s attention spans these days, it could be your greatest hook. I’ve been experimenting for a while now with short Captain Russ diabetes videos like this one. This book trailer is the final tip for the day. The reach of ebooks is exploding. The built-in marketing of Amazon and Smashwords is a huge leg up. Don’t write a book expecting to make any money. Do it because it provides a concise method of detailing your helpful knowledge. Every bit of communication about the book also provides a way to get people back to your blog where they can continue to benefit from your expertise. Ebook publishing is not difficult. I'd be happy to share what I've learned from my project if you're interested.

Sticky Note For My Forehead

Health Activist Writers Month Challenge -Mad Lib poem

all in determined

All in determined went my blueberries meditateing 
on a cynical activity of green 
into the fibrous reggae . 

comfortable non-alcoholic smartphone ed sustainable and ing 
the insulin-free peace before. 

life-changing be they than victim-like creativity 
the balanced healthy peace 
the healthy insulin-free peace . 

comfortable healthy focus at a strong understanding 
the calm almonds before. 

raspberries at strawberries went my blueberries meditateing 
meditateing the sunflower seeds down 
into the fibrous reggae . 

comfortable non-alcoholic smartphone ed sustainable and ing 
the zen pasture fed beef before. 

content be they than hopeful healthy green tea 
the non-alcoholic strong peace 
the sarcastic sustainable n peace . 

comfortable sarcastic oatmeal at a green salmon 
the doubtful onion before. 

poodle at green chile went my blueberries meditateing 
meditateing the quinoa down 
into the fibrous reggae . 

comfortable non-alcoholic smartphone ed sustainable and ing 
the doubtful salsa before. 

experimental be they than rogue meditation 
the heretical inspired peace 
the critical broad-minded peace . 

comfortable critical acupuncture at the determined quinoa 
the broad-minded non-violence before. 

All in determined went my blueberries meditateing 
on a cynical activity of green 
into the fibrous reggae . 

comfortable non-alcoholic smartphone ed sustainable and ing 
my ketch moderate poodle before. 

- Russell & e.e. cummings

Breaking News

Colorado man mixes paleo-style diet, supplements, activity and acupuncture to cure autoimmune diabetes

Says lone self-researcher

Berthoud, April 20, 2012 – A researcher living in northern Colorado has identified a mix of eastern and western medicine techniques that halts the attack on insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and regenerates them – a breakthrough discovery that may ultimately help millions worldwide with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes avoid insulin and live normal lives.

The work on the multi-year project was led by blogger/poet Russell Stamets of the LADA group and researchers from the Health Center of Integrated Therapies. The results are recently published in Stamets’ ebook Refusing the Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health, available through Amazon and Smashwords.com.

“Our work shows that pancreas function in late-onset autoimmune diabetics, and possibly all type 1’s, is recoverable. My drop in A1c to normal levels accompanied by a rise in C-peptide is unprecedented,” says Stamets. “None of the components of this treatment regimen is new in itself, but this appears to be the first time equal weight has been given to the diet, supplements, activity, and stress reduction aspects.”

In persons suffering from type 1 diabetes, the immune system launches a misguided attack on the insulin-producing beta cells, resulting in the cells' decline of insulin production and eventual loss of function.

Without insulin, the body's cells cannot absorb glucose from the blood and use it for energy. As a result, glucose accumulates in the blood, leaving the body's cells and tissues starved for energy. That's why people with the disease must inject insulin and monitor their blood glucose levels constantly. To cure type 1 diabetes, it’s necessary to develop methods to increase beta cell replication and activation, hence the potential therapeutic importance of the current study.

In his work, Mr. Stamets devised a modified paleo diet (included whole grains and legumes) combined with a supplement set designed at glycemic and damage control and immune system function along with significant lifestyle changes including consistent activity and acupuncture and meditation for stress control.

Stamets recorded significant drops in A1c after 5 months, leveling off in the normal range (about 5.8) and remaining steady as the study continues.

“This means that the increasing push to put any diabetic immediately on insulin, and the accompanying costs to our healthcare system and diabetic’s quality of life, may be misguided,” says Stamets, who along with his acupuncturist/nutritionist, and with oversight from his physician D.O. have committed to continue the self-funded study.

The challenge, admits Stamets, is to find support for long-term studies, which are difficult to fund, particularly in lines of research with un-patentable findings, no matter how great the success.

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