Overcoming Pre-Diabetes – Part 3

Editor’s Note:  This is part 3 of my new, ongoing series entitled Marilyn’s Journey to Really Master the Real Foods Diet and reverse the curse of Type 2 Diabetes.  I have much more to say and will be posting my updates, insights, candid comments, challenges, progress reports, recipes, and more during the upcoming weeks as I expect to reverse this diagnosis given enough time and determination.  In the meantime, I welcome your questions, comments, recipes, and testimonies.

Functional Testing

Prodding and pressing (hard) at all the digestive system points on my body, my nutritionist performed what I consider to be a more comprehensive exam than your annual check up at your physician’s office.  This thorough exam discloses how well your liver, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, adrenals, and gall bladder are functioning in digesting your food.

Since digestion uses nearly 70% of your body’s energy, it makes sense  that as we age, and tire more easily our digestion is weak, our HCL levels (hydrochloric acid) in the stomach aren’t breaking down the minerals and other nutrients as completely as it once did, etc.

Between my 360 question survey, health history, and functional exam, my nutritionist has pinpointed things I already knew and much that I didn’t. This entire evaluation yielded many recommendations for me.  I’ll discuss a few findings, and share a recipe.

My liver, stomach, and small intestines need nutritional support along with comprehensive dietary changes that I hope will bring a measure of real healing rather than a masking of symptoms.  One of my goals is to create meals that contain a balance of 30% proteins, 40% low glycemic carbs, and 30% fats.  Yes, each plate needs to have enough fats to sustain my energy.

Fats, have long been demonized by the government in favor of many unhealthy polyunsaturated fats, margarine, spreads, crisco and the like.  Surprisingly to anyone who is my age or younger, the low-fat mentality has been programmed into many of us and we are unwittingly adopting poor eating habits over time that have adversely affected our health.

Eating flavorful gravies and sauces, delicious salad dressings are just two things I have found myself avoiding without even realizing it.  For example, I made Stir-Fried Chicken Teriyaki one night without any rice or pasta.  I realized, it is a very low fat meal unless I add extra coconut oil or butter to the veggies.  Hence, I found myself hungry two hours after eating a mountain of veggies and plenty of chicken.

Here are a few examples of how I am learning if I have the right carb/fat ratio in a meal:

Right Fat/Carb Ratio

• I feel full and satisfied
• I do not have sweet cravings
• I do not desire more food
• I do not get hungry soon after eating
• I do not need to snack before the next meal
• Energy is restored after eating
• I have good lasting sense of energy and well-being
• Improved well-being
• Feel refused or restored

Wrong Fat/Carb Ratio

• I feel physically full, but still hungry
• I don’t feel satisfied; I feel like something was missing from the meal
• I have a desire for sweets
• I feel hungry again soon after eating
• I need to snack between meals
• I become hyper, jittery, shaky, nervous or speedy
• I feel hyper but exhausted underneath
• My energy drops and fatigue, exhaustion, sleeplessness, drowsiness, and lethargic
• Mentally I feel slow and sluggish or spacey
• I can’t thing clearly, or quickly
• I have overly rapid thoughts
• An inability to focus
• Depression or sadness
• Depression, sadness, fearful, angry,

I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Fair enough, but what has that meant to me,  emotionally, physically, and spiritually?

Spiritually, I have a new understanding and appreciation of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” as the Psalmist David writes in Psalm 139.  God didn’t just know me before the foundation of the world, or knit me together in my mother’s womb, but he has put together a very complex digestive system with each part needing to do its job and that requires extra nutrition and nutrients in this age of factory farmed foods, depleted soils, and insufficient nutrients.

Our bodies run on an intricate balance of hormones that control every bodily function and each hormone needs a variety of nutrients to be made in the right amounts to keep everything balanced and running smoothly. When the body’s equilibrium is off, organs scramble to compensate and pretty soon, over time, small symptoms become bigger and bigger.

We serve an amazing God that has not missed a detail and nothing is nonessential!   Our complicated digestive system is part of his creation and provision for an abundant life.  I am so glad to be able to learn more about our fascinatingly complicated, intricate, and inter-dependent organs.

Final thoughts:

This Chicken Curry is nourishing, satisfying, delicious.  Enjoy!

Chicken Curry Recipe

1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast meat, diced

2 Tb Good Quality Curry powder

1/2 tsp cumin

cayenne to taste about 1/4 tsp.

4 garlic gloves, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 Cups sliced or diced carrots

2 onions, finely chopped

1 Can Full-fat Coconut Milk

1 Cup real Chicken Bone broth or equivalent

1/2 Cup chopped cilantro, optional

2-3 Tbsp coconut oil

salt and pepper to taste – about 1-2 tsp salt

Saute the onion in the coconut oil until wilted over medium heat in a large skillet about 10 minutes.  Stir in curry powder, cumin, and cayenne until fragrant about two minutes.  Add carrots, chicken broth, diced chicken, tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and continue to simmer until the carrots are soft and the sauce starts to reduce.

Part 1 of the series is entitled, Eat Wheat? 

Part 2 of the series is entitled, Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

Part 4 of the series is entitled, No Grains? No Way!

 Marilyn Moll is, as many of you know me,   the founder and former owner of The Urban Homemaker.   Since I sold the business in 2011,  I work as a caregiver.   I am still mother to three,  grandmother to three grandsons,  a widow since 2008, semi-retired and now age 66.