A week or so ago, one of my closest friends (okay, he's my ex-husband) called. He sounded incredibly bummed out, which isn't like him. Usually, we spend the first 5 minutes of a call joking around and teasing each other, but this time he was all business. My first thought was that one of his parents wasn't well. After all, they're getting up there in years and have suffered various ailments.
I wasn't too far off. He'd called to tell us his doctor had diagnosed him with diabetes. He's 44 years old. My mother and stepdad didn't get it until they were in their fifties, but my Ex is at least 75lbs bigger than he was when we married 17 years ago. And of course, all that extra fat is concentrated in his gut, the prime spot for feeding diseases of obesity. He told me that his doctor identified him as pre-diabetic last January and gave him a diet to follow, including a list of foods to eliminate. The list included bread and rice. He's from Honduras. They have tortillas and/or rice with EVERY meal! When I made spaghetti for this guy, I had to include a plate of starchy white rice on the side.
The doctor's orders seemed unrealistic, so he chucked the list and kept on doing what he was doing. The result was a fasting blood sugar level of 351. (Normal range: under 100) He's promised to test regularly, to exercise and to start eating better. If he didn't live on the other side of the country, I'd stick my nose in and start feeding him Raw foods (not sure his wife would like that). From here, all I can do is nag and make suggestions and hope this is the only wake up call he needs.
5 comments:
You should send him the link for Raw for 30 Days. Maybe that would help. I'm also diabetic and even though I'm aware of the consequences, I'm still having trouble staying on the raw food diet. It was actually easier to quit smoking!
No matter how hard it was, I'm soooo glad you did quit smoking! He doesn't spend much time on the computer, so maybe I'll send him a dvd of one of the Raw movies. Thanks for the suggestion!
Even if you're not staying completely Raw, you're making moves in the right direction.
My dad and my daughter both cured themselves of diabetes with raw food. Suzanne's morning numbers are in the 80s. My dad went back to eating badly, and the diabetes returned. :( It can be beat!
Best of luck!
Connie
On another note, your blog mentioned that you didn't think your ex's "wife would like that?" I'm curious, how do you think Lovely Boyfriend would react to such attentiveness to your former husband?
--Curious Georgina in Oregon
Curious - LB would be cool with it, as long as I was still preparing his food too! He knows, without doubt, where my heart is!
Connie - I'm impressed that so many of your family members are even willing to TRY such a drastic change in diet. I'm not giving up on my relatives (or my ex) just yet.
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