Turning Over a New Leaf..

As some of you may be aware, I've evolved in my dietary choices over the years. I started out vegetarian when I was 17, went vegan when I was in my late 30's and then attempted raw vegan, a version of it high fruit, for the greater portion of my 40's.

I have always done fruit for breakfast and sometimes even lunch and then a dinner of cooked food. It wasn't until a few years ago that my last meal also became fruit as well.

I did this because 1) I am an ethical vegan, but also because 2) I had some health issues I was trying to clear up and had become convinced after reading accounts of other people's stories that raw vegan was the way to go.

I had tried the tradition "gourmet high-fat" raw, but nuts don't really agree with me. I feel sluggish and bloated on them.

On fruit,  I had a better experience, but still had some nagging symptoms and cravings and had a hard time staying on it.

I was an aerobics instructor for my job in high school for six years and kept on exercising after that, then became a personal trainer later on and have always been into running and light lifting of weights. I had to cut back on my running when my endometriosis flared up as it became too painful.

I started cutting back on fat when I became vegan a la McDougall style. I've maintained that more or less for a decade.

I've always done research and one day came upon an article that suggested a link between high blood sugar and high estrogen and "thick blood" which is what I wondered was going on inside of my body when I had my symptoms of endometriosis and Raynaud's.

So I bought a cheap glucometer at the grocery store and decided to do a 30-day experiment and see what happened inside of my body after I ate various foods.

The results were eye opening to say the least and also shocking.

I have prided myself on being a healthy eater...I don't drink coffee, soda, tea, no beverages except water on occasion...in fact, if I do drink liquids, it's a green juice. I even did a 60 day juice feast/fast.

I don't smoke, drink alcohol or taking any kind of drugs, prescription or otherwise.

I watch my fat intake, sometimes in some people's eyes obsessively so, since I don't digest them well.

So I was shocked when I consistently was getting high readings in the morning after waking up of blood sugar of 125, 130, 114 etc. I thought "this can't be right, I wonder if this glucometer is accurate, I've never had high fasting blood sugar."

So I went to the store and bought some solution that supposedly tests if your glucometer is working right and it was.

So I decided to give up ALL FRUIT and see what that did and also made an appointment with my doctor to get  a blood test and see what that said....

I got my blood test yesterday and the results will be back next week. In the mean time, my fasting blood glucose numbers have been steadily dropping and today was the first time since I bought my glucometer that my fasting blood sugar was under 100...it was 99.

I've been eating sprouted lentils, garbonzo beans, veggies and green juices....and as of yesterday, I was also eating cooked beans with lettuce and stir fryed veggies. I don't do well with salt or cooked foods, so I decided to go back to raw and do a 90-day raw vegan low-glycemic experiment and get my blood tested again and see what those results brought about.

My doctor was very concerned about my vitamin D levels that I had checked last March. They were 9. She strongly urged me to supplement with 2000IU's daily and I bought a supplement last night and started taking it.

She also wanted me to take vitamin B-12 injections but I asked her if we could wait on that until I came back in January for a more complete blood work up so I can know what just taking the vitamin D did for me. She said that was fine.

So, I am "turning over a new leaf" for me and starting down a new path.

I must say I am going to miss my fruit, but if it brings good results than I am up for the challenge.

My mother in law died at age 59 from diabetes with an amputated leg and my brother in law (her son) died from the same disease at age 44. I am 43. I am nowhere near where he was since he was morbidly obese and I am not overweight and even my doctor said she'd be shocked if I was diabetic, but one symptom that was scaring me was I was getting blurry vision and that has subsided significantly after taking out the fruit.

I was eating mostly dates and bananas that I froze and then made into an ice cream.

I still get some Raynaud's symptoms but my overall body temperature is hotter now and I used to feel chilled to the bone. I am encouraged by these new improvements and excited to see what the 90 days brings and wanted to share this all with you and if something resonates with you then great.

This particular picture spoke to me and is motivation for my new journey...

A NEW PERSON IS BORN IN 9 MONTHS...

So, if a baby can go from a single cell to a full born baby in 9 months, visualize what healthy eating can do for us in 9 months....so I start with 90 days, knowing that that is 1/3 of the way to 9 months and by breaking down the goal, it is achievable.