1 March 2006

Your Success Stories

Sanna’s Story: Giving Your Body the Fuel It Is Actually Meant to Run On
‘I found out about GI in a food magazine in Sweden last year. I had never been on a diet, and cannot count calories if my life depended on it! But as I read in this magazine about the principles of eating with low GI, I thought, hey, I want to try! So I systematically exchanged my white flour, sugar, and potatoes to lentils, beans, veggies and dark whole grain bread. The results were immediate. Since my second daughter was only three months old when I entered my GI adventure, people were quite upset with me that I would “diet” when I was still breast feeding. But what I was doing was not dieting at all! I simply began eating more healthy, and my overweight just melted away. In three months I went from 72 kg to 64 (I am 166 cm), and I felt great! I happily continued to nurse my daughter until she turned one, and then I lost another 3 kg.

I feel energised, slim, healthy and HAPPY! Thank you for spreading the word about GI! It is not hard at all! I never go hungry, and I don't skip meals to try to force myself to lose weight (that most often leads to later binging anyway). In the beginning it was quite a challenge to overcome the sugar pull, because that stuff is as addictive as anything! But now I don't even crave it anymore! I am free!

Try it out you too! Find a friend, and walk the GI road together. It is great to have someone to encourage you, and with whom you can exchange new exciting GI recipes. You will not want to go back once you have experienced the enerGi boost of giving your body the fuel it is actually meant to run on!’

sanna
Sanna

John’s Story: Managing Diabetes with GI
‘Having just finished reading The New Glucose Revolution I would like to share with you my success in managing diabetes with a GI diet. I am 64 and was diagnosed diabetic at the end of May 2005. I was admitted to hospital very ill – blood pressure 256/149; HBA1C 13.2; blood glucose 11.4; cholesterol 7.2; weight 113 kg.

For several months I had been ill and showed all of the typical symptoms of diabetes – weight loss, craving for sweets, continual need to urinate etc. But being a typical male I refused to seek treatment until my condition was chronic. After five days in ICU and three in a recovery ward I was discharged with my blood glucose at 8.2 mM, blood pressure controlled by medication and using Lantus 24 ml daily. Other medication was Tritace 10 mg, Lipitor 20 mg and Ecotrin 81 mg (which I had been taking for 15 years) daily and Glucophage 500 mg bd. Fortunately, scans and tests revealed no abnormality to heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. Eyesight had deteriorated but has since restored itself and all pulses and nerves to extremities were normal. Eyesight has since restored itself and I use the same reading glasses I used before diagnosis.

After having visited one of the South African diabetic associations, which was a disaster, I found out about the glycemic index and started the diet. Having now read several of your publications and visited many websites I have adopted this as a lifestyle and have adhered to it for 6 months and intend to do so for the rest of my life. I have found the experience stimulating and fulfilling and limitations on dietary requirements minimal. In addition I have a regimented regular exercise program of a minimum of 30 minutes, 5 days a week on a treadmill at 6 km per hour. Over the past 6 months I have reduced my insulin requirements and for4 weeks now have stoped all insulin injections. Random blood glucose readings vary between 4.5 and 6.4 mM and this week I underwent my biannual medical the results of which are as follows. Blood pressure 126/74, HBA1c (glycated) 5.5, cholesterol 3.27, LDL 1.24, HDL 1.57. All liver, kidney and urine tests normal. ECG normal. Weight 100 kg. I believe this is testament to the success in low GI foods in the control of type 2 diabetes. Thanks for all your research and long may it continue.’

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for publishing John's success story. It gives me great hope that I can bring my mild diabetes under control using the glycemic index lifestyle as a guide. I was diagnosed only a few months ago, and have done fairly well in controlling my blood sugars with some dietary changes and exercise. However, my fasting BG is still typically high (140 - 160 mg/dL) and I'm struggling with it, trying all sorts of things in an attempt to bring it under control. My blood pressure, HbA1c and other tests are within normal limits or close to normal, so it's really the FBG that I need to focus on. John's story inspires me to embrace the GI plan more closely. If anyone has any suggestions for how I can apply a low GI solution focused on FBG, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Take the GI concept to the next level - make vegetable, legumes, and fruits the vast majority of your diet. (Minimize meat, dairy, oils, and all refined food.) The increase in nutrient density and the absense of harmful elements helps your body heal.